Trail riding

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
World rider Manfred Schulze with his horse Temujin

As trail riding is called multi-day walks to horse . The focus is on the experience of nature, the slow, original and environmentally friendly way of traveling, getting to know better both the landscape and the horse, with whom you are together all day while trail riding and on whose well-being the arrival at your destination crucially depends.

You will spend the night while trail riding in the open air, with the farmer, in tents or on horse farms, which offer overnight accommodation for horse and rider. The luggage is either transported on the riding horse in saddlebags in front of and behind the saddle or on a pack horse . Trail riding is considered to be the oldest form of human use of the horse. It requires a trained, obedient and roadworthy horse, but it also promotes its independence and allows the rider to have the most intensive "dialogue" with his mount. The natural riding horse breeds ( robust horse ), small horses and Arabs , but also warm-blooded animals and even mules, are particularly suitable as trail riding horses . The most important thing for the hiking horse is (in addition to mental aptitude) that the back has sufficient load-bearing capacity, a stable foundation and healthy legs.

preparation

Depending on the duration and difficulty, appropriate preparation of horse and rider is required. This includes conditioning the horse, getting used to all types of traffic, training the horse to overcome natural obstacles such as slopes, climbing areas, rocks and scree, narrow paths and bottlenecks, bodies of water, etc., map and compass science, first aid (also for the horse ). Rides lasting several hours or several days require the rider to be in a particularly good physical condition and appropriate training. For rides of some duration, special equipment is required (saddle, saddle and pannier bags, weather protection, tent, cooking utensils, emergency fittings, etc.). Skills and knowledge of leather repair, plant, nutrition and forage studies, medicine and veterinary medicine , shoeing , languages ​​and regional culture , customs regulations, insurance, etc. complete the trail rider's profile. Overnight stays are usually planned and registered in advance, but sometimes people ride off at random.

execution

The most typical trail rides go over a weekend or are short vacations between a week and two weeks. Usually the riders are in small groups of 2 to 7 riders with friends or with stable colleagues. The main gait in trail riding is the step, with an average speed of around 5 to 6 km / h in motion, depending on the horse breed and the level of training. Regular exercise routes not only relieve the horse's back, but also enable the rider to stretch their legs and thus prevent knee problems. Since trail riding is more a form of adventure vacation and not a high -performance sport, the kilometer performance is not the focus. The average daily distance on a trail ride is between 20 and 30 kilometers - depending on the terrain, the condition of the horse and rider and the availability of overnight accommodation. At an average speed including breaks of around 4 to 4.5 km / h, the riders are on the road for between 5 and 8 hours.

Hiking trails

In many regions, such as Baden-Württemberg, trail riding networks have been formed that work together across regions. Elaborated long distance riding trails make trail riding from region to region possible. The routes are selected with consideration for the horses and the infrastructure necessary for trail riders is provided in special accommodation along the way.

In Italy, riding trails are called "ippovia" and form a well-developed network that covers almost the entire country. In Sweden there are a number of different long distance riding trails that are called " ridled " here.

Information about the routes is often difficult to find and is usually only available in the local language.

history

In the Middle Ages , the distinguished and wealthy traveled on horseback similar to today's trail riders, in contrast to the common people, monks and students who went on foot. For centuries, traveling on horseback was nothing special. Goethe used to cover long distances in the saddle on the most varied of occasions - and wrote: Let me only count on my saddle! / Stay in your huts, your tents! / And I happily ride into the distance, / Only the stars above my cap.

The most famous trail rider is the Swiss Aimé Félix Tschiffely , who rode 10,000 miles from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Washington DC, USA, in 1925 and who was reported in all the newspapers. In the times when mass motorization prevailed, this was considered a sensation.

The rediscovery of trail riding as a leisure activity - that is, apart from any transport-related necessity - is a young idea without corresponding roots in the reform movements, as is typical for hiking clubs. It was not until the end of the last millennium that forms of equestrian sport developed which focused on the idea of ​​partnership between horse and human beyond the tournament sports that were established at the time. A typical attempt to institutionalize the movement from this period is the "German riding trail number 1", which was laid out in the 1980s and was supposed to lead "from the Weser to the Neckar", but has only been partially implemented and has since been abandoned. The social trend towards the rediscovery of pilgrimages on pilgrimage routes also rubs off on trail riding, as the infrastructure is usually well suited and pilgrims on horseback enjoy a high status due to the historical model.

From an organizational development point of view, the phase in which the "trail rider scene" is today can be viewed as a pioneering phase. This, and the nature of regional activity, leads to many attempts, begun and abandoned, and conceptual imprecision. Institutionalization is taking place slowly. "Abandoned paths" (marked, but no longer maintained paths), lack of standards for guides etc. are typical signs of this institutionalization, which is only slowly establishing itself. Accordingly, the trail rider mostly encounters a high level of commitment from those involved, but cannot count on a well-structured offer and centrally standardized information.

Star rides

Are also popular trail riders meeting and Stern rides where the riders individually or together in groups of their place of residence from ride off and after a few days or weeks at a common feast for. B. on the occasion of large horse fairs.

