# 2020 Trail Rides



## ChasingDreams

Thought I’d go ahead and start the thread for the new year! I saw a couple rides posted today in the 2019 ride thread, so hopefully they can be cross-posted here as well.

Any special riding goals this year for anyone? My only goal is to ride a higher number of miles then last year   Even if it’s only a mile or two more... I’ll take what I can get!


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## ChasingDreams

For the third year in a row, I was able to ride on January 1st! I’m happy for my new tradition 

It was sunny, around 40F. Very, very windy so Chase was on high alert most of the ride. Though, I felt like even with his not so great moments were better than they were our last solo ride, so I’m not too upset about it. We made it through it all without having to dismount. 

The only pictures I really took were around the evergreens. Everything else is pretty desolate looking this time of year 


















We did the front field twice: once at the start, and again at the end. The first lap, there were a couple of guys flying a drone... and dogs barking... and we were less than graceful jigging and side-passing along the driveway to get past. The later lap was much better sans drone, and I was able to insist he stay on the driveway and walk forward like a normal horse. 

We also had a little “moment” near the stream, not his favorite place on a good day... but the wind was making the bamboo creak and groan like mad- it was even a little eerie to my human ears, so I know it was freaking him out. But, after some persistent urging... he made it through.

Total 2020 miles~ 4.88


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## ChasingDreams

Link to 2019 rides thread: 
2019 rides! Happy trails
https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink/to...php?p=1970656711&share_type=t&link_source=app


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## AnitaAnne

And so a new year begins!! 2020 We are ready 

Was cold last night, down to 29F so I waited until it was 40F to ride. It quickly warmed up once the sun came out. 

I got in a 30 minute ride on Chivas today, mostly walking with some slow gaiting. We are both totally out of riding shape! Just stayed in the pasture, then ride got suddenly cut short when the fireworks began again. The big boom had Chivas flinging his head and me jumping off. Or maybe flopping off would be more accurate :rofl: 


So we worked on ground stuff for a while, standing at mounting block while I climb up the stairs. He seemed ok, so maybe tomorrow will try mounting from it. 


Going to just track hours until such time as I do some real trails and know the actual miles. 


1-1-20 30 minutes


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## Saigold

*Trail Riding 2020!!!*

Didn’t see anyone start a thread yet. So here goes...

Rode Duke solo today for 7.1km. We got fresh snow and Duke was all excited before we even started tacking up. Our older guy was eating his grain just outside the barn and Duke was worried that he couldn’t see him. So it took some effort to tack up as he kept trying to move around. Then the saddle seemed to be sitting way too far back and it was a pain trying to get it in the proper position with the western pad and a hi viz English pad (we have yet to acquire proper hi viz gear) and me in snow pants and really starting to sweat. It was a balmy -2C. When all was said and done it took 45 min to groom and fiddle with the tack fit before I actually mounted up. Then as I was about to get going I remembered I brought a sheepskin rug to try as a seat saver. So off we go to the house. 
Once we finally started the ride, Duke seemed to be on edge for the majority of it. Doesn’t surprise me, as there were a TON of coyote tracks and deer tracks criss crossing whichever way and the 3-4” of new snow. I had our GSD with us who likes to circle us and ‘talk’ A lot. Every time Duke would balk or sidestep a bit, Kody would be right there woofing or letting out barks. The horses don’t care about the dog, lucky for him. So he doesn’t get kicked unless it’s by accidental bump. 

I was planning to have a leisurely ride. Well it turned out to be more of a working ride. Duke kept trying to turn back home and was speeding up without being asked. At one point he broke into a fast canter while walking on soft ground. I was riding with a halter over the bridle and reins attached to it, but after he failed to slow down at all I grabbed the reins and was able to get him to gear down. That earned him work. We did Up and down transitions and circles and figure 8 s throughout the ride. In general he’s pretty mellow and does respond well. But the wind up his hiney was messing with his head and Montana who was screaming for him from the pasture back home was not making him concentrate any better. He never whinnied back though. I’m happy for that. 

We took the long way around the neighbors field and explored a few nooks and crannies of some wooded spots. At this time some other neighbor on the opposite started letting off rounds of shotgun? Pretty loud but it didn’t seem to add to Dukes uneasiness. I counted 8-9 shots total. Just in case though I decided to not be on high ground and we headed home. 

Overall it was a good ride. Hope next time he’ll be a bit easier though. The sheepskin did good except that it kept trying to move out of place during transitions. So need to puts some ties on it and secure it next time. I felt nice and cushy though. 

The only wildlife we seen was a hawk. I wonder how many animals were watching us though. Let after the ride when it got dark I could hear a whole chorus of coyotes pretty close to us. An eerie sound. 

Happy trails.


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## AnitaAnne

It is started, here is the link

https://www.horseforum.com/trail-riding/2020-trail-rides--810921/


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## waresbear

We had a severe snowstorm last night. I thought great when I wake up, it will be over and I will start the new year off right by going for a trail ride. Up and down the road which is fine, it's a couple of miles. I work graveyard last night, I woke up at 1 p.m., it's raining!!! But I am glad you got out Saigold, looking good!


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## Saigold

Oops didn’t see it. Can the two threads be merged?


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## Celeste

Can we somehow get these two threads combined?


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## rambo99

@AnitaAnne too funny about your ride and having to jump off. Or as you said flopping off.😂 

No riding here yet for 2020. I'm just lucky to still have my boy ice,so am greatful for that. 

It will be a while before I can ride ice again ,only hand walking for now. Some day I will tell what happened,and how ice almost died Sunday night.
Greatful for an awesome vet ,who was here in 15 minutes. 

I'll be lurking here enjoying the awesome pictures of everyone else's rides. 

Happy trails to all for 2020. 🐴


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## Celeste

I also got out for a short ride today. It was cold but the sky was beautiful.


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## Saigold

Didn’t see anyone start a thread yet. So here goes...
Rode Duke solo today for 7.1km. We got fresh snow and Duke was all excited before we even started tacking up. Our older guy was eating his grain just outside the barn and Duke was worried that he couldn’t see him. So it took some effort to tack up as he kept trying to move around. Then the saddle seemed to be sitting way too far back and it was a pain trying to get it in the proper position with the western pad and a hi viz English pad (we have yet to acquire proper hi viz gear) and me in snow pants and really starting to sweat. It was a balmy -2C. When all was said and done it took 45 min to groom and fiddle with the tack fit before I actually mounted up. Then as I was about to get going I remembered I brought a sheepskin rug to try as a seat saver. So off we go to the house. Once we finally started the ride, Duke seemed to be on edge for the majority of it. Doesn’t surprise me, as there were a TON of coyote tracks and deer tracks criss crossing whichever way and the 3-4” of new snow. I had our GSD with us who likes to circle us and ‘talk’ A lot. Every time Duke would balk or sidestep a bit, Kody would be right there woofing or letting out barks. The horses don’t care about the dog, lucky for him. So he doesn’t get kicked unless it’s by accidental bump. 
I was planning to have a leisurely ride. Well it turned out to be more of a working ride. Duke kept trying to turn back home and was speeding up without being asked. At one point he broke into a fast canter while walking on soft ground. I was riding with a halter over the bridle and reins attached to it, but after he failed to slow down at all I grabbed the reins and was able to get him to gear down. That earned him work. We did Up and down transitions and circles and figure 8 s throughout the ride. In general he’s pretty mellow and does respond well. But the wind up his hiney was messing with his head and Montana who was screaming for him from the pasture back home was not making him concentrate any better. He never whinnied back though. I’m happy for that. 
We took the long way around the neighbors field and explored a few nooks and crannies of some wooded spots. At this time some other neighbor on the opposite started letting off rounds of shotgun? Pretty loud but it didn’t seem to add to Dukes uneasiness. I counted 8-9 shots total. Just in case though I decided to not be on high ground and we headed home. 
Overall it was a good ride. Hope next time he’ll be a bit easier though. The sheepskin did good except that it kept trying to move out of place during transitions. So need to puts some ties on it and secure it next time. I felt nice and cushy though. 
The only wildlife we seen was a hawk. I wonder how many animals were watching us though. Let after the ride when it got dark I could hear a whole chorus of coyotes pretty close to us. An eerie sound. 
Happy trails.


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## Saigold

I moved my post to the other thread. If @waresbear moves their. We can delete this one?


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## Celeste

Our fantastic moderators merged the thread!


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## AnitaAnne

rambo99 said:


> @AnitaAnne too funny about your ride and having to jump off. Or as you said flopping off.😂
> 
> No riding here yet for 2020. I'm just lucky to still have my boy ice,so am greatful for that.
> 
> It will be a while before I can ride ice again ,only hand walking for now. Some day I will tell what happened,and how ice almost died Sunday night.
> Greatful for an awesome vet ,who was here in 15 minutes.
> 
> I'll be lurking here enjoying the awesome pictures of everyone else's rides.
> 
> Happy trails to all for 2020. 🐴


Grateful you have another day with the beautiful boy Ice :hug: hopefully you can get some sleep tonight


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## ChasingDreams

@Saigold beautiful snow pictures! I’m jealous, although, I love riding in fresh snow but hate the icy mess that comes after around here. We have freeze and thaw cycles all winter.


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## Saigold

@ChasingDreams thanks. Went from nothing to fluffy white mostly overnight. We get a lot of freeze/thaw as well. All this snow was supposed to be freezing rain. But we got lucky. The horse gods wanted me to get a New Years ride in!


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## Saigold

@ChasingDreams my goal for riding this year is to be able to continue riding 2-3times/week. I’ve had horses since 2003, and only this past month that I have been able to keep up with riding this much.


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## ChasingDreams

I thought of another goal for myself... to have my phone charged and properly track every ride in my app. Not that I care all that much, but I like statistics and looking back at my activity over time. The app has so many cool features that I wasn’t able to use last year because I didn’t log my rides properly so often.


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## SwissMiss

Had a rather interesting ride yesterday. Raya was still cranked up from the fireworks the night before, but I thought a nice ride would help her letting off some steam...
Prancy, looky horse while saddling up, but she stood like a rock for mounting... Other riders were still getting ready, so I took her to the pasture besides the barn to ride some rounds... And of course at exactly that moment someone decided they have some more fireworks to get rid of  I am very proud of Raya that she didn't lose it right then and there! Jumpy and tightly wound up, but she held it together reasonably well... 

BO had friends over, and 2 of them (absolute beginners) joined us on our ride. So it was going to be a (hopefully) very quiet ride :Angel: Raya and I took over the back, to help look out for the two guests, but I don't think Raya walked more than a few steps. Tossing her head and wanting to GO!
Unfortunately at the first ditch crossing the rider on the big mustang mare lost his balance (round horse + loss of balance = free slide off)… Luckily he wasn't hurt, but the mare took off :gallop: And Raya _really_ wanted to follow - her boss was running off, so she should follow, right? But I could convince her to stand and wait... Not relaxed, but her feet were still :wink:
After catching the other horse we continued the ride without incident. Except I was trying to tame the fire-breathing dragon I was riding. One time she got awfully light in the front, and the BO asked me what I was doing, as it looked like a Piaffe :rofl: Not intentionally, for sure!
Slogging through the slippery mud made her antics even more fun, but she never got even tired! And the mud flying on her croup apparently told her to speed up more :rofl: One ditch (that is normally completely dry) I underestimated a bit. Guessing it about to be knee deep, we apparently found a hole and suddenly my feet were wet  At least it washed some of the mud off! :biggrin:

But everyone survived the ride and I was so proud of Raya. She never relaxed throughout the whole ride, but she kept it together and did her best to listen 
No pictures, as I was way too busy riding :rofl:


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## cbar

@rambo99, that is really scary sounding about Ice - but glad that he is doing better and you are able to sleep easy. 

I guess I logged a bit of riding time yesterday on New Year's Day - but it was all in the arena. I am hoping to keep better track of my trail miles this year for both horses. I am optimistic we will log a lot as I am really hoping to be able to do CTR/endurance events on both my horses - should be interesting introducing my mare to that world. A friend of mine hosts her endurance ride in May and is offering shorter distances - so I'm hoping Amber & I can get her feet wet by trying the 12 mile ride and building from that. 

We got a bunch of fresh snow last night and temps are very mild (-4celsius this morning)...but sadly I will not have time to ride after work as I have to go pick up more hay. I think things start to cool off greatly, so no idea when the next ride will be


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## AtokaGhosthorse

Don't have a Between the Ears shot, but we did ride yesterday at Platter Flats. My boss laughed at me when he found out on Tuesday we were going Wednesday. Said it'll be cold, the horses will be acting fresh and hyped up... Have FUN with that!


Nah! They were upstanding, polite, good citizens. I had a few of my usual issues with Trigger - nothing to discipline him over, just stuff to make mental notes to work on next ride, but otherwise, he was a peach.


Picture is from While we Wait - because I always beat T and her daughter to any trail system. LOL And while we waited, I wormed him and he got lots of snacks and praise. He was mid step toward me in the picture, and had he not been tied to the trailer, he'd have followed me around like a pup... all because he knows I keep snacks in the pockets of my hoodies.  I explained that because his body + saddle looks weird, but it really was the angle and the way he was moving when I snapped it. LOL


Anyway. Rode 2 hours in, 2 out. The weather was chilly... it was actually lower 50s, but very humid and had a scalding wind coming off the water of Lake Texoma, so unless you were deep in the woods, it just ate through to your bones. Fired up my Coleman stove when we got back to the trailers, had frito chili pies, and afterwards, hot cocoa, loaded up and came home.


It was a good day - no one got hurt.


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## AnitaAnne

@SwissMiss that was quite an adventure! That girth! Solid MUD! Yikes!! 

Hope the rest of the year you have some slightly calmer rides; we need pictures :rofl: Maybe time for a GoPro :smile:

@AtokaGhosthorse Trigger looks so much more relaxed from when you first got him. Notice how soft his eye looks now? :smile:


Snack at end sounds yummy! 


I will not be able to ride today, got up late (7 am) and the rain was already here :sad:


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## AtokaGhosthorse

AnitaAnne said:


> @*AtokaGhosthorse* Trigger looks so much more relaxed from when you first got him. Notice how soft his eye looks now? :smile:
> 
> 
> Snack at end sounds yummy!



Thank you so much! He really has 'unwound' emotionally - I've had to reverse engineer him to re-teach him. It started with snacks as bribes, progressed to gentle, low key praise and physical affection, plus snack as rewards for the most basic of things - coming to me rather than running away, accepting a halter without losing his noodle, etc... to praise and affection for basic things, but no snacks, and praise+snacks+affection for the next stage (Not walking off while I only have one foot in the stirrup, stopping when asked on the trail, etc.)


We still have a lot of work to do, but I guess you never really quite stop working on things, either for yourself or the horse, do you?


But I digress even more - last time we camped, he made a new friend. A spastic 8 year old girl. He went to sleep with his head on her shoulder, and he approached her first, no snack needed.


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## AnitaAnne

AtokaGhosthorse said:


> Thank you so much! He really has 'unwound' emotionally - I've had to reverse engineer him to re-teach him. It started with snacks as bribes, progressed to gentle, low key praise and physical affection, plus snack as rewards for the most basic of things - coming to me rather than running away, accepting a halter without losing his noodle, etc... to praise and affection for basic things, but no snacks, and praise+snacks+affection for the next stage (Not walking off while I only have one foot in the stirrup, stopping when asked on the trail, etc.)
> 
> 
> We still have a lot of work to do, but I guess you never really quite stop working on things, either for yourself or the horse, do you?
> 
> 
> But I digress even more - last time we camped, he made a new friend. A spastic 8 year old girl. He went to sleep with his head on her shoulder, and he approached her first, no snack needed.



YAY! You have described my method for retraining horses quite accurately!! A big dose of TLC


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## AtokaGhosthorse

AnitaAnne said:


> YAY! You have described my method for retraining horses quite accurately!! A big dose of TLC



And in his case, I had to earn... I mean _earn_... his trust before he would listen to me. Without him trusting me, he'd have never respected me.


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## AnitaAnne

AtokaGhosthorse said:


> And in his case, I had to earn... I mean _earn_... his trust before he would listen to me. Without him trusting me, he'd have never respected me.


The best ones are worth it. But I am cautious anymore of the word "respect" with horses...I am thinking it is more a matter of they want to please us, because they love us. But I am just a big softy too...


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## PoptartShop

Yay for a new thread!  

I hope I can post in here more than I did last year, because I am planning on doing more trails this year! Hoping to do longer distances too. 

I wanted to go on a trail yesterday, but the ground was sooo mushy/muddy from the rain the past few days. :icon_rolleyes: Supposed to rain tomorrow & Saturday too. Ugh! 

So jelly of everyone that got a New Years ride in!


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## Celeste

It poured rain all day today. 50 degrees Fahrenheit and raining. That is not fun weather. 

I understand what @SwissMiss means by mud. I was just wondering? What is this snow stuff people keep mentioning? 

I am really really OCD about keeping up with my miles. I know exactly how long each trail around here that I ride is. I also take my Garmin with me most of the time. I put my miles into a spreadsheet that tabulates all of the mileage by month and then also adds it up by year. If anyone wants a copy of the spreadsheet (Excel), just PM me your email address and I will be glad to share the template that I have.


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## Change

No ride yesterday, and rain (and work) today and tomorrow. Saturday will be snot slick mud. Maybe Sunday? I met a young lady yesterday who knows how to ride but has no horse. I've invited her out to see if she really does or is just saying so. If she's competent, I may have found a riding buddy that will get my butt in the saddle more often AND get both horses back in condition. Plus, she's young so may be willing to trade chores for rides, saving my back from some of the heavy lifting! 😊


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## phantomhorse13

I got my first rides of the new year today!







The whole story is in my journal.

I started off with George: 



















Then, I went over to ride with Nicole. I rode Tegan:


















2020 mileage
1/2 george 5.46 miles 617 ft climb 5.2 mph 28F 5.46 total miles
1/2 tegan 4.71 miles 335 ft climb 4.2 mph 36F *10.17 total miles*


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## ChasingDreams

I was ahead of you in miles for one whole day @phantomhorse13 lol

I kid, I kid... I so look forward to all your posts and different cute ear pics this year 


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## Janet Cherry

*First rides on the Southern tip*

It is very hot here, on the South coast of Africa, but not on fire as in SE Australia, thank goodness.......New Year's day ride with three friends, we tried to set out early to beat the heat, but it caught us at 9am. We don't ride on the beach over Christmas and New Year, it is too busy - there is a tradition of going to the beach on New Years Day, and the beaches are literally packed with people. Not good for horses! So our little group rode the 'Ladies Mile' (a favourite picnic place but no picnic on this ride). A 16 km ride (just under 10 miles), with a long fast canter down the Ladies Mile. Nobi rather lively as he has been on holiday for a week while I was in Cape Town, and his competitive spirit wanted to keep up with the bigger horse in the lead - but no incidents. I was very pleased with him and then as we got home he did a big spook in front of the gate, for no reason that I could fathom. 

2 January - second ride of the year - this time with Kath and Delilah, who now lives down the road at another yard where there is (a little) more grazing. Lovely to ride with Kath again, Nobi likes going in front of Delilah, and we did a few of the little jumps. We rode up the pipeline to the lookout point where we did a photo shoot to celebrate the new year. 14 km ride. 

3 January - today - rode third day in a row (!!!) getting the most out of the holidays. We were hoping desperately for rain, so arranged to ride at 8 am, and we did entice a drizzle of rain from the rain gods, but didn't manage to provoke a downpour. I rode Nobi along to a friend's stable and tried out her treeless saddle (a Barrydale Barefoot) which was very comfortable - Nobi seemed happy in it and there is a second hand one for sale in this area, so I will try that out tomorrow. We rode behind the same big bay again, and did some little jumps, obstacles like a low bank and a ditch, with no problem. Nobi was very well behaved, despite being behind the big bay, and having a strange saddle on; we did a couple of lovely canters up the hills. 

New year's resolution: Ride MORE! (Same as last years....)


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## egrogan

We had a glorious winter day yesterday and I just couldn't resist going out. The footing on the roads was sketchy so we stayed on them as little as possible in favor of the fields. Because we had ice at the beginning of the week, followed by snow the past two days, the fields were a bit difficult to navigate too- top layer was good snow, but only a few inches so you would quickly crunch down through the sharp icy layer. That gets pretty hard on a horse but we just took it slow and kept it a very short ride. Even with the questionable footing, Fizz was thrilled to be out. She could hardly wait for the turnoff from the road to one of our favorite fields to ride. She wanted to trot along but that was pretty hard so after struggling to crunch through the snow a few strides she was content to walk.


























*Total 2020 miles: 1.2 *<-- that seems like such a silly number to write! 

My lovely husband helpfully informed me that I only need 312.4 more miles to beat my 2019 total :rofl: But hey, we start where we start! Last year I barely rode 10 miles between January and May because of the awful winter and spring weather we had, so January rides feel like a gift. Hoping to get out again today- the road is icy now but it should be 40*F/4*C by this afternoon so hopefully it will be slush, not ice.


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## AnitaAnne

Change said:


> No ride yesterday, and rain (and work) today and tomorrow. Saturday will be snot slick mud. Maybe Sunday? I met a young lady yesterday who knows how to ride but has no horse. I've invited her out to see if she really does or is just saying so. If she's competent, I may have found a riding buddy that will get my butt in the saddle more often AND get both horses back in condition. Plus, she's young so may be willing to trade chores for rides, saving my back from some of the heavy lifting! 😊


That will be a win-win situation for you!!


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## whisperbaby22

Thought I'd start the year out with this picturesque log I saw today.


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## Saigold

Logged 8km today. A much better ride than the last one. Duke was so much more relaxed. Most of the snow we got is gone and it was +6C. 

We explored another area (unfenced part of a neighbour's place) where I haven’t been in a long time. And came upon a ‘loose horse’. Didn’t want to get too close, especially that I had Kody with me, and didn’t want to spook the horse or acquire a tail. Since where I came from it’s all open and there’s also access to a side road. So we turned around and left that area. I have ‘loose’ in quotes as these neighbors do let their horses/cattle out in this area and don’t worry about them leaving the property. 
We walked most of the ride but did some trot and canter. The only hiccup was when I asked Duke to canter, he slowed to a trot and I asked him again and he kind of threw his head, pinned his ears and just showed his displeasure. I’m not sure if he did that because of my request or because the dog was underfoot. 

Duke is a tank and will go wherever I point him so far. We tried bushwhacking to a trail, hit a Creek and turned around. There was a ton of water/mud/slush in the fields and he just went right through without question. The dog turned from sable to black in a hurry. 

We got yelled at by what I think was a raccoon up a tree. Didn’t actually see it though. And we’re followed by a few chickadees singing their songs. 

Great ride on a beautiful springlike day.


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## waresbear

Every evening, lots of snowing, in the morning, wind & rain. Mother Nature hates me. Or I need to move to another climate.


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## egrogan

We managed another short ride yesterday afternoon, though it was not nearly as picturesque as the day before. Temp was above-average so the roads were a combo of slush, ice, and mud









We did a lap around all the fields, but it was tough going. Fizz kept sinking down and flailing a little through the crusty stuff. 









Followed some turkey tracks for a bit before they disappeared









We only went a bit over a mile, but she was panting when we got back- guess it was a workout with that bad footing. According to her, it was exhausting!! :rofl:









*Total 2020 miles: 2.5*


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## Saigold

@waresbear you have a lot of snow. Looks nice. Too bad it rains so much. You need to start riding at night lol
@egrogan we need to start counting the effort and not miles lol. We have lots of squishy mud and slush and the horse works up a sweat without going far. Hoping for some steady temps so it can either freeze or dry


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## weeedlady

I had planned to ride New Years day but I woke up with a sore throat and a runny nose and I just couldn't make myself get dressed. Thursday I forced myself to get out and I am so glad I did. I felt much better just being up and about. Tucker and I had a really nice solo ride. He did a really good job for a horse who hates to be by himself. He called out several times and wanted to go back to the trailer in the beginning, but when he realized there were no other horses in the park he settled down.























7.5 miles is a good start for 2020


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## egrogan

Saigold said:


> @*egrogan* we need to start counting the effort and not miles lol. We have lots of squishy mud and slush and the horse works up a sweat without going far. Hoping for some steady temps so it can either freeze or dry


Haha, definitely. Like I said, any January rides just feel like a bonus, so I can't complain in the slightest. Unfortunately yesterday we had a day of drizzle instead of the snow we were supposed to get, so everything is re-coated in ice. Won't be able to ride again until either it's warm enough to melt it, or cold enough to snow again- according to the forecast for next weekend, both of those scenarios could happen :icon_rolleyes:


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## cbar

I thought I might head out in the fields for a ride yesterday. Temps were just above 0 celsius, but by the time I finished my own run, it was blizzarding outside! So riding plans were kaiboshed. I ended up going skating on the outdoor rink with my nephews, but spent most of the time shoveling all the snow off the ice. It was still fun. 

Still no trail miles, but have lesson again today and will work on my ground work stuff. Better than nothing I guess.


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## charrorider

Got my first ride for 2020. Eight and a half miles (13.5 km).


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## Saigold

Another beautiful day for a ride today. Rode 8.2Kms. Started out with bright blue skies and so sunny I had to take some sunglasses ;. We also got fresh snow overnight. The plan was to go to a nearby trail, but the person who was supposed to accompany me bailed at the last minute to watch hockey, so I took the dog instead. Which meant staying off roads with traffic. i think Duke is happy to have the dog with us, even if he does get annoyed with him at times. 

Duke wasn’t too keen on going out and protested by walked slower than slow in the beginning. But he didn’t put a foot wrong otherwise. So I figured he was a little sore, same like me. We’re both still getting used to going out consistently. We rode around our and 3 of the other neighbouring fields (approx 500acres give or take). Switched up the scenery by going reverse to what we normally do. For the most part the footing was solid but there were still some very soft/muddy areas. I’m happy Duke doesn’t care and just walks right through. We walked down a road that was closed for construction (bridge is out) and Duke was happily looking around. We passed construction sign, pylons, and some trailers. The only thing that made him stop and snort was a port-o-potty in a winter coat lol. I’ve never seen those things insulated like that. After looking at it for a bit he moved on without issue, didn’t even sidestep. We also rode to the unfenced pasture. I was hoping to be able to go around it but we barely walked 30m and spotted 6 minis grazing on the far side. They didn’t see us. We turned and left. The trail the neighbour used to have through his forest has overgrown with saplings and fallen trees and it’s hard to make out where it was. So we stuck to the main trail. 

This horse has amazing sense of direction. He knows exactly where home is at any given point. And he was insisting at one point that I’m wrong and home is ‘this way’. But I wanted to extend the ride a bit and walk around an island of a forest in the field. He sighed and gave in. By the time we got back home and untacked, it started snowing again and we now have another few inches of fresh fluffy white stuff.

2020 mileage - 23 kms


----------



## AtokaGhosthorse

I still have no idea how far we go in terms of miles/kilometers when we ride, but here's a trail map We rode everything but the red and green trails yesterday, and a couple of new trails that aren't updated on the map yet. The group photo is from Saturday morning. If you look closer, there's two cowboys with kerchiefs around the neck and a lady on a mule. They were there to maintain and mark the trails. They rode out with us. The lady on the mule is the OETRA ambassador for Sardis Lake just north of where I live.


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## phantomhorse13

AtokaGhosthorse said:


> I still have no idea how far we go in terms of miles/kilometers when we ride


If you ride carrying a cell phone, you can download an app like endomondo and track your mileage if you really want to know. Once its going, you can turn the phone to airplane mode and conserve your battery.


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## QueenofFrance08

I will sit here and be jealous and want to cry at all of your pictures  My whole world is ice... Some snow, with lots of ice under it. 

It was halfway decent Saturday and I was stuck at a 5 year old's birthday party (nephew).

Sunday I convinced DH to take me to the park an hour away that has winter trails and we had 40 mph wind gusts. 

So I will wait and wish I was riding with all of you.


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## AtokaGhosthorse

phantomhorse13 said:


> If you ride carrying a cell phone, you can download an app like endomondo and track your mileage if you really want to know. Once its going, you can turn the phone to airplane mode and conserve your battery.



I have one... just called Horse Riding Tracker. But I just constantly forget to get it going. LOL I would like to get to where I remember to use the darn thing, just because I'm curious.


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## cbar

@QueenofFrance08, I'm in the same boat you are.

Today is a half decent day, but after work I'm heading to Costco to get a few things. 

Then our temperature takes a major nose dive. I will have to get the winter blankets out for the old guys - the highs by the end of the week are -26 celsius. And it is supposed to stay like this for 10-14 days. 

I will keep living vicariously through everyone else...keep up the posting!! 

Total trail mileage for 2020: A big fat zero.


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## phantomhorse13

Today, I woke up to find the overnight "chance of a passing snow shower" had actually resulted in 2-3 inches of snow! George and I went out anyway.



















2020 mileage
...
1/6 george 5.5 miles 584 ft climb 5.5 mph 31F *15.67 total miles*


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## weeedlady

I cannot believe our weather here in NE Ohio this year. Another almost 40 degree January day with sunshine. What the heck is going on? I am taking advantage of it while I can for sure. I took Raven to Cleveland Metro Parks Brecksville Reservation today. We had a lovely 10.14 mile ride with a friend and her TWH. He and Raven are well matched as far as speed and temperament. A fun day.
























I'm at 17.7 miles ytd.


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## charrorider

Chance and I went out for 9 miles (14.5 km) today. I tried a new app tracker. It matched my gps pretty closely except for the top speed. My gps clocked me at 13.7 mph (22 km). The app had me 2 mph slower. My 2nd horse, one that I've had for 4-5 years and hundreds of miles, canters at about 11 mph (18 km). I'm very familiar with what 11 mph feels like. The gps has it right. Anyways, we rode in the piney woods today. It was a beautiful sunny day.


