Trekking: the great outdoors

Horse trekking over our beautiful New Zealand countryside is understandably very popular with riders of a wide range of ages, and at this time of year there are lots of different options available. There are the short, easy day treks, more challenging weekend treks and week-long (or even longer) treks that are much more taxing. 

Treks are likely to involve riding for more hours a day than you or your horse do on a regular basis. They are a very enjoyable way to spend time riding, socialising and seeing areas of the countryside that you don’t normally see. However, you do need to be prepared. 

Although treks are usually at walking pace only, your horse will still need to be fit. Most treks involve hills of some sort, and they can be very steep ones!

Depending on the trek, there can also be river crossings, rocks and scrub to navigate, bridges to cross and rough terrain to travel over. If you are considering doing a trek, find out beforehand what sort of challenges it is going to give you. Being well prepared is key to gaining the most enjoyment out of the trek, so you’ll need to make sure your horse can cope with the obstacles he is likely to encounter.

Get your horse used to riding with others. Part of the enjoyment of going on treks is the socialising, making new friends or catching up with old ones. But you need to be able to give other horses space when they need it, and you don’t want to be continually slowing a good walker’s natural pace to travel alongside a slow walker, as this can be frustrating for both horse and rider – your horse needs to enjoy the trek too!

Here are some points to take into consideration in your preparation:

1. Your horse’s baseline fitness and daily activity. Horses will have different baseline fitness if they live in a very small flat paddock compared to those who run in a 20-acre hill paddock
2. Your usual weekly routine of riding.
3. Your own level of fitness (be honest!)
4. Your own riding ability (again, be honest with yourself, or ask a trusted, experienced friend or trainer for their opinion)
5. The type of horse you have, the age and breed. Some horses are a lot happier trekking than others. If your horse won’t easily keep at a walk but jig-jogs around and spooks at every other rock, it won’t really make it a good experience for either of you. Of course, this can be improved with training, but it is important to be realistic with your assessment of your horse and your ability. Many experienced trekkers choose solid, strong and dependable mounts such as Clydesdale crosses or stationbreds, but there is no reason that a thoroughbred with the right attitude and training can’t make an excellent trekker. Comfortable paces are important though, especially a good striding walk. 

Preparation is everything

Taranaki’s Ray Paewai was the trek veterinarian for the Great NZ Trek for 14 years, so has a great deal of experience with horses on treks. The Great NZ Trek was an annual six-day trek, with one rest day in the middle, and covered the length of New Zealand over the 14 years, raising a lot of money for charity in the process. 

When it comes to preparing horses for this kind of adventure, Ray says it depending very much upon your starting point, and how often you are able to work your horse.

Ideally, you will be able to prepare your horse by riding over varied terrain, which will help the muscles and tendons become conditioned to the work they are going to be doing, as well as testing your horse’s abiliity. 

In general, he says you should be able to get a horse adequately fit for a trek in six to eight weeks. If you can ride six days a week you may only need to do 20-30 minutes of walk/trot/canter each time, with a few longer rides, but if you can only ride three times a week you will need to ride for at least a couple of hours each ride. This is a very general guide and so much will depend on the individual horse and rider.

Conditioning your horse to your gear is really important. Ray says that by far the most problems he saw over the 14 years of the Great NZ Trek related to skin rubs and chafing injuries rather than a lack of physical fitness. The vulnerable areas are the girth, the withers and the area under the back of the saddle.

Don’t use brand new gear on a trek, just as you wouldn’t put a new pair of running shoes on the day of a marathon. All your horse’s gear (and your own clothing) needs to be well broken in and comfortable, which means they will have worn it a lot beforehand. 

During the trek, Ray advises checking your gear regularly throughout the day:

1. Girths might be tight at the start but loosen up as the day goes on. A loose girth will mean the saddle can move around, causing rubbing and sores. It can also mean you end up on the floor as the saddle slips around, which has been known to happen a few times! 
2. Another item to check regularly is your saddle blanket, to ensure that it has not gradually been pulled tight down on your horse’s back. There should be a clear gap along the top between the back and the blanket/saddle.
3. Take care of your horse’s back. Get off and walk down steep hills if possible, and stand up in your saddle going up steep hills; sharp inclines are the times when the potential for saddle movement is at its greatest.
4. Wash your horse thoroughly after riding and check the areas under the tack carefully.

