Trail Safety and Courtesy for Equestrians
These tips for equestrians include general suggestions as well as recommendations for safe and courteous encounters with other trail users. If you will have a dog with you, please also see the tips for trail users with dogs.
Many people use East Bay Regional Park District trails safely every day, but accidental injuries do happen, and a person who might decide to harm you could be anywhere. We suggest that you minimize your "risk factors" on District trails as you would in any public area. You can reduce risk by following each of these tips:
- Own the trail. While using the trails, project alertness, confidence, and determination. Your shoulders are back, you are aware of your surroundings, and you have somewhere to go.
- Go with a buddy. Use the trails with a friend. Two or more trail users can assist each other in the event of accident or injury, and one can always seek help.
- The day is your friend. It's better to avoid dusk and darkness.
- Use all your senses. Listen for suspicious noises. Don't wear headphones; they impair your ability to hear someone approaching you from behind. If you sense that an area may be unsafe for you, leave.
- Take what you need. Carry personal identification. If you use a medication frequently, such as for asthma, diabetes, or angina, take it and instructions for use with you.
- Leave valuables at home. Don't make yourself an obvious target. If you must leave valuables in your vehicle while you are on the trails, hide them well before you arrive at the parking area; auto burglaries are all too common.
- Call for help. If you need assistance or encounter someone else needing assistance, call 911 (call 510.881.1121 from a cell phone). Many District employees and volunteers can also request assistance for you.
- Have someone waiting. Let someone else know where on District trails or parklands you will be going and when you will return, and instruct him or her to call 911 (call 510.881.1121 from a cell phone) if you do not return as planned. If you do nothing else, leave a note stating where you're going.
- Be easy to find. Use marked, authorized trails only.
- Be considerate, aware of your impact on the trail and parklands, and aware of your effect on other park and trail users.
- The District strongly recommends that all equestrians wear helmets in order to prevent head injury.
- For everyone's safety, stay to the right side of the trail, especially when approached from ahead or behind by other trail users, unless it is unsafe to do so because of the terrain or for other reasons.
- Travel single file around blind curves. When several persons travel side by side, it can be difficult for other trail users to pass safely. Don't tailgate: keep about one horse length's distance from the horse and rider ahead of you, and three lengths when going downhill.
- Check behind and to both sides before changing course.
- Communicate. Let other trail users know how to pass your horse safely. Encourage the other trail users to reply. Hearing the other trail users' voices will reassure your horse that those things are familiar human creatures. "If it talks, it can't be all bad."
- In some cases, the best approach upon encountering a group of trail users approaching you is to move to the edge of the trail yourself, or off the trail if circumstances permit, stop, and let the group pass you.
- Please clean up after your horse in the staging area.
- Know your horse's limitations and temperament and choose parks and trails appropriate for them. A trail crowded with bikes, dogs, family groups, and small children on a sunny Sunday afternoon is not the place and time for a "green" or spirited horse; choose another day to ride that trail.
- Another trail user's hand out and down, or waving up and down, is a warning to others to slow down or stop; there may be a trail hazard or an injured person or animal ahead.
- Use marked, authorized trails only. Respect trail and area closures. Most unmarked (unposted) trails have been created by other park users, tend to erode quickly because they are not well constructed, unnecessarily degrade the view and the plant and animal habitat, and are not maintained or patrolled. The authorized trail route may be a little longer, but using it gives you a little more scenery to enjoy and the satisfaction of knowing that you've helped preserve your parklands. "Leave no trace."
- Stay within park boundaries. Fence lines are marked. Please respect the rights and privacy of adjacent property owners.
- Be prepared for the weather. A regional trail or park some distance from your home may have a very different climate. Adequate water supply and sun protection are advised for all outdoor activities in hot, sunny weather. Have several layers of appropriate clothing available if cold, wind, or rain may be present, especially in shady canyons or on exposed ridgetops.
- Smoking and vaping are not permitted on District lands, except in occupied campsites. Wildfires can arise within seconds and can destroy parkland habitat, nearby homes, and other private property, and can injure and take human life as well.
- Please do not disturb or feed wild animals in the parklands. A general rule is that if a wild animal is easily approachable, it may be ill and should be left alone. Inform a park ranger or Volunteer Trail Safety Patrol member if you see an obviously sick animal.
- Leave rattlesnakes alone. Rattlesnakes are not aggressive creatures, and generally will not strike if you keep your distance. If you find a rattlesnake in a high-use area, inform a park ranger or Volunteer Trail Safety Patrol member.
- Mountain lions are native to the area and live in the parklands but are rarely seen because they generally avoid and retreat from human contact. Learn to recognize this large cat. If you encounter a mountain lion, do not run. Stand facing the lion, pick up any small children, and make yourself appear as large as possible. If attacked, fight back. [ More information ]
- Poison oak is a very common native plant in the East Bay and is found as a ground cover, as a shrub, or as a vine that often entwines around adjacent plants. Most people will develop a rash within a few days if they come into contact with any part (leaves, stems, or roots) of this plant. Learn to recognize poison oak. "Leaflets three, let it be" is a safe policy. [ More information ]
- Ticks are widespread in the kind of natural grasslands environment common in the District. Ticks can transmit Lyme disease to humans and pets. Learn how to avoid ticks and what to do if you are bitten.
- Communicate and educate. Many trail users do not know how to behave around horses. Know your horse's temperament and advise trail users accordingly.
- Anticipate potential problems. Person carrying a big kayak? Hiker climbing around on the steep hillside above you? Advise trail users for their safety, yours, and your horse's.
- Communicate and educate. Many trail users do not know how to behave around horses. Know your horse's temperament and advise trail users accordingly.
- If you think it advisable, politely ask the bicyclist to stop while you pass on the trail.
- Communicate and educate. Many dog owners do not know how to control their dogs when around horses. Know your horse's temperament and advise dog owners and handlers accordingly.
- When you encounter a trail user with one or more dogs ahead of you on the trail, pause a few moments to assess the situation and to allow the handler to gather the dogs. Even a conscientious handler with well-behaved dogs who knows that you and your horse have the right of way will require a few moments to gather multiple dogs, and a handler with a permit may walk as many as six dogs at a time. (Dog owners without permits are limited to three dogs per person.)
- In some situations, dismounting and walking your horse past a handler and dogs may be the best strategy.
- If you or your horse are bitten by a dog, exchange personal contact information with the dog's handler, and obtain the dog's license number. If you or your horse are seriously injured by a dog, report the injury to park staff or to the District, and if possible remain on the scene. If you must leave the scene to obtain immediate medical treatment, report the incident to the District within 24 hours.
Please know and observe the District's parkland rules that apply to your situation.