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## phantomhorse13

I have gotten saddle time both yesterday and today! The whole story is in my journal.

Yesterday, I went over to ride with Nicole. I rode Tegan:



















Today, I decided to take Link out with George:



















Then I went over to ride with my SIL. I rode Amish:


















2020 mileage
...
1/7 tegan 5.35 miles 390 ft climb 4.2 mph 33F 21.02 total miles
1/8 george w/link 5.07 miles 574 ft climb 4.6 mph 28F 26.09 total miles
1/8 amish 6.92 miles 801 ft climb 3.5 mph 18F *33.01 total miles*


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## Finalcanter

Hoping to share some pictures of the trail tomorrow as I rarely get to trail in the first place. Same place as usual--But I heard one of the guides is bringing a go pro. I wonder if I should stick to my phone camera (quicker) or my ten year old nikon this time :smile:
It'll be cloudy out but hopefully not too cold. I'll test out my new winter puffer 'horse' jacket.


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## charrorider

Finalcanter. I'm curious about your "horse world." If you rarely get to trail, does that mean you mostly ride in a ring, or arena? I suppose that's not a big deal if that what one likes. What's the guide for? I'm fortunate I have over 25 miles of primitive, little used trails across my mailbox and three other equally primitive, little used trails less than an hours drive. Still, I sometimes wish for a little change of scenery. I have a small Canon G12 to take photos. I actually rather use that than my cell phone camera. Maybe it's my cell phone, but it seems the shutter is too slow to take pic while moving. Have a great time.


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## phantomhorse13

Thursday, I went over to ride with Nicole. The whole story is in my journal.

I rode Tegan:



















Yesterday, I borrowed Amish to ride with Nicole and one of her friends:


















2020 mileage
...
1/9 tegan 4.44 miles 640 ft climb 3.2 mph 23F 37.45 total miles
1/10 amish 12.07 miles 1581 ft climb 4.7 mph 43F *49.52 total miles*


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## ChasingDreams

It was a nice and mild ride day, around 55F on my way to the barn and a whopping 64F on the way home! Chase has only been ridden once in the arena since our last trail, so I knew he would be fresh.

And fresh he was... the entire first 2 miles, I felt like I was riding a tightly coiled spring. Which would suddenly release sending us bounding to the left or the right without a moments notice [emoji23] 

We had a particularly scary moment at the quarry when a sudden gunshot exploded very nearby. Chase didn’t want to keep going, and it took some urging to get him to finally walk on afterwards. A few minutes later we passed the hunter walking back out along the trail so thankfully didn’t have to worry about being mistaken for prey for the rest of the ride.

















We did two loops at the quarry, and then a loop through the top woods. We spotted three buck, and a doe in the top woods, so they must have been smart enough to stay away from the quarry with the hunter present.


















I made sure to make it a longer ride, so that hopefully tomorrow we can have a more relaxed ride for the duration. Without all the leaping, bounding, and jigging at the start. 

I did forget to turn my tracker off [emoji2360] at the barn for a little, so the time may be a little off. But it shouldn’t have added much to the distance. 










2020 miles~ 10.7



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## Celeste

I have been able to ride a total of 4 short rides this year for a total of 12 miles. 

My horse has been surprisingly polite. We have gone from spook, hang on for dear life, pray, jump, jig, spook, etc, to a nice polite girl that I can ride off my legs enough to take pictures. I rarely have to use the bit. She does love to run when it is running time, but I do as well.


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## rambo99

Does riding up an down the driveway count? That's all I'm currently able to do on ice. Vet okayed riding him for his twenty minutes of walking. 

So I've been on him bareback last few times. Well not really bareback he had his blankets on. It's been cold so figured he be happier if he had his blankets left on. 

Nice to be able to be back on him,even just for 20 minutes of walking. 

Footing is great so can't go faster then a walk,a slow walk at that. A picture of my cute boy.


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## ChasingDreams

My theory worked, second ride day in a row and he was so much better to start than yesterday. I guess he is just one of those horses that you can’t skip weekends with 

It was beautiful, sunny and a mild 60F.... though very windy. But, we had a nice ride. The lake melted since yesterday, with warm thunderstorms overnight. So we were able to cross the water and play.

The trails were slick and muddy, and he was pretty winded when we got back... hard going miles today. 


































2020 miles~ 15


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## ChasingDreams

@Rambo I’m glad that Ice is on the mend... it definitely counts! I know how hard it is when you aren’t able to ride. I know my boy gets as anxious as I do when I haven’t ridden


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## Finalcanter

Posting via mobile whoo! So after having a very not so great friday my friend had organized a trail for me- and it was just what I needed. Even though my horse was quite spooky she definitely kept me on my toes. I haven't has saddle time in a few weeks so it was actually like a test to see what I could handle-- my friend had faith in me haha. 

So this trail I suppose will be our official trail (after shopping around from my home town out to central park... this one is the one we liked most.). It was just us and a guide we knew and trusted well. We had fun cantering even though my horse was more of a 'canter? Sure- Wait what was that-- im getting out of here!'


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## Saigold

After a week of not being able to get out due to a ton of rain, Duke and I went out today. It was still soggy but ok for the most part. Twice he almost disappeared from under me when we hit soft mud. But gotta love this guy. He doesn’t panic. Stops and sees if he can go forward (which surprisingly to me was solid footing) and we continued. Some spots he just looks into the forest and tries to go right in where there aren’t any visible trails. He’s prepared to plow a new trail but I am not that ambitious so we stay in the clear areas lol. 

After a week off, I thought he’d make me work for it, going out solo, but he was pretty laid back, other than trying to drift towards home. We wandered down a road (closed for construction further up) and then had a safe spot to trot and canter on the way back. 

With the milder temperatures and rain the grass started to turn green. January and February are usually the coldest months for us. But right now it’s looking more like spring than winter. 

9.1km today. Total for 2020 is 32.5kms


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## Celeste

rambo99 said:


> Does riding up an down the driveway count?


Of course riding in the driveway counts. I don't wait to start tracking until I am past the drive. So if that is all you do, it has to count too!

It rains. Then it rains some more. It is getting into the 70's (Fahrenheit) most days. I rode last Friday. It was so slick that I was afraid we would sink in the mud. It has rained over 4 inches since then. 

It needs to stop raining. Before I go crazy.


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## phantomhorse13

Sunday afternoon, DH and I got George and Phin out. The whole story is in my journal.




















Today, I went over to ride with Nicole. I started on Tegan and ended on Polo.



















2020 mileage
...
1/12 phin 6.35 miles 1158 ft climb 3.8 mph 45F 55.87 total miles
1/13 tegan 3.37 miles 541 ft climb 3.5 mph 34F 59.24 total miles
1/13 polo 2.39 miles 79 ft climb 3.5 mph 34F *61.63 total miles*


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## weeedlady

I got another 5.13 miles today riding Raven, and a friend rode Tucker. So I'm adding 10 miles to my total. My horses, my miles, lol. An uneventful and pleasant ride. Even Raven gets left behind when Tucker is in the mood to walk on.


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## Change

Thanks to rain, more rain and a little more rain followed by a lot more rain, all I can claim to date is about 200 yards!


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## rambo99

@Celeste ,for now riding in the driveway is better than no riding.  @ChasingDreams thanks I'm so glad to have my boy an be able to ride. 

Can only log how many hours I get in over several days. Some days I ride 20 minutes some 25 or 30 minutes. Kinda boring ,I'm just glad to be on my boy. 

So far over last five days have 1 hour 10 minutes of ride time. Got one picture from last week I took. Haven't been taking my phone out with me. Will bring phone out tomorrow, when I go out to ride. 

Here's the picture of my cute boy,he gets lots of treats. Just handfuls of alfalfa pellets. Once in a while a few carrots.


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## weeedlady

@rambo99 Driveway riding is better than no riding. Glad Ice is on the mend.

I spent today with Tucker at Carlisle Reservation in Lorain County.














Solo again and I am loving it! This is a very well maintained, wide, flat trail. Great for working on gaiting Nothing challenging other than 2 very scary bridges. Tucker had to stop and think about it, but he carried me across both of them, twice! Loving my brave boy today.
8 miles today, 36 ytd.


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## cbar

@Saigold, what kind of horse is Duke?? He is super cute! 
@Rambo, so glad that Ice is on the mend. 

It is currently -48 here. So no riding. Basically have been bundling up to go throw hay to horses, check waters and make sure they are Ok, then hide back in the house. 

Feeding in the evening always takes longer as I haul so much hay out to them. My face was barely visible behind all the ice crystals that had formed on it. 

Trail Miles for 2020: Still a big fat zero.


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## PoptartShop

cbar said:


> Trail Miles for 2020: Still a big fat zero.


Same here. Ugh!! Living vicariously through you guys. I'm hoping to hit the trails this weekend if the weather is nice!


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## knightrider

Woo hoo! Finally living in Florida is giving us some paybacks. The weather was just too perfect to pass up a chance to go camping. We had sunny, breezy, and 75 degrees both days with cloudy, 60 degree nights.
@LoriF and I met 2 other friends for some trail rides and camping. All horses were wonderful and we had a super time. LoriF wins the "clever mechanic of the day" by repairing her trailer plug, which disintegrated into 3 pieces when she tried to get it to stop shorting out. She got the pieces together, got it to plug in again, and drove it all the way home with no shorting out! Way to go, LoriF!

LoriF brought Laela; I brought Acicate. Such a good time!


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## charrorider

It is unusual to reach the middle of January and not be in the grips of some polar vortex. It was a solidly cloudy day, but the temps were in the 50s. So Chance and I decided to celebrate my big Seven-Zero by going out on a ride. We've had 4" of rain a couple of days ago and Cole Creek, the creek that lends its name to these trails was actually flowing. That is one rare sight, maybe four times a year. Don't even know why someone bothered to give it a name. I had been riding these trails for a couple of years when a native told me where Cole Creek was. "You know when you go down this hill...that's Cole Creek." That dry gully? "Yup." Ok. Anyways, we rode about 9 miles (14..5 km).


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## Wild Heart

Glad to hear I'm not the only one in the Zero Mile Club!



I'm envious of those of you who have trails around your property. I probably only have a mile of trails which can get old real fast. 



2020 goal is to purchase a trailer!!


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## weeedlady

Happy Birthday @charrorider! sounds like you had a good day.

Our weather continues to be very un-January-like here is NE Ohio. Looking at our forecast I had planned to ride every day this week. BUT, that's changed.

I've re-joined the ranks of the employed  
I need the money pretty badly, so when my brother called to ask me to help out in his office for a few months I couldn't turn him down. Actually it's ideal. 2 miles from home, make my own hours, work as little or as much as I want. Can't complain about that at all. BUT.....

I'd rather be riding. :runninghorse2:


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## Saigold

@cbar thanks! Duke is a QHx. 

We went on an adventure today. I wasn’t sure how to do this safely and kept putting it off. We have a trail a few kms away from us and we have to use a road with traffic for part of the way to get there and it includes a bridge over a railway. When I go riding, especially solo, I like to take our dog with us. But a loose dog and traffic doesn’t mix. So I ended up riding as usual to the roadway, and then put the dog on a leash and led both him and Duke, until I could let the dog off again. Remount and continue. 

We got to the trailhead and had a great ride. The weather was great, +2C, no wind and while it started out somewhat cloudy, the sun came out and made everything just so perfect 🙂. 

Duke thought about crossing the pedestrian bridge, that’s see through, high up above the river. He was snorting and yet still approaching it. There was no way I’d be allowing him on it lol. 

With all the rain we had and surrounding areas, all the rivers and creeks were high. The trail close to the river was muddy but passable. It was clear that a few days ago the whole areas was under rushing and churning water. Everything was raked and littered with driftwood. Some parts of the trail was also still underwater. Duke was a champ and walked through water, mud and stepped over the trees blocking the path without question. There was one tree across the path where duke couldn’t fit under and we had to find a path around. I went to jump/slide off duke and landed on the dog. Good thing he’s the size of a small pony and weighs 110lbs. So he just gave me bit of a ride where I almost landed on my behind and wasn’t hurt. Anyone else’s dog stays so close to the horse that he’s always underfoot? He’s lucky the horses don’t mind his antics. After fighting our way through raspberries and other *****lies we made it back on the trail and continued uneventfully. 

On the way back we decided to try to bypass the bridge over the railway and found a pathway across the tracks and avoided having to go on the bridge altogether. That was a bonus as I don’t particularly like getting caught on it should some loud/fast traffic show up and us have no place to get off. 

Back closer to home, we had a dry section of field where we could trot and canter for a bit so took advantage of it. After a cool down we were home. The horses and dog got a drink and then my 2yo daughter was out with my dad, so gave her a quick ride. 

The other horse was relieved that we were home and both horses were looking for more treats. I usually take carrots with me and give pieces to Duke as we ride. Happy day. 

11km today. 2020 total 43.5km.


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## LoriF

Happy Birthday @charrorider I hope that you had a lovely day out with your horse and nature.


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## egrogan

Happy birthday @charrorider!

I doubled my 2020 mileage yesterday. Woohoo! We went 2.5 miles :rofl:

The roads were finally free of ice- plenty of mud, but we can handle that. Like others have said, it was unseasonably warm here, and there was almost no snow around (that changed last night with a few inches).



















The end of my ride ended up being a little more exciting than I had planned for. Crossing a wet, boggy area in the field across the street from our house, my horse decided she HATED the feeling of ankle-sucking mud under cold water, and crowhopped her way through it. I was launched over her shoulder and hit the ground (which was soft, fortunately) since I was not prepared for her acrobatics. All was fine though, I got back on and rode another lap around the field to make sure we were both ok before we ended our ride. 

*Total 2020 miles: 5.0*


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## phantomhorse13

I got some more saddle time while momma nature smiled. The whole story is in my journal.

Tuesday, I got George out:



















Yesterday, I got Phin out on some new to him trails:



























2020 mileage
...
1/14 george 9.86 miles 1440 ft climb 5.2 mph 30F 71.49 total miles
1/15 phin 12.38 miles 1512 ft climb 4.8 mph 50F *83.87 total miles*


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## PoptartShop

Happy birthday @charrorider!

All these rides look fantastic!  @Wild Heart that's a great goal, then you can haul whenever!


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## LoriF

knightrider said:


> Woo hoo! Finally living in Florida is giving us some paybacks. The weather was just too perfect to pass up a chance to go camping. We had sunny, breezy, and 75 degrees both days with cloudy, 60 degree nights.
> 
> @LoriF and I met 2 other friends for some trail rides and camping. All horses were wonderful and we had a super time. LoriF wins the "clever mechanic of the day" by repairing her trailer plug, which disintegrated into 3 pieces when she tried to get it to stop shorting out. She got the pieces together, got it to plug in again, and drove it all the way home with no shorting out! Way to go, LoriF!
> 
> LoriF brought Laela; I brought Acicate. Such a good time!


I had a wonderful time riding with Knightrider as usual. What a perfect day it was. Too bad I couldn't stay to camp, I really wanted to. 

A wire on my trailer was shorting and kept blowing the fuse in my truck for the turn signals and brake lights on the trailer. I was pretty sure it was in the plug on the pig tail so I took it apart. You know, easy fix. Just reconnect the wire tightly and good to go. And then it just fell apart in my hands. One of those "Oh Sh#t" moments. I guess from age, the plastic became brittle. Anyway, with the help of Knightrider, I was able to put it back together and get home. Bought a new one and installed it yesterday.


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## egrogan

Toodled around the yard yesterday. It was cold and very blustery, so we just stuck close and played around for as long as we could stand the blowing snow.









This is what we're going to have for the next week or so, plus maybe a foot of new snow, so no riding for us for a bit. 









Back to living vicariously through all of you :grin:

*Total 2020 miles: 5.83*


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## egrogan

@knightrider and @LoriF, I thought of you when I watched this incredible video that someone posted on an endurance FB page last week.




It's amazing how much of this footage could come out of a competitive trail ride in 2019, just the same as in 1959. It's a really neat look back at the early days of distance riding. So fascinating to see even then, there were so many different types of horses, tack, and riders that took on the challenge.


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## rambo99

Haven't ridden in a few day just to cold with highs below zero. Now have a winter storm warning up starting today. A few more hours and heavy snow with very windy conditions will start.

Winds already picked up so not to pleasant out. So ice gets another day off. Maybe next week I'll be able to get out an ride. Or maybe tomorrow after snow tapers off. We need some fresh snow to cover up the ice.


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## knightrider

Wow, @egrogan, thanks for sharing that. It was fascinating. Did you notice the tow vehicles and trailers? Every single one was a 2 horse, and lots of home made rickety ones too. Most pulled by cars. I started riding in 1956, and that is how I remember those days too. Little trailers pulled by cars. I was still pulling my trailer by car until 1992, when I got my first truck.

I had to smile when the narrator said, "There is nothing that will test the endurance of a horse like Florida sand and Florida sun." Ummmm, I don't think so. I think @phantomhorse13 will agree that Virginia humidity and Virginia rock hills . . . or Vermont rock hills . . . tests quite a bit more harshly.

I also had to smile when he said the horses were blanketed. And everyone was riding in shirtsleeves. Like you noticed, what a huge variety of horses--from saddleseat to hunter to Western. I wonder what breeds mostly won. It seemed to be based on Competitive Trail--with the timing needing to be right on the money.

Now days they do a hundred mile wagon trail ride every 4 years. I think they take 5 days and there is no competition--just folks getting together to ride the old wagon trails. Lots of wagons and riders following the old cow trails. Thanks again for sharing! I loved it.


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## Saigold

The day started out at -10c and windchill of -15c. So I didn’t think we’d get too far for riding. But by the afternoon it was -6c and calm so turned out to be not too bad. 

Rode on a bareback pad to keep warm and a ski mask under the helmet. We went around the surrounding fields and a bit of forest. The ground was hard as a rock and Duke wasn’t too keen on anything more than a walk. I was ok with that as I didn’t really want to test how easy the bareback pad could slip on a round horse lol. 

In one area someone had a big fire going with the smoke coming in our direction. Duke was dancing a bit and snorting, but then kept trying to get closer to see it. A few times he fully intended to cross the little bit of brush between the fields And go right to the fire and I had to really insist on staying on track. 

We explored on the unfenced pasture at the neighbors and didn’t see any horses out so tried to go around. When we got closer to the other side I seen the minis in the adjacent pasture and the gate open. At this time the mini stallion seen us and started coming towards us and the open gate. I didn’t want to have a tail or any shenanigans from the little ****** (he’s always kicking at all the horses and will bite too) So we turned around and trotted back the other way. 

On the way back Duke wanted to try a trail that hasn’t been used in a long time and was all overgrown. We tried it in the past from the other side and had to back track, so I fully expected to do the same today but he actually found the path and we came out on the other side. Kudos to this horsey for having such great sense of direction. 

Our other gelding was happy we finally made it home so he could relax lol. I swear Montana gets more exercise than Duke, running the pasture. 

Also I think Duke is losing a bit of weight. His withers are slightly more refined than before and I was able to tighten the girth a little easier and a bit snugger than a month and a half ago. Maybe it’s wishful thinking and I’m seeing things though lol. 

Today was 7.2km. YTD 50.7km.


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## Saigold

@phantomhorse13 love the second pic in your last post with all the rock on either side of the trail!


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## ChasingDreams

Shorter ride today, it started as a nice,moderate snow and shifted to freezing rain and sleet by the time we made our way back to the barn. Chase was feeling the cold weather, so it was a faster paced ride... but he still had his head. Footing was a little rough in some spots but not too bad. 

So it was all good fun  Just enjoyed a frisk in the snow.


















































Total 2020 miles~ 18



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## phantomhorse13

Yesterday, I cajoled DH into riding right after breakfast, hoping to get a ride in before the storm hit. The whole story is in my journal.
























2020 mileage
...
1/18 phin 7.05 miles 1165 ft climb 5.2 mph 14F *90.92 total miles*


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## egrogan

Another January ride! Woohoo! 









The deer had been busy since the snow stopped- they apparently checked out each and every apple tree!









The snow was deep but so light and fluffy, and best of all, no ice underneath. Still dealt with gusty winds, but it felt great to ride. 



*Total 2020 miles: 7.19*


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## ChasingDreams

I stole a ride this evening. I say stole, because it was quite late in the day when I was finally able to go to the barn... and there was so much ice on the lane that we were pretty much limited to the top woods and around the front field.

The short length of lane we did have to travel, I got down and walked because it was just too risky to travel mounted. 

But, considering it was probably a day I had no business riding at all... and I squeezed one in anyway, it was good. Take what I can get!


























2020 miles ~ 20


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## rambo99

We got plenty of snow this weekend and it's snowing again now. Supposed to warm up above freezing this week. 

So will be able to ride. Will see how big snow Banks are. If doable for horses we will ride the dirt road. Got a good foot of snow so all the ice is well covered.

Here's a picture of my boy today. I was checking water trough. He saw me at rail fence and put his head right up close to me for some pets and kisses. 💕

Normally he can't get his head over this section of fence. Being ground is much higher due to all the snow he can put head over rails.


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## egrogan

rambo99 said:


> So will be able to ride. Will see how big snow Banks are. If doable for horses we will ride the dirt road. Got a good foot of snow so all the ice is well covered.


My lovely husband helped me out this morning, he bumped out a bunch of entrance path from the road to the fields (we live at a 3-way intersection of dirt roads so we have fields on all sides of the three roads), so that let me do a nice loop around the fields with minimal time on the road and not getting stuck in the snowbanks! Unfortunately even though the fields are great footing, the dirt roads are icy because of the plows. 

Hope you get that ride.


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## Saigold

My niece came over so we were able to get both horses out today. Yesterday we got dumped on with ~20cm of snow, some rain and more snow. It was a chilly -6c with windchill -10c. Bundled up to our teeth we set out. It was nice to ride with someone for a change and horses were happy to be out together. We did some trotting and cantering where it was safe. The boys behaved and I’m noticing that I’m able to steer Duke with mostly my legs and barely any neckrein. Not always but it’s a work in progress. It’s more of a learning curve for me than Duke as I forget to use my legs. I think this horse has a whole lot more buttons than I know how to use lol. 

We went through some nice scenery in the forested areas. And seen lots of mice tracks on the snow getting whatever leftover seeds from the grasses. We also kept following a falcon that seemed to fly off and land ahead of where we were going. 

7km today with a total for 2020 of 58kms.


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## trailhorserider

It was only my 4th ride this year and the ground is so muddy.......deep clay mud, so I've been just sticking to the roads and haven't been able to ride the forest. But I took a photo of my girl in one of her new "outfits" so I thought I would post. 

She got her pretty red halter, reins, and wool blanket for Christmas and the weather had been so iffy that I haven't been able to use them. So, here is Diamond in all her winter woolies with her pretty new tack. :blueunicorn:

The first two rides of the year out in the neighborhood she was a fire-breathing dragon because she hadn't been ridden since before Christmas and she was really hyped. But I rode her yesterday and today and she is settling down into the wonderful girl she normally is. I hate it when she works up a big sweat in cold weather and then I have to try to get her dried off before it gets dark. Today I didn't even have to towel dry her, she barely broke a sweat. Yay!

I don't know how you guys ride in minus degree weather! Today the high was in the high 40'sF and I was happy as a clam. But anything much colder and I wouldn't be riding. You guys are dedicated!

Anyway, I hardly ever post on these trail ride threads, I don't know why. I guess because I mostly ride alone and don't take many pictures. But this year I want to change that! I hope to tell more of my trail stories this year. So I'm going to make an effort to do that, because I enjoy seeing everyone's rides, so I might as well share too. :Angel:
So here's to more trail photos and stories in 2020! I can't wait to hit the forest! :cowboy:


----------



## egrogan

trailhorserider said:


> Anyway, I hardly ever post on these trail ride threads, I don't know why. I guess because I mostly ride alone and don't take many pictures. But this year I want to change that! I hope to tell more of my trail stories this year. So I'm going to make an effort to do that, because I enjoy seeing everyone's rides, so I might as well share too. :Angel:
> So here's to more trail photos and stories in 2020! I can't wait to hit the forest! :cowboy:


Please do! We love seeing everyone's rides. I mostly ride alone and probably take _too many _pictures, but this thread keeps me motivated!


----------



## Aprilswissmiss

trailhorserider said:


> Anyway, I hardly ever post on these trail ride threads, I don't know why. I guess because I mostly ride alone and don't take many pictures. But this year I want to change that! I hope to tell more of my trail stories this year. So I'm going to make an effort to do that, because I enjoy seeing everyone's rides, so I might as well share too.


I'm in the same boat! I think I'm going to be participating more now that I finally downloaded a trail tracker app. My issue is, I keep forgetting to shut it off until I've been done riding for over half an hour...

Yesterday, Saturday's snow was melting and the grass trail would have been too slippery, so April and I just stuck to the paved trail. We have to pass through some roads and suburbs to get there, then the trail itself is about a mile long, so once we reach the end and turn around and come back, the whole ride is probably about two and a half miles. Not a very exciting trail or long length, but we get to meet new people (which April loves, as I recently posted about) and practice crossing paths with "scary" things, like people using power tools in their yard.

Some paved areas were slushy so we mostly walked, but got in some trotting where the sun had dried the pavement. We crossed paths with a woman with a very large and lunging/growling/barking rough collie. April trot right past without even a sideways glance or increase in pace. So proud of her!

There's this long bridge that we have to cross while on this trail. April is an absolute rockstar at it. She hops right on and keeps her head low to inspect the footing (was slushy and slippery yesterday) and chugs right along. It makes it look like I'm riding a miniature in the bridge photos, though :rofl:


----------



## PoptartShop

I also always ride alone! 

Hit the nearby trail yesterday because the pasture was too mushy & a bit icy from the snow - however, the trail footing was perfect!  No sign of any snow or ice! It was very windy, about 28F degrees also, clearly you can see how windy it was (her mane kept going to each side LOL).


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## trailhorserider

Awesome ride photos everyone! :Angel: 



I am so excited for spring, I'm even on a diet! My mare is fat too, but I know she will get fit when we ride consistently. Me......not so much!


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## AndyTheCornbread

@Saigold I went to school for a while in Finland with a Canadian exchange student named Sara or Sarah, I can't remember for sure how she spelled it. I think she was a Rotary club exchange student. Anyway in that selfie you posted, you two could be twins. Any chance you were an exchange student to Finland? LOL! That would be so random if you were the same person.


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## AndyTheCornbread

egrogan said:


> @knightrider and @LoriF, I thought of you when I watched this incredible video that someone posted on an endurance FB page last week.
> https://youtu.be/3YDJm3TlHI8
> It's amazing how much of this footage could come out of a competitive trail ride in 2019, just the same as in 1959. It's a really neat look back at the early days of distance riding. So fascinating to see even then, there were so many different types of horses, tack, and riders that took on the challenge.


If you think about it those cars back then were solid steel framed and ran V-8s. Depending on how they were geared they would have had as much pulling power and a more solid frame than many of today's 1/2 ton pickups. They were also probably of similar weight. Even up into the 70s pulling a trailer with a car was fairly normal.

I would be interested to know how they got their aerial shots for this film? The shots are above the trees and the trees aren't shaking so it wasn't from a helo, those weren't super common in 1959 anyway. I am thinking fire tower or water tower? Anyone familiar with that ranch and forest back then?

A lot less arab horses back then it looks like. Many of the horses looked like they were of Thoroughbred breeding and or QH or QH-Paint breeding, I saw some that looked like Standard bred or possibly Walkers but very few Arabs. That is probably the biggest difference between an endurance event back then and one now days.

Kind of sobering to think that close to every adult in that film served in some way in WWII and most if not all are probably passed away now.


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## Saigold

AndyTheCornbread said:


> @Saigold I went to school for a while in Finland with a Canadian exchange student named Sara or Sarah, I can't remember for sure how she spelled it. I think she was a Rotary club exchange student. Anyway in that selfie you posted, you two could be twins. Any chance you were an exchange student to Finland? LOL! That would be so random if you were the same person.


haha not that Im aware of...I've been through some European countries, but never as an exchange student


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## knightrider

> most if not all are probably passed away now.


That's funny. I showed the video this morning to my daughter's friend, who rides that area with us. It struck me as we were watching it, and I commented that probably everyone we were looking it is probably dead now. My daughter's friend said, "Yeah, and most certainly the horses are."


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## AndyTheCornbread

knightrider said:


> That's funny. I showed the video this morning to my daughter's friend, who rides that area with us. It struck me as we were watching it, and I commented that probably everyone we were looking it is probably dead now. My daughter's friend said, "Yeah, and most certainly the horses are."



With that generation passed away and the baby boomers headed that way the western/rural US is set to lose a lot of horse knowledge from people who rode every day for work like my Dad as a teen or like my mother just for getting to and from school and to and from anything else she needed or wanted to like go to a friend's house. 

In the more urban areas of the US we lost this as the greatest generation and silent generations passed away. In rural areas we are losing this as the baby boomers(my parents age) are aging and passing away. 

Pretty soon the only folks who will have grown up with horses being part of every day life as a working animal will be the Amish and many of them are moving away from that as well. 

The knowledge by and large isn't being passed on because it isn't needed so it gets forgotten. We retain the knowledge of the horse in smaller and smaller circles for pleasure and sport but the horse as a working animal necessary for daily life is quickly becoming the province of historical re-enactment and nothing more. 

Kind of a shame seeing as how this wasn't the case for thousands of years of human history and in the blink of less than a hundred years it will be nearly completely gone.


----------



## phantomhorse13

Today, I got both boys out. The whole story is in my journal.



















2020 mileage
...
1/21 george w/phin 6.61 miles 948 ft climb 4.7 mph 14F *97.53 total miles*


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## Aprilswissmiss

I just want to say, after a few rides in my new mohair girth (aka the cheapest synthetic one on Amazon), I am very impressed! I am able to pull the girth clear off of her barrel with minimal effort, and at the same tightness, unable to make the saddle shift sideways/backwards at all. It looks kinda silly with my English saddle, but we're far past the point of trying to win anything in the matching tack or looks departments, so I'm seriously loving it! That Amazon gift card was put to good use!

