The Curtain Obstacle

Danielle and Ginger at the Canadian Cowboy Challenge (SK), 2015

The curtain is a fun obstacle and very popular.  Curtains can be made with strips of vinyl or pool noodles.  I have made this obstacle with outdoor carpeting, and after being left on the trail for 7 years, the carpeting is still in great shape.

The piece that the strips are suspended on should be strong, solid, secure and quite high, so that if the horse leaps upward they will not hit their head.  I strongly advise against using string or rope as these can get tangled easily or hooked onto your tack – wide strips of medium to heavy weight materials are best.

The best way to introduce a horse to the curtains is on the ground (not mounted on your horse).  You can separate the curtains in the middle and tie half of them to each side. Then, lead your horse through the frame (no curtains hanging).  Depending on your horse’s experience, just walking through the stand might be enough of a challenge in the beginning stage.

You can keep your horse at arms length and move the curtains around as much as possible.  Then, take a strip and let your horse smell it.  Then slowly try to touch your horse’s neck.  If your horse doesn’t like this, don’t rush her.  The movement of the strips is something that is very unnatural to the horse and they need time to adjust to this, especially if it is windy.

Once your horse is comfortable with walking through the frame, you can let one of the strips that are close to one side of the frame down and lead your horse through the frame again.  Continue in this manner and eventually, your horse will part the curtain with their nose/head and walk calmly through.

Task:

Walk through the curtain calmly, at a steady speed.

Common Mistakes:

Bolting through the curtain.

Materials:

Custom made curtain stand (or overhead extension arm) with hanging strips of material or pool noodles (string, twine, ropes are not recommended).