# Downed trees blocking trails



## hberrie (Apr 28, 2012)

What do you do if you are following a trail and there is a tree blocking the way and no way to go around? The last time I tried to jump a fallen tree in a western saddle I ended up wrapped around my horses neck on the landing. I am not a good jumper, but I hate having to turn around. i know this is a stupid question, but I was just wondering if everyone else would jump it or turn around and take a different route?


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## cakemom (Jul 4, 2010)

If it were jump able I'd go for it, or get down and lead the horse to jump it in hand.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## PaintHorseMares (Apr 19, 2008)

Typically we would jump it. You're right to be careful, though, as many horses that are not used to jumping will jump a tree trunk like it's 10' tall and give you a big jolt.
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## DancingArabian (Jul 15, 2011)

Depends on how big it is and who Im with. Alone I'd jump iit. However I really doubt you're crossing anything 3' tall. Probably not even 2' tall. I'd make my horse wall over it if I'm with people in western saddles. Those horns can jab you pretty good and I wouldn't want to force that "fun" on someone! Your horse should be able to walk over an obstacle without defaulting to jumping.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Endiku (Dec 6, 2010)

If I can, I'll ride my horse at a walk over it. Thats the first option. Most of our animals will confidently step over anything a few inches lower than their belly. Sometimes I'll dismount and let them creep over it without my added weight. If its too tall, and I'm confident that I can jump it- I will- but I do not jump as a rule very often (western rider) and will advoid it if at all possible.


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## NorthernMama (Mar 12, 2008)

I rarely jump on the trails because there are too many unknowns on my trails. Footing changes from day to day and what if an animal decided to make a burrow right where my horse is going to land? Nah, no jumping for me. If it's too tall for my horse to walk over and too big to move either on or off the horse, I will find a way around. Look harder for a way around. Unless there are cliffs on both sides, there's just gotta be a way!  

I sometimes go on trails where the downed trees never seem to get moved, so instead the trail gets moved around them!


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## gunslinger (Sep 17, 2011)

The Cohutta wilderness area combined with the Big Frog Wilderness area makes up the largest wilderness east of the Mississippi river. While the mountains are not nearly as high as out west, they are steep.

My wife and I ride a lot in the rugged southern Appalachian mountains and on one occasion we had a tree that was across the trail and cliffs on both sides.

A 12 mile ride turned into a 22 mile ride, as we rode the same way out rather than making the loop and we got back right at dark.

We take small hand saws, but this tree was huge. 

Every time we ride in the wilderness, we take enough equipment to be comfortable should we need to spend the night.

So, yes, it can happen, and in fact, has happened to me.


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## Amlalriiee (Feb 22, 2010)

assuming you can't just step over it or around it, I would get off and try to move it. (You'd be amazed how easily you can unblock a trail sometimes just by picking up one end and swinging it around to the side) If its not budging, I blaze a path around it. That can be hard here as the Maine woods are very thick in parts and it can be hard to fit through anywhere that is not directly trail. Sometimes I get off and walk her for that part so that I can move things out of the way and not worry about losing a knee cap on a tree.


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## NorthernMama (Mar 12, 2008)

gunslinger said:


> cliffs on both sides.


Yup, them nasty dual-sided cliff trails must be a real downer. :lol: I don't have those around here!


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

My trail horse was a big stout horse which I rode with a roping saddle. I always carried a rope for just such occasions. Carried one in the truck too as sometimes trees were across the main road.


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

I love jumping downed trees on the trail, I ride english mostly and those trees are usually the perfect little jumps. The ones I hate are the trees that fall & get hung up on another tree making it unjumpable & unduckable. I have to go around through the bush!


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## Celeste (Jul 3, 2011)

We usually can go around if it is stuck so that it is sitting too high to jump. I don't mind jumping a little log even in a western saddle if my horse will do it. She sometimes is suspicious that there is a monster there.....
Eventually she will go over it if she can look it over for ghosts and goblins.
I would probably have a heart attack if there were cliffs on both sides.........


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## Painted Horse (Dec 29, 2006)

Apparently you guys don't ride out west. Blowdowns are part of life.

I carry a Fiskar saw with me so I can cut out 8" or smaller trees. On pack trips, I carry an axe or a cross buck saw, So I can cut out the larger diameter trees. The Forest Service has trail crews that clear trails. But they just don't get down the trails often enough to keep them cleared. With all the beetle kill, and Fire killedc trees, there are many many dead trees and any wind blows them over.


I've run into some Ponderosa Pines laying across the trail on very very steep hillsides. No going around these trees on those steep hill sides and when you have a 3' in diameter tree with branches holding it additional foot or two in the air, Making a 4-5' tall jump, There is no option except to cut it out or turn around.

When I get into the Pick-up-stick area of blow down trees we often get off and lead the horses through the tangle


















When the beetles kills large section of forest like this, You just know that good strong wind will lay down a enough trees to block any trail









But even worse are winter avalanches. The snow breaks off trees and carries them down hill and deposit them in large tangles. If that tangle ends up on top of a trail, It can take a week witha chain saw to clear the debris.


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## Darrin (Jul 11, 2011)

If I can the horse and I step over the tree (no jumping) we step over it. If stepping over doesnt' isn't doable I ride around the tree. If that isn't doable I get off and lead them around the tree. That doesn't work? It's time to turn around.

I do carry a small saw for limbs and small trees but just to **** much workf or bigger trees.