Today, April and I took a trip down the wooded trail as well as the paved trail. Both had their limitations since all the slush froze back over and there were many large icy spots I didn't feel safe crossing. We went down the wooded trail first, which requires crossing a road - I've never seen it as busy as it was today! April stood perfectly still at the corner of the four-way intersection for a good five minutes while school buses and semis zoomed in front of us. We went through most of the accessible trails, and often we would also have crossed the river to go down an additional path, but I didn't want to let her walk through knee-deep water when it was below freezing (I say "let" because she _loves_ to stand in the water and eat grass off the river bank). She did a great job of climbing down and then back up the hill to/from the river, that today was covered in compact snow. I looped the reins and she did it all herself like a pro, carefully placing her feet where she was least likely to slip.

Some of the locals are starting to recognize us and will stop to say hi or give a wave and a smile. Everyone adores her, and it makes my heart happy! On our way back through the suburbs, some sidewalk corners had mounds of snow left over from the plows (visible in the photo where we're walking on the sidewalk). For some reason, these snow mounds were much scarier than traffic and snarling dogs - she didn't stop or balk, but I felt her tense up and she was huffing at them, LOL. Once we got to the first one, I directed her towards the shortest and skinniest part, to which she completely ignored my aids and instead LEAPT over the tallest and widest part from a walk and then proudly trotted off :rofl:

We got to watch a fantastic sunset in our last five minutes of walking. The photo doesn't do any justice. When we got back, she made a face of "That was it? We stopped so soon!" Please ignore that one cross tie was fastened to the bottom ring... She was originally single-tied but kept trying to follow me for treats, so I put her on the cross ties and forgot to move the first one.

4.3 miles, of which 2.2 were trotting. I wish we had longer trails around here.


----------



## Saigold

Had my nieces come for a ride again today. Two horses and three riders meant we got to go twice. It was a nice sunny day of -2 and lots of snow on the ground. 

At one point when we were going through the overgrown trail area Duke turned and there was a low hanging branch with thorns. He decided he can fit under it, ducted and before I knew it the branch was sitting on his withers pushing up against the front of the saddle. While Duke patiently waited, I came off his side backwards, as there was no space to lean forward. Then he wouldn’t put his head down and back up initially but finally got untangled and continued on. 
When we got back and switched riders the boys thought they were done. And weren’t completely impressed on going out again, but did behave. The wind was starting to get a little nippier and this time we were mostly out in the open fields. So we didn’t stay out too long. Also noticed that the dogs’ paws were getting cold as he kept laying down and lifting them up. We cut across the field and cantered part of the way back and then finished up.

9.6km total today. 2020 total 67km.


----------



## egrogan

Aprilswissmiss said:


> I just want to say, after a few rides in my new mohair girth (aka the cheapest synthetic one on Amazon), I am very impressed! It looks kinda silly with my English saddle, but we're far past the point of trying to win anything in the matching tack or looks departments, so I'm seriously loving it!



I ride in an English saddle with a mohair girth- my mare loves it too.


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## AndyTheCornbread

I ride a pure mohair girth as well. I've not found anything that works better.


----------



## PoptartShop

@Aprilswissmiss before I got my dressage saddle, I used a mohair girth too - loved it. No shame!


----------



## phantomhorse13

Today, I went out to work with Link first thing. We had our first real ride! The whole story is in my journal. 










I didn't count the couple circles around the pen towards my mileage, but gotta start somewhere!


Then, I got George and Phin out:


















2020 mileage
...
1/22 george w/phin 6.56 miles 741 ft climb 4.6 mph 30F *104.09 total miles*


----------



## Celeste

Trailriding is about fun. If I want to use a western saddle, western boots, English riding pants, half-chaps, trail helmet, and whatever random coat or shirt I want to, it is ok. And (horrors) I even recycle riding pants in cold weather. (By recycle, I mean riding more than once without washing.) Recycling is not a good idea in Georgia in the summer because the pants get so "lively" that you think that they will follow you to the washer. 

I must say that I can ride in 85 degrees F. I just don't see riding in 20 degrees F.


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## Aprilswissmiss

I snuck a ride in between my classes and an evening meeting, so we only went out for a little more than half an hour, just down the paved trail. We went a little further than the end of the trail, riding down the grassy side of a road next to a cut corn field, just to get to do something new.

I'm not sure why, but April was strangely jumpy today. Not spooky. It was more of we'd be trotting along, then she'd see a strange ball of snow left on the trail and slam on the brakes for a quarter of a second, then keep trotting on. Well, I'd much rather her do that than spook or bolt, so I can't complain!

When I got to the stable today, April's ears and forelock were covered in oats. _Sticky_ oats. The only horse that gets fed oats at the stable, Ginger, has an owner with a screw just half a turn loose, so I wouldn't be surprised if she decided to mix something like molasses into her oats today just for the fun of it and then Ginger dropped a mouthful of it on April's head. Regardless, there were some bits I got too impatient to pull out (see photos), so today I referred to her as Oathead :lol:

3 miles, 1.9 trotting. We didn't canter at all today - where it says so on the map is really where she was going so fast at her jarring trot that the app thought she was cantering. That's what I get for adopting a half standardbred!


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## CaliforniaDreaming

Mitch has 3 mohair girths. One's his "fat girth", then he has a "middle girth" and then the "skinny girth" depending on what time of the year it is. Well, actually he has a mohair cinch since his endurance saddle has western rigging. And a mohair blend cinch as well. We're tack junkies.


I managed to haul out on Jan 5th for the first trail ride of the year! Rode with two of my friends who I've ridden with loads of times, and our favorite place of Ellwood Mesa. Weather was great, and it was nice views of the Pacific Ocean.












It's been on/off rainy since and schedules haven't meshed up to haul off again, so I've just been sticking to riding the lower barn trails because of the mud. But things have been pretty dry, and we did canterwork in the dressage arena and then hit the loop that overlooks part of the city of Goleta.












Got a nice sunset.


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## AnitaAnne

Celeste said:


> Of course riding in the driveway counts. I don't wait to start tracking until I am past the drive. So if that is all you do, it has to count too!
> 
> It rains. Then it rains some more. It is getting into the 70's (Fahrenheit) most days. I rode last Friday. It was so slick that I was afraid we would sink in the mud. It has rained over 4 inches since then.
> 
> It needs to stop raining. Before I go crazy.





Change said:


> Thanks to rain, more rain and a little more rain followed by a lot more rain, all I can claim to date is about 200 yards!


Guess what? I've had rain, rain, and more rain too! Only on my days off though :evil: 

Why do I have horses again? So I can slog through the rain and cold twice a day to tend to their every little need? Pay handsomely for shoes, trims, feed, hay and a dry stable for them...

Can I just get a couple days of nice weather? Soon please!


----------



## Change

I'm off tomorrow. So what happened today? Yup. R.A.I.N.!!! All day. Guess what I'll have tomorrow. Yup. Mud. And likely more rain.

And when there is rain and mud, I have nasty, muddy creatures that somewhat resemble horses.

I know rain is a Good Thing, but why can't it work when I do and take the weekends off???????


----------



## Kaifyre

We've been getting a little bit of snow, then a few days of warmer weather that melts everything into mush, then more snow, then more warmer days, etc etc. It's an endless loop. And then yesterday, just to make my life EXTRA miserable, it rained. Then it froze. Ergh. The entire city was a gigantic skating rink. I could barely get Dreams from his run to the barn … poor dear kept slipping and sliding everywhere even with those dainty little mincing steps. I didn't even bother to take Thunder the Shire out … that big lumbering giant would have fallen in the first few steps. 

- Kai


----------



## Saigold

Love seeing everyone’s photos. It’s nice to see different views from all over. 

Ours is a snowy one. Duke and I went out solo once again. It was so nice out that I decided to go to the farther trail again. I missed having the dog with us and so did Duke. Kody had to stay at home until his paws are not sensitive to run in the snow. He was not happy staying. 

In the beginning of the ride, Duke was just lollygaging and anywhere he looked his feet followed. If someone looks at our tracks they might think we were drunk lol. But he did start paying more attention as the ride went on. 

He kept pulling off to the left once we got to the trail, so let him head up a different path around the field. This was the first time we went this way and it’s amazing that you can live an an area for over a decade and not know what nature is hiding. This whole time I thought the was a chance for more trails in those trees but when we came close I realized it was a huge drop down to the river. Big enough to make us stay a healthy distance away from the edge. The corn stalks however were sticking up about 3’ away from the drops edge. Either the farmer is insane or he has machinery that plants and cuts offset from the tractor. At the bottom, past the river I did see a path that’s probably a trail. Although not sure how I’d get there. That’s something to explore in the summer when the ground is dry possibly. There is a narrow trail leading in that general direction but any time Ive tried it in the past it was muddy and steep. So didn’t get far. 

We continued on the main trail, visited the path down to the river and then did two loops of the main path. The footing was mostly good with a few sections of ice under the snow. Duke picked his way across with no issues. Stepped over a few downed trees and almost got us treed under a fallen one across the trail. I expected he would stop at the tree, I was looking for a lost glove from the last trail ride, and he didn’t even slow down, just ducked his head and lifted the tree onto his withers. I had to get off, lower his head and back him up. The rest of the ride was uneventful. 

The forest smelled amazing, just like spring was in the air. Hard to describe it, kind of sweet, a little damp, and just forest. Duke kept sniffing the air too.

We did 11km today. 2020 total 78kms.


----------



## Kaifyre

For you folks that track your mileage and whatnot for your rides, what do you use? Is it an app or a GPS thingy or ..?

-- Kai


----------



## phantomhorse13

Yesterday, I went riding with Gina. I rode Amish.


















Bear tracks!









2020 mileage
...
1/23 amish 10.72 miles 1309 ft climb 3.2 mph 31F *114.81 total miles*


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## Saigold

@Kaifyre I use the free version of equilab


----------



## egrogan

I've used both Endomondo and View Ranger, but have stuck with Endomondo.


----------



## Change

Another endomondo user here.


----------



## cbar

This week has been busy, but since our weather has smartened up, I have actually logged trail miles for 2020!!!! YAY!! 

It isn't much since the days are still short, but I'll say we have done 3 miles total. LOL. 

The roads around here are pretty slick, so I have just been doing loops out in the field. I have today off work and hope to maybe head out on the trails on my neighbors property. 

I had a custom saddle fitter out to measure Amber - he isn't even sure if he can build a saddle for her. Her current saddle is WAY too tight, so I have decided that (as much as it sucks) I should probably not ride her until I have something that fits. 

This week I took her for a hand walk down the road, and have been working on ground work. I hopped on her bareback for the first time and she was OK, so that is something we will do too. I SUCK at riding bareback (I did not grow up around horses, so when I took lessons it was always with tack). But I figure now is as good a time as any to get better at it. I will also pony her from my gelding so they both get exercise. 

Not ideal, but we will make the best out of the situation. 

Total trail miles for 2020: 3 miles.


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## rambo99

I finally got some ride time today. Finally getting over strep throat, it's made it's rounds through our house now. Everyone has been sick so hopefully we are done for the rest of 2020. 

Just rode in driveway today will venture out maybe tomorrow. Haven't checked to see how big snow Banks are,where we get on power line. 

Both cinder an ice were happy to be out doing some riding. Even happier to get a can of alfalfa cubes after ride. Just put bareback pads on for today's ride.

Here's a few pictures of the boys.


----------



## weeedlady

I use Endomondo. It's a free app for your phone that uses GPS. It doesn't use your phone data but is sure does suck up the battery life. I like it though. Particularly because it's free, lol.


----------



## phantomhorse13

Yesterday, I got George and Phin out. The whole story is in my journal.
























2020 mileage
...
1/24 george w/phin 12.43 miles 1585 ft climb 5.2 mph 43F *127.24 total miles*


----------



## rambo99

Got in a ride again today,Rode with just a bareback pad an bridle. Did the driveway riding not exciting but at least it's some ride time.

Ice and cinder seem to enjoy getting out an going for 25 -30 minutes of walking. Ice is really full of himself though. Feel like I'm on a time bomb.😂 

Both horses know when we are done they get a treat,just a few alfalfa cubes. 

Snow Banks to get on power line are way to big to have horses go over them. So we will have to ride side of highway to get to dirt road. 

Hubby said he would plow a path around pasture so we can ride out there. It's really deep up past ices belly. So riding out there as is ,would be difficult walking for horses.


----------



## Cordillera Cowboy

I took our little horse out yesterday for the first time this year. She has been mostly idle all through the holiday season. Then, we returned from visiting overseas family in mid January to find she had sustained a puncture wound on a foreleg. That is healing with no sign of infection or lameness. 

I noticed that she’s acting rambunctious in the pasture, so we went for a short exercise walk on level ground. Seems she needs it more for her head than anything else. She uncharacteristically startled at some unseen boogers in the trees and tall grass. But we got it sorted out. 

Rode around a bit today also with some of the same behavior. Soon we can make some longer rides. Nowhere to go from here, except up or down the mountain. I’ll give her wound a bit more time, then make some sweaty saddle blankets.


----------



## cbar

I finally got out this weekend for some more rides!

Saturday i took Tiger for about 5miles on some trails on my neighbors property. After a couple good hill climb he was definitely huffing & puffing! 

Since I won't ride my mare until I find a saddle that fits, I decided to take her jogging with me on Sunday. We did about 6km of jogging/walking and she handled it OK. Definitely need to work on her cardio, so lots of long/slow miles for this lady! 

This morning it was a bit chillier (-8 celsius), but I decided to suck it up and go riding. Saddled Tiger and ponied Amber through the deep snow in the fields for about 4km. Tiger handled it well and didn't work up a sweat, but miss fatty was pretty sweaty and tired when we finished. Lucky girls has lesson this afternoon too, which I'm sure she won't be thrilled about (it is mostly ground work and at a walk). 

I'm hopeful that I will get some more riding time this week if the weather stays decent!


----------



## charrorider

Had a chance to go out riding, today. And it was on this trail that last Spring, I came across a man who was walking. He said he had been riding this trail the day before and had lost his wallet. Had I seen it? I told him, no, but would keep an eye out for it. Then he tells me he had just ran into another rider, a young woman who had a German Shepherd with her. He said she told him she rode this trail all the time. I ride this trail all time. I've never come across a young woman who rides with a German Shepherd by her side. "Yes," he said, "She was going back to the trailhead.." I wondered where she was, since the part of the trail we were on is the closest and most direct to the trailhead. "That's what I told her," he said. "But she says she takes a shortcut through the woods," and he pointed behind him. I was not familiar with such shortcut. I wished him good luck in finding his wallet and told him I would keep an eye out for it. As I kept riding, I also kept an eye out for this supposedly shortcut to the trailhead. And then, there it was. I had never noticed it before. It was no more than a deer path and didn't appear to have been used in many years. I wasn't going to the trailhead, but I took it, anyways, just to see. It didn't look like anyone had ever used this faded path. Eventually, I lost it and had to find my way back to the trail. I have looked and looked, but I've never been able to see that path, again.


----------



## Saigold

@charrorrider I think I’d be weary of someone telling my about a new shortcut through the woods lol


----------



## ChasingDreams

Kaifyre said:


> For you folks that track your mileage and whatnot for your rides, what do you use? Is it an app or a GPS thingy or ..?
> 
> 
> 
> -- Kai




Mine is an app (iTunes) called “horse riding” The free version is pretty bare-bones, but it tracks speed and miles and gives a gps map.


















Rode over 5mi today. Chase was a butthead for a good bit of the ride. Balking, spooking, and ignoring cues... we had a few disagreements. I always win eventually...although it can be frustrating as heck in the moment lol

Highlight of the ride though, was finding two rogue cows in the hay field. I text a picture to BM, to let the ranch owners they were loose. In the meantime, I figured I would make my way down along the fence line to investigate. 

As we came closer, the cows turned and ran back towards their pasture. We followed them all the way to the fence, and realized they had just slipped right back in through two loose wires on the fence along the pond. I text her again to let her know they were back in, but that the fence is useless there.

Turns out, they weren’t our cows  was neighbor’s property line. But, either way I was happy we “rounded them up”.










2020 miles~ 26


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## waresbear

We only did a couple of miles, down the road to the highway and back. All the trail heads are buried in snow so my only option. Better than nothing.


----------



## Saigold

It was a dark, misty switching to rain and snow and back, kind of day. I didn’t really want to go riding today, but it’s too easy to stop and not always easy to start again. So I forced myself to go. Duke was also lazy and didn’t feel like moving out. So we mozzied along at a walk for most of the ride. Had the dog with us today who missed going out last time, and he was over the moon happy to run circles around us and pick up every burr he encountered and a ton of sand/mud. 

We walked around a few of the neighbors fields and a little bit of forest. 

I was ok to just walk all the way home. But duke thought I was going to make him go into the adjacent field and in his anticipation was starting to take a large shortcut through the field and go faster and get headstrong. So I asked him to go to the edge of the field again and he just started trotting the direction of home. Couldn’t really let him do that so swung him back around, which he cantered, and asked again to walk the edge. He decided that trotting away from home was better than walking the edge. I allowed him to trot as long as he liked. Which was a fair distance (more than half of a 200acre field). And when he was back to a walk, he got to to turn around and walk the edge. He was misty good. I asked him to take a few steps towards the crossing spot, and stop. When he complied he got a piece of carrot and off we went home. I try to always take one carrot with us. And when he does something good he gets a piece. When we got back, Montana, the other gelding was very happy and wouldn’t stop nickering to us.

6kms today. YTD 84km.


----------



## QueenofFrance08

FINALLY got some riding/horse time! It was 30 degrees this weekend so despite working 6 days this week I had to spend some time with my best buddy.

I took Chico for a walk on Saturday afternoon around the field in front of our house. The snow was pretty deep so I figured it was a decent little leg stretch for him. He was raring to go the whole time, trying to prance next to me because he thought I was walking too slow!

Sunday DH and I brought Chico and Comet to the one park within 30 minutes that we can ride at in the winter. We did all of the trails in the park, rode for 1.5 hours. GPS said 2.5 miles but I think it's more like 5, it's a lot of circles and in the middle of nowhere so I think tracking doesn't work great there. I've ridden the same paths and gotten anywhere from 1-4.5 miles. The snow was pretty deep through much of the field which got them a little sweaty. Both Chico and Comet were very well behaved despite not having been ridden (or at least ridden more than around the yard for 10 minutes) since November. Both seemed pretty excited to get out and move and I don't think they would have minded going a little farther. We left the trailer hooked up since it's supposed to be in the 30's next weekend as well so hopefully we can get another ride in! It was the first ride of any decent length in my new saddle and I LOVED it. I might add bucking rolls since it's an inch bigger than I usually buy (although with the fuzzy seat it takes up some of the room) just to have a tighter fit but I felt very secure and Chico seemed to move really well in it!


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## Aprilswissmiss

@QueenofFrance08, what saddle is that? I've seen them here and there on the internet but never figured out what the name is! Is it as lightweight as it looks?


Yesterday, April and I just shortly rode over the usual paved trail since the whole weekend was just rain, rain and more rain and all the footing besides the pavement was completely unrideable. The only thing that really got her attention today was a baby stroller. We were trotting up over a hill, I saw people up ahead so began to pull onto the grass and ask her to walk, and she was fine until she saw that stroller crest over the hill. She splayed her legs out in a huge V shape and planted them in the ground from the trot. I have never seen hoof prints so deep before, she cut right through the grass and deep into the wet dirt underneath! We stood still to let the stroller go by and she was fine.

When we got back, the BO was pulling the tractor into the shed. I knew she was planning on using it so I dismounted before we got anywhere near the barn. April is totally fine with semis going 50 mph just 10 feet in front of her, even with cars honking at us from behind, but tractors? Nope, nope and more nope. I wish I could take some time to get her used to seeing it, but the BO only takes it out maybe once a month and I'm often not there when she does. Otherwise, it's locked up in the shed. I got her to walk past it with some jigging and snorting, but she hates that thing!

2.7 miles, 2.0 trotting, 30 minutes. I forgot to take any photos while riding, but I did take one after the ride. That's the face she makes, peering over the fence, in hopes of getting a treat.


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## QueenofFrance08

@Aprilswissmiss It's a Specialized Ultralight. Yes, it is as light as it looks about 6 lbs without stirrups/saddle bags/girth so probably under 10 with everything.


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## charrorider

I use Geo Tracker app and a gps on all rides. Most of the time, the stats are fairly similar. But some times, one of the stats will be so far off, it leaves me shaking my head. For example, for yesterday's ride the app had me at 7.46 miles (12 km), but my gps had me at 7.98 miles (12.9 km). Because I have noticed that, when cantering for short distances, my app isn't as accurate as my gps tracking speed, I have more faith in the stats I see on the gps. Yesterday's ride according to the Geo Tracker app.


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## charrorider

Saigold. This is National Forest land, which in contrast to National Parks, State Parks, etc, a rider can ride off the marked trail, and basically, make his/her own trail. There are a couple of places where I take shortcuts through the woods, myself. So I didn't think much of the incident, until I was not able to find the shortcut trail that suppossedly the young woman with the German Shepherd took to the trailhead, again, and the fact that I've never seen her.


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## knightrider

> April is totally fine with semis going 50 mph just 10 feet in front of her, even with cars honking at us from behind, but tractors? Nope, nope and more nope. I wish I could take some time to get her used to seeing it, but the BO only takes it out maybe once a month and I'm often not there when she does. Otherwise, it's locked up in the shed. I got her to walk past it with some jigging and snorting, but she hates that thing!


This is my Isabeau 100%. She just hates tractors. She doesn't care about any other kind of vehicles, but NO TRACTORS! The only two times she has ever bolted was when we came over a hill and there was a tractor working the land. I think part of it is that the tractors always show up in places where she has never seen them before, on trails that she has ridden hundreds of times . . . and suddenly, there is a tractor there!

A week and a half ago, I was camping with some friends. We rode past a very dear friend's house, who had passed away. The house was to go to a grandson, but they must have changed their minds and decided to sell it instead. When we rode past, a realtor was appraising the house and took our picture. There we are in the realty ad. I don't get around to taking many pictures, so here is one of my friend and me.

Here is a funny aside: the realtor told us how much she was asking for the house and property, and my friend thought they would never in a million years get that amount. I said, "I don't know, the house is really nice and the back gate is right on a huge horse park. It has a barn, a workshop and a carport, is fully fenced, and completely secluded. It has water and electric hook-up for another trailer. And it is 10 acres. Seems like quite a reasonable price to me." 

My friend said, "Nah, it is never going to sell at that price." We found out today, it is already sold, to two horse riding ladies. It sold in 10 days.

So, here is our picture outside our old friend's place. The first photo was taken years ago outside our friend's house with @4horses on my Chorro, back when our friend was alive and we went riding with him all the time. The second photo is the one the realtor took of my friend and I when we saw our friend's grandkids and stopped to say "hi."


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## Saigold

@Chorrorider I was more thinking of the ...never heard from again... point of view haha.

@knightrider the properties here sell for insane amounts too and fast! It seems people are coming from bigger cities and then just commute.


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## Saigold

@charrorider one of these days I’ll actually spell your nickname right lol


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## Celeste

I just don't see how you all ride when the temperatures are so cold. I rode Saturday. It was 50 degrees Fahrenheit but the wind was blowing like crazy. It was also as humid as could be. I thought I was going to freeze to death. 

The problem I have is the mud. My sweet girl went willingly through the horrible mud going towards our trail. The actual trail was relatively dry because it is on higher ground. On the way back, she slipped in the mud and I was afraid she would fall. I told my DH about it. When I told him I would much rather break my leg than have her break hers, he looked at me kind of funny. But mine is much more likely to be fixable.

There is another direction that I can ride, but I have to get by three versions of the "Hound of the Baskervilles" first. They are American Bulldogs. They are supposed to be gentle, but they are HUGE and very scary. I think that I am going to talk to their owner and ask her to put them up when I ride.

The pictures show the conditions that we have to ride in.

I am up to a whopping 15 miles this year. It is depressing.


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## Aprilswissmiss

Celeste said:


> I just don't see how you all ride when the temperatures are so cold. I rode Saturday. It was 50 degrees Fahrenheit but the wind was blowing like crazy. It was also as humid as could be. I thought I was going to freeze to death.


:rofl:

I grew up in Maine. Wanna talk about freezing to death? How about replacing a flat tire in -5 Fahrenheit, with a windchill of -20 F, at 11 pm, while snowing, with only a sweatshirt and jeans on? And to think that's not even near as cold as the midwest!

I am grateful for anything above freezing!


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## ChasingDreams

I’m ok to ride until about 25-28F.... anything below that and all the bundling in the world won’t keep me warm. The amount of wind, and my general fortitude that day, come into account  And ice, if the lane is icy I know the quarry will be a mess which keeps me limited to the top trails. But, the top of the hill is generally ok in most weather because it has plenty of drainage.

My biggest deterrent is lack of daylight hours. I hate that it is dark before 5pm.


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## knightrider

> @Chorrorider I was more thinking of the ...never heard from again... point of view haha.


Ha ha ha ha, @Saigold! Chorrorider could be my screen name, since my heart horse is my Chorro in that picture. I thought seriously of naming my horse Charro, which is slang for cowboy in Spanish. Instead I chose Chorro Oscuro, which means "burst or jet" in Spanish. I thought "Dark Jet" was more elegant than "Dark Cowboy" and my Chorro is certainly elegant.


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## AndyTheCornbread

When I was real little we used to gather cows twice a day on horseback. This was in ND where -20F to -30F without counting the wind was the norm many mornings at 4:30am when we went to get them. With windchill it could easily be -50F. Even at that tiny age back then I swore I was never getting on a horse again when it was cold if I could help it. My horses get a winter vacation, it takes an enormous amount of unique situation to get me to even think of getting on a horse in winter. It happens but I avoid it as much as possible. My great uncle at the time used to still do a lot of his work with horse teams and I can remember harnessing horses and riding in his winter sled behind the team and it was so cold you felt like your fingers would never be able to move again. So yep I feel for you all who ride in winter but I won't be joining you.


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## carshon

I am with @AndyTheCornbread I don't live in MT or that far north but growing up my sisters and I had to carry buckets of water from the bathtub in the house to the horses, cows, pigs, chickens ducks and rabbits twice a day. We had to do this for as long as I can remember and it was not just one trip it was 2-3 for each of us girls. Twice a day every day. I can remember having fingers and feet so cold I thought they clunked. When done we would put our school shoes on and go to the top of the lane to stand in the cold to wait for the bus. We rode sparingly in the winter and I still don't ride much in the winter. My horses get a vacation!


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## Aprilswissmiss

I was a quitter today. We always cross the road to get to our trails, but after heavy rains, the BO doesn't let us ride over her grass lawn. Instead, I have to ride down the driveway, and then down the road a few hundred feet to where I would normally cross the road from the lawn directly onto the trails. This normally isn't a problem if I can find a break in traffic for it to be safe - there are no sidewalks and no shoulder to ride on in this stretch of road. If you're riding on the road, you're practically riding in the middle of one of the lanes.

Today, we tacked up, rode down the driveway, and then watched the road for quite a while... Not a single break in 50 mph traffic anywhere. Not safe to ride on the road. So, we turned around and rode in the arena instead. Although it was a minor disappointment, I realized that April is in much better shape than before, and offered me a lovely canter. About 6 months ago, she wouldn't have been strong enough to sustain a balanced canter for more than a few strides. Though not a trail ride, it was a good ride!


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## charrorider

Saigold. No problem.
If I were to add all the minutes I spent riding next fo a paved road in an entire year, it probably wouldn't add up to 10 mins. There is a gravel road where I spent probably about 60 mins a year. But most of the time, I don't see a vehicle there. I hate riding on the road. There's something about getting on a horse and being with Nature that is lacking when traffic is present.


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## Aprilswissmiss

charrorider said:


> If I were to add all the minutes I spent riding next fo a paved road in an entire year, it probably wouldn't add up to 10 mins. There is a gravel road where I spent probably about 60 mins a year. But most of the time, I don't see a vehicle there. I hate riding on the road. There's something about getting on a horse and being with Nature that is lacking when traffic is present.


If I had the option to avoid roads, I certainly would! The hard part is, I'm in an area far away enough from Philly that there are plenty of horse stables around, but not far away enough that I have plenty of wooded trails at my disposal - and not deep enough into Amish country that people wouldn't give a second thought to seeing me ride on the road!


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## whisperbaby22

The weather here has been great, up in the 60's and I've been able to ride a lot. This tree is one of many that grow right out in the sand, and seems to be doing quite well. I know that there is probably water not to far down, but it's still cool that they are here and not blown over by the desert winds.


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## Saigold

Winter riding has its benefits. Cold with windchill. Not my favourites but it beats the high heat with humidity and biting bugs!! Our place has some wetlands on it and the deer flies are the size of small rabbits. 

I had the opportunity to ride today. But decided to groom the boys thoroughly instead and give a good hand rub down along the neck and back. Duke was pleasantly surprised that we didn’t go riding. Both kept trying to hit me up for more carrots lol.


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## phantomhorse13

Monday, I got George and Phin out. The whole story is in my journal.




















Yesterday, I got them out again:


















2020 mileage
...
1/27 george w/phin 6.62 miles 1276 ft climb 4.2 mph 21F 133.86 total miles
1/28 george w/phin 8.07 miles 1667 ft climb 4.4 mph 23F *141.93 total miles*


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## ChasingDreams

Aprilswissmiss said:


> If I had the option to avoid roads, I certainly would! The hard part is, I'm in an area far away enough from Philly that there are plenty of horse stables around, but not far away enough that I have plenty of wooded trails at my disposal - and not deep enough into Amish country that people wouldn't give a second thought to seeing me ride on the road!



