Today found Max and I doing our usual Saturday morning drill with the Warhorse and Militaria Heritage Foundation. Due to various issues (probably the threat of heat), most of the members didn't show so we have only four riders. After working out for about 30 minutes, we decided to go for a trail ride, mostly around the Ponds and through the forested area in the Eastern Hansen Dam Basin.
While I have ridden this trail before, even at dusk, that's usually been at a walk. However, today we rode a good part of it at the trot and was that a challenge! The biggest issue is watching out for low-lying branches and you have to be ready to duck and flatten yourself onto your hrose's neck at an instant. Being tall at 6'1" also doesn't help and in some places it can really be rough. :-)
Naturally the other horses were all Arabs so Max really had to move out to be able to keep up. Amazingly, we had no issues and Max was very confident and handled the various twists and turns with no problem. Me, the rider, also had no issues but I was feeling like a pretzel by the end of the ride from all the ducking and weaving. :-)
It certainly was a good test for horse and rider and the best part was that we beat most of the heat. It wasn't until I headed home riding up the wash that I began to feel the heat (the wash can sometimes feel like a blast furnace on hot days). When I arrived back at the stables, I calculated that we'd been riding for a good 2 1/2 hours- a pretty respectable workout.
While I have ridden this trail before, even at dusk, that's usually been at a walk. However, today we rode a good part of it at the trot and was that a challenge! The biggest issue is watching out for low-lying branches and you have to be ready to duck and flatten yourself onto your hrose's neck at an instant. Being tall at 6'1" also doesn't help and in some places it can really be rough. :-)
Naturally the other horses were all Arabs so Max really had to move out to be able to keep up. Amazingly, we had no issues and Max was very confident and handled the various twists and turns with no problem. Me, the rider, also had no issues but I was feeling like a pretzel by the end of the ride from all the ducking and weaving. :-)
It certainly was a good test for horse and rider and the best part was that we beat most of the heat. It wasn't until I headed home riding up the wash that I began to feel the heat (the wash can sometimes feel like a blast furnace on hot days). When I arrived back at the stables, I calculated that we'd been riding for a good 2 1/2 hours- a pretty respectable workout.
2 comments:
Sounds like fun! I do miss a good fast trot through the trees - always made me glad that my saddle has no horn!
For a bit, it felt like I was on a ride at Disneyland. :-)
There's a good reason for using an English saddle for trotting under the trees- no worries about getting a horn in the gut. :-)
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