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

I live in the richest forest region in the world, I have the same terrain as you Painted Horse, except more trees & yours are skinnier. I see you have beetle kill pine as well, ours is all gone now, that is your blow down.


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## hberrie (Apr 28, 2012)

Well this particular tree was probably 2 ft diameter and about 6 inches above the ground. It would have been a great jump for xcountry but I don't like to jump in a western saddle so I turned around. I am glad that so many people responded because I was close to home and could easily turn back or take a detour, but my mind started thinking about those long rides where there is no other option but to go over it or around it. A hand saw couldn't have cut through this baby. It is in a county park...do you think I could call the m and ask to have it cut through?


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## Painted Horse (Dec 29, 2006)

You can call the agency responsible and hope they have budget to get out and clear it.

I often take a chain saw and spend a day clearing my favorite trails. If I don't they well soon be over grown. Many of the government agencies just don't have the budgets to take care of this kind of problem, They would be happy if some of the lessor used trails just disappeared.

Yes we have a lot of beetle killed trees and in some areas wildfires have killed and left a lot of trees standing that eventually fall over in strong winds


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## Darrin (Jul 11, 2011)

Yeah, I've been on several trail clearing rides. You do those with a different mindset, it's not about getting from point A to B. They are about clearing trail and you make it as far as you make it.

Problem is the trail with most issues are in wilderness areas so it's all by hand, no chansaws allowed.


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## Painted Horse (Dec 29, 2006)

Bring a good cross cut bow saw for the wilderness area.
But that is definitely a work out


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## NorthernMama (Mar 12, 2008)

Painted horse - that blow down looks like a lot of areas in my bush. But instead of ponderosa pine, it's all black spruce here which also has a million branches all over it. My horse just bulldozes her way over most of them. We have a lot more undergrowth too, which makes can make it treacherous for underground springs, run off holes and so forth.

Almost all of my rides are trail clearing rides, unless I ride the roads. Even if there isn't something directly across the trail, I'm usually trimming as I go. I missed going on my trails for about a month earlier this year and I actually couldn't find my trail when I finally got out again!


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## Painted Horse (Dec 29, 2006)

The trees in the photos are all Lodgepole Pines which are much smaller than the Ponderosa Pines. The Lodgepole are found in the Alpine region, Ponderosa are a Sub-Alpine, meaning they are found at lower elevations. I see the Ponderrosa in the 5000 to 8000 foot elevations. We see the Lodgepole pines and Elgin Spruce above 8000 foot.

Ponderosas can be a very large tree. With trunks often bigger than 3' in diameter. When they are down and across the trail, They are a formible obsticle. The Lodgepole Pines are very straight, but they don't often get more than 12" in diameter.

Of course the new growth coming back in after the fire is Quaking Aspin. The fire removes the mature forest of pines and Quakies quickly bring new growth back into the area.


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## cowboy bowhunter (Mar 15, 2012)

I would have the horse go over the tree. Or way around it. I like taking my horses off roading. Where it is hard for them to get through makes them think.


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## phoenix (Jun 7, 2010)

I had to deal with this a few weekends ago, big wind storm knocked down loads of trees on the trail. There was only 1 place we couldn't get through so we had to deviate and go on the road but all of the other trees were crossed. We climbed over, jumped a little and climbed through. Phoenix didn't care at all and was happy to steal bits of tree for a snack as we passed through.


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## DancingArabian (Jul 15, 2011)

Found many downed trees yesterday! My husband was attempting to trail run as I ride but the poor guy worked himself too hard and ended up trail walking, LOL. I got off and walked along with - horse was having fun. Ended up manually moving what we could and whatever we couldn't move, we cleared out the space in front and back so peoPle could either have their horses step over or jump safely.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Spirit Lifter (Apr 23, 2012)

I live in the tallest, longest standing timber forest in the nation so our downed trees are well over 3 feet and hundreds of feet in length. My first time we had a straight up hill over holes and boulders and smaller fallen trees to avoid a huge fallen tree on the trail. I was SO relieved to have made it to the top! But that quickly went away when I was told that now we had to go back DOWNHILL on the other side of the fallen tree. Downhill was way scarier...it was so steep! Everyone was fine.


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## Amlalriiee (Feb 22, 2010)

painted horse: at least the area to either side seems to allow you around most of them...at least in those pictures! I get stuck in the thick woods here all the time with no way to squeeze between two trees and get around some that have fallen. Sometimes it means going way out around and finding a path through the woods that could take half an hour to loop back...and then its nice if there are enough of us so that one can crawl over and yell from the other end and one stay behind with horses while someone tries to find a path so that nobody gets lost!


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## Amlalriiee (Feb 22, 2010)

sadly I never took pictures of places I got stuck. But here are some of the trees. If you imagine a pile of them down in the middle where the trail is cleared you can imagine a predicament  Especially on a narrow trail. 























This last one is titled "finally out of the woods" in the album from the ride that this was taken on.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Thankfully, I don't live in an area that is as thickly populated by trees as many of you guys seem to.

What I do on a trail when I come to a downed tree greatly depends on what the individual circumstances are; how tall the tree is, how wide a spot in the trail it is covering, which horse I'm riding, whether or not there is another safe way around, etc.

One thing I'll sometimes do that I haven't seen mentioned if the tree is too large for me to move myself, I'll put a rope around it and dally to my saddle horn and then have the horse move the tree for me.

BUT, I ride in a ranch saddle tough enough for roping and most my horses are broke to the rope and to pulling.


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