I’m in York! We might be pretty close  

I feel exactly like you though, it’s country enough to have a horse property but still kind of suburbs... so riding down the road isn’t really a thing. 

I’m stuck with the trails on property, but I’m definitely thankful to have those!!


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## trailhorserider

I got a couple of rides in during the past week but didn't take the camera. I didn't go very far anyway. But today I did a short ride to the forest (yay!!!) and took the camera just to share with you guys. We were only out about an hour, so maybe 3 miles.......I don't keep track. But just the fact that I got out there was awesome (because the mud had been so bad I hadn't been riding on the forest). 

So here is my pretty girl Diamond and the requisite ear-shots. :Angel:


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## rambo99

Took out the boys and rode around the yard where plowed out. It was already getting late so just about ten minutes of walking around. 

Rode ice in just his rope halter and lead rope tied as reins. Did pretty good considering he was full of it. Took a picture of him in the barn after ride. 

Of course after his short ride, gotta get that extra scoop of pellets,and apple for being a good boy. 🐴. 

Hubby gonna plow us some paths. So we can ride somewhere, other then just driveway. Hubby will do that this weekend.


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## Aprilswissmiss

ChasingDreams said:


> I’m in York! We might be pretty close
> 
> I feel exactly like you though, it’s country enough to have a horse property but still kind of suburbs... so riding down the road isn’t really a thing.
> 
> I’m stuck with the trails on property, but I’m definitely thankful to have those!!


I wish there were trails on our boarding property! We're probably a bit more suburban than where you are. Sometimes I ride on the sidewalks of developments just to have something to do.

I board at a place in Souderton, looks like it's 2 hours from York. It would be neat if some time you, @phantomhorse13 and I found a place to ride somewhere in the middle of us three!


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## ChasingDreams

Aprilswissmiss said:


> I wish there were trails on our boarding property! We're probably a bit more suburban than where you are. Sometimes I ride on the sidewalks of developments just to have something to do.
> 
> 
> 
> I board at a place in Souderton, looks like it's 2 hours from York. It would be neat if some time you, @phantomhorse13 and I found a place to ride somewhere in the middle of us three!




I need to think about getting a trailer. I’ve never hauled personally, and I’m pretty nervous about doing it alone for the first time. I’ve helped my cousin load and unload hundreds of times... but I’ve never been the one driving lol. 

I mean, you could always swing by and pick me and Chase up and we can go meet @phantomhorse13  She seems to know all the good places to ride anyway lol


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## ChasingDreams

@trailhorserider lovely photos! That looks pretty dry to me lol where are you? You should see some of the mud we get here, our winters are just mild enough that the ground doesn’t stay frozen very long if at all.... so mud is a constant...[emoji30]

Diamond is gorgeous [emoji7]


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## phantomhorse13

Aprilswissmiss said:


> I board at a place in Souderton, looks like it's 2 hours from York. It would be neat if some time you, @*phantomhorse13* and I found a place to ride somewhere in the middle of us three!


 Blue Marsh (Bernville) would be in the middle of us and @*ChasingDreams* and has some great trails. But its a long walk if you don't have a trailer! But never know what the future may bring..


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## Aprilswissmiss

ChasingDreams said:


> I need to think about getting a trailer. I’ve never hauled personally, and I’m pretty nervous about doing it alone for the first time. I’ve helped my cousin load and unload hundreds of times... but I’ve never been the one driving lol.
> 
> I mean, you could always swing by and pick me and Chase up and we can go meet @phantomhorse13  She seems to know all the good places to ride anyway lol


I'm in the same boat, no trailer. Cheap college student so I don't plan on getting one soon either. But I have horsey friends with trucks and trailers that maybe some time in the future would drive us if I asked nicely and paid them well :grin:


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## rambo99

@trailhorserider beautiful horse love her looks. 

Rode today in driveway spent an hour an half was 18 degrees out. Ice was wanting to go out on the trails. Kept going to end of driveway trying to head out. He was very, very forward walking fast and looking around. 

Went off on some plowed paths hubby has that go no where. Had fun but got cold at the end. Here's a few pictures.


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## Saigold

@rambo99 love your palomino. I love all colours, but palomino, buckskin and dapple greys always had a special place in my heart!


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## cbar

It has been a busy couple weeks but I have managed to get some riding time. 

I had ordered a new halter/bridle for Tiger and wanted to try it out. So I rode for a short way in the fields last night and managed to flush out a couple moose. Kept our ride short & sweet as the wind was pretty chilly and I am still fighting a cold/flu. Plus, I currently have stitches in my back and when I'm riding, my pants sit right where the incision is and it was really getting annoying! 

I am still sans saddle for Amber, so have forced her to go walking/running with me down the road. So far we have logged about 13 miles of running/walking. I was going to take her out after work today but it is WINDY out there. And I despise the wind....so our walk may wait until tomorrow. 

I am so jealous of people posting rides in warmer climates. 

2020 miles: 10 trail riding, 13 walking


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## ChasingDreams

First ride of February! I had to turn my tracker off about a half mile before we got back to the barn because my phone battery was nearly gone. If my phone dies, I lose the entire ride in the app.

It’s ok though, I figure the half mile will come out in the wash one way or another  










Chase was *mostly* well behaved, though a bit on the lazy side. We had some discussions coming up along the field towards the big hill, but he gave over quicker than he has been so I’ll take it.

It also started to rain towards the end of the ride... a trend for my rides in good ole PA [emoji23] But, it was over 40F and only a light rain so it wasn’t awful. 









https://vimeo.com/388739054
















2020 miles~ 30

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## cbar

I actually did get Ms. Amber out for a quick walk last night - despite the wind. It was only about 3km or so, but better than nothing!

Today it was quite windy but warm out (+6 celsius). So decided to take Tiger for a quick ride in the fields to take advantage of the warmer temps. Saw another moose - this time a big bull moose. I wish I was more handy with my phone but I always miss the photo ops!! 

Just as we were heading back into the yard, the wind picked up and HOLY COW was it intense! I basically grabbed all the tack off Tiger, gave him a cookie and chucked him back into the paddock just as it started sleeting/raining. We ended up getting about 4-5" of heavy/wet snow by the end of it. 

I did take pics but will have to post them from my other computer. I figure we did about 5km of riding today.


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## whisperbaby22

Had a bit of a heat spell for a few days, but that is not unusual for this time of year. It will cool down next week, but every day that I can, I get out and ride.


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## ChasingDreams

Rode again today. It was a much colder than yesterday, instead of rain we had wind and snow flurries. 

Chase was very well behaved, though maybe the laziest he’s ever been on a solo ride. I don’t know if he was tired from yesterday’s ride, or just not thrilled with the cold and damp weather (I know I wasn’t!) Didn’t take any photos since I took a bunch yesterday, but here’s my ride map:










2020 miles~ 34


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## Aprilswissmiss

We rode out with the BO today since we were both interested in exploring a (rather short) trail we hadn't been on before, nor even noticed before.

At first, April was quite confused that we were riding with another horse for a change! She settled in after a few minutes. BO has not ridden her horse Misty in 3 months so we had some minor difficulties keeping pace with each other. Misty was a great sport, but tired very easily. It doesn't help that April has a much, much longer stride than Misty. April's normal walk is Misty's trot, April's collected trot is Misty's canter, and April's extended trot is Misty's gallop! When we started trotting a tiny bit, the BO was like "You're right, April DOES have a really long trot!" which I responded to with "This is the most collected she's ever been!" and dropped the reins to let April show off her HUGE ground-covering Standardbred trot, which felt like we were taking off at a gallop as we left Misty in the dust cantering behind us, LOL. It goes without saying that we walked almost the entire ride. By the end, April was walking very leisurely along and Misty kept falling behind and trotting to catch up.

April decided to poop on the long bridge. Twice. Once away from home, once on the way back. Each time, I had to get off while BO held April so I could kick the poop off the bridge. The second time, I got some pictures - April was all stretched out to reach the best grass, and I couldn't help but laugh :rofl:


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## trailhorserider

ChasingDreams said:


> @*trailhorserider* lovely photos! That looks pretty dry to me lol where are you? You should see some of the mud we get here, our winters are just mild enough that the ground doesn’t stay frozen very long if at all.... so mud is a constant...[emoji30]
> 
> Diamond is gorgeous [emoji7]
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



I'm in north-eastern Arizona. Normally not known for mud, lol, but the soil is clay and certain areas retain a lot of mud even when other areas are dry. Most of the forest is dry enough to ride. A little bit of area right before and right on the forest is horse-sucking clay!

Did a wonderful little ride today. 57F degrees and a little breezy because there is a cold storm moving in tomorrow. But today was lovely! I'm so glad a I got a ride in. And Diamond barely broke a sweat! Lately she has been working herself into a tizzy in a hurry to get home, so she arrives all sweaty because I've been trying to get her to walk and she wants to jig. But today she was wonderful. It was a beautiful day!


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## Celeste

It was a beautiful day today. The pathway to the trail is still a mud hole, but once we get past that, we are good to go. I haven't ridden enough lately and my mare was wired. She was ready to go, but it was so wet that I had to make her walk most of the time. I don't gallop in slime pits that can throw a running horse off of their feet. 

There is one place that was dry enough for a short gallop. It was started with a bit of a h**l yes kick up of the back feet and off we went. So much fun!!

3.23 miles today. 

The first picture is the road to the trail. It is a very short distance that is like this. The second two are actually on the good trail.


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## rambo99

Got some ride time have a path plowed out around the fence line. So can ride more then just driveway. 

Ice was thrilled for a new adventure, he's still wanting to head out to trails. Hopefully by mid March we can get to the dirt road. Snow Banks by then should be, melted down enough to go over them. 

Had fun riding around our place, enjoying the lovely weather we had.


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## charrorider

Nice weather here, also. Sunny with temps in the low 70s. Chance and I went out for an 8 mile (13 km) ride. The Forestry Service seems to be getting ready to do some controlled burning. The firebreaks make nice lanes for cantering. I have 45 miles so far in 2020, which is a bit more than the 10 miles (16 km) I had at this point in 2019. But this will be it for me for a while, as I'm having surgery and the doctors say no riding for 3 months. So keep posting, so I can live vicariously.


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## Celeste

I made a video. I call it "Down the Center Line" ******* Version

I have to guide my horse down the center of the road, or she will get stuck. There are just a few spots like this.


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## charrorider

Uploaded the wrong photo of the firebreaks. Sorry.


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## Change

@Celeste - I suspect Tango would see all that lovely mud and Stop, Drop, and Roll. 😯


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## Celeste

@Change I bet he would. I remember when you posted those pictures from that endurance ride. I was thinking to myself, now why would she bring such a dirty horse out. Then I heard the rest of the story. About his stop, drop, and roll. 

My horse used to be afraid to get her feet wet.


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## weeedlady

We had a glorious day here in NE Ohio and I finally got Raven out for a ride. I'm guessing 3 miles with friends, then they turned around and I went on alone. (I LOVE riding alone). About 11 miles total for today. 28.7 YTD.


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## knightrider

Fun camping trip with 2 mule riding friends. Rain was predicted the whole weekend, but we need rain, so I tried not to worry too much. It was only supposed to rain in the afternoons and rain all night, and we ride mostly in the mornings. One of the mule owners showed up late so we ended up riding all morning and then all afternoon, as the predicted rain never showed up. Beautiful trails, fun companions, well behaved equids.

I decided to take Isabeau because she doesn't haul or camp very well, and she needs the practice. One of my mule riding friends gave me some Outlast to try. It seemed to work remarkably well. Then something odd--she seemed to go into withdrawal after a period of time and be more anxious than ever. So . . . still not sure about the efficacy of Outlast . . . I'm going to buy a bag and keep evaluating it. Isabeau is not anxious under saddle--it's just the hauling and stabling that seem to worry her. She won't even stand near a trailer, she hates them so. But she self loads like a dream. Once she's in, she panics. Quirky mare. Great to ride, and I had a marvelous time.

Totals for the month of January:

71 hours
234.4 miles

I've been riding twice a day sometimes because different friends can ride different times. People in Florida are so wimpy about the weather. I'm from Maryland, and riding in 32 degrees is nothing to me, but Floridians go nuts and say I'm crazy. I have a grand time dressed warmly. Then ride later when it is 67 degrees in the sunshine. It's all good.


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## QueenofFrance08

Couldn't miss our chance at a 42 degree day in February even if it was a little windy! We headed an hour away to one of the few parks that has winter trails. Apparently ended up on the wrong one and got busted by the park police (they don't mark it and it's a summer horse trail so we didn't know) but had a great time and did almost 7 miles!


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## weeedlady

Today was Tucker's turn and we got another 8.5 miles. Well I rode for 5 miles and walked for 3.5, but I'm counting it. He was a very good boy today.....until he wasn't. We were heading back to the trailer, I was leading him because we had just crossed a busy road and he was a bit wound up. Before getting back on I decided to take my jacket off. I let go of him for a split second and he decided he was going on without me. I watched him fly off up the trail at a full gallop. He was waiting at the trailer when I finally limped in an hour and 1/2 later.


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## carshon

@weedlady so sorry about the unexpected hike. But that tail is gorgeous! and I very rarely like a horse with a flaxen mane and tail


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## PoptartShop

So jealous of all the beautiful rides!  It's been raining here NONSTOP, so I haven't been able to ride. :sad: But I am enjoying all of the photos!!


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## ChasingDreams

@weedlady OMG [emoji33] I think I would have had a heart attack right then and there. Good boy for going to the trailer, but oh my geez. 

I almost lost Chase once, we were riding and my bridle literally fell off his face (it was a cheap one, lesson learned) I didn’t have a halter or lead, so I hopped off to fix it while he ate grass nearby. 

After I rigged it up, I went to catch him and the little turd ran from me. He didn’t go far, thankfully, but he didn’t let me catch him either. Commence, ring-around-the-horsie while I cursed and BM laughed [emoji2960] I did eventually catch him, but I wasn’t happy about his little game....


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## Aprilswissmiss

Today was absolutely beautiful, 60 degrees, no jacket needed!

We had our own scary moment today. We still had to head out through the road since the ground was still soaking wet and we're not allowed to cross the lawn when it's wet. I don't know why the ground was soaked, since it's been a week and a half since we got a heavy rain. Anyway, we found a break in traffic and headed out. April spooked at a manhole cover - you know, the ones she walks over _every ride_ - and planted her feet so quickly in her typical spook fashion (like at that stroller, except on pavement) that her front feet slipped out from under her for a split second. If she was a little less strong, I bet she would have gone down in the middle of the intersection, but she caught herself and was fine. I instinctively grabbed mane to save myself from slipping off, so no harm done and we continued on. I'm just glad she stops when she spooks instead of running off.

I tried to explore some new areas that weren't just trails today, and see how far I could go before I hit private property. I didn't get very far, but did find a couple new places. The ground was so muddy and wet that we mostly walked, except for some good solid patches.

One place that we have been through before is a small grassy section between fence and woods. The fence is chain link with three lines of barbed wire on top, and surrounds a meat packaging plant. I think it's ironic that they're so serious about their security, when they always leave the back gate wide open!! :rofl:

3.2 miles, 50 minutes, mostly walking.


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## Saigold

Got out for a ride today. After a week off figured even a little ride will be good. The plan was to walk around our place and go back home. That mostly panned out until when Duke thought I was going to make him walk another circle, and started to trot and then canter back toward the barn. I didn’t have my feet in the stirrups and we were going down a lane way with ice in the ruts. He was refusing to stop. With no safe spot to circle, I had to wait until the lane way opened up. I’m thinking maybe he went into a canter as I gripped with my feet on his barrel to stay on but then he should know better. So as soon as it was safe, I steered him left, kicked his hind end over and he stopped. Swung him around and made him trot back the way we came and then canter once we were back on the field. He did show his displeasure a few times when I asked for a canter by snaking his head around and crow hopping. Which earned him more work and a ‘quit it’ bellow several times. But then quit the tantrum. We went a ways around the field before I eased up on him and asked for a walk. When he seemed to be thinking instead of reacting I turned him back and we walked back home. At the spot he took of me last time I asked him to walk past the lane way. He complied with minimal fuss. Then asked for a few halts and walking away from home a short distance and he listened each time. We turned and walked back to the barn. Don’t know if it was the week off, the fact that I left his buddy in the paddock instead of the pasture like usual or because it was a nice ish day. But that was more work than I wanted. 

Reading from a few, it sounds like I wasn’t the only one with a fresh horse lol. 

Jsut over 3kms today. 2020 mileage 87km.


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## Saigold

Got another ride in today. It was cooler -4c with windchill that was not pleasant. We Started out well and even seen a herd of 5-7 deer close by, which was pretty awesome. I don’t really expect to see much wildlife when the dog is with us as he tends to be loud. Anytime we slow down or stop he’ll let out barks. Which is super annoying, and he’ll do it even with a bark collar. Well that spooked the deer off in a hurry and he didn’t even see them. Then duke decided he was done and wanted to head for home. The ****** started cantering homeward and wouldn’t slow down when asked, in fact he accelerated. Was pretty disappointed by that stunt. Circled in a really big circle to quit the run for the roses, there was snow-cover and I didn’t feel like doing a snow angel with both of us. After that turned him 180 degrees and made him trot. Then he tried it again and even threw in a buck for good measure. I was able to pull him up fairly quickly this time and made him run in circles with his nose almost touching his butt. I was NOT impressed by this. After that he settled right down as if nothing happened and was good as gold for the rest of the ride. Asked for a few transitions throughout and circles just to check responsiveness and he’d do it with the slightest touch of leg and neck rein. So by the end I told him he almost made up for the mad dash and that I wasn’t mad at him anymore. He gave a content sigh and we headed for home. I asked him to walk past the lane way where he took off last time and again he was well behaved. Think we need to establish a bit of respect from the ground next time we head out. He’s tends to be good that I don’t expect him to give me a ride with both hands on the reins. 

Despite the temper tantrum it was still a good ride over all. 

7km, brings the total of the year up to 94km.


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## Cordillera Cowboy

Love seeing all the photos and stories. I took the little horse out for a short ride up the mountain. About an hour out and another back at an easy walk. The young ranch dogs followed me out for the first time since they’ve been here. But they turned back about halfway out. 

We passed a neighbors charcoal camp. Then, met some neighbors working their Camote (yams). We turned down towards the barangay of Bintawan, to the paved road past the gates of a couple of our well to do neighbors. We turned back there, getting home just in time for lunch.


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## Cordillera Cowboy

The site is only allowing one photo at a time. Here’s the charcoal camp.


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## Cordillera Cowboy

And the beginning of the paved road.


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## Cordillera Cowboy

We stopped for a look at the limestone cliffs to our northeast. Some naturalist friends and I hiked to a cave there a few months ago.


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## ChasingDreams

Got an early ride in today. It was around 30F when I got to the barn, probably close to 35F when we finished. 

Chase was pleasantly well behaved. We did have a little discussion about passing a tractor loaded with round bales on the service road up top, but nothing serious... a little side-eyeing and a few failed attempts to turn back the other direction but with some encouragement he got his nerve and we could work through it.

I have a lot of pictures of the lake, and not many of the quarry so: 


































2020 miles ~ 39



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## Aprilswissmiss

Today, we went and trotted the whole length of the paved trail (minus walking across the two bridges). The ground had dried out enough that we stayed on the grass 90% of the time. At the end of it, we did a quick walk/trot through the very short trail system we discovered across the road from the paved trail. Trotted the whole length of the paved trail back, rather uneventful (which isn't a bad thing!)

Then crossed the road and went through the wooded trails. Also pretty uneventful. The fields and some of the wooded trails were still very wet, so we took quite a few walk breaks, with some trotting in the somewhat dry areas. On our way back through the last two fields before we got back home, I dropped the reins to let April go wherever she wanted, just to see what she would do. As I expected, she just ambled right through the middle of the fields (rather than skirting the edges like we usually do) going in some random aimless zig-zag pattern.

I picked up the reins when I saw a police officer sitting on the road up ahead at the edge of the field. Didn't feel like getting "pulled over" for what probably looked like drunk riding on a drunk horse :rofl:

5.2 miles, 3.5 trotting, a little longer than an hour. Overall a really good ride!


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## knightrider

Today was our riding club's "Memorial Pizza Ride." We ride for a couple of hours, then eat pizza and people say nice things about beloved members of the club who have passed on.

I got to ride with some friends, two of whom are crippled from accidents, one horse related. One friend has a torn ACL and the other friend has a broken foot. Broken foot friend can only walk with crutches, no weight yet on the foot, but boy, does she get around! I tacked up for her (also for the torn ACL friend), and then she climbed up on a picnic table and tossed her unusable foot over the saddle and rode 2 hours and 15 minutes with no stirrup.

We had a fabulous ride. Great weather, sunny and pleasant, well-behaved equids, including a mule, interesting company. And pizza afterward. Very fun morning. Sorry, I rarely remember to take my phone or take photos.


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## ChasingDreams

Rode with Liam (grey throroughred) and his owner for the first time today! We had a blast, it took them a bit to get used to riding together and set a pace (and who should lead [emoji23]) but they figured it out with minimal fuss. Chase had to hustle a bit to keep up with Liam’s big stride. 

It was beautiful, not too cold to be uncomfortable... the sun made it feel pretty warm with layers on. So nice getting out with someone else for a change, though! She’d been having some confidence issues after a health episode last year and hadn’t ridden in months... but, she seemed happy that I bugged her until she finally came out with me  We are definitely going to ride together more!

(Some of these pictures were hers)


























2020 miles~ 44


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## Aprilswissmiss

Group trail ride today! I am very grateful for my BO who lets me borrow her horse, and another boarder who lets me borrow hers as well, for group trail rides with my friends.

I always put someone else on April because she's a total babysitter and never does anything stupid. Same with BO's horse, Misty. I put myself on Jess (boarder's horse) because she tends to be an idiot on trails and if anyone is gonna get hurt, I would rather it be me. I find myself calling her everything _except_ Jess: wingnut, ding dong, doofus...

One friend had been on rides with me before, so she rode Misty, since she loved riding her last time. The other friend who hasn't ridden with me before rode April, and myself, as usual, was on Jess. We headed out down the driveway and onto the road, Jess in the lead, surprisingly. The only problem is, she never just stops when she reaches the road. She's so bullheaded that she'll blow right past the reins and walk straight into traffic if I don't pull her to the side. And then she dances because she thinks we're turning back home, and doesn't want to turn back to the correct direction. April and Misty watched for traffic while I kept Jess occupied in her minor temper tantrum.

Once we were headed out, all was good. We started by going down the paved trail. I let April go in front to cross the bridge first, because she always crosses the bridges without hesitation when I ride alone. Well, she definitely was putting the new friend through her paces, because she just... Stopped. My friend was worried April was going to blow a fuse in a second, but I could tell from the content smirk on April's face that she was just seeing how long she could get away with standing still :rofl: I told her to boot April forward and we eventually (after April tried playing the stand still game for about 5 minutes, inching up one step at a time) crossed both bridges without a problem.

I warned the new friend that April has a *big* trot. She almost lost her seat in the first few trot strides, so I said that the experienced friend (who has ridden April before and already negotiated her trot) might want to switch horses, so inexperienced friend got slow and easy Misty for the rest of the ride. That worked out just fine, until I (in the lead) looked back to see experienced friend trying to get a feel for April's trot again and could not help but burst out in hysterical laughter watching April smugly trot along with her feet gracefully lifting off the ground in huge bounds while friend got flung in every direction. At that point I was laughing too hard to keep Jess (who couldn't go in a straight line if her life depended on it) on track so we took a detour cantering almost completely sideways through a field while I laughed my butt off and the other two continued onwards parallel to me 100ft away :rofl:

The rest of the trail ride was just more sh- I mean, poos (literally) and giggles. A great ride! On our way back across the road, Jess tried to make more suicide jumps into traffic, but then while we were on the road, spooked at traffic waaaay down the road and jumped onto BO's nice grass lawn - which was the exact thing we were avoiding by going all the way around :icon_rolleyes: I apologized to BO and filled in the holes after we untacked. She understood and said it was the same move Jess pulled when her owner took her out last and she got a good laugh out of it as she was watching us ride back.

GPS tracker for some reason quit half way through the ride, but I know it was the same exact ride I took yesterday - about 5 miles, except more like two and a half hours today rather than 1 since we did lots of walking with Misty tagging along. Absolutely beautiful weather!

I apologize for the long post, and thank you if you read this far!


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## knightrider

Fun ride with equids today. 3 mules and a donkey pulling a cart, one quarter horse, and my Paso Fino, Isabeau. I am experimenting with Outlast helping Isabeau not to be so anxious about hauling in the trailer.  This is my second trial using Outlast, and so far, it seems to help her quite a bit. Isabeau self loads perfectly in the trailer. It's after she gets in that seems to upset her so much. But with Outlast, she isn't nearly as anxious, doesn't kick, not sweaty.

This little donkey is named Doodles. My neighbor trained him from a yearling. She also trained her mule completely by herself. The quarter horse came from a rescue place here in Florida. He was a stallion that bucked everybody off. The lady who got him worked with him for 2 years. Today was his first trail ride. You would think he had ridden on trails for years, he was so good.

Isabeau is always lovely to ride. Our weather was ideal for riding. Our hostess, the donkey and mule owner, had tuna salad sandwiches for us after the ride. It was ever so much fun! We rode 7 miles in 2 1/2 hours.


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## ChasingDreams

@knightrider that’s so cool, the first picture especially is a keeper!! I love the diversity of the trail crew - and all gorgeous animals! My daughter really wants to ride in one of those carts lol




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## Aprilswissmiss

ChasingDreams said:


> @knightrider that’s so cool, the first picture especially is a keeper!! I love the diversity of the trail crew - and all gorgeous animals! My daughter really wants to ride in one of those carts lol


Time to train Chase to drive? He always reminded me of a bay paint pony I rode and drove for about a year.


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## ChasingDreams

Aprilswissmiss said:


> Time to train Chase to drive? He always reminded me of a bay paint pony I rode and drove for about a year.




Hmm... maybe could be fun [emoji848] when my husband asks why I’m looking at driving harnesses and carts I’m blaming you haha


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## carshon

I am so impressed that a new to trail riding horse would ride with a cart. We came upon a cart a couple of years ago and my horse darn near lost me she was so upset. Not sure if it was the mini pulling the cart or what but I know my horse could learn to be better around a cart


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## cbar

I have actually been able to get out for a few rides. I suck at tracking mileage as well as taking picture. 

I did trailer off property this past weekend and took Amber for a ride at a friend's place. The temperature wasn't bad, but it was incredibly windy - if it had been that windy when I left I probably would have cancelled. 

We are trying to figure out saddle fit dilemmas, so I rode Amber in a saddle I have on trial, and one of my friends borrowed my treeless to see how she liked it. 

Turns out the saddle I have on trial is not a fit - she had many dry patches after our ride. Sigh.....

The ride itself wasn't bad. It is the first real trail ride of 2020, and Amber did quite well. Her insecurities showed through a few times where she would get a little rushy and would also launch herself over snow banks. But overall it was a good ride and I was pleased.


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## knightrider

Interesting ride this morning for me. I got to ride my heart horse Chorro, whom I often don't get to ride because all the guests clamor to ride him. But today, no guests, so it was me who got to take him for a two hour ride. We were having an amazing time, when on the way home, I saw what looked like 4 piglets running through the woods, across the trail. As I got closer, I began to look for signs of hogs tearing up the ground and a worry--the mother. Where was the mother? I used to enjoy seeing piglets on my rides until I read how dangerous the mother can be. Worse than bears, so people say.

So . . . were they piglets? Or maybe possums? Or what? Both my little dog, who is the size of a small terrier, and Chorro were extremely interested in something off in the woods in the direction that the little animals ran. But the land was completely undisturbed, so maybe not hogs. And as I watched, a fairly large coyote came out of the woods. And he/she wasn't a bit afraid of me. This is the second time I have come across coyotes who don't show any fear.

The last time was about 4 years ago when a larger coyote and smaller one, we assumed male and female mates, ran alongside our horses about 50 feet away from us for a surprising amount of time.

This time, the coyote began to approach me, staring at me. I studied it for what seemed like a long time, with us both just standing there watching one another. Then the coyote noticed my little dog and began to approach my dog. My dog doesn't like other dogs--she doesn't want to play, she just wants to be left alone to go her own way. I was nervous about what the coyote might do, so I said, "Leave the dog alone! Go on. Leave!" And we rode on, with the coyote turning away, not quickly, not in fear, but almost reluctantly.

I've seen coyotes on rides probably 6 times in the past, and except for those two incidents, the coyotes take off as fast as they can disappear. Those 4 baby animals seemed too small for coyote pups. And they moved like pigs--like fat things on stubby feet. But there was no sign of land being torn up by hogs. Maybe possums? It made the ride interesting.

Here is a photo of what the woods looked like.


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## AndyTheCornbread

@knightrider is the lady in front of you in that picture carrying or is that a cell phone?

Also coyotes will eat your dog quicker than quick if they can get a hold of a small enough dog or if there is a bunch of them. It's best to keep your dogs away from them whenever possible.


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## ChasingDreams

@knightrider Be careful, a sign of rabies in coyotes is being bold and unafraid of humans. There was a couple of attacks near me just recently from a rabid coyote!! Confirmed, and two people and a dog were treated after receiving bites and scratches.


https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wg...id-coyote-found-in-dover-york-county/30913116


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## Aprilswissmiss

I second @ChasingDreams, please do be careful about coyotes! They shouldn't normally be out during the day. My family has coyotes living in the woods behind our house, and we know when they wake up because they all get up and howl together right around sunset. Rabid animals don't need to be showing the stereotypical foaming at the mouth and blind stumbling rage - just yesterday at the animal hospital we euthanized a rabid cat, and it was the most cooperative cat we saw all day. I'm not one to always jump to carrying guns, but in your case, I'd start bringing one along just in case.


