I’ve been taking both of my horses to rides ever since I got Jazz. That means four rides since October. On the first two (Bill Thornburgh Family and Friends and Sesenta Anos), I rode only Jazz. Fantazia went along for company, because that way I could ride her, and to keep her from making my parents nervous by bellowing. On the second two, the Fire Mountain and Laurel Mountain pioneer rides, I rode both. In this blog post, I will explore of the pros and cons of taking two horses to a ride. Other riders might find that the good outweighs the bad or vice versa, but for my horses, it seems to balance out. At least it does for Fantazia. I’ve never taken Jazz to a ride alone, so that remains to be seen
Pros of taking two horses to a ride
They’ve got company!
The biggest advantage to taking both horses for me is that they’ve got company in the trailer while traveling and at the trailer while at ride camp. Both Fantazia and Jazz are calm and happy as long as they are together. For Fantazia, this means she actually eats almost normally at rides. When she’s alone, she won’t touch grain/pelleted feed unless she’s very hungry and I hold it up for her. She’ll eat hay, but not much. When Jazz is there, she eats almost normally.
and no one stays at home lonely….
With my tow, the horse left at home is not a happy camper. My mom still has a gelding they can hang with, but it’s not the same. As an added benefit, I don’t have to worry about having to get someone to take care of the one left at home.
The more experienced horse can be used to teach the greener one
I have been ponying Jazz with Fantazia for his first “outings” at rides. At his first ride (read about our experience at the Bill Thornburgh ride), we did three miles, and on the way back, Fantazia stopped autmatically to drink at the troughs. She always does this at rides. Jazz learned from her example, and since then always wants to drink on his way back to ride camp. After untacking Fantazia, I then rode Jazz alone, with the benefit of his having already been exposed to the surrounding area.
At Sesenta Anos. I ponied Jazz, rode him alone, and then rode Fantazia alone. Jazz hated being left alone, but he needs to learn. At our next two rides, I ran out of daylight before I could ride Jazz.
Above: If you take two horses, you can use the more experienced horse to pony (and teach) the greener one.
You have two horses to ride….
Once Fantazia was in shape for a ride (read about bringing her back after a long rest), I started riding her too. This was at Fire Mountain, one year after her last completions. The last time I had taken Fantazia to a ride, at 20 Mule Team, we hadn’t even started. She was lame at vet in. If I had had two horses, I wouldn’t have made the trip for nothing.
Yes, I do think of that, because you just never know. It’s nice to have a back-up horse.
It’s also nice to be able to ride two horses at pioneer rides. Jazz isn’t quite ready for a multiday event. I want to give his bones, tendons, and ligaments more time before limiting him to less than 24 hours of recovery. Fantazia’s tissues can take multiday rides, but I worry about her arthritis. I like to get my fuel’s worth out of a ride, though!
You might also accomplish a very rare (and probably for me unrepeatable) achievement of two wins with two separate horses in one ride! Read about my wins with Fantazia and Jazz at Laurel Mountain here.
Cons of taking two horses to a ride
You have two horses to pack for and take care of
The packing takes more time
The packing is much worse when it comes to adding a horse to Fantazia. Alone, she barely eats. Jazz will eat practically anything I set in front of him. He would eat more than a bale of alfalfa in three days. I have to bring grass hat to clow him down. He gets a slow feeder hay net, Fantazia gets one with giant holes. They share a big trough of grass hay… Added: One big trough. Bigger water bucket. Extra leads and halters (Jazz broke leads. Now he wears a rope halter and lead combination with no hardware when I leave him at the trailer. Unbreakable.)
You have to pack double tack. I always brought at least one extra of everything, but now I have Jazz’s regular tack.
Caring for two is a lot more work
You have to haul at least double the water. In my case, more than double because when she’s alone Fantazia wants to be led to the ride troughs to drink. She barely touches her bucket at the trailer. Jazz prefers to drink at the trailer, so then she does. And Jazz will drink 15-20 gallons of water a day, more when he works.
Then there’s the poop. Twice as much of it at least. I used to try to park near the portapotty. Now I aim for the manure trailer.
Above: Left, riding Jazz; Right, riding Fantazia. Whoever is left at the trailer frets!
Separation anxiety
Unless you are lucky enough to have truly independent horses, they will suffer separation anxiety. Both of mine are very herdbound. It doesn’t help that they live together and do everything together. So whichever horse is left at the trailer is miserable. The horse you take away may also get worked up. Fantazia doesn’t mind riding off, but Jazz spends the first several miles trying to head back to camp. He’s also a monster at vet in. I may have to introduce him to a stud chain.
On the other hand, Jazz settles down and starts eating as soon as I am out of sight. Either that or a phantom horse is eating several flakes of hay and drinking five gallons of water while I’m gone! Fantazia won’t. I’ve been told she now stands quietly, but she doesn’t eat or drink. This means I have to use her for the first day.
Jazz might be better behaved and more focused alone though. Much of his naughtiness thus far has stemmed from wanting to go back to the trailer. He needs to forget about Fantazia and focus on his job.
Taking two horses means your options for each may be more limited
Ideally, I would choose the best day for each horse to ride. In reality, Fantazia will always do the first day, because she will be less ready after a day of fasting. Jazz doesn’t believe in fasting so he can do any day.
Why does this matter? The courses on multiday rides are different. Until this last ride, Fantazia was not yet really in shape. Fortunately, it has worked out. At Fire Mountain the second day was the most strenuous. (Although I would have preferred to be riding Fantazia in general–she’s more surefooted and would have wanted to get us home ASAP!) By Laurel Mountain last weekend, she was up to the slightly more difficult first day.
And of course, if you want to ride both, they can only do one day each. At least, if you are like me and have to head home Sunday because of work. Jazz will need to step up to two days in four months or so. He’ll have that opportunity, because I am going to try to breed Fantazia. If she takes, she’ll need 60 days of limited stress. Later, when she’s heavy with foal and for the first 4-5 months of its life, she won’t be going anywhere. Plenty of time for Jazz to learn to be alone.
Above, I am riding Fantazia on Day 1 of Laurel Mountain xp 2023. Below you can follow the trail Jazz and I took the next day.
Opinions? Advice?
What do you all think? Do the pros outweigh the cons or vice versa? I’ve certainly seem to have written more about the cons. But i’ll keep taking both to rides for now!