If you are a trail rider or a hockey parent you have likely heard someone say, “Wow, does that horse/kid have heart!” But saying it is one thing and understanding it is another. If you have been riding in the hills or the mountains for a few years you may have experienced the difference between an average horse powering its way up a hill and a horse with exceptional “heart.”

Every year I receive phone calls and emails from past guests and friends recalling the moments of their trail rides. Like a record, the memories of joyful times play back again and again, buoying them through difficult and less memorable times, or reminding them that dreams are sometimes real.

Horses can be herd-bound, barn sour, pullers, hard to catch, frightened, or aggressive. This article is the first of a two part series that will look at common problems with using horses at home, including barn sour and herd-bound horses, and some ideas for safe riding near the home front.

Trail knots remind me of the Dutch kid who stuck his finger in a hole in a dyke to prevent the whole dam from busting: a little thing that if not done, or not done right, can release a flood of trouble. If I had a dollar for each time I turned around and a horse was walking off dragging its lead rope I could buy us both shrimp dinner.