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## phantomhorse13

I am so behind after being away for vaca and then winding up with the flu. 

Before we left for vaca, I got George and Phin out. The whole story is in my journal.


















2020 mileage
...
1/30 george w/ phin 16.76 miles 2087 ft climb 5.7 mph 26F *158.69 total miles*


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## ChasingDreams

I’m so proud of Chase. We rode with a dog today, and I wasn’t sure how he’d react to the dog passing him and being around his feet on the trail... but, he did awesome. Curious, and a tad unsure but he kept his cool. I was so happy!










We rode with Liam again. She didn’t have a whole ton of time to ride... so we did the top woods together, and then she and the pup turned back and Chase and I continued to the quarry.

Chase was so well behaved overall today. Pleasant mood (winter grumps seem to be gone) not too lazy or too rushy. A couple nice canters, and just a lovely ride.



























2020 miles ~ 49


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## knightrider

> Be careful, a sign of rabies in coyotes is being bold and unafraid of humans. There was a couple of attacks near me just recently from a rabid coyote!! Confirmed, and two people and a dog were treated after receiving bites and scratches.


Oh wow, it used to be all I worried about on the trail was bears. Shiver. I really don't like encountering bears. Then, a couple of months ago, I learned that momma sows and boars are dangerous. I used to think those little piglets racing down the trail were so cute. Now, I need to worry about coyotes as well. Thanks for the warning, I will take it to heart and give coyotes a wide berth.
@AndyTheCornbread, that's my daughter in the photo with her ever present cell phone.


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## ChasingDreams

knightrider said:


> Oh wow, it used to be all I worried about on the trail was bears. Shiver. I really don't like encountering bears. Then, a couple of months ago, I learned that momma sows and boars are dangerous. I used to think those little piglets racing down the trail were so cute. Now, I need to worry about coyotes as well. Thanks for the warning, I will take it to heart and give coyotes a wide berth.
> 
> 
> .



There was a better article about it that I read, had much more info than the one I posted. It said they are naturally very secretive animals... so approaching humans or walking in plain sight unafraid is out of character for a typical coyote, and should raise a red flag. 

I know for a fact there are coyotes in the woods where I ride (caught them on the deer cams)...and we are only maybe 20-30 mins from where that rabid one was found. Scary stuff...


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## trailhorserider

I can't speak for coyotes everywhere, but here in Arizona they are out during the day, all the time. It's normal for them to be out during the day.

They can be pretty fearless. Years ago when I lived in Phoenix and rode the mountain preserves, I would see coyotes trot after people on bicycles and the people never even saw them. I've had them follow me on horseback (once). It was a pack of several of them. That was kinda creepy. But I normally never give them a second thought. They WILL kill small dogs and cats, so if you are riding with a small dog, that coyote isn't trying to play, he is determining if the dog is an easy meal.

Yes, they can be rabid. But because they are out during the day and scoping out your dog doesn't necessarily mean they are. They are pretty bold by nature. I've had foxes do similar things.......get close enough to be creepy and act unafraid. 

Anyway, I wanted to post (kinda boring) pictures of my longest ride of the year today.......just shy of 3 hours. Not a record breaker but in the winter I usually only go out for an hour or two, so this was a good long one! Diamond was so good. I got off and walked her down a hill on our property because it was muddy and I worried about her slipping and instead I slipped and landed right on my butt and she just stood there like "sigh......stupid human tricks!" This is the second time I've fallen next to her and she doesn't even care. She's such a good girl! Many a horse would have used that as an excuse to run right back to the barn.

So we rode for 3 hours and did some mountain ridges and it's gnarly up there (no trail, just riding through the woods). You can really gouge up your legs if you're not careful. But we had a great ride. Diamond had lots of energy......just the way I like it.  We came upon a tree that I assumed got hit by lightning because it looked like it exploded! Shards of tree trunk laying everywhere. That has to be a lightning strike I would think......especially because it was a live tree and was still green. Lightning really scares me. I try to never be out during thunderstorms. I once saw a handful of dead cows underneath a big tree on a ride. :eek_color: 

PS. See all the little round pebbles in the lightning tree photo........it's elk poo! I didn't even notice it at the time until I put the photo on the computer. We have a lot of elk around here. :smile:


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## AtokaGhosthorse

Managed to get in two hours today... and it was snotty going too. So much mud. But we rode.

He was a sweaty mess when we got back and he got a good roll in some early season green grass before loading up. Had to do a little brush popping today... and it was awesome. Did a little Jim's Ride too - coming off an old part of the trail that had gotten too steep and rocky... he tucked his hiney and down the slope we went! Everyone else and their horses were like, nah mate. We'll go around. It was a little hairy, I admit, but Trigger said it was all good, so I took him at his word. We did fine.

Rode with some new friends of old friends today - one that was the most uhm... certain... of everything... and was directionally challenged, kept trying to insist at every junction Trigger was leading us the wrong way back to camp. I let everyone else deal with her - Trigger KNOWS his way back to camp, no matter where we are, even on new trails, it's weird. I trust him to get me home.

At one point she hollers up at me: Do you even know where you are?

Me, cheerfully shouting back behind me: Nope! But my horse does! I take him at his word!

I did actually know where we were... just let her stew on it a while. LOL


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## AtokaGhosthorse

Adding one more pic.


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## Celeste

We have a lot of mud. And rain. And more mud. I rode twice this past weekend. My total mileage for the year is only *24.33 miles*. All but three of those miles have been on my Princess. She actually stomps happily through the mud with no issues. It is amazing how much she has improved. 

I'll put this in two posts so that the pictures make since. 

Picture 1 Muddy road
Picture 2 Me and my shadow
Picture 3 A good dog loves to go along.


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## Celeste

Until recently, I have been having to carefully schedule three ladies so that there were no riding conflicts. One moved away. The other two just started in the RN program at the college where I teach. So I am just going to ride alone.

Emenem/Rapper/NotRapper/HorseWithNoName/HWNN/ and now officially *Dylan* just hasn't been ridden. He is very buddy sour and that has been a problem. Sunday, I decided that I would take him out. DH led him for the first little bit. Prissy (the dog) was along. As soon as DH turned him loose and stopped walking, he just looked ahead at Prissy. He was a little nervous, but he did great. He actually called out twice when he lost sight of Prissy, and she came right back. Who would have thought?

He plowed right through the mud to the main trail. Prissy was ahead of us and spooked out a big redtailed hawk. She stopped and looked at it fly. Dylan and I did the same. It was a beautiful bird!

Mostly we had to walk due to the mud. I did get him to do a running walk and a very short little canter. He falls into those gaits so easily that you hardly notice. He has automatic transmission whereas my Arab has manual transmission with a clutch that sometimes is sticky.

We got back to the house. I was trying to get a selfie with him. I couldn't get my arm far enough out that he wouldn't eat the phone. I was standing to the side for the most part, but slightly in front of him. DH quietly walked out of his shop and sort of accidentally snuck up behind us. After all that perfection, Dylan bolted forward and knocked me flat on my back. Fortunately he saw me on the ground and didn't stomp me. The ground was soft and I am fine. 

Everybody has to hit the dirt once in a while.

For those of you up north who have noticed me always wearing a hat; it is cold! It didn't make it over 55 degrees! Conditions like that are not fit for man nor beast.


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## Celeste

The earlier talk about coyotes got me to thinking; it would be unusual for a pair of coyotes to have rabies symptoms at the same time. If you are bitten by a wild carnivore, it has rabies until proven otherwise just like all humans have AIDS until proven otherwise if you have to be exposed to human blood. (Terrifying thought.)

My son lost a little dog to coyotes. My little dog has a dark o'clock curfew. She thinks that she could kill a bear. I'm sure that she would walk right down the throat of a pack of coyotes if they came around. 

That being said, most coyotes are shy during the day. If they are hungry, they will try to get a meal. Another issue is that not all coyotes are really pure coyotes. They are dog/coyote hybrids. The dog side has the instinct to be less wary of man, so that can make for a bolder animal. Another issue is that all wild animals can get used to humans. Think of the bison and elk in parks like Yellowstone. You can get really close to them before they get mad and go after you. 

I would have to be really afraid for my life to shoot a gun off of one of my horses. I would have to be more afraid of whatever I was shooting at than I was of riding a bronc. It would probably require a 2 legged animal to scare me that bad. Most humans don't actually need to be shot. They just need to see a crazy old woman with a gun and then they will leave you alone.


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## trailhorserider

Celeste said:


> For those of you up north who have noticed me always wearing a hat; it is cold! It didn't make it over 55 degrees! Conditions like that are not fit for man nor beast.



That's funny! The other day when I rode the high was around 55 and I was thinking, man, it feels like spring! (I won't ride under 45 degrees or so......it's Arizona, there is no need to).


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## phantomhorse13

Yesterday, the sun was shining and I was feeling mostly better so decided it was time to get back in the saddle. I rode George and ponied Phin to start with. The whole story is in my journal.



















Then I hopped on Phin bareback to walk Kestrel:









2020 mileage
...
2/17 george w/phin 8.64 miles 1480 ft climb 4.7 mph 38F 167.33 total miles
2/17 phin 1.15 miles 105 ft climb 3.0 mph 40F *168.48 total miles*


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## phantomhorse13

Today the sun was shining, so it was saddle time. The whole story is in my journal.

Phin was first:



















Next was George:


















2020 mileage
...
2/19 phin 7.15 miles 1342 ft climb 4.9 mph 25F 175.63 total miles
2/19 george 11.06 miles 1785 ft climb 4.7 mph 28F *186.69 total miles*


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## phantomhorse13

Today I got Phin out. The whole story is in my journal.



















2020 mileage
...
2/20 phin 7.82 miles 1014 ft climb 5.6 mph 18F *194.51 total miles*


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## knightrider

Today was a big BIG milestone for me. I got Isabeau in 2013. When I got her, she was quite difficult and needed a whole lot of training. She had a ton of issues, and one of the worst ones, besides rearing and coming over on her rider, was kicking in the trailer.

She is such a fantastic horse, and gives her rider such smooth gaits, no spook, great rides, that I just couldn't give up on getting her to be useful. My husband kept scolding about all the time I took trying to train her not to kick in the trailer. He'd come outside when he'd see me working with her and harangue me. "Why do you waste your time with training her? Just take one of the horses that trailer well. Why bother with her?" Because she is just SO MUCH FUN TO RIDE! I never get tired on rides with her. So she is the one I like to take for longish rides. But she ruined my trailer with all her kicking. We tried everything to get her to stop kicking in the trailer. Little by little, she kicked less and less, until finally, she doesn't kick any more. Maybe one kick every 9 rides or so, if something triggers her PTSD.

Last week, I decided to take the plunge and re-paint my ruined trailer. This was the final proof that Isabeau was truly done and finished with the kicking in the trailer.

Today was her first ride in the freshly painted trailer. Before I took her, I practiced loading her (and all my other horses too) because I knew they'd all be wary of the smell and look of the fresh paint. Isabeau knew it was very different, and she wasn't happy . . . but SHE DIDN'T KICK!!!!

Great trail ride with one of my mule riding friends and @4horses!
Big milestone after 7 long years of patient work.
First picture is how she ruined my trailer. Next pictures are the new paint job.


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## QueenofFrance08

@knightrider Your trailer looks awesome! Did you do it yourself or have it done? I need to get my new to me trailer painted...

Got a ride in on my only day off! Thankfully this year the nice weather has been on weekends! It was nicer on Saturday but I had to work until 3:30 so I didn't get out for a ride so Sunday we planned to drive to the open park that's an hour and 15 minutes away to get a decent ride in. A cattle sorting friend who wants to get into endurance wanted to join us so we planned to meet up Sunday morning. 

Imagine my surprise when I find out a small plane had crashed in the park we were planning to go to on Saturday unfortunately killing the pilot and closing the park for the foreseeable future. I knew a friend had ridden at the State Forest that is also an hour 15 away the day before so I messaged her asking her where to park/ride (the park has North and South trails and two separate camps, we've never ridden there before). When she didn't respond (which I found out later because she was driving to the park to ride again) I made a post on our MN Endurance group page knowing several riders live near there and could give me directions. One girl responded and offered to meet us there at 1! We headed out with Chico and Comet and got to ride 10 miles with our cattle sorting friend and her friend, the other Endurance rider (a 100 mile rider), her twin sister (who rides 50's) and the sister's daughter (another 50 mile rider). We had a great time! Chico and I headed up the back of the group for most of the ride since our cattle sorting friend was on a green horse who wasn't settling well so he was a good babysitter at the back of the line. He was trying to keep his distance from the mare in front of him and we trotted a bit to catch up with the group. Near the end, the 100 mile rider came back with her horse to ride/talk with us and all of a sudden Chico woke up and was trying to race her horse :rofl: Apparently he needed the 10 mile warmup before he was ready to go. I guess he's in better shape than I think!


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## egrogan

That looks so fun @*QueenofFrance08* ! Too icy to ride here Saturday, but we went out walking. Got a lot of melting on Sunday and waded through the mud on another walk. Felt great to stretch our legs for a few miles.

Saturday:


















Sunday:










I think you can tell which day she enjoyed more! :wink:


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## ChasingDreams

I’m so bummed, the first really nice weekend in forever and I didn’t get to the trails. I did have a nice sunset bareback ride in the arena and around the front field last night... so I did get to enjoy a bit of the good weather. It’s even nicer today, but I’m home with the kids until evening... I’m not-so-patiently waiting for longer days and weeknight trail rides.


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## lb27312

I finally got to ride!! Long story sorry! It's been a month... I had asked a friend that I was out with Friday if she wanted to ride, she said sure! I told her I would probably bring all three and would she be okay riding Challenger, she was. I've had Chal since he was 8 months old.... he's 19 now and has had a total of 4 people on his back... the last person before this ride was my ex-SO and Chal tossed him, not a strong toss just a crow hop but ex-SO was not a rider and Chal can get stubborn. But he's never done that since... anyhoo get to the ride location and I noticed my friend had her hubby with his cart. I've ponied Wrangler and Captain with the cart no issues no matter where the cart is, Captain kinda looks back at it but doesn't do much. Last time I rode Chal with the cart he would NOT want the cart behind him... grrrrr he was fine riding beside it and behind it but once it got behind he would get to jigging trying to look back. So I told my friend all about that and if she's not comfortable I'll get on. 

We start out in the back and everyone did great! My friends horse did a big spook but Chal didn't do anything, the friend riding(she's a rider but hadn't been in a while) said she was surprised he didn't flinch even, I'm a little surprised to as he has spooked off another horses spook. Then the pony got tired and needed to get in the back so I told her if he flinches just bring him back. He did great! He did cock his ears back and she just bumped him to get his attention back. 

Captain did good, he's got water crossings down, bridges and spooks. I had wanted to use the friends saddle on him but I forgot an extra saddle pad so she used it on Chal. It's a Billy Cook and I think it would work on Captain but she's not looking to get rid of it. If I had a saddle on him I would have gotten on while she ponied me after the ride. 

All had a great ride!! And the weather was awesome! Of course rain again :-(...

Didn't get pics and I just now got a new gps app as my last one quit working... Need to get used to the new one.

Miles - 6


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## knightrider

@QueenofFrance08, we are fortunate where we live and nice neighbors share their treasures. So we have a family of handymen who charge $10 an hour and can fix/paint/repair anything from cars to plumbing to fences. I had thought I was going to paint it myself and was so dreading it. I've painted trailers about 6 times in my life and dislike it more and more, each time I paint another one. The painting isn't bad, actually, it's the sanding and prepping that I loathe.

So, we bought the paint, the young fellow prepped and painted most of it with a little help from me on the painting part. My husband was supervising and said he prepped it really well. Prepping is so important and so miserable. If you slap on paint over a badly prepped trailer, it looks good for a little while . . . and then . . . yuck. So, I hope this paint job lasts as well as the jobs I did myself over the years.



> Last time I rode Chal with the cart he would NOT want the cart behind him... grrrrr he was fine riding beside it and behind it but once it got behind he would get to jigging trying to look back.


 @lb27312, that is exactly what my Isabeau did when we rode out with the donkey cart--just fine behind it and beside it, but whoa Nelly when it was behind her. She'd get really antsy and, like you said, constantly looking behind her.


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## phantomhorse13

Sunday, DH and I got Phin and George out. The whole story is in my journal.




























2020 mileage
...
2/23 phin 15.65 miles 2031 ft climb 5.8 mph 45F 210.16 total miles
2/23 phin 1.22 miles 105 ft climb 2.8 mph 45F *211.38 total miles*


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## knightrider

Just want to whine a little bit to somebody.

I ride one mile to a road that leads to trails. If I go left, I can ride on a dirt road that leads to many options. If I go right, same thing. So I have a lot of interesting choices.

Yesterday, I went left, down a dirt road past about 5 houses. At the 5th house, there are 2 dogs that like to bark at the horses. I've had dogs run out and bark at my horses all my life. My best defense is to ignore them. That usually works just fine.

Recently, one of the dogs, which looks like it might be a boxer/pit bull mix, has been getting more and more aggressive. He has started nipping at our horses' heels, and leaping at their faces. The owners, when they are home, try really hard to get their dogs to come back, but the dogs don't listen to the owners at all. They have no control over the dogs at all. We have talked to the owners at least 4 times, and they are courteous and apologetic and really try. They come racing out of their house--at least 2 adults and several kids--screaming at their dogs. It's pretty obvious they don't know how to train a dog.

We've tried bringing whips and swinging them at the aggressive dog (the other one just barks), and I am wondering if that has just made the dog more aggressive.

Yesterday, the dog got really aggressive. I was by myself on Acicate, and the dog wouldn't stop nipping at Aci's ankles and leaping at Aci's face. I swung my whip, which agitates Aci more, and seemed to agitate the dog more also. Aci was ready to start rearing, and about 6 times he refused to go on past the dog, even though we were heading for home. I am worried that my horses will start being afraid of dogs. They normally are not the least bit agitated when dogs come out and bark at them.

I am thinking I just can't go that way any more, and I am so sad. The other direction is lovely, but it was nice to have two lovely directions in which to ride. I am losing half my trails because of this stupid dog. I don't feel comfortable asking the owners to tie the dog up because nobody around here contains their dogs. We don't. The owners really do want to be helpful, but they are clearly unable to control their dogs.


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## egrogan

That's so annoying. We have a couple of houses we pass like that. I'm not sure if it's the right thing to do, but I tend to hop off and just pass the dog briskly, stomping the ground really loudly as I go. But those dogs have never threatened to nip or bite heels, so it's easy to call their bluff. I absolutely HATE when people have no control of their dogs and get louder and shriller the less the dogs listen. Are leashed/fenced dogs required where you live? It might be worth trying to "call the authorities" to get these people to have to tie up or fence the dogs before giving up your riding route entirely.


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## lb27312

@knightrider - That's scary that it's escalating, I wish the people had control over it, yelling isn't working. I would hate to hear that your horse got bit in the nose or it reared.... I would think it might make the horse scared of dogs if it was bit. jmho


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## PoptartShop

@knightrider that sucks, around here a lot of people yell at their dogs too (two of them nearby will bark when I'm out with Promise and they just yell at them like crazy - again, nothing changes). It's definitely not fair to you OR the horse. I wouldn't go that way either, at least not for a while - they need to be able to control their dog. It's ridiculous.


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## carshon

@knightrider get a squirt gun and put liquid smoke and water in it and squirt it at the dog. We used to use coyote urine and squirt mean dogs when we rode. It does not actually hurt the dog but the strong smell should deter them


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## charrorider

Since I can't ride for another two months due to the radical prostatectomy, I've been following the posts, here. I have a somewhat humorous story about barking dogs. My horses are very used to barking dogs. When riding the Yellow Loop on the Cole Creek trails, at one point one goes by a place that breeds high priced German Shepherds. Those dogs are too high priced to be allowed to run free. But their runs are close enough to the trail that they'll hear a rider and start the biggest raucous you've ever heard. The first time I took Chance out solo, we used the Yellow trail since it's the one closest to home. When we reached the German Shepherd place, the dogs began to bark. Chance was so happy. His ears perked up and he began neighing back. I guess the sound of barking dogs made him think he was back home and the horrible ordeal of the first solo ride was over. One could see the disappointment in his body language when he realized those barking dogs weren't his dogs. It wasn't too bad; we only had another mile to go.


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## knightrider

@egrogan, I was thinking about dismounting and leading Acicate when he was considering rearing, but I thought the aggressive dog might get aggressive with me too. He was actually biting my horse's ankles, so he might bite me too. So I stayed on Aci and hoped for the best. And we got part the dog OK in the end.

I wonder how you get coyote urine? I'd like to try that. I would love to be able to keep riding those nice trails. I imagine I can find some on e-bay or Amazon. Seems like you can get most anything on line now days.


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## ChasingDreams

@knightrider If it was me and Chase, it’s highly likely he WOULD kick that dog! Maybe put a little fear into the dog owner. Make them aware that you are worried for the DOGS safety, that him actually nipping at the horse may cause it to kick out and seriously injure the dog! They might be more cautious if they are worried about their animal.




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## phantomhorse13

I second the water pistol, but I would add lemon juice to the water. It will smell strongly and sting like heck, but won't cause any permanent damage. While I am sorry the dog has to take the brunt of the owner's bad choices, a dog which has escalated to actually biting a horse needs to be taught a serious lesson.

Just make sure you practice at home so the horses are used to the noise of the pistol and a stream of stuff suddenly appearing from above them. Or if your daughter would help you, have one of you hand walk whoever is the calmest (Chorro?) down to that place and have the whoever is a better shot walk with the water pistol (a super soaker would be even better) to use on the dog.


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## AnitaAnne

@knightrider loose dogs are a pain, but this one is getting dangerous. 

Squirting with Lemon water is a good thing, but also use your horse to chase the dog. I like to teach horses to chase dogs, because it builds their confidence and also keeps dogs away (at least the ones on the regular route) 

The whip is most likely increasing their aggression. 

A non-aggressive tactic is to toss yummy treats to the dogs. Like beef jerky sticks. Or just regular dog biscuits, but some dogs don't eat them. 

A combination of chasing the dogs, and throwing treats might change their attitude in a hurry. Just dont' let them get so fond of the treats that they follow you home :smile:


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## knightrider

All my horses will chase the dogs, but the minute we turn for home, the dogs come right back. I am definitely going to try the water gun because I really hate losing all those fun trails.

I was thinking about @ChasingDreams 's comment about kicking the dog. Isabeau considers herself a queen. Can you imagine Queen Elizabeth kicking a dog? Unheard of. She would never. Chorro thinks he IS a dog, so not Chorro. Perhaps Windy might. She is very full of herself and doesn't mind scrapping. I thought Aci might since he is all attitude, and can be quite naughty if he thinks he can get away with it. But when I rode there, the dog bit him at least 8 times, and each time, he just leaped forward, got more and more agitated, and started popping nervous rears.

Currently my daughter and her riding friend refuse to go there. But my daughter isn't afraid of a fight, and if she had a water gun loaded with lemon juice, or better yet, coyote urine, she'd probably do it. We'll give it a try and let you know how it went. I am so glad I posted this, and thank you all so much for your helpful ideas.
PS: We have a super soaker too. We have fun with them when we take the horses to Doe Lake.


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## 4horses

I would probably call Animal Control. It's even worse if you try taking your dog for a walk down the street and someone's dog comes after your dog. Or even worse, a pack of dogs attack your dog. 

An aggressive dog is dangerous because they can attack someone's kids or grandkids. If the dog is aggressive towards people, then I would not feel bad calling the authorities. 

I would take the super soaker. I'm not sure a simple squirt will deter an aggressive dog. 

Or if you see the dog running loose, call animal control at that point.


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## ChasingDreams

Was out for a ride with BM and Scout yesterday. Chase was pretty good, except at the mounting block of all things. He’s been rock solid mounting for some time.... so I’m hoping it was a fluke, because we haven’t been out much the last couple of weeks.

Scout has been having some issues trying to rush when turned for home, and he did this time too, but BM is being very consistent with correcting him so hopefully he will get over it soon. 










2020 miles~ 53


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## knightrider

Lots of terrific rides recently, lots of camping trips and trailering off to fun places. February is a month when people are glad to live in Florida--no flies, no spiderwebs, crisp cool mornings, warm sunny afternoons

Month of February totals:

63 hours
207.9 miles

Year so far totals:

134 hours
442.3 miles


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## QueenofFrance08

Got out to the Sand Dunes State Forest again yesterday with our cattle sorting/future endurance friend, her friend who brought another friend, and another endurance friend. I brought Chico and DH brought Jake and both boys were very excited to be out. We did more trotting than last week which was super fun! 7.5 miles with the big group than 3 of us ladies continued to do another 3 miles.

Chico was a rockstar as always, he's getting more and more in shape with even the little riding we are doing. He wasn't tired at all and we trotted fast most of the last 3 miles. Jake had one little Arabian moment where a snowmobiler came up on our group and was kind enough to shut it off and wait for us to pass. The person in front was riding a 4 year old who wasn't too excited about going past it so DH tried to get Jake to lead the group and Jake dipped out and bolted a few steps to the back of the group. Chico gave him a dirty look and proceeded to lead the group past the not so scary monster machine.... :rofl: I sure love my pony!

10.5 miles total per the GPS with not great service so probably a little more than that!


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## egrogan

@*QueenofFrance08* - is your helmet a Tiperrary sportage? I tried on potential new helmets yesterday, and I liked how that one fit. I had asked to see something with more ventilation than what I've had the past few years. But the tack shop lady scared me a bit by saying given how open the Tiperrary is, it's less safe than a "closed" head. She mentioned sticks or gravel entering through the mesh vents in a fall. And also said she didn't like selling it to eventers/jumpers, which freaked me out a bit. It made me scared that the openness of the whole thing could be compromised in a way a "solid" helmet wouldn't. Curious to hear how you've liked yours and if it's ever been "put to the test," so to speak, by anyone else you know that rides in one :wink:

Trails look awesome. I'm jealous!


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## QueenofFrance08

@egrogan Yes it is a Tipperary Sportage, DH has the same one and I believe @phantomhorse13 and her DH ride in them as well. I've never heard of anything entering through the vents and have not known anyone with this problem and MANY of our friends wear them as well. They are lightweight and well ventilated and come down further than most helmets to better protect the back of your head. We bought one from the expo last year (to keep as a backup) and the sales lady was a former engineer and said that she recommends them the most as they come down in the back the furthest.


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## egrogan

Thanks, that's very reassuring!


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## Celeste

It sounds like that aggressive dog is getting to be dangerous. I would have a talk with the owners. If you could get their number and text them before you ride, they could put him up. That is not going to solve their problem though. If he injures somebody, they will be liable. There is no way that they are going to convince any judge that they had no idea that the dog was not aggressive due to his breeding and recent behavior.

I had a neighbor that had a dog that grabbed my mare's hoof and wouldn't let go. It made marks on her hoof. I don't remember being any madder about a dog while riding. DH was on Abby (that has been a long time), and she was easy to get to chase and stomp the dog with her front hooves. 

So I called the neighbor and talked to him. I told him that he was going to get sued when the dog mauled the neighbor kids. I also told him that deer hunters would shoot the dog if he kept letting her run loose. 

He bought an electric collar that has a beacon that only lets the dog run a certain distance without getting shocked. I hate it that I felt amused when the stupid thing would come charging out at us, cross the electricity line, and yelp. Finally she figured out that it was not worth trying to kill people passing by.

I have extensive training in animal behavior, and the behavior that you are describing sounds really dangerous.


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## Celeste

I finally had two not rainy weekend days. I rode Saturday and Sunday. I fear that my darling little Princess really needs to be ridden more often. She was great for most of the ride. But there is one spot that is dry and open enough for a short canter. Rather can canter, she ran like the proverbial bat from the pits below. Pound, pound, pound goes my back, legs, brain, and (sorry guys) boobs. She would not slow down or smooth out. 

Sunday, she was fine. Crazy horse.


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## knightrider

*What a Day to Ride! (Thanks @finalcanter)*

We were so lucky today to schedule a ride! We had glorious weather--low 70's (22.22 C), light breeze, sunshine and shadows trading places. I made arrangements for a neighbor to trailer Chorro so my daughter's friend could ride. It is her last ride before she goes for knee surgery.

We went to our local park, which is so beautiful right now because we are enjoying spring in N. Central Florida. The oak leaves were coming down all around us and the new leaves were budding on the trees.

We rode 2 hours and had an amazing time.

Yesterday I got the chance to purchase a set of used farrier tools. For $100, I got a really good light, well made hoof stand, some farrier's chaps, 5 rasps, 4 nippers, a clincher, a small nipper for doing pigs and goats, two hammers, a nail puller, a hoof calibrator, and 4 hoof knives. I couldn't possibly use everything, so I brought the extra things I would never use to the trail ride. I was so pleased that almost everything got taken by folks who could use them. Two of my hoof trimming instructors were on the ride, so I was delighted I could repay them with some equipment.


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## phantomhorse13

@egrogan : DH and I ride in Tipperary helmets, as does everyone else I can think of. I have never heard of issues with things coming in through the vents and I do know several people (myself included) who have had falls and they did just fine. Personally, I love the vents because I get so hot.. not uncommon to see me squeezing the sponge over my own head while cooling the horse.


On Friday, I got George and Phin out. The whole story is in my journal.



















