TRAIL ETIQUETTE  -Minnesota Horse Council

• PATIENCE - Have patience on the trails with children, the elderly, handicapped individuals, and puppies.
• ANNOUNCE YOURSELF - When you pass someone on a bicycle or in-line skaters, pass to the left. Slower traffic should stay to the right, and should announce, "Passing left."
• PACK OUT WHAT YOU PACK IN - Plan on carrying your own garbage out with you. There is no budget for maintaining and emptying trail receptacles.
• ANIMAL ETIQUETTE - Pets should be on a six foot least. "Pack out" your pet's waste. Horseback riders should stay off the blacktop path during all four seasons. Horse hooves and droppings disrupt winter skiers and summer bicyclists.
• YIELD - Horses yield to carriages.
• MOVE ASIDE TO CHAT - Move off the trail to converse with friends so you don't block traffic behind or in front of you.
• SINGLE FILE - When someone is approaching you from either direction, single file is advised where necessary.
• SMELL THE ROSES - But not on private property.

CODE OF ETHICS -Minnesota Horse Council

• RESPECT - I will respect the landowners and their property.
• LITTER - I will not litter the land, and will pick up litter along the trails and dispose of it properly.
• BEHAVIOR - I will behave with decorum so as not to endanger the lives of myself, my companions, landowners, pets or livestock. I will avoid becoming a nuisance to the landowners.
• LEGALITIES - I will assume full responsibility for my own welfare and that of my horse when crossing land with the landowner's permission. I will adhere to the rules of the facility.
• ALCOHOL OR DRUGS - I will not ride while intoxicated.
• DOGS - I will not allow a dog to accompany me while riding across private property.
• CROP RESPECT - I will treat landowners crops with respect, not trampling them or allowing my horse to eat them.
• TRAILS - I will ride so that a designated trail will not be made unnecessarily wider.
• WEAPONS - I will not carry or use weapons of any kind.
• RESPONSIBILITY - I will accept full responsibility for the actions of children under the age of 18, and those of my guests.
• PRIVATE TRAILS - I will ride on private trails only in small groups with respect to the landowner.
• MAINTENANCE - I will spend a given number of hours per year helping establish and maintaining trails to which the group has been granted access.
• DAMAGE CONTROL - I will not cut fences, vandalize property, or leave gates other than the way they were found. I will notify the landowner if I discover broken fences or loose livestock and help in any way I can.
• WINTER COURTESY - I will avoid messing ski trails with hoof-prints or droppings. Skiers should leave room for a horse to pass alongside.
• SMOKING - I will be cautious when smoking or building fires.