Horseback Trail Riding Risk Management

Risk Management Through Education

Safety First at Marble Mountain Ranch

Hands On Education

Each day you and your family receive hands on equestrian riding skills education tailored to your individual needs

Small Group Sizes

We keep our trail riding group sizes small! This allows us as your wrangling staff to always be available to lend a helping hand

Helmets Required

We set the industry standard for safety at Marble Mountain Ranch. Part of our safety first approach involves mandatory helmet use

Learning the Basics of Trail Riding

Successful riding through a sequence of trail obstacles and challenges requires proper seat, good reign control, speed management, horse to horse spacing, consistent riding cues to the horse, good trail tread placement, and body positioning at steeper trail sections. We use the descriptive term “trail khana” to illustrate the need for athletic prowess and skill sets in both horse and rider. The challenge of mountain trail riding is exciting, rewarding, and demanding. All of this and more we teach you and your family in our arena riding activity to prepare you for the trail.

Additionally, none of our trail rides require time spent in a truck with a loaded horse trailer to reach a trail-head. With a variety of trail options departing directly from Marble Mountain Ranch and not requiring long truck shuttles to a trail-head, we can easily script each trail ride to approximate the needs and skill levels of the ride participants.

PLEASE NOTE: All riders must weigh-in at the arena orientation on day one. Our riding weight limit is 230 pounds (104 Kg) per person.

Equestrian Skills Evaluation

The unique set of riding skills needed for mountain trail riding is not usually learned with riding time limited to the arena. To manage the riding risks for your cowboy trail riding holiday, we start your visit after your arrival on Monday with an arena horse orientation and simple skills evaluation.

Our trail rides begin the following day (Tuesday) with easier rides closer to our ranch base, and graduating to longer and more difficult rides as the week progresses. We also schedule daily arena time to teach Western trail riding skills through fun and engaging games on horseback. Our 100′ X 150′ covered arena provides a comfortable shaded setting and has a groomed sand riding base. The arena also offers a great controlled setting to practice riding skills while riding at faster gates.