Sunday, DH and I got George and Phin out:



















Yesterday, I went over to Nicole's. First, we got Tegan and Hombre out:









February: 61.06 miles total
Phin - 32.99 miles
George - 28.07


2020 mileage
...
2/28 george w/phin 8.37 miles 1391 ft climb 5.0 mph 20F 219.75 total miles
3/1 phin 16.05 miles 2815 ft climb 5.2 mph 24F 235.80 total miles
3/2 tegan 4.91 miles 328 ft climb 4.6 mph 45F 240.71 total miles


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## knightrider

On today's trail ride, I forgot to mention something very inspiring. As we were getting ready to untack and load up, there was a couple at the park from New York. The man used a rock climbing harness to mount his horse. He is paralyzed from the waist down. Using a series of yachting pulleys mounted to his trailer awning, he hoisted himself up over his horse and lowered himself down into the saddle. We talked to the couple for a little bit. He is also legally blind, and depends on his horse not to run him into trees.

We watched the husband and wife mount up and ride off down the trail. So inspiring!


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## phantomhorse13

@*knightrider* : I know those people - Libby and Quentin! They are endurance riders. He was injured in a riding accent many years ago but still rides. He is amazing.


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## Aprilswissmiss

knightrider said:


> On today's trail ride, I forgot to mention something very inspiring. As we were getting ready to untack and load up, there was a couple at the park from New York. The man used a rock climbing harness to mount his horse. He is paralyzed from the waist down. Using a series of yachting pulleys mounted to his trailer awning, he hoisted himself up over his horse and lowered himself down into the saddle. We talked to the couple for a little bit. He is also legally blind, and depends on his horse not to run him into trees.
> 
> We watched the husband and wife mount up and ride off down the trail. So inspiring!


WOW! What a great horse he must have to be able to rely on him/her to that extent!


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## knightrider

@phantomhorse13, thank you for reminding me of his name. He said he has a video on you tube and here it is! See how agile he is getting up that rope!






And here he is getting off his horse!


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## Cordillera Cowboy

Took the new horse out solo for a really brief ride around the pasture. Did a lot of brush bustin’ and came back covered in weed seeds and pollen. Pinatubo had no problem being cleaned off with the broom.


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## knightrider

I've been doing a lot of research about dog deterrents. Florida can be fairly breezy and water guns leak. My daughter said, no way was she going to squirt coyote pee and have it come back on her and run down her hands.

Bear spray is $36 and again, the wind.

One of our riding friends said he bought a gadget that emits a high pitched sound that is unpleasant to dogs when you push a button. After discussing a lot of different deterrents, I decided to go with that gadget.

I ordered it from Chewy.com and it came the very next day. It's called a Dazer II. I tried it this morning with two sets of dogs who come out and bark but are not particularly aggressive. I wanted to try it with easier dogs first. The first set of dogs are a little worrisome because one of the dogs grabbed my boot in his teeth and gently pulled. His owner said, "He just is showing you he wants to play" which is probably true. He acts happy as he barks and races around my horse. And he hasn't done that again. But, still . . . it is discomforting. I don't like it.

That set of dogs came out first. I pointed the Dazer at the more aggressive dog, and he never even came down the driveway. He looked at my hand and stayed near his house barking. I never even pushed the button as you need to be 20 feet away for it to be effective and he was
50 feet away.

So I happily rode on to the next set of dogs. They are Anatolian shepherds who guard a flock of goats. They never make any move to do anything towards me or my horse, but they bark REALLY loud and swirl around and around my horse. Anatolians are quite large and it's really unpleasant to pass them.

They came roaring out of their yard and when I'd press the button, they'd halt. They didn't run back to their yard and they didn't stop barking, but every time I'd press the button, they'd stop. So that was a total success for me. Just keeping them 20 feet away from me and my horse was a win.

Next solo ride, I am going for the dangerous dog and I expect it will go as well as today's ride.


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## ChasingDreams

I snuck in a short sunset ride last night. A quick loop around the quarry and back. Since we were pushing time... and I knew the ride was going to be short, we upped the pace and did a good bit of trot and some loping.








It was pretty dark coming back, so I decided to ride in the ring for a bit since it’s lit. Chase wasn’t thrilled to ride in the ring after the trails, even though the ride was shorter than usual. You can see the “Really, mom?” expression clearly 








2020 miles ~ 55.7

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## PoptartShop

@knightrider that is an awesome invention!!  Never heard of it before. I'm glad you found a solution for the dogs, now you rides will be more pleasant. 

Beautiful rides everyone.


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## Horse girl 07

Enjoying this read! I have not been on a trail or on a horse since my gelding had passed two years ago. Looking very much forward to making sure I go on more future trail rides!


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## knightrider

Today I had another solo ride and was able to test out my dog deterrent Dazer II on the aggressive difficult dog. I am happy to report it was 100% successful. I did have to press the button at least 20 times. The dog would lunge at Aci in an effort to intimidate him, and I would press the button. Each time I pressed the button, the dog would blink and freeze for a second, then go back to being aggressive. But he was aggressive from 20 feet away, which I can live with.

The dog wanted to go behind Aci (and bite his fetlocks), and it was a little awkward to "zap" the dog behind us, but I managed and kept him from getting Aci. I am happy to report that my level headed, good minded, sassy attitude gelding was not affected by the earlier experiences of being bitten by the dog. He rode along while I zapped away just fine.

Great trail ride--2 hours 15 minutes, 7.425 miles

I get to ride again this afternoon with a neighbor teen and her mom. I'll take Windy this afternoon and ride the other direction.


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## ChasingDreams

Rode Saturday and Sunday, though Saturday was a solo morning ride and it was COLD. I didn’t take any pictures because my fingers were frozen lol. It was also incredibly windy, so I didn’t venture too far into the trees. Having a limb come down on you is a serious risk in high winds around here. Needless to say, we kept it short.










Today, the weather was waaay nicer... especially when we went out in the afternoon. We rode with Liam and his rider again. I love when she rides with me, as she is waay better at taking pictures 

























We had a little “incident” at the start of our ride. Chase can get a little rushy uphill... and Liam can get a little amped up at the thought of a nice race . Chase started to rush, and at the same time, her dog Kip sped up behind us which I think startled him (it was only his second time riding with a pup) So Chase, I don’t want to say spook because he didn’t really... but he sped up. Well, Liam saw that as a challenge, threw a buck and decided to catch up. Unfortunately, the buck caused a lost stirrup and resulted in his rider clinging to his neck while he loped past Chase and I.

Chase was upset about Liam running off without him, so it took all I had to keep him in a somewhat controlled lope behind them. Luckily, once Liam was in the front he slowed down... and after a few more strides she was able to get upright again and pull him up. The whole thing was probably less than a 1/4 mile, and both horses calmed right down after... but it was an exciting start to the ride

Once we recovered her sunglasses and phone which had gone flying, we rode on for another 4 miles. We had a nice little romp in the lake, then circled back towards home. Liam was jigging some once we were trekking home... giving his best dressage impression. But, once he figured out he wasn’t getting there any faster... he settled for a fast walk.

It was fun, and gorgeous weather... so overall a good time  

2020 miles~ 63


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## weeedlady

I finally got out on a trail! Took Raven and my favorite friend and her mare to the Olde Muskingum Trail in Canal Fulton, OH. 10.58 miles of uneventful riding. No spooks. No excitement. and for today that was a good thing.


----------



## Oreos Girl

I haven't posted here in a long time. Life gets in my way.
In January I went to McCulley's in Florida. Took my retired horse and ponied him from Fiddler. He definitely enjoyed the first day as I haven't taken him anywhere in a while. 3rd day not so much. Didn't get many pictures as my hands were full.








Then we have had so much rain, didn't ride at all in February other than like 10 minutes on Oreo at a friend's house. No pictures then either.
The last 2 weekends I have gotten to go to Mingo which is drier because of sand. 

No pictures of me but 









Then this weekend. Much better
















I am already better than last year with 24 miles I think.


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## phantomhorse13

Yesterday, the weather was glorious - more like May than March - so of course I thrilled to get some saddle time. The whole story is in my journal.

I started with Phin:




























Next up was George:



















2020 mileage
...
3/9 phin 13.28 miles 1759 ft climb 6.3 mph 62F 253.99 total miles
3/9 george 6.01 miles 945 ft climb 5.4 mph 65F *260.00 total miles*


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## knightrider

Little bit of a nice breakthrough today for me. I've been riding my daughter's TN walker, Windy more than usual, because my daughter's friend got injured while mounting Chorro after coming off. She tore up her knee ligament and opted for surgery. My daughter has ridden twice since her friend stopped coming, but Windy needs regular riding, not just twice in 3 weeks.

I've been riding Windy 3 times a week. If you remember, Windy and I do not have the best of relationships. My daughter is much more comfortable managing Windy's antics and shenanigans than I am. Windy doesn't play up all that much, and it doesn't make sense that I would be nervous on her, since my own horses can be much more dramatic in their misbehavior. But I am. So there it is. Part of it comes from the fact that I only ride Windy about 2 or 3 times a month. When I take Windy camping and ride her every day for 5 days, I start to feel a lot more confident on her. But it doesn't seem to last.

Windy behaves worst on the way home from a trail ride. Unlike Isabeau and Acicate, who are delighted to be heading home and truck along nicely, so if there are going to be problems, you know the ride home will still be pleasant. Windy gives the rider a false sense of security: a fantastic ride out, and then suddenly, wild bucking, rearing, and bolting, spinning, and scooting out of the blue on the way home.

This winter, I gave up riding Windy solo, and started riding her only when other people came along. When I'd ride her solo home from riding with neighbors, she'd go nuts, shooting into the air, landing with all 4 legs straddled, spinning and scooting sideways, and the other stuff. When Windy bolts, she's easy peasy to stop. But once she stops, she can buck or rear instead. Yuck. So I decided THERE IS NO SHAME IN LEADING AN OBSTREPEROUS HORSE. Until today, I've been dismounting and leading Windy home the quarter mile to my house.

Today Windy was so SO good . . . in fact, she's been SO SO SO good the last 3 weeks, that's 9 rides, that I decided to try riding her home. I figured even if she showed off, it wouldn't scare me, 'cause Windy 'n me are starting to become a team. So I rode her home, and she didn't do one thing wrong--a first on a solo ride. I am so pleased and proud of her . . . and me . . . for getting this down.


----------



## phantomhorse13

Yesterday I got more saddle time. The whole story is in my journal.

First up was George:



















Phin was next:


















2020 mileage
...
3/11 george 7.69 miles 899 ft climb 4.9 mph 37F 267.69 total miles

3/11 phin 10.4 miles 1713 ft climb 5.3 mph 42F *278.09 total miles*


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## ChasingDreams

Got a new saddle, and had our first official “test ride”! So far, I’m liking it... nice saddle for my humble budget  It seems to fit Chase pretty well, and he moves comfortably in it.


































We gave it a proper break-in I think. Chase was a model citizen. I’m going out again tomorrow with BM and another friend, so I’m pretty excited.
2020 miles~68


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## egrogan

What better way to have our first spring ride than bareback in 20mph winds?! :rofl: Actually, she was really great and not bothered by the brisk day at all. We only went a couple of miles but it was great to get out there.
















*Total 2020 miles: 10.1*


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## knightrider

Yesterday I had the pleasure of being in "the gallery" of a local hunting farm's field trials. I took Chorro, who has done many field trials and my neighbor took his Paso Fino who had never done field trials. Our other neighbor works at this farm and had 3 dogs entered.

Hoping I'm not boring anyone, because I've written about field trials before, these are judged bird dogs on flushing quail. There are 2 dogs released every 45 minutes and a judge riding behind each dog. The gallery rides along watching the action as the dogs find quail, point, and the handler flushes the bird and fires a blank. The dog who finds the most quail, or appears the most skilled at finding quail, is the winner.

The horses are almost all Tenn Walkers, and the pace is a normal running walk with a little cantering if there is a particularly fast dog, or the action is far away.

Our neighbor's dogs didn't do well. He was disappointed as he has sometimes been able to win with his dogs. But not yesterday. It started out pleasant and cool and quickly got very hot. We were in the saddle at 7:45 and stopped for lunch around 12:45. That's a lot of riding, gaiting practically the whole time. Chorro started out being goofy and constantly pulling, hoping to race the other horses, but after 2 hours, he settled down and was more fun. He can be like that, but often he is fine.

What amazes me is that a lot of the men participating are in their 70's and 80's. We just rode 5 hours, gaiting the whole time, stopped an hour for lunch, and then those folks climb on a different horse and do 4 to 5 hours in the afternoon. Not me. My neighbor (who is 76) and I headed for home. 

And those guys will do it all again today, Sunday. Another almost 10 hours in the saddle. They are some kind of tough. They take care of their own horses and dogs too. I was glad to have a quiet morning today.

This morning was a solo ride for me, and I took Aci, my most level headed horse, to see what the super aggressive dog would do on that one dirt road that leads to so many great trails. I had my Dazer II, and I wanted to see how it worked the second time. This is a dog that bites the horses on the fetlocks and hocks.

I am happy to report the Dazer did great. I have learned from the less aggressive dogs going the other direction, just to speed on past, if I can, and push the button as I hurry on by.

The aggressive dog came roaring out of his yard to go for Aci, but we were already doing corto at a good swift pace. Just 5 presses of the button kept the dog well away from us. By not slowing down, we were soon past the yard and on our way. Going slowly seems to just aggravate the dog. I had thought if I went quickly, it would encourage the dog to chase us, but the opposite appears to be true for both kids of dogs. Truck on out of there and get out of the way.

On the way home, all I had to do was show the Dazer to the dog and he stayed well clear of us. I never had to push the button at all. Once again, I thank everyone for all your useful and helpful suggestions so I have my fun riding trails to enjoy.

These are some photos from other field trials, not yesterday. I had my hands full yesterday and could not take photos. But I know we all enjoy photos, so here are some old ones (when it was cold).
PS: I forgot why I took those pictures. I was amazed at how well behaved those walkers are. After gaiting fairly fast for miles, when it is time to change dogs, the riders dismount, stretch their legs . . . and walk away. What good horses! That's why the photos are of empty saddles. I just couldn't get over how well trained those horses are.


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## Woodhaven

You riders make Sis and me look like a pair of piddle diddleys, we haven't done much trail riding as it has been so muddy but we did get out for a ride yesterday, around a couple of corn fields and along the side of a woods, but it was pretty muddy and heavy going for the horses, then we cut through the woods, trees down and lots of water to slog through, then along the back of Sis's place and home.
Today we just worked on schooling as the sand had thawed out. We thought we would work on a Pas de Deux for the summer shows and it was a bit of fun.

tomorrow I am hoping things will have dried out with the sun and a good wind and we may try for a longer ride over to some nice trails, I just hope they aren't too muddy.


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## ChasingDreams

Rode today with a friend... BM was supposed to come too, but unfortunately she was bit by a new neighbor’s dog last night (ironically) and her hand required stitches and was very swollen this morning; so she had to pass-which was a bummer.

Friend had brought her mare the last time she came over, but this time it was the cutest red roan appy gelding ever. He was so white, at first glance you would think him grey... but when you get closer you can see the red on the tips of his ears and on his legs. Apparently, the father was a palomino Appaloosa and the mother was a chestnut with white socks.

I forgot to start my tracker until we were halfway down the lane  so we probably rode a little closer to 4 miles. 
Both boys were relatively well-behaved, and the weather warmed up nice as the ride went along. We had a great time! I’ve been really slacking on the pictures lately, but friend took a couple so I’ll share one  

















2020 miles ~ 71


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## lb27312

Had a great ride Saturday... weather was just so beautiful so it was nice to get out. I have to laugh and be frustrated at the same time. I had to get a new gps app because my old one died.... but I can't figure out the new one yet! Argh and the time to try to figure it out is not on the trails! And my friend was soooo proud that she remembered to start hers but then couldn't get it to shut off! lol it was a comedy of errors. So not sure on the miles but rode a little over 2 hours. 

It was just 2 of us and the horses did good, I took Chal as when I went to pick a horse he took off... I wanted to ride Wrangler without having to pony but since Chal was being a butt he got to go... She brought her one and they get along great but her mare was in heat so she was a little flirty. lol


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## PoptartShop

Well, didn't actually ride on the trails (yet) but hand-walked Promise the other day just to make sure no trees had fallen down (luckily, none did!) at the trails near the barn. She hasn't been out on them in awhile, so she was a bit worried about leaving her friends, but I just kept her focused by working her & praising her when she relaxed.

Love all the photos everyone!


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## egrogan

^Promise is still so fuzzy! I guess I expected all the lucky southern horses to be slicked up by now. It's snowing here this morning so glad the horses still have some winter shag!


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## knightrider

Another Windy ride that was 100% successful. I am so exited that I finally am starting to feel confident on my daughter's horse. While my daughter was training her, I had some really negative experiences with her. Plus watching my daughter deal with her shenanigans.

Today I rode Windy for 2 hours, including riding her home by myself (the scary part for me) and she never put a foot wrong. I am so proud of Windy and the job my daughter has done training her . . . and my learning to get braver by riding her. 

Some pictures of Windy on other rides and times, and one when she was maybe a long yearling and my daughter was training her. Just because we all enjoy pictures.


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## tinyliny

Is Windy a Paso, or a TW? she sure is pretty!


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## PoptartShop

egrogan said:


> ^Promise is still so fuzzy! I guess I expected all the lucky southern horses to be slicked up by now. It's snowing here this morning so glad the horses still have some winter shag!


She really is a fluffball right now. :rofl: She's finally starting to shed though haha. But the temps have been so weird. It's going down to the 20's again this weekend at night, but supposed to be like 70F Friday. It's crazy. :lol:


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## phantomhorse13

Yesterday, I got Iggy out. The whole story is in my journal.



















Today, I got tons of saddle time. Started with George:


















Next was Iggy:


















Then Phin:















2020 mileage
...
3/16 iggy 2.77 miles 377 ft climb 3.8 mph 38F 280.86 total miles
3/17 george 6.26 miles 869 ft climb 5.2 mph 36F 287.12 total miles
3/17 iggy 5.51 miles 784 ft climb 4.0 mph 38F 292.63 total miles
3/17 phin 3.6 miles 449 ft climb 4.4 mph 38F *296.23 total miles*


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## farmpony84

Took my mare out... ALL BY MYSELF.... (that was sung in a long feel sorry for me tone)....

Had fun though....We just went up the road a bit....

I tried to take a selfie but it didn't work so well....


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## tinyliny

phantomhorse13 said:


> Next was Iggy:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Then Phin:
> 
> Phin faces the tree monsters
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *miles*





IT's so cute the way Finn flicks his ears back to YOU, . . . "mom, is it ok? should I go?" and when he has the faintest suggestion that he's about to leave, you are either doing something with your hand, voice or body to reassure him, or just him thinking back to you, his leader, is enough and he decides to look and listen some more and stand his ground.


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## Cordillera Cowboy

Took both horses out for the first time with riders Over the weekend. Pinatubo has lived up to her name and dumped one of our helpers. 

I called in one of the kids from the NVSU rodeo team to help out. Pinatubo will behave when she knows that the person handling her knows what they are doing. We started out with Clint riding Skippy and me on Pinatubo. 

We had agreed to ride with the horses in different positions from time to time. One lead, then the other, side by side, and so forth. After some initial squealing and attempted shenanigans, both horses settled in to the routine. I had planned about a 3 hour ride, circling through town, over the mountain, and back down to the ranch. 

The horses did well. The first leg was a steep, eroded track through the forest, ending in a scramble into and out of a dry canal. Then a long, winding paved road to the main highway through the barangay of Bintawan. 

Skippy had been there before. But I had no idea how Pinatubo would behave in traffic. I was pleased that she paid it no mind. A couple blocks past the mill where we have our corn processed, we turned onto the road leading back up the mountain. 

The biggest problem in town was the large group of kids playing on a school playground. They poured out of the playground, laughing and yelling, running up behind the horses. 

I spun Pinatubo around and sternly called out “Apai?” (Ilocano for why?). That stopped them in their tracks. Not sure if it was the shock of hearing an American speaking Ilocano, or of being reprimanded by a stranger. Neither of those are normal hereabouts. 

Once we were out of the built up area, we changed horses. Clint mounted Pinatubo and I got aboard Skippy. We wound our way back up the mountain. We stopped at a little convenience store, called sari sari around here. This one, I jokingly refer to as the last outpost of civilization before going over the mountain to our ranch. It is the last such store on the approach from this direction. Clint and I had a cold drink Pinatubo did herself proud, posing for a photo with the owners little kid. 

We made the final push up and over to the ranch, arriving just in time for lunch. 

The only photos I managed to get were Clint on Pinatubo, and the stop at the sari sari.


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## ChasingDreams

Took Chase out last night for our first, full weeknight ride this year! I’m so happy daylight savings finally rolled around, and I can hit trails during the week instead of only on the weekends.

I wasn’t quite sure exactly how much time we’d have, so I stretched out the top woods as much as possible in case we didn’t make it to the quarry. Fortunately, we had time for both so it was a nice, longer ride.









It was cloudy and a little windy, but otherwise fairly mild and a nice night to ride. I didn’t take many pictures, but I did get one with the daffodils already blooming in the background. Spring sprung early this year! Chase was very well behaved, and got lots of treats when we got back. 

















2020 miles~ 76 


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## PoptartShop

Since I handwalked her the other day, & no trees were down, well, we just hit the trails again today...but under-saddle! :lol: She was SO good. Even when we left her 'buddies' in the other pastures and rode by them to get to the trails, she stayed calm. I was super proud of her today! <3

Gorgeous weather too, had to take advantage of this working from home stuff. :lol:


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## Celeste

With the nice weather and daylight savings time, combined with teleworking which gets rid of an hour of commuting each day, I have actually gotten some rides in. 

I rode Dylan 5 days in a row. He is really doing great! He is so easy going. 

Today, I rode The Princess. She was a good girl. She is just a lot more of a ride. 

All I have been doing is our little 3 mile trail. It is good for social distancing. Trucks can't get past the mud. There are only two terribly muddy spots now. 

I am up to 51.5 miles.


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## knightrider

> Is Windy a Paso, or a TW? she sure is pretty!


Thank you very much, @tinyliny. We think she is lovely. My daughter is so lucky to have this fancy pretty mare for her very own. She is a half McCurdy Plantation Walker. Her mother is a registered TN Walker and her sire is a McCurdy. Unfortunately, her breeder, in a fit of pique over his messy desk, swept Windy's dam's registration papers into the trash. And the sire's owner is a good ol' boy who refuses to fool with registering his stock. So . . . we know sire and dam, saw her right after her birth, raised her from a weanling, but we cannot register her.

Here is some fun info about McCurdies.
https://www.discoverthehorse.com/breed/mccurdyplantationhorse


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## Cordillera Cowboy

I took Pinatubo out solo today. I’ve been looking for circular routes from our place so we can ride out and not have to double back on the same route. I explored one of those today. I knew the route. I had checked it with our pickup truck some time ago. It seemed a nice ride through the lowland rice fields. I just didn’t know how long it would take on horseback. 

We went down our mountain to our little barangay of San Juan. From there, we followed a road that is being newly paved with concrete. This road led to the barangay of Lactawan. We came out on the main road at the Sitio of Mapaina. A sitio, as I understand it, is a division of a large barangay. 

We stopped for a snack at a waiting shed by the rice fields of Mapaina. Several people pointed their phones at us, I presume taking photos. 

Dry season is upon us, and the weather is hot. But Pinatubo didn’t break a sweat until the climb back up our hill to the ranch. 

It took us 3 hours. I’m seeing a pattern here. Today’s ride was 3 hours. Our route through Bintawan and back up the mountain is 3 hours. The ride up the mountain to Cabunatuan is 1.5 hours out &1.5 hours back. Total, 3 hours. 

I keep hearing the theme song from the old TV show Gilligan’s Island. 

“A three hour tour.
A three hour tour. “


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## knightrider

Burning question, @Cordillera Cowboy, which horse do you enjoy riding most? Which horse do you like the most? (Might not be the same--I have one horse that I adore, but a different horse that is the most fun to ride)


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## Cordillera Cowboy

knightrider said:


> Burning question, @Cordillera Cowboy, which horse do you enjoy riding most? Which horse do you like the most? (Might not be the same--I have one horse that I adore, but a different horse that is the most fun to ride)


I have not really thought of it in those terms. Each one has her own attributes and disadvantages. I’ve only had Pinatubo for a few weeks now. We are gradually growing on each other. I don’t fully trust her, and may never be able to. I find myself handling her much like a bronc. Always with a hand and an eye on her watching for signs of a kick, bite, or stomp. 

She watches me sullenly, perhaps waiting for a chance to strike. Or, more likely, not fully trusting that I will not hurt her for no reason. 

She seems indifferent to grooming. She reminds me of my old mustang in that regard. Though, Pinatubo seems to be warming up to the idea. Her ears remain back, but lately her eyes have softened as I brush her. 

Skippy is much younger, and has a work ethic. She loves getting out and doing things. Pinatubo works because she has to. 

Both are intelligent, and expect their riders to be also. 

When I’m riding solo, not ponying the other horse, I choose the horse according to the route I plan or by who needs work on something specific. Skippy needs conditioning. I rode Pinatubo today because I wasn’t sure how long the route was or how long we would be out. Next up will be Skippy on a shorter conditioning ride. 

Maybe I’ll develop a favorite after some time has passed.


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## phantomhorse13

Yesterday, I got more saddle time. The whole story is in my journal.

I started with Iggy:



















Then, I went over to ride with Nicole. I rode Polo.


















2020 mileage
...
3/18 iggy 5.64 miles 624 ft climb 4.4 mph 36F 301.87 total miles
3/18 polo 9.42 miles 669 ft climb 5.8 mph 44F *311.29 total miles*


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## farmpony84

I don't think it's called trail riding anymore... I think it's called social distancing.....


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## Celeste

I did a little more "social distancing". I saw a huge hawk. She flew off before I could get a picture. It has been really nice having some time after my teleworking to ride. I couldn't get pictures to post on the last time I was here. I will randomly put some up. 

Total miles so far: 53.5


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## Celeste

It was a little bit warm today. Low 80's. I still had a nice ride. Everything was greener today than it was yesterday. The purple flowers are wisteria and the pink flowers are wild azaleas. 

Total for year: 57.53


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## Aprilswissmiss

First trail ride in a little over a month! I was keeping an eye an old abscess hole in her hoof she was finally growing out, didn't want her stepping on sticks/corn stalks and making herself ouchey, arena riding only for a while. Then bad weather for a while. Then away on vacation for a week. Finally, good weather and her hoof is looking great again.

We went out alone - sort of a given with this social distancing stuff. She was a bit more distracted than normal when first heading out, not surprising. Then she stepped on a plastic water bottle on the side of the road and froze in her steps, and was much more attentive for the rest of her ride, lol.

The whole trip was leisurely walking on the buckle. I needed a mental health ride after yesterday's insane work day. Trails are still muddy in places. I didn't use my tracking app, just felt like enjoying my mental health ride. The wild cherry trees are blooming! Lots of black vultures lurking about too.

Has anyone heard of iNaturalist? Love it, great app. Users post photos of and ID any and all sorts of wildlife with date and location taken. It's really fun as a hobby and the data collected about wildlife helps biologists/related scientists. I stopped and hopped off to take some photos of flowers for iNaturalist. April promptly made a snack out of the flowers I was just taking a picture of, which made me laugh.


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## egrogan

Yes, I love iNaturalist! It is remarkably comprehensive. Last year I got really obsessed with moths and butteries and was amazed at how many types we have in our area.


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## Aprilswissmiss

@egrogan, every time I document a species, I am amazed at how accurate and amazingly useful their recognition software is. When I was in Florida last week I uploaded a blurry photo of maybe one quarter of a shell poking through thick undergrowth. Recognition software: "We think this is a Gopher Tortoise." Yes!! Posted a gray blob I had taken with my phone from hundreds of feet away. "We think this is a Wood Stork." Wow! Sometimes I think it's just making stuff up, but then the real experts who have professionally studied and taught that specific field of creatures for decades come along and validate it. Just so impressive.


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## weeedlady

thanks @egrogan and @Aprilswissmiss. I just signed up for the iNaturalist thing. Looks like fun and a good learning tool.
looking forward to getting outside and using it.


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## Aprilswissmiss

Today was a day of scaries.

We went out down our usual paved walking trail to start. There were a LOT of people out on the walking trail - so much for social distancing! Everyone would stop to chat with each other.

April loves people, and benches are fine, but apparently, people _on_ benches just isn't right. We were walking along, and the people in front of us (who April was about to go up and say hi to) sat down on the bench right next to them. April went from "Hi! Do you have snacks? Can I have pets?" to "what in the world does this mean??" She did not spook, but was huffing and side-stepping and reluctant to walk by.

The BIG scary was four nuns (yes... nuns) on push scooters. I saw them far in advance so I walked April into the cornfield next to us, expecting a meltdown. When she saw them, she froze, and then spun when they got closer, then froze and watched them leave. She continued on, just a little more shaken than before. On our way back, while we were passing driveways, April decided (only _after_ we passed it) that lime green cars just aren't okay. :shrug:

We went to the wooded trail afterwards. As we were walking alongside the busy road, some poop face in a little black sports car honked his horn as he passed. April spooked and spun but we were fine. I've never flipped off a driver until today. It has happened before, and usually I just take it as good desensitization practice, but I was a little mad today given she was more spooky than usual.

We came across some wild daffodils. April didn't like the look of them at first, but got over it when she realized it's not nearly as scary as lime green cars or people on benches. :icon_rolleyes:


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## knightrider

Unsettling incident for Acicate and me with dogs today. I rode early, as I usually do, and decided since we were enjoying a cool morning, to go on an extra long ride.

One of the places where I have permission to ride is closed to me until the end of turkey season, but the landowner said I could ride on his dad's property, which is stunningly beautiful--a great place to ride. But-- the problem is that I have to ride past two barking Anatolian shepherds who swirl around and around the horse.

In the past, when I have had to ride past these dogs, they are not much trouble, just unpleasant. They seem to respond least to the Dazer II, but I didn't worry about it because they don't really bother the horses, just run around and around barking.