Feeding

Horses are adapted for getting the most out of high-fibre diets. They don’t need rich lush grass (and as we know, some do not do very well on it). In a lot of cases they don’t need added energy from hard feed either, but each horse is individual, and it is worth getting professional advice for your horse. Vitamins and mineral supplements are useful as a lot of areas of New Zealand are low in some of these, for eg. selenium, but again get advice as to whether your horse needs them on top of their usual diet. 

You should check the electrolyte content too, as some feeds need this to be added and it might be helpful if your horse does sweat a lot.

In general though, remember that trekking horses need to be calm and relaxed, so don’t undo your careful training and preparation by inappropriate feeding. 

Feet

Ray says he strongly recommends that horses are shod for a multi-day trek, due to the varied terrain which can include riding on unsealed roads. Barefoot horses can use hoof boots, but make sure these don’t rub or chafe, and that your horse is used to wearing them for extended periods. 

And either barefoot or shod, ensure your horse has had regular farrier attention in the lead up to the trek, so their feet are in excellent condition. The saying ‘no foot, no horse’ really applies when you are covering lots of kilometres a day.

Troubleshooting

With some of the larger treks there will be a vet check on arrival, but this is really to make sure your horse has travelled well. As an owner or rider, you need to make sure you horse is up to date on vaccinations, worming and dentals well before the time of the trek. Also talk to your own vet in advance if you have any concerns about whether your horse is medically able to do the trek. 

Potential veterinary problems

• Wounds from travelling. This can happen during any journey. Makes sure you check over your horse thoroughly when you arrive and get prompt treatment for any problems.
• Wounds in the paddock. Even in the most horse-safe paddock, horses have been known to injure themselves! On a trek there will be strange horses mixing together which can potentially increase the risk of injuries. If your horse is in with others keep an eye on them initially to ensure everyone is getting on well.  If you know your horse might be very dominant, aggressive or prone to chasing other horses, talk to the organisers beforehand to discuss keeping them separate. They can usually arrange to have have individual areas for horses who do not mix well with others, or they may ask you to bring your own electric tape to fence off a separate area. Then it is just common sense for your own and your horse’s safety eg. don’t go and feed your horse out in the paddock with other horses around it
• Scratches and scrapes from the trek. On a trek there is often uneven ground and obstacles like rocks and trees. Some horses seem to frequently get swollen legs from quite minor scrapes and others don’t. In all cases, don’t hesitate to get the vet to examine your horse if there is anything you are concerned about. Injuries are better treated sooner rather than later.
• Hoof abscesses. The most common cause of lameness is in the hoof and the most common cause is a hoof abscess. It is easy to panic if you go out in the morning and see your horses is suddenly very lame on one leg but keep calm (which will help keep your horse calm) and get it checked out immediately by the trek vet.  
• Dehydration. Trekking is not a race, so there shouldn’t be problems due to dehydration. But you do need to make sure your horse will drink from a trough with his bit in his mouth, and that he will happily drink “non-home” water by training them before you go. If your horse is fussy you can try adding a small amount of flavouring, molasses, apple sauce etc to a bucket of non-home water and getting them used to drinking that. The veterinarian should always be called immediately if there are any concerns about a horse’s hydration levels.
• Colic. A change in routine can be one of the underlying causes for colic. On multi-day treks your horse’s routine will be quite different. To try and prevent colic, as much as possible get your horse used to as many things on the trek beforehand as you can. Find out what feed will be given and introduce this slowly from about six weeks before. If your horse is usually kept on his own, try and have a few days if possible of overnight stays with other horses in the lead-up. This will help with your general training too. If your horse does show signs of colic while you are away on the trek, then call the veterinarian straight away.
• Insect bites. Some horses react quite severely to certain insect bites so, depending on the area you are going to, it may be worth talking to your veterinarian before you go about options for insect repellents for your horse. 

Summary

Preparing yourself and your horse well before a trek is very important to avoid problems. It is often simple, preventable things that may result in you having to stop your trek rather than anything dramatic. For example, sores over the withers might not seem that serious but they are extremely painful for horses (and can be prevented).  Skin rubs and chafing are the most common problems seen by trek veterinarians. 

Get your horse (and yourself as much as possible) fit, get used to the gear you will use and keep checking it throughout the trek. 

Wash your horse well each day paying attention to the areas under the tack. 

Look after the basics and you should avoid the common problems and be able to enjoy yourself, enjoy your horses and enjoy the beautiful New Zealand countryside.