Trail rides with escort

Unlike in the past, horse transporters and trailers are now accessible to most riders. This is why the trail rides are often transported to the starting points, or round trips are undertaken from a fixed location or holiday accommodation. This variant allows you to take more equipment with you and is therefore more comfort-oriented and provides more security. In the narrower sense of the independent mastering of the route and the self-reliance of rider and horse, it is often no longer referred to as trail riding.

Commercial trail rides

Guided rides are offered by trail guides, mostly from trail riding stations. These mostly provide trained trail riding horses and the necessary equipment. Saddle strength or the completion of an introductory course is required. Sometimes it is also possible to take part with your own horses. These rides vary in content depending on the organizer, from "all-inclusive gourmet rides with five-star hotel accommodation" to overnight stays in the great outdoors. The scope of services, the level of training of the riding guides and the horses, prices and quality differ considerably.

Many holiday regions in Germany are currently trying to set up a network of such trail riding stations, mostly with the support of the agricultural associations.

In the regions of Upper Palatinate , in the Sauerland, in the Eifel and in many other areas, “trail riding without luggage” is offered on marked routes from farm to farm. Luggage is transported from one quarter to the next by car. Carrying luggage by car is frowned upon among trail riders (requirement of environmentally friendly locomotion and independence), but is accepted in moderation under the objective of "protecting the horse".

You can also book various forms of trail rides with some tour operators who specialize in riding holidays.

education

Trail rides can be done by anyone who is able to drive a horse safely in traffic (provision of the road traffic regulations ). No special training is required for using the paths or other infrastructure. The typical trail rider, as an intensive practitioner in matters of cross-country riding, is self-taught in many areas , who proceeds according to the method "from small rides in the surrounding area to multi-day rides in a foreign country". No formal proof of qualification is required to work as a trail rider .

Several equestrian associations with different orientations offer training courses, exams and badges from the cross-country rider to trail rider to trail riding guide, which are primarily important in the field of activity of the respective association. The demands on the rider in the trail riding discipline are so broad that the courses usually contain practical exercises.

In addition to training recreational riders, the VFD is particularly committed to maintaining bridle paths and free access to nature for riders. The ETCD (Trekking Club) offer is also aimed at recreational riders - one focus here is on holding comparative sporting competitions for trail riding. Another large association in Germany is the Icelandic Horse Rider and Breeder Association (IPZV), which also trains trail riders. With the rider pass and the rider guide, the FN offers courses that are primarily aimed at safe riding in the terrain. As a further badge there is trail riding level 1 and 2 as well as the trail riding guide. In the coaching courses you can also choose to focus on trail riding.

The German Trail Rider Academy (DWA), based in Reckentahl near Montabaur, offers training up to trail riding guides in a total of 14 levels. The training levels include the basic trail riding pass, course and test to become a terrain rider, navigation exercises with map and compass, a hoof course, a teaching trail ride, course and test to become a trail rider, course and test to become a trail rider, riding guide assistant to gain practical experience, self-guided trail rides , a four-day admission ride with other riders and a six-day test ride as a trail rider. The DWA operates its own Internet portal, in which the quality of professionally run horse riding facilities is continuously assessed. In addition, regular trail rides, which are independently planned and organized, are required.

Riding and hiking map

The "riding and hiking map" is a project that creates a special "riding and hiking map" from the data in the OpenStreetMap . The map can be used online in a web browser or in a GPS device . Important "points of interest" for the rider such as horse drinks, overnight accommodation for horse and rider, nature of the paths, hiking trail markings, riding stables are shown. The terrain contour is shown with contour curves and shading. The map is free and anyone can contribute to the OpenStreetMap to improve the map.

Long riding

A special form of trail riding is "long-distance riding". This (relatively new) term refers to trail rides of more than 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers). The furthest ride in history is that of George and Charlie Beck, Jay Ransom and Raymond Rayne (1912) through the lower 48 states of the USA (20,352 miles). The Swiss Felix Tschifelly rode 16,000 km from Buenos Aires to New York from April 23, 1925 to August 29, 1928. Günter Wamser was inspired by this pioneering act and set out on a ride from Tierra del Fuego to Alaska in 1994; In 2007, he submitted a report covering the first 20,000 km to the Mexico-US border. In 2010 the report followed for the further 5,000 km through the Rocky Mountains.

An international association of long-distance riders is "The Long Riders Guild" based in the USA. Austrians who have acquired a membership in the “Long Riders Guild” because of their achievements are Evelyn Landerer (Mongolia, Siberia) and Horst Hausleitner and Esther Stein (Africa). In 2003, the latter managed to cross the African continent from South Africa to Kenya on the back of two horses and a pack horse without a technical team. It took them more than eleven months to cover the 5,000-kilometer route. They rode through South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Tanzania and Kenya.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.taunusreiter.de/DeutscherReiterpfad.html
  2. ↑ http://www.wanderreitkarte.de
  3. ^ Find A Grave, Inc .: Aimé Félix Tschifelly
  4. ^ Günter Wamser: The adventure rider
  5. ↑ German-language sister site: "www.weitreitergilde.de"

See also

Web links

Commons : Trail Riding  - Collection of images, videos and audio files