Today was different. All was OK heading for the fabulous trails, but on the way home, the dogs rushed my horse. On the other side of the dogs' property is a field of 5 horses and a horrible saggy rusty droopy barbed wire fence. I've been riding on the "horse" side of the road hoping to stay further away from the Anatolians. The bad part of riding next to the horse fence is that the horses come galloping up to the fence, snorting, cavorting, and wanting to play "bitey face" with my horse. 

Recently, I've discovered, if I corto quickly or canter past the dogs, the problem is soon over with. Going fast doesn't seem to make the dogs more prone to chase me. But cantering past 5 excited horses in a field isn't great. 

This time the dogs rushed Aci which caused his to leap sideways right next to the droopy dangerous barbed wire fence. Then, one of Anatolians bit Aci, and he kicked out violently, getting his leg into the barbed wire.

God was with us. Aci's leg didn't get caught. I was able to maneuver him away from the fence quickly, but Aci's mind was blown. He cantered sideways along the road as the Anatolians roared and charged us. I could hardly point my Dazer as Aci bounced and leaped. Luckily, the dogs gave up as soon as I got to the end of their property (they usually pursue us for about 100 yards). Heart pounding moment.

The ride itself was amazing. I rode almost 3 hours with wild phlox, butterweed, and beggarweed blooming all along the grassy shady trails.


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## Celeste

I wonder why those dogs don't go into the pasture and run those horses behind the barbed wire. I would have to try some pepper spray on hand. Or a tazer that shoots out little stinger things. I would have the same situation with 3 pitbulls except that I have decided to stick with my short but safe route. Do these dogs attack walking humans? People have gone to prison over dogs killing or maiming people. They need to confine those dogs.


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## knightrider

@Celeste, from what I understand about Anatolians, they are fierce guard dogs. They are guarding a large herd of goats. I believe they leave the horses across the street alone because the horses are quietly grazing in their own pasture, whereas I am riding along near "their" goats. One reason why I started passing the dogs on the "horse" side was the hope that the dogs would recognize that I am not endangering their goats. But, it didn't work.

Good question about the dogs bothering humans. Few people walk along that country road, but I have seen folks strolling along there. I wonder if they bother the humans walking.

This is the first time one of them has even bitten my horse. Normally they are just annoying. I wonder if the Dazer has made them angry, and therefore, more aggressive? The Dazer has worked amazingly well with the other two sets of aggressive dogs that I have to pass.


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## Woodhaven

Last week it was a little warmer, sun shining so Sis and I got out for the longest ride so far for this year. It was a lovely ride, through some corn fields, not too muddy and then into a couple of woods. The trails weren't too muddy and we were able to go through about 3 farms. So nice to get out and see how the trails are. THese are on private property so we don't want to mess up their trails slogging through the mud.

The last two days we have spent in the woods behind Sis's property working on the trails as some trees have come down and there is a lot of clearing to do and it is pretty muddy there right now. We even made a new trail as in one spot on the main trail the trees have really blocked it off and no way around so we now have a new trail to ride when it dries up a bit more.
I hope we can get some riding time in there before the flies and bugs get too bad. If it isn't one thing it's another


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## Celeste

@knightrider Goat guard dogs are supposed to be fenced in with the goats guarding them.


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## trailhorserider

knightrider said:


> Unsettling incident for Acicate and me with dogs today. I rode early, as I usually do, and decided since we were enjoying a cool morning, to go on an extra long ride.
> 
> One of the places where I have permission to ride is closed to me until the end of turkey season, but the landowner said I could ride on his dad's property, which is stunningly beautiful--a great place to ride. But-- the problem is that I have to ride past two barking Anatolian shepherds who swirl around and around the horse.
> 
> In the past, when I have had to ride past these dogs, they are not much trouble, just unpleasant. They seem to respond least to the Dazer II, but I didn't worry about it because they don't really bother the horses, just run around and around barking.
> 
> Today was different. All was OK heading for the fabulous trails, but on the way home, the dogs rushed my horse. On the other side of the dogs' property is a field of 5 horses and a horrible saggy rusty droopy barbed wire fence. I've been riding on the "horse" side of the road hoping to stay further away from the Anatolians. The bad part of riding next to the horse fence is that the horses come galloping up to the fence, snorting, cavorting, and wanting to play "bitey face" with my horse.
> 
> Recently, I've discovered, if I corto quickly or canter past the dogs, the problem is soon over with. Going fast doesn't seem to make the dogs more prone to chase me. But cantering past 5 excited horses in a field isn't great.
> 
> This time the dogs rushed Aci which caused his to leap sideways right next to the droopy dangerous barbed wire fence. Then, one of Anatolians bit Aci, and he kicked out violently, getting his leg into the barbed wire.
> 
> God was with us. Aci's leg didn't get caught. I was able to maneuver him away from the fence quickly, but Aci's mind was blown. He cantered sideways along the road as the Anatolians roared and charged us. I could hardly point my Dazer as Aci bounced and leaped. Luckily, the dogs gave up as soon as I got to the end of their property (they usually pursue us for about 100 yards). Heart pounding moment.
> 
> The ride itself was amazing. I rode almost 3 hours with wild phlox, butterweed, and beggarweed blooming all along the grassy shady trails.


I really, really, really, REALLY hate riding past dogs, especially loose dogs. I actually gave my gelding away, that I raised since birth, because I just couldn't take riding past dogs on him anymore. He would spook, and he was young and didn't have as good a handle on him as my older horses and after one particularly bad ride, I just said I can't do it anymore. I gave to someone that loves him though. But it still makes me sad. Yes, he wasn't a perfect horse or else we could have overcome the dog thing eventually I suppose, but it was the MAJOR stressor of EVERY ride. I wish I would have known about the Dazer II.

My current mare gets hyped up going past the dogs but she is a lot more experienced (18 years old) so even though she prances she is not hard to control. But dogs have become my trail riding nemesis. Wildlife.........deer, elk, coyotes, even black bear, all run away. My horses are great with them. But dogs run TOWARDS you. Very hard to control a horse with a charging dog. I wish we had property bordering the national forest so I don't have to ride past dogs, but it's not the case. 

Fending off a loose dog is a lot like bullfighting on horseback, except you can't spear 'em! But I've done a lot of spinning and facing with loose dogs. :x Most of the dogs I ride past are contained but you still dread them running up behind your horse if they don't see you until we are almost past. My poor mare keeps a wary eye and is spooky even when the dogs don't come out, because they could charge out at any second. So that's my rant on riding past dogs. So sorry you have to deal with it.


PS. I never used to hate dogs. We used to have dogs, and I had one that was a great riding companion. But in recent years, I just have grown to have a strong dislike for dogs. They are always causing trouble and bothering people who are doing no harm......like me.


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## knightrider

> @knightrider Goat guard dogs are supposed to be fenced in with the goats guarding them.


Ha ha! How I wish they were! The trails past those dogs are beautiful, safe, quiet, shady, and pleasant.


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## phantomhorse13

On Friday, DH and I went down to VA to ride. The whole story is in my journal.

First I rode Phin:


















Then I rode Lapco:

__
Sensitive content, not recommended for those under 18
Show Content











Saturday, I rode Lapco again:
























Sunday, DH and I got Iggy and George out:


















2020 mileage
...
3/20 phin 19.95 miles 3064 ft climb 4.9 mph 74F 331.24 total miles
3/20 lapco 7.19 miles 791 ft climb 5.6 mph 75F 338.43 total miles
3/21 lapco 11.24 miles 1644 ft climb 6.4 mph 48F 349.67 total miles
3/22 george 6.78 miles 1198 ft climb 4.7 mph 38F *356.45 total miles*


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## Aprilswissmiss

I have to laugh to myself watching those helmet cam videos, and thinking "wow, my horse would never trot that slow and nice!" Lol. If I took a helmet cam video while riding April's trot, it would probably be completely unwatchable.


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## sillygirlfun

Is anyone older and riding after a lot of years? My horse will probably always be unrideable because of the neglect she got from her previous owner. I do not care. She will always be part of our family. We love her so much. She has made it possible for me to move around, and gives me peace and happiness. I can rent horses if I want to ride. I used to be a wrangler and I am not what I used to be, not even close. I love talking about the fun times I had and I plan on getting two Mammoth Donkeys to ride. They do not spook and rarely kick, bite or buck. I would love to learn more about the fun you are having on the trails. It is truly a blessing to be able to ride and even care for a horse. I am very happy to be able to communicate with other horse lovers.


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## Cordillera Cowboy

Welcome to the forum @sillygurlfun. 

I’m 64 and still riding. I retired about 3 years ago and spend most of my time on our ranch in the Philippines. 

We have 2 horses so far. 

Skippy, the roan, is only about 4 years old she is coming along really well. The photo is from before she filled out enough for my saddle to fit her. 








The pinto is Pinatubo, named after a famous volcano here, because she has a hot temper. 
She is roughly 12 years old. The photo was taken the day she came to us only a few weeks ago.


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## Cordillera Cowboy

Sorry. I misspelt @sillygirlfun in my previous post. Welcome to Horseforum!


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## phantomhorse13

knightrider said:


> on the way home, the dogs rushed my horse. On the other side of the dogs' property is a field of 5 horses and a horrible saggy rusty droopy barbed wire fence. I've been riding on the "horse" side of the road hoping to stay further away from the Anatolians.


Are you riding down a public road at this point? If so, then you need to start making phone calls. If you can get in touch with the dog owners great, but I suspect they are well aware their dogs are loose. If they don't do something when they find out those dogs are across the road and BITING, the next call should be to animal control and the local police. Make sure you take pics of the bite wounds on Aci to show the police. You are so lucky you and Aci were not seriously injured!!





Aprilswissmiss said:


> I have to laugh to myself watching those helmet cam videos, and thinking "wow, my horse would never trot that slow and nice!" Lol. If I took a helmet cam video while riding April's trot, it would probably be completely unwatchable.


With Phin, I tried to keep our trot speed in the 7-8 mph range so he could maintain it the whole ride. Lapco was going 9-10 mph though, as we didn't go nearly as far. I have found how I ride makes the most difference in the video quality - looking around makes for a super shaky experience!


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## Woodhaven

phantom, in the video with Phin it looked like you dodged some small trees on the sides of the trail. How are your knees, did you clip any on the way by?
Our new gelding bought last spring has no concept of watching for a riders knees, he responds well to leg cues etc but with any mud on the trail he tries to keep to the side and you sure have to watch out for your knees,
he's a good boy but keeps telling me that he.is.a.show.horse and in his previous life he had his own private indoor arena and is just not into this rough and ready outdoor riding in all kinds of weather.
Fortunately he is coming around and we had a nice ride today even if it was a little muddy.


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## phantomhorse13

Woodhaven said:


> phantom, in the video with Phin it looked like you dodged some small trees on the sides of the trail. How are your knees, did you clip any on the way by?


If Phin is paying attention, he is very good about leg cues asking him to move over and not take out my knees. I am always paying attention though because if he eyeballs something, concern for my knees goes right out of the picture!! My knees did just fine this round. 

If I am not so lucky, the impact jolt is pretty clear on the video or else you would get motion sick as my head comes around and down in a last minute attempt to push off the tree. Those clips generally don't make the final video as I would also need to edit out the cursing.


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## rambo99

@phantomhorse13 having your knee run into a tree is cause to swear it hurts. 

I'm back to riding will be able to head out to dirt road ,by mid week next week. Temps are going to be in the 50s yay ! 

I'm actually getting some rides in just around the place so far. Having to work some of the broncyness out of ice. Nothing horrible but sure not acceptable behavior under saddle. 

He's feeling really good has lots of energy . I've been lunging him before I ride. Appearently he's conserving his energy for our ride. He didn't get enough consistent riding over the winter. 

Did way better last spring but we rode 4 days a week all winter. This winter was lucky to ride once a week,most of time didn't ride for weeks at a time. Footing was awful most of the winter. 

By end of ride yesterday he was pretty good. Ended session on a good note. He cantered several times with no trying to bronc. It's a I'm feeling good bronc leaps into canter ,then yehaw shakes his head and into the air he goes. 

Think his feed needs to be cut back a bit or cut out the alfalfa. Think the alfalfa is rocket fuel. 

And a few pictures of I'm so innocent boy. Don't let looks deceive he's not innocent. And picture of daughter on her horse.


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## phantomhorse13

Yesterday, it wasn't actually raining so I got Iggy out. The whole story is in my journal.



















2020 mileage
...
3/24 iggy 10.89 miles 1598 ft climb 4.7 mph 40F *367.34 total miles*


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## Woodhaven

Sis and I got out for another nice ride today, a beautiful day so we want to take advantage of it before the flies etc descend upon us.
We did half of the long woods ride but didn't do the second half because of a long steep hill and the trail is pretty greasy so the danger of slipping or falling kept us from trying it, we did a shorter hill and they were slipping on it so safely first.
The gelding is such a tourist he is just looking at everything all the time, you would think he had never been on that trail before and everything is new and needs a good look over.
The mare is better and will attempt almost anything with no fuss, she is just more forward and knows the way home but she will walk along on a loose rein going home which I wasn't expecting just judging from her personality, I though she would try to rush home but both horses are good at walking home if we ask.

Hoping for another good ride tomorrow


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## ChasingDreams

Snuck a ride in yesterday evening, bringing my March total to 32 miles so far. 











Chase was overall well-behaved, all except a little balking episode leaving the barn. We did loads of loose rein, and neck-reining practice on this ride; which is going really well. I’m pretty excited about how much softer and more responsive he is getting to leg and rein cues. He’s definitely progressing. 

We had one scary incident which was completely my fault, as I should have held him back with the soggy footing. We loped up the big hill by the quarry...took the turn at the top, and as he dug in to run up the last part of the hill his legs slid completely under him and he stumbled. For a few seconds, I thought we would both go down...
But in an instant; he found his feet, I found my balance, and my right hand shot out to find my phone in mid-air, just as it had gone flying from my pocket. It was a thing of magic.

We stood for a few moments as I double checked that we had all six legs and two arms, and that my phone was really in my hand and not on the ground. Then, we went off in a nice slow walk so I could evaluate his gait and make sure he hadn’t pulled or strained something, and he didn’t seem any worse for the wear, thank goodness.

The rest of the ride was uneventful, and very peaceful.





























The deer were out and feeling brave, a few didn’t move until we were very close or passing them. Which is usually good for a nice jump-startle [emoji23] We also saw a couple big, wild turkeys. I tried to get my phone out, but Chase was half-spooking and I just wasn’t quick enough to get a picture.

Here’s a photo of one of the deer being curious:










2020 miles~ 81


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## phantomhorse13

Thursday, I got Iggy out. The whole story is in my journal.




















Yesterday, I got Phin out in the morning.



















Then it was George's turn. 


















2020 mileage
...
3/26 iggy 11.46 miles 1447 ft climb 5.2 mph 48F 378.80 total miles
3/27 phin 10.42 miles 1453 ft climb 5.3 mph 46F 389.22 total miles
3/27 george 8.55 miles 1230 ft climb 3.5 mph 52F *397.77 total miles*


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## Celeste

@phantomhorse13 You have already exceeded my annual goal. You have got to have great muscles! You go girl!

Yesterday, I rode Dylan. We saw deer. Three different groups of them. He stopped and looked. I couldn't get any pictures. He was a tiny bit hesitant walking past the place where some vultures are nesting, but he went. The dog really gives the horses confidence. In order to stay on our property, away from people with the plague and dogs that bite, my rides have been limited to about 3 miles each. 

My total so far this year is *66.5*.


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## Celeste

I didn't ride today because I felt bad from getting overheated yesterday. It wasn't because of the ride. It had to do with putting fly sheets on all the horses. That didn't make me hot either. What made me hot was chasing them all over the pasture to tighten the belly bands on everybody after this happened. 

Picture 1 and Picture 2 are about 20 minutes apart. Picture 2 if fuzzy because my cell phone didn't take a good picture from that distance.


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## gunslinger

Oh my....don't you hate it when stuff like this happens?


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## ChasingDreams

@Celeste there was a little Morgan mare at my old barn who was a blanket shredding machine. First, she would just try to Houdini out of them... but when that didn’t work, she would rip them off piece by piece  Her owner went through several before finally giving up on the idea. 

I rode this afternoon. It was very soggy, and slick... so we took our time to avoid another near-wreck on shifty footing. Chase did not try to rush at all... he was definitely aware the trails were less than ideal. He was especially careful going down hills. I have to say I was pretty impressed with his vigilance.

























































2020 miles~ 85


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## Celeste

@ChasingDreams He has never minded a blanket. He probably kicked at a fly and the belly band was too lose, so he got it off. It stayed on fine today. 

I also rode in the mud. It didn't work out as well for me. My mare was politely trotting up a hill. I just didn't think it was that bad. She slipped, fell, and almost made a sandwich of me with the ground and her side for the bread. She is fine. I am scuffed up. It was my own stupidity. I was going to slow her down in literally two more strides. She got scared, shed her bridle, and ran home. I called my husband to come get me. I am just a bit scuffed. Not really hurt. There are a few scuffs I felt it best not to post. :rofl:

0.75 miles on horse (rest in Jeep)
Total 67.28

"Ain't a horse that can't be rode.
Ain't a cowgirl can't get throwed."


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## ChasingDreams

@Celeste oh no! Glad everyone is mostly ok, that is exactly what almost happened to us on Friday. There was a guardian angel that kept us upright for sure, I saw the ground coming, but somehow we recovered just before it hit. Last night when I rode I was very firm that we were only walking because it was even worse than it was Friday Maybe that’s why Chase was so much more careful last night too, he’s like “I am NOT doing that again”. We are both over the mud at this point.

I’m glad there’s no major injuries, other than some scrapes and bruised.... pride. Lol. Hopefully by the time this awful mud dries out a little you will be back to 100%.


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## carshon

@Celeste - I hope you are feeling better. How very scary for you and the Psycho Princess.


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## gunslinger

Oh no.....glad you're not hurt badly......


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## ChasingDreams

It was dry all day yesterday, with a nice breeze and intermittent sunshine. So, by the time my husband was home from work the trails were in much better shape. Still muddy, but not soupy.

Our horses all go in grazing muzzles over the summer, our pastures are very healthy and lush... too lush for most horses to be on all day, and we like to keep our horses out as much as possible. Yesterday was their first day wearing them this season, and I rode last night.

I could tell the last couple of weeks that Chase was a little amped up from the spring grass coming in. Just fidgety, and a bit more spooky than normal. When we got back from our ride last night, I joked with BM that he must have crashed from his sugar high  He was practically falling a sleep while riding  

Hopefully, after a couple days of rest he will be more himself... the changing seasons are tough for him 










































2020 miles~ 90


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## charrorider

Celeste. Good to hear it wasn't worse.


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## PoptartShop

@Celeste glad you are okay!


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## ChasingDreams

Shorter ride yesterday, it was chilly and very windy. We skipped the top woods for fear of falling limbs, and stuck to the wider trails at the quarry. 

Chase was a teensy more jumpy than usual, but otherwise did very well. The cow pass was particularly “scary” with a small metal gate swinging and clanging noisily in the wind, and the cows all milling around it...but with some encouragement, he went by with minimal fuss. I was pretty happy with him.

Not many pictures, since it was a two-handed ride kind of day 


















2020 miles~ 93

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## Celeste

*Part 1*

Things are getting to where I have to look at my phone to know what day it is. Each day is the same. Because I am a "high risk" patient if I catch the virus, I am very isolated. It has been a time for DH and I to slow down and spend a little time together.

After my spill last Sunday, it took me until Thursday to feel like getting on a horse. Actually, I would have ridden if someone else had caught the horse, groomed, saddled, and led him up to a mounting block. Lol. In my dreams.

Just to be sure that I didn't have any anxiety about the fall, I rode my mare. She was great. No problems. No issues except she did snort and blow a little at the place where she fell. I could hardly blame her for that. We mostly walked, but we did trot and canter a little, but only in very non-muddy places. Before riding, I did a good exam on her. There was no swelling on her legs. She did have 2 tiny spots where the hair had been knocked loose on her butt. I also noticed a strange ding on the inside of her front left hoof. All her shoes were solid though.

I rode Dylan on Friday and he was his usual rock star self. He will go fast, slow, here, there. Dylan just doesn't care. Just so he has a full stomach, he is a happy camper.

I'm going to start another post that is part two to this one.


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## Celeste

*Part 2*

Yesterday (Saturday), I decided to get out my Princess. She seemed her normal self. As I was checking her feet before saddling, I realized that her left front shoe was so loose it was barely hanging. This was a barely worn shoe. I have never had a thrown shoe with this particular farrier. I pulled it off with my bare hands with little effort. 

After contemplating the situation, I think I know what happened to make us fall. She was doing a beautiful extended trot. She overreached with her right hind. The right hind hit the left fore. The shoes got tangled. And down we went. 

My actual memory of the thing is that we were trotting along nicely. Suddenly I noticed the ground coming upwards. I could still feel that I was on the horse. I have a vague memory of her halfway rolling over me. Then she was running down the trail. The dog frantically kissed me all over. Then she went 
and tried to catch the horse. Since the horse was already terrified, it only made thing worse. She went on home. I decided that I was for sure not dead, called DH, and he came and got me.

Back to yesterday, I decided to try riding two miles without the shoe. She was perfectly fine. For the time being, all I am doing is riding on our own dirt trails. So I have decided to get the farrier to pull the shoes and give barefoot a try. If it doesn't work out, he will come back and put the shoes back on. 

The main rocky trail that I go on is now being guarded by three giant pitbulls. There are also hunters driving on that road all the time. The little three mile trail is what I am doing. It is the only place that I can safely take the dog, and it means the world to her. 

So we'll see how barefoot goes. To all those barefoot riders who I have called crazy, sorry about that.


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## Celeste

*Part 3*

The actual ride yesterday was a bit adventurous. She got spooked by a deer and bucked a little bit. It was almost fun compared to the falling. It was nothing that would get an average rider off. 

Then we were on the last little leg of the trail. Prissy, the dog, noticed something in the woods. She jumped in the air, turned around and ran straight back to us for protection, tail between her legs. (Note: Prissy rhymes with sissy).

There have been wild hogs and even black bears in the area. There are also several species of venomous snakes, some which are very aggressive. 

My horse figured that if her guard dog was scared, it was time to leave. She was getting hard to deal with. So I dismounted, hooked the rein to her halter, and started leading her. Prissy followed with her tail between her legs. Sorry if it shocks the people who are not Americans, but I carry a handgun when I ride. I took it out just in case we were attacked by something. (It was still holstered.) 

What it turned out to be was that my daughter and her boyfriend had been walking down the dirt road. For some crazy reason, they thought that it would not scare the horse if they hid in the woods. Once Prissy and the Princess saw that it was humans, they were overjoyed. We chatted at safe distance. By that time, I was almost home, so I just walked.

Total miles for 2020: *75.28*


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## phantomhorse13

Last week, I got some saddle time. The whole story is in my journal.

Monday, I started with Iggy:



















Then was Phin:



















Tuesday, I got George out:


















March total: 214.52 miles
Phin - 86.10 miles
George - 45.39 miles
Iggy - 50.27 miles
Lapco - 18.43 miles
Polo - 9.42 miles
Tegan - 4.91 miles


2020 mileage
...
3/30 iggy 14.0 miles 1670 ft climb 5.0 mph 50F 411.77 total miles
3/30 phin 12.4 miles 1945 ft climb 4.9 mph 52F 424.17 total miles
3/31 george 10.1 miles 1382 ft climb 5.2 mph 39F *434.27 total miles*


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## phantomhorse13

Wednesday, I got Phin out:























2020 mileage
...
4/1 phin 15.7 miles 1817 ft climb 5.7 mph 38F *449.97 total miles*


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## egrogan

Spring has finally sprung, so I got some trail time yesterday! It was a fairly...energetic...ride. Our first since January, so I expected some spunkiness. We rode to a neighbors to meet up with her and her new horse who she's only ridden in the arena. Just as we arrived at her barn, the neighbor and his son started target practice, so our ride began in the midst of rapid fire shooting. Both horses were a little anxious but they rode well together, all things considered. It may have been a little ambitious to go 5 miles with a new horse for our first real spring ride, but we enjoyed most of it. Hopefully will get some more saddle time at the beginning of this week before rain and sleet move back in.




















*Total 2020 miles: 14.52*


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## ChasingDreams

Two longer rides this weekend, trying to tire him out a bit so he stops causing trouble in the pasture He’s decided after two years of wearing one, that he doesn’t like his grazing muzzle this year. He’s destroyed two in less than a week and is taking off the remaining one multiple times a day. 

And, he does not do well with sugar-overload. Besides, the obvious laminitis / founder / colic risks with extremely lush spring grass - he is a jerk to the other horses and a grump towards humans ( not mean... just crabby). I’m so desperate, I plan to spend over $140 to get a green guard muzzle which is supposed to be the best for Houdini horses like mine, if anyone has experience with them I’d be happy to hear it!!

Saturday, I was determined to ride until he was a bit sweated. He rarely sweats at all on our typical 3-4 mile rides... so we did 6. 
Had a hiccup in the top woods, one of the longer trails requires us to use a short length of a neighbors lane to get back into the woods. Unfortunately, they apparently don’t want us doing so any longer... as there are now signs posted. So, I had to turn back.









One highlight though, these two deer were not even remotely afraid of us. We rode right up to them, probably 15-20 feet away. They looked at me for a bit when I stopped to take a photo, then went back to foraging completely un-phased by our presence. It was neat.









Sunday, we didn’t ride quite as long... but still a decent ride for us. The flies are making their seasonal debut already (super early, which doesn’t bode well for the summer this year)  so, I got to try out our new riding mask.


































2020 miles~ 104


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## ChasingDreams

@Celeste you might invest in a pair of riding boots if you are trying to go barefoot and she is fine in the pasture... they make a world of difference if you have rocky trails. I use cavallo boots, they were a game-changer for us! 
@phantomhorse13 what I wouldn’t do to ride your trails with you, they look awesome!
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## egrogan

@*ChasingDreams* , I started using Green Guard last year for my Morgan mare who can't even look at grass without blowing up. I didn't think there was a chance she'd keep it on, but surprisingly, she did. And, that was with me rigging it up on my own halter because the company had stopped selling compatible breakaway halters and I didn't want to chance it without the breakaway. I was really surprised at how much less she was eating with it on. 

We did run into one problem with it- the pasture the horses were on was fairly stressed, so the grass was very short. I was still supplementing with loose hay in piles on the ground, but that was tough for her to eat with the muzzle on. Out of frustration at the short grass and hay piles, she became very aggressive in trying to graze, and she was scraping her teeth so hard on the plastic basket that she actually wore a hole through the bottom of it in just a couple of weeks.  The company was great with their customer service- I sent them a bunch of pictures and they were a little shocked at the damage she had been able to do to the basket. They said they had never seen another horse manage to do that, and they sent me a free replacement. She started to destroy that one too but by that point in the year the worst of the spring grass danger had passed and I was able to give her more time out of the muzzle. I will probably need to start back up with it in a few weeks here, but we don't have any grass growing yet. So...moral of the story, if your horse is not a plastic eating piggie like my girl, you are likely to have good success with the Green Guard. Everyone else I know who uses it has found it works pretty well so far. I think @*SwissMiss* was considering one as well but not sure if she ended up getting it.




















This was the damage she did to the inside of the basket:








PS- we did have the vet do a careful exam of her teeth after this experience, and there was no damage. The vet is a dental specialist, and was actually the person who suggested this muzzle to me in the first place as this horse is borderline IR/Cushings (tests just within the upper bound of "normal" range but gets cresty very easily). Vet uses it on all her air fern Arabs and has had good results.


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## AtokaGhosthorse

Had a phenomenal ride yesterday and according to my phone, I was active for 4 hours, 41 minutes, but the ride was just under 4 hours. It was logging my walking to my aunt's house to pick up a HS Senior Lives Here yard sign, walking around grooming the horses, etc. 

We rode on private property - a friend's dad owns 10,000 acres with, possibly, a hundred miles of maintained roads that zig zag the property. Drove in 6 miles on the private roads before unloading, then rode another 11 miles. It is a wilderness area, with steep hills (We call those mountains here). Resident critters include mountain lions, turkey, squirrels, hogs, white tail deer, eagles, hawks, brown bears, coyotes, bob cats... which we never saw. Dang it. Heard two different tom turkeys calling up their ladies, saw tracks for all of the above animals. No critters.

Gina and Trigger wanted to be extra fresh, and Trigger had me a little concerned at first, because it's been 2 months since I had a chance to ride, so it took about 15 minutes for the muscle memory to kick in, and it took a lot longer for him to get worn down and settled. Hubs said Gina figured out real quick trying to keep up with Trigger was just wearing her out, so she decided pulling drag was the place to be. It was a fantastic day.


----------



## ChasingDreams

Thanks @egrogan for the insight! I emailed the company before ordering and asked if the 30-day guarantee is still valid if it comes back in pieces, and she assured me it would  At least they stand behind their product! 


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## QueenofFrance08

Been forgetting to post here!

Been getting a bit of riding in, weather is cooperating and not a lot else to do!

Tuesday night I took Chico for a 4 mile ride/jog/walk (aka I rode until he started acting up and then walked a lot and we both jogged up hills) out our driveway down to the stop sign and back. We were attempting to practice our going away from home in hopes that we can ride more from home this summer. Despite being able to ride my horses 50+ miles I always trailer them to the park instead of riding out on our gravel roads because all of our horses are barn/buddy sour. Being a somewhat anxious rider instead of properly training them to suck it up I've chosen just not to ride at home (except in our arena or around the fields) and I've decided this quarantine is just the time to begin practicing. I have no problem walking my horses/running with them (despite neighbor's texts worrying that I fell off!) so I figure we can walk the whole time if I don't feel okay and they'll eventually get it down. He was pretty sassy but behaved fairly well.

