Building Simple Bridge Obstacles

One of the obstacles I sack my horses out on are bridges. I have three bridges on my trail course, all made from railroad ties and 2x6 inch slats. These are very durable, but basically once you have them built, only a truck can move them around. The bridge is a good obstacles to train your horses on and not just to accept walking on a bridge, but to develop trust in you not to put them in a bad position,....... to get them comfortable with having to step up which could be onto a rock ledge or a curb.  It is simply good for horses to have to pick their feet up and step onto or over obstacles.

At the request of my wife who wanted some easy to re-locate bridges and bridges more alike what you would see at some of our local American Competitive Trail Horse Association (ACTHA) competitions, I built some lightweight bridges out of common wood pallets. I say lightweight because a person can drag them someplace where you want them, however one person will sure get a workout at any distance over a couple hundred feet. Yet they are easily pulled from horseback.

I started with a common 40 inch by 47 inch wood pallet. Dimension will vary among pallets but this is close to being a common size. I drilled a 3/4 inch hole in the middle of the pallet support board so I could feed a 14 foot length of rope through and knot one end, so I had a line to drag the bridge around on horseback. I intentionally did not make a loop as I did not want an excuse for a horse to put his foot through it. Instead, it's just like dragging a log.

I used one eight foot length of 2x4 inch wood, cut to two 47 inch pieces. I used these two 2x4 inch pieces to insert in the pallet to strengthen it. I used 1 1/2 inch wood screws to screw these boards to the pallet. This give it the strength necessary for 1,000 pound plus horses to walk on it.

I cut a 40 inch by 47 inch section out of 1/2 inch plywood, then used wood screws to secure to one side of the pallet and this will be the side the horses walk on. I used wood putty to cover up a couple of the screws that I could not drive below flush on the plywood. I did not want anything that could catch a horse's shoe.  The picture at the top left of this article shows the completed bridge.  You can push the drag rope in between the pallet once you have it in place.   Another good exercise for a small square type bridge is to put your horses front feet on it and side pass all around the bridge keeping the front feet on it. 

Your wooden bridges are going to require some sort of treatment from weather sealer to paint,...be careful not to make them too slick. The bridges to the right are one I made several years ago (top) and another I recently made.  Before anyone thinks about commenting on my lack of carpenters skills,...be aware that I am not proud of myknow my rudimentary skils. It was my Pa who first brought this to my attention telling me, "Boy, there are two tools in the barn that I don't want you to touch,...one's a paint brush and the other is a hammer",....and if that wasn't clear, he would say, "Boy, you're so damn smart you must have two brains,....one the size of a pea and the other a little bitty thing."

Horse Training - Step Up, Step Down - the Texas Two Step

Continuing with preparing your horse for the trail, you should be comfortable with riding your horse up hill and down hill. There are a few considerations to be safe.

At any point, do not be afraid or ashamed of grabbing your saddle horn or reaching around and grabbing the cantle. When going up hill you need to be leaning just a little bit forward to maintain your balance, but not too much as to put alot of your weight on the horse's front end, which carries most his weight anyway. If you lean backwards, the momentum of the horse going up hill may unseat you. This is especially true if the obstacles requires a big step up, as you'll see in the videos below.

Same considerations for on the flat ground as far as staying out of your horse's mouth if you are using or bit, or otherwise ensure you give your horse his head. if you pull of slack on the reins or worse yet bull back on his head or mouth, you are giving him conflicting signals and he won't be able to see the ground. In many cases the horse will transfer some weight to the rear end and push off with the rear end causing a sudden jolt forward.

Going down hill is another matter all together. You have the balance giving the horse his head so he can see the down hill and place his feet, but you also want to rate (control) his speed. You ned to be leaning alittle bit back and this is probably the best time to brace yourself by holding onto the cantle. Beware of your horse wanting to trot or lope out of the hill when he gets to the bottom.

Hope this helps you work with your horse and get him trail ready and safe.