5 Things to Do if You Get Lost in the Wilderness While Trail Riding

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Trail riding usually offers great adventure with beautiful sunrises and sunsets and a glimpse of wild animals in their natural habitats. However, just like any adventure, risks may come and the great adventure can go awry. Getting lost on your trail is one of the biggest risks.

Here are a few things that you should do if you get lost with your horse.

Stay put and calm

It is easy for you to get lost on a ride, especially on paths that you have never trodden before. With just a little fog, you may find yourself in another path or an engaging conversation can also lead you astray. You should not panic but stop, think, observe, and then plan. These simple steps will enable you to stay on track and return back to the camp on time.

Stop moving forward

If you do not know exactly where you are, then you definitely have no idea where you are headed. You should consider retracing your previous steps instead of going forward. This will help you to backtrack to a place where you know. You can also follow any visible footsteps in the snow, sand, or dirt. Carefully retracing your steps will eventually lead you home or to a familiar spot.

Always look ahead

Whenever you are riding your horse on the trail or on one of the biggest events of the year, you should always look straight ahead. Most people tend to get lost when they let their eyes wander away, get deep in thought, or keep on admiring their horse and forget that they are the ones guiding the horse. You are the one leading the horse in the right direction and you should always stay alert to avoid any problem.

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Avoid shortcuts

Do not leave the trail to cut cross-country in an attempt to take a shortcut. Usually, terrain difficulties and deviations are never fully visible and a shortcut may not be ideal after all. If you decide to leave the trail, make sure that you can retrace your steps back especially if you find undesirable or dangerous terrains. You do not want to add more risk to a situation that is already risky.

Triangulate your current location

You can triangulate your location if you have a good view of the terrain, compass and a map. After locating yourself on the map, you can easily plan yourself and get back to your intended route. Make sure you do this by retracing your steps instead of taking a new route and a compass can help to guide you back.

Avoid splitting the group

If you are lost as a group, you should never split the group. This is because working together and pooling your resources is much easier and safer than splitting yourselves into smaller groups or opting to go solo. The only exception is if a member of the group is unable to move and incapacitated. Depending on the situation that you are currently facing, you may have to leave somebody alone so that you can find the needed emergency assistance.

When lost in a group, you should ensure that you work together. You can easily find your way by creating a search system for people to explore out and find the last known location. However, you must ensure that you stay in constant visual and voice contact with each other. This technique will ensure that your team is able to search a bigger area than you would have accomplished if you were alone while keeping everyone safely together.