Riding-wise, last Sunday found me at loose ends with nothing scheduled. Well, as luck would have it, three of my friends were getting ready to head off on a trail ride so they were nice to wait while I quickly tacked up Max.
It was an overcast but pleasant morning so we decided to ride up to the sheep pens and then over to an old abandoned eventing course located just to the west of the sheep pens. Since we've ridden together quite a bit and the horses know each other, we decided to move out at a trot (consistent with common-sense regard for safety). While most people associate walking with trail riding, you can also use other gaits and in fact, I prefer to trot a good part of the time, if I can, while on the trail- the idea of walking for four or more hours is not appealing- I have to mix it up (Max also likes it).
While riding, we made use of the situation to hone our trail riding skills and especially in changing up each of the horse's positions in the file- this can often be a problem if a horse doesn't like being in the rear or middle of the file. Max did very well here and actually, all the horses did well- but they're used to it.
We finally arrived at the sheep pens and after allowing the horses a small break, we proceeded to check out the old eventing course. The trail connecting the various obstacles was to a great degree over-grown but it wasn't bad. Apparently this course used to be used by Middle Ranch but they opted to stop leasing the land for the course when the price of liability insurance went up. Since then the course has never been used and it's just lapsed back into a wild state.
It was interesting following the course and I could just imagine what it used to be like when it was in use...and I can imagine just how dangerous. There were some pretty extreme jumps and landings- stuff I'd never attempt with Max (or with any other horse, call me a wimp).
After following the course, we made our way back to the stables. One the way back, Max naturally got a bit more forceful about wanting to move out fast for home, regardless of the other horses but that was dealt with pretty quickly. Overall, an excellent trail ride.
It was an overcast but pleasant morning so we decided to ride up to the sheep pens and then over to an old abandoned eventing course located just to the west of the sheep pens. Since we've ridden together quite a bit and the horses know each other, we decided to move out at a trot (consistent with common-sense regard for safety). While most people associate walking with trail riding, you can also use other gaits and in fact, I prefer to trot a good part of the time, if I can, while on the trail- the idea of walking for four or more hours is not appealing- I have to mix it up (Max also likes it).
While riding, we made use of the situation to hone our trail riding skills and especially in changing up each of the horse's positions in the file- this can often be a problem if a horse doesn't like being in the rear or middle of the file. Max did very well here and actually, all the horses did well- but they're used to it.
We finally arrived at the sheep pens and after allowing the horses a small break, we proceeded to check out the old eventing course. The trail connecting the various obstacles was to a great degree over-grown but it wasn't bad. Apparently this course used to be used by Middle Ranch but they opted to stop leasing the land for the course when the price of liability insurance went up. Since then the course has never been used and it's just lapsed back into a wild state.
It was interesting following the course and I could just imagine what it used to be like when it was in use...and I can imagine just how dangerous. There were some pretty extreme jumps and landings- stuff I'd never attempt with Max (or with any other horse, call me a wimp).
After following the course, we made our way back to the stables. One the way back, Max naturally got a bit more forceful about wanting to move out fast for home, regardless of the other horses but that was dealt with pretty quickly. Overall, an excellent trail ride.
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