Saturday, thanks to a little bit of liquid courage, Chico and I did the whole 5 mile loop around our "block". I walked him at any house I know has dogs that may run out at us but rode most of the loop. We met some Belgians out for a drive which was pretty cool! I was so proud of him.

Sunday we went to the State Forest to ride socially distanced with 2 friends. We ended up doing at least 12 miles and had a blast. I did manage to get bucked off when Chico came across a horse eating cement block that made him completely lose his marbles. He was feeling pretty frisky and tried to pull a few bucks during the ride too (when I told him to slow down). Apparently he seems to have forgotten he is 18 and shouldn't be acting like this! My friend made us a matching hat set so we took some photos at the trailer when we were done (thankfully I was wearing a helmet during the ride!). 

Moral of the story, guess Chico is in better shape then I thought!


----------



## AtokaGhosthorse

*@QueenofFrance08*! Love the matching caps!


----------



## phantomhorse13

@*ChasingDreams* - we will get you and @*Aprilswissmiss* up here one of these days!


Sunday, DH and I got George and Phin out. The whole story is in my journal.



























2020 mileage
...
4/5 phin 11.8 miles 1030 ft climb 5.1 mph 60F *461.77 total miles*


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## ChasingDreams

Relaxing sunset ride yesterday evening. It was our third ride day in a row, so Chase was very mellow and we mostly just walked and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Good for the soul kind of ride  









































2020 miles ~ 107


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## egrogan

Two rides in a row. Yesterday was a beautiful spring day. We ran into some dog issues again but the rest of the ride was nice. Why does the spring air smell so good?! 









*Total 2020 miles: 16.7*


----------



## egrogan

I thought the folks on this thread might appreciate this blog post: https://christinakeim.com/2020/03/30/hitting-the-trails-with-2020-vision/ To sum it up, the author is typically a show rider, but writes about how this pandemic lockdown is going to lead many equestrians who typically focus on the show world to get back out on the trails with their horses, since showing may be unlikely this year. She goes on to say how that could be a real win at a time when equestrian access to trail systems is declining; the more people who are able to get out and enjoy trails, the more new advocates we build for keeping trail systems open. I hope that's true. And that all of these new trail riders get a taste of what w_e _all know- there's not much better than a quiet, sunny afternoon out on the trails with a horse you love!

Yesterday we just puttered around our fields close to home. It's the first time I've ridden three days in a row since last fall, and it felt great to be out in the fresh spring air.

















*Total 2020 miles: 18.4*


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## phantomhorse13

Monday, I got Phin out. The whole story is in my journal.



















2020 mileage
...
4/6 phin 10.7 miles 1246 ft climb 5.1 mph 56F *472.47 total miles*


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## phantomhorse13

Tuesday, I got George out first thing. The whole story is in my journal.




























Next, I went over to ride with Gina. I rode Amish.


















2020 mileage
...
4/7 george 10.5 miles 1324 ft climb 5.2 mph 48F 482.97 total miles
4/7 link 1.0 miles 20 ft climb 4.0 mph 55F 483.97 total miles
4/7 amish 12.1 miles 726 ft climb 3.6 mph 57F *496.07 total miles*


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## egrogan

The original forecast yesterday called for rain, but it ended up being a pretty nice day. Bonus ride! We just did a short out-and-back to the overlook.








Today is dry again but I really need to get all the wasted winter hay raked out of the paddock before we get an inch of rain tomorrow. That might end up taking me all day, really not sure how bad it's going to be once I get going. So, riding will be dependent on how much progress I make and how quickly. Aside from tomorrow though, the rest of the week looks pretty dry so that's encouraging.


*Total 2020 miles: 20.6*


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## PoptartShop

Loving all the rides you guys!

I FINALLY got Promise out last weekend! Explored a new park near the barn, really nice marked trails. We were out for about 2hrs. Lots of hills (some were REALLY steep!) & creeks.  It was a beautiful day. 64 & sunny! Prom worked up a nice sweat! Great ride. 

Went out with my BO, her niece (who also is a barn helper) & boyfriend. It was fun! I plan on venturing out there solo once I figure out the trails a bit more/get more comfortable with them. We always ride alone, but it was fun to ride in a group for a change. Promise is 7, she was the youngest out of the others & even helped the other horses cross over some streams! She did really well. 



































































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## egrogan

Well, pasture clean-up did indeed take all day, but I definitely made progress. Hopefully next weekend it is dry enough to get the tractor in there and scrape out the rest of the mess. I should have tracked my miles anyway, given the number of trips I made to and from the burn pile down the road! My horse, on the other hand, got 0 miles while I was working :rofl:


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## ChasingDreams

I had a nice ride Saturday afternoon. It was a bit windy, but not too cold. I tried to take it easy on Chase, he’s been a bit stiff since last weekend  must have overdid it a little. We had a nice relaxed ride.
















2020 miles~113

And as a little bonus, my husband surprised the kids and I with an Easter present...



















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## ChasingDreams

I had a nice ride Saturday afternoon. It was a bit windy, but not too cold. I tried to take it easy on Chase, he’s been a bit stiff since last weekend  must have overdid it a little. We had a nice relaxed ride.
















2020 miles~113

And as a little bonus, my husband surprised the kids and I with an Easter present...










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## phantomhorse13

Saturday,DH and I got George and Phin out. The whole story is in my journal.



















On Sunday, we got Iggy and Phin out. 


















2020 mileage
...
4/11 phin 18.2 miles 2055 ft climb 6.0 mph 36F 514.27 total miles
4/12 phin 10 miles 1070 ft climb 5.0 mph 54F *524.27 total miles*


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## phantomhorse13

ChasingDreams said:


>


eeeeeeee - we need details! and way more pics!


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## Oreos Girl

@ChasingDreams It looks like a teeny Krestral.


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## CopperLove

These photos are from a hike the day before, but we rode almost the same way I walked on Saturday. After a long winter working on myself, clicker training, groundwork and some tack change, I was elated to ride my own horse again over the trails at the barn-owners property. It was only about a 3 mile loop total but it felt amazing and I couldn't have asked for a better pre-easter gift. I'm grateful that I have access to their property.


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## phantomhorse13

Oreos Girl said:


> It looks like a teeny Kestral.


My first thought was Aussie.. but the more I look the more I am not so sure. Can't wait for details!


----------



## Celeste

Bernese Mountain Dog
Australian Shepard
Border Collie 
Mix

I know that he or she is adorable!


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## ChasingDreams

phantomhorse13 said:


> My first thought was Aussie.. but the more I look the more I am not so sure. Can't wait for details!



He’s an Aussie! His name is Finn.



















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## Celeste

He is so cute! My nephew has an Aussie, and she is the best dog ever.


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## Patchouli

He has the freckles and is going to be that gorgeous dark red like my Aussie! I’m definitely partial to those red tris. I wanted to name my next one Finn as well.


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## ChasingDreams

Short ride last night, did a quick loop around the front field before I started my tracker... then did a loop in the top woods and finished in the ring with a little refresher. Chase had been a bit off, not lame... just stiff. I think he was just muscle sore, but I have been keeping it light this week as a precaution. 









I did take the extra time to snap a few photos, so there’s that [emoji23][emoji2372]










































2020 miles~114

Bonus pic... Titan teaching Finn the basics of dog 101









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## egrogan

Wow, the sky in your pics is absolutely beautiful! Great shots. And, adorable dogs!


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## phantomhorse13

I have gotten lots of saddle time this week! The whole story is in my journal.

Tuesday, I got George out:



















Then Iggy:



















Wedneday, I rode Hombre:



















Thursday, I got George out:



















Then Iggy:


















2020 mileage
...
4/14 iggy 16.4 miles 1819 ft climb 3.7 mph 44F 552.47 total miles
4/15 hombre 14.7 miles 2074 ft climb 5.1 mph 42F 567.17 total miles
4/16 george 10.8 miles 1059 ft climb 6.1 mph 28F 577.97 total miles
4/16 iggy 11.5 miles 1580 ft climb 5.8 mph 34F *589.47 total miles*


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## gunslinger

I'm up to 15 miles now so far this year.....Rode one time in January and then the rain set it along with the cold.

I slipped on some ice while going down the back steps on Feb 29th and would up with a severely sprained left ankle that's put me in the emergency room and kept me down and off my horses.

So, after 8 weeks, I managed a ride.....still have some pain in the left ankle along with a bit of swelling.....mounting and dismounting is difficult.....and although I mounted from the right, dismounting is better from the left....

The ankle is much improved, but healing slowly.....sigh....


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## lb27312

@gunslinger - So sorry to hear about your ankle! I hope it stops hurting soon... bummer.

Cute puppy!! Love the name too...

I got a ride in this morning and I think I have Challenger finally accepting the cart behind him! Yay! It was an uneventful ride and really nice to get out. Now to get Captain out and work on him.

I feel bad for not posting my total and not sure if I can post in here not doing that but I had a heck of a time finding an app I liked and don't always have a phone, this time I did.

Today 5.11 miles... not much but we were with the pony cart and it's slow going and it was pretty warm.


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## Celeste

@gunslinger I can't like your post about you getting hurt. I'm glad that you finally got a little saddle time in. Sprains are terrible. I have had them be much harder to get healed up than fractures.


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## Celeste

Unfortunately, my barefoot idea did not work. I rode Dylan (now my husband and son say I must change the spelling to Dillon due to somebody they don't like that spells it the other way) Anyway, I rode him on two short rides without shoes. I will post pictures of the disaster that happened.

So I had the farrier back out and had shoes put back on both the horses. After consulting with several experts including our own @phantomhorse13 , I decided to go with shoes and over-reach boots. I will post a picture of what I ordered. They came, but it has been storming so I haven't tried them yet.

But I have ridden Dillon (formerly Dylan, formerly horse with not name or HWNN, formerly Rapper, formerly Emmenem, formerly M and M, formerly what ever is on his papers) twice since the shoeing which was Thursday. He did great and I had loads of fun. Hopefully all this storming will go away and I'll get out and ride some more.

I have seen deer on almost every ride. They never just stand there and let me take pictures.

I have no idea when I posted miles, so I'll just post my total. Most of my rides are about 3 miles. This is a trail on private property. I don't see people and I don't get chased by bad dogs.

2020 Total 89.88 (I should have ridden around the yard a time or two.)


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## gunslinger

IB27312, nice looking ride.....looks a lot like Miss Lacy.
Celeste, isn't this the second time you've been down this year? Glad you're all right!


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## Celeste

gunslinger said:


> IB27312, nice looking ride.....looks a lot like Miss Lacy.
> Celeste, isn't this the second time you've been down this year? Glad you're all right!


The first time was elective surgery (that needed doing).

This was the only spill. I am thinking that somebody was helping me out that day. I can't see how I wasn't killed or injured severely. My right leg is going to stay bruised for quite a while, but it should have broken after having a horse on top of it. I really was never in severe pain. And I sure wasn't going to the ER. Our local hospital is stacked full of Covid-19 patients.


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## rambo99

Been a while since I posted on here, lovely pictures from everyone else here.

Getting in ride time now six days a week snows gone and drying out. Been able to ride trail last week and half ,usually may before we can ride trails. 

Had some really nice rides, beautiful weather. Going to be 62 degrees this coming week first time this year. Horses are just about shed out also early ,last year it was almost end of June. 

Some pictures of some of rides we have taken. Some pictures were from before snow was gone.


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## egrogan

Sending thoughts for quick healing @gunslinger! And @Celeste, hope you've got your mare's feet straightened out now. My girls get trimmed tomorrow. Ground here has been soft enough I haven't needed boots at all for the little bit of riding I've done, but my mare has been tripping a lot. Her feet are definitely way too long. I sometimes struggle to get my trimmer to bring her toes back enough but am glad he'll be here tomorrow so we can discuss.

After a week of decidedly UNspringlike weather, yesterday was absolutely gorgeous. We had a wonderful ride.




































Now just getting a little antsy to start seeing some GREEN like I see in all of your beautiful pictures, instead of more dull brown. :wink:
*Total 2020 miles: 23.3*


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## ChasingDreams

Had a shorter ride Sunday afternoon. For the most part was peaceful and uneventful.

Chase out of no-where decided he didn’t want to go into the water at the lake. So...after I tried unsuccessfully on the one side to get him to go in... I went to the other side to try there.

I knew it was probably too deep to cross, and of course he surprised me by walking right in. After a few strides into the water, it was already up to my boots and I decided it was probably better to keep moving forward to higher ground rather than try to turn around and end up swimming. The path across is a little like a bridge. It’s deepest on the off-side (the side I started on out of my stubbornness to make him get in the water), and gets deeper to the left and to the right. But walk straight across and it gets shallower as you go (or deeper if you start on the proper side). 

Anyway he crossed just fine and quite seemed to enjoy it- he was very energized afterwards [emoji23]
























Here Chase was checking out the ginormous bull grazing in the distance.








2020 miles~ 118


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## Celeste

It was a beautiful day today. Unfortunately, we had 4 inches of rain in 4 hours last night. It is way too muddy to ride.


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## phantomhorse13

Saturday, DH and I took George and Phin out. The whole story is in my journal.





























Yesterday, it wasn't actually raining so I decided to get horses out.

George was first. 
























Next up was Iggy. 



























2020 mileage
...
4/18 phin 23.2 miles 2292 ft climb 5.8 mph 36F 612.67 total miles
4/19 phin 1.04 miles 29 ft climb 4.1 mph 38F 613.71 total miles
4/20 george 10.2 miles 1078 ft climb 6.0 mph 34F 623.91 total miles
4/20 iggy 10.2 miles 1132 ft climb 5.9 mph 38F *634.11 total miles*


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## charrorider

Went out on my first ride since Feb 2nd, three days before my surgery. It was a simple 6 mile ride, from my house to the trailhead, back to my house. But even though, it was about two weeks before the three month date, I felt no discomfort. So I guess I'm good to go. Thank God and those good surgeons. Total mileage for the year: 59 miles.


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## ChasingDreams

Have ridden twice since my last post. First was a solo ride yesterday afternoon, and today I went out with BM (at a safe distance of course [emoji28]) 

















I didn’t get any pictures today, I was distracted chatting, and of course since Chase hasn’t ridden with another horse in over a month so there was some adjusting to do. He did really well, though. He had one moment where he was startled by a group of deer and did a quick spin, but he came right back around and settled immediately. 

He and Scout took turns leading and he was actually more bold about taking front then he was last time we rode together. 

Here are a couple photos from the solo ride:
















Yea.. that’s a mounting block in the middle of the woods. We have a few spread out along the trails in case they are ever needed.










2020 miles ~ 125
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## egrogan

> Yea.. that’s a mounting block in the middle of the woods. We have a few spread out along the trails in case they are ever needed.


I have thought about doing that in key spots where I often get off and walk but haven’t followed through. I do leave one in the field in front of my house and have wondered if anyone has ever used it.


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## trailhorserider

egrogan said:


> I have thought about doing that in key spots where I often get off and walk but haven’t followed through. I do leave one in the field in front of my house and have wondered if anyone has ever used it.



There is a gate I have to go through to get to the forest. One side is on private property and I have permission to go through, the other side is national forest. I put "mounting blocks" on both sides of the gate. One is a flat rock with a cinder block on top of it. One is a flat rock with a chunk of railroad tie on top of it. Nobody ever seems to bother them and they are always there waiting for me. :Angel:


That gate is a barbed wire, cowboy type gate so I have to dismount. Another (farther) forest access has a step-through horse gate, which is really nice, but I tend to ride to the closer gate so there is less road riding.


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## phantomhorse13

Wednesday, I got some saddle time. The whole story is in my journal.

I started with Iggy:



















Then was George:



















Yesterday was supposed to be rainy, but the weather held off and I was able to ride.

George was first:


















Then it was Phin's turn:























2020 mileage
...
4/22 iggy 10.7 miles 1546 ft climb 5.2 mph 24F 644.81 total miles
4/22 george 12 miles 1581 ft climb 5.9 mph 30F 656.81 total miles
4/23 george 10.3 miles 1486 ft climb 5.5 mph 35F 667.11 total miles
4/23 phin 12.1 miles 1430 ft climb 6.5 mph 40F *679.21 total miles*


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## ChasingDreams

Omg, the fox cub [emoji7][emoji1663] How cute!! I want him lol 


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## phantomhorse13

ChasingDreams said:


> Omg, the fox cub


Seeing him totally made my day.


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## egrogan

The weather was finally nice enough that I was able to ride two days in a row!

Yesterday was picture perfect, and we went out to do a nice 4 mile loop. We encountered quite a few moments of excitement- boats, aggressive dogs, toddlers, traffic, and dirt bikers- but it was an enjoyable ride given how beautiful the weather was.




























Fizz found it all quite exhausting! :wink:









Today was still warm (for us- 50*F) but gloomy. Still, it was a bonus day of riding because rain, sleet, and snow were supposed to have started around 11am. I wasn't sure how much time we'd have before getting soaked, so did a short ride to the overlook and back (just 2 miles). I managed to beat the weather, and still have time to give all three mares a good grooming and get blankets on for whenever the storm eventually comes.

















*Total 2020 miles: 29.2*


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## ChasingDreams

I almost forgot to post this one! It was pretty muddy, so we stayed clear of the bigger hills and kept it short and slow. I did forget to turn off my tracker right away so there’s a couple loops in the arena on here lol, my husband had brought my daughter up so she could ride a bit after I was finished. But I mean, we were still riding so... it is what it is lol. 


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## ChasingDreams

Apparently, I can’t add any more photos this month using Tapatalk... so here’s the rest:





















2020 miles~ 129


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## egrogan

Look how adorable your daughter is on your horse! :loveshower:


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## ChasingDreams

egrogan said:


> Look how adorable your daughter is on your horse! :loveshower:




I know... this was the first time she was ready to ride him alone, and he was ready for her to ride him by herself [emoji3059][emoji3059] She had some trouble getting him moving, but besides that he didn’t put a hoof wrong with her.

Both my babies are growing up [emoji24][emoji7]


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## ChasingDreams

I was able to sneak in an afternoon ride yesterday. It was sunny, 71F with a slight breeze.... just, perfect. And Chase was super well behaved, the best he’s been since winter.

We crossed the lake again, it was still the same level as it was before... but, this time I was prepared to pull my feet out of the way to keep my boots dry lol I tried to get a video, but had to put down my phone halfway because I needed both hands to steer.

https://vimeo.com/413657254


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## ChasingDreams

https://vimeo.com/413665763

2020 miles ~ 132


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## angellja

New to this. A bunch of questions.

Where is Mt Wolf?
What trail app do you all use?
Anybody need a partner? I've been riding by myself and a bit tired of it.

I'm heading out to Assunpink this morning. First time since the quarantine getting off property.


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## phantomhorse13

Last Saturday, DH and I got Iggy and Phin out. The whole story is in my journal.
























Tueday, I took George out after the farrier was done:



















Then DH and I got Iggy and Phin out next:



















Wednesday, I got Iggy out:


















And then George:


















April: 302.04 total miles
Phin - 125.14
George - 87.7
Iggy - 61.4
Hombre - 14.7
Amish - 12.1


2020 mileage
...
4/25 phin 11.8 miles 1621 ft climb 4.8 mph 46F 691.01 total miles
4/28 george 11.5 miles 1643 ft climb 5.6 mph 48F 702.51 total miles
4/28 phin 10.6 miles 1274 ft climb 5.4 mph 54F 713.11 total miles
4/29 iggy 12.6 miles 1583 ft climb 5.2 mph 50F 725.71 total miles
4/29 george 10.6 miles 1309 ft climb 3.5 mph 55F *736.31 total miles*


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## phantomhorse13

angellja said:


> I'm heading out to Assunpink this morning. First time since the quarantine getting off property.


 As in New Jersey? I think I have ridden there once before. I am not sure if we have anybody close to that area on HF currently. 

Hope you had a good ride and you come back to tell us about it.


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## ChasingDreams

phantomhorse13 said:


> As in New Jersey? I think I have ridden there once before. I am not sure if we have anybody close to that area on HF currently.
> 
> Hope you had a good ride and you come back to tell us about it.



I’m in PA, but I don’t travel much... especially since I don’t have my own trailer.

Mt wolf is in PA, I live in York. My trails are on a 300+ acre cattle farm, owned by the towns namesake. They own my boarding facility as well. I have a good 5-6 miles of trails if I stretch it... and don’t have to leave home, so I’m grateful to be there.

The app I use is called “horse rider” in the App Store. I’ve found it useful, I like looking over my rides after.


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## ChasingDreams

Speaking of rides, was out today. Shorter ride, but beautiful and sunny and a “mostly” well-behaved pony. 









He had a little tantrum by the cow gate, but eventually gave over and we didn’t have any other issues.

Interrupted a frog orgy at the lake [emoji2960][emoji85]









There were SO Many frogs. We decided to stay out of the water today.

































2020miles ~ 135.7


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## egrogan

Spring was in the air here yesterday, and I went out on my first ride of the year with my riding buddy and her gelding. We had a few tense moments in the middle of the ride when my mare decided it was time to turn for home, but all's well that ends well. After a few minutes of handwalking her to get her to calm down some, a big hill climb got her refocused and the rest of the ride was nice. We went about 5 miles.










(Look behind the house and you'll see that the ski mountain still has snow on the trails- gotta love Vermont "spring"!)



























*Total 2020 miles: 33.9*


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## charrorider

phantomhorse13. That new trail on the video looks like where I ride.

angellja. Another good app is Geo Tracker.


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## Saigold

I’m back 🙂. Kind off. Life got in the way and a few months flew by without much horsing around. Got out for a ride yesterday. It was a great day for an outing, +20 and sunny. Wasn’t planning on it, but it just happened lol. The plan was to get on just for a bit in the pasture, then went to the bigger field and ended up going a few kms. Took both boys out. They were full of beans and just wanted to go. Duke settled down into an easy walk halfway through, Montana kept raring to go but was controllable. There were turkeys everywhere. The closest one came out only a few feet away from us and took off. Ramped up the horses a bit, but they both calmed down within a few steps.


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## phantomhorse13

I got some saddle time over the weekend. The whole story is in my journal.

Saturday, DH and I got Iggy and Phin out:



















Sunday, DH and I got George and Phin out:


















2020 mileage
...
5/2 phin 14.9 miles 1804 ft climb 5.2 mph 60F 751.21 total miles
5/3 phin 23.5 miles 2204 ft climb 6.1 mph 72F *774.71 total miles*


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## egrogan

@Saigold, I really love the look of your paint horse! Nice to hear from you again, and glad you are able to get back out on the trails. I'm in a similar situation.


----------



## Saigold

I’m back 🙂. Life got in the way and even though the weather was nice I didn’t ride for a few months. It was a beautiful day to go a few days ago so saddled up both and went out with my niece. Had a blast. Didn’t do much more than walking. It was the first time out for Montana, our 27yo who finally gained some weight back. Both were chomping at but to go. Had to hold them back. Seen turkeys 🦃 everywhere. Once came out just a few feet away from us and ran like hell. That spurred the horses on but they slowed down within a few strides.


----------



## charrorider

As it turned out, I haven't been able to ride since the 21st of April. I've either been too busy, or the weather hasn't cooperated. Well, today would've been the day the medical professionals would've actually cleared me to do whatever I want. So for a Cinco de Mayo ride I went. We've been having so much rain. The trails were soggy and sloppy, even in places where I've never seen it that way. But the ride was more my normal, 8.5 miles (13.77 km).


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## ChasingDreams

We got out for an evening ride yesterday. It was cloudy and a tad chilly, but still nice enough weather. 

Chase threw a HUGE tantrum at the cow pass this time. Backed completely into the field and would NOT go forward for anything. I ended up having to dismount, and even in hand, he gave resistance. Turns out, there is a “new” ladder tied to the bottom of the gate because some of the calves were slipping under ( I suddenly recalled talking with the rancher’s wife about calves on the loose a few days prior) He is not always this reactive to “new” things, but the cow pass has always been an area that makes him wary... so it’s the one spot where any change is extremely suspicious.

So, after walking through and getting a good look and sniff of the ladder, I remounted and we went back. Then we turned and went through again, and again, and again. I rode all the way back to where he first started balking, and rode back and forth until he was bored with it. So... my ride was a bit longer for the actual route, because a good portion was re-tracing the same 1/4 mile lol.

Other than that one “episode”, he was perfect. The rest of the ride was fun, and on the way back it was like “oh, there’s a ladder there? That’s cool”. Horses.











































2020 miles~ 140.3


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## phantomhorse13

I have gotten some saddle time as momma nature has allowed. The whole story is in my journal.

Tuesday, I got Iggy out:



























I have also been working with the baby, but seeing as we haven't made it on trail I am not posting about it here.

Wednesday, I got George out briefly:


















2020 mileage
...
5/5 iggy 12.6 miles 1640 ft climb 5.4 mph 53F 788.01 total miles
5/5 link 0.95 miles 10 ft climb 3.6 mph 55F 788.96 total miles
5/6 link 0.62 miles 26 ft climb 2.6 mph 38F 789.58 total miles
5/6 george 2.0 miles 229 ft climb 3.0 mph 38F *791.58 total miles
*


----------



## egrogan

I enjoyed a lunchtime ride yesterday while the weather was nice- sunny, not too windy, warm enough. We went about 3 miles, lots of backtracking to work on riding towards home without freaking out and trying to rush, and then turning back away from home without an argument. All in all, it went pretty well actually.




























*Total 2020 miles: 36.8*


----------



## egrogan

Could I get some feedback from people who ride in a sidepull? Does the fitting of this bridle seem to work ok? From the sides, I think it's adjusted correctly, though maybe a little high on her nose?

















But then from the front, it looks awfully narrow. Does this seem right?









I went out for a short test ride with it yesterday, just a mile down to the beaver pond and home, and she seemed to do well with it. I didn't notice any twisting or shifting into her eyes or anything like that. 









*Total 2020 miles: 37.8*


----------



## phantomhorse13

I got more saddle time the end of this week. The whole story is in my journal.


Thursday, I got George out:


















Next it was Iggy's turn:









I realized I forgot to take the helmetcam off after riding the baby, so here is some video of parts of the ride:
















Yesterday, I got Phin out first thing to try to beat the weather.



















2020 mileage
...
5/7 george 5.33 miles 715 ft climb 5.1 mph 45F 796.91 total miles
5/7 link 1.53 miles 52 ft climb 3.2 mph 50F 798.44 total miles
5/7 iggy 11.2 miles 1424 ft climb 5.7 mph 52F 809.64 total miles
5/8 phin 10.0 miles 1443 ft climb 5.7 mph40F *819.64 total miles*


----------



## ChasingDreams

I was hoping to get a Mother’s Day ride in, but woke up not feeling well (stomach bug I think) so I’ll probably have to skip it today  Hopefully, can get some ride time in this week.


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## CaliforniaDreaming

Mitch and I participated in a virtual endurance ride today. It was for a ride that was cancelled, so the management there put on a virtual ride to help recoup costs. I stayed on the ranch, hit the ranch trails (did a couple of loops, and then a couple more for good measure) and kept track of my ride via my Endomondo app.


Full update in my journal


We did 5 miles.


----------



## egrogan

Hope you're feeling better today @ChasingDreams. Isn't it so weird right now that if you feel a little sick, it's almost like a reflex to clarify that it's not covid-19 sick?! Strange times...


If it makes you feel any better, though I did ride yesterday, it was SNOWING and barely above freezing. The amount of snow varied depending on elevation and whether or not it was pretty open or shaded from the woods. What a crazy spring we're having.




























*Total 2020 miles: 39.96*


----------



## whisperbaby22

I'd say that nylon miklem is fitting just right. You want it up a bit to stay off the delicate bone of the nose. It only looks narrow because of the extra strap. 

After opening closing, and back again - it looks like my trails are officially open now. I have been riding a lot, I will have to post some photos here.


----------



## whisperbaby22

OK, here are some photos from today's ride.


----------



## phantomhorse13

Sunday, DH and I got Iggy and Phin out. The whole story is in my journal.



















2020 mileage
...
5/10 phin 19.1 miles 2447 ft climb 5.2 mph 52F *838.74 total miles*


----------



## knightrider

Had a really terrific fun solo ride the other day and actually took pictures of it. Everything about it was grand--the weather was lovely, my horse Aci was wonderful, and the trails I was riding were beautiful. So I tried to take some pictures. I am lousy at taking pictures, but these were the best I could do to remember that great ride.


----------



## egrogan

Nice to hear from you @knightrider :wave: I was hoping all was well with you! Love those pictures with the little yellow flowers. We had snow here last night, ick!


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## Celeste

I haven't been doing a good job of posting lately. I think that I mentioned that my Arabian fell on me a while back. We are both fine now.

I was riding my Tennessee Walking Horse, who is bound to be a unicorn, on Monday. I was totally having a great time cantering down the trail. But he put on his brakes suddenly. I did not stop. I instead went flying. 

I have gone ten years without a spill and now I have had two in the last couple of months. That is crazy. I probably told someone that I don't normally fall off and the fates overheard.

My rides have consisted mostly of riding a 3 mile trail that is on private property. Nobody is there to give me viruses or to bother my dog. I suspect that the spill that I had Monday was due to some coyotes that were likely nearby. I rode there again on Friday, and coyote turds were everywhere. We hear them singing us to sleep every night. 

I don't particularly recommend riding on Friday after busting your "aspirin" on Monday. It shook something up. I didn't even hurt while I rode, but I am hurting today. My husband says that I am sporting a big bruise on my butt, but it is hard to turn around and see it. 

I will not even attempt to post each ride. Just the ride miles total and some pictures.

*Total this year: 118 miles*


----------



## Jolien

Finally! I was waiting for this <3


----------



## weeedlady

I finally rode this morning. Our new boarding barn is just down the road from my brother's place. I can cross the road and then ride around his cornfield and along the tree line. It's not much, but it's better than going in circles in an arena. It was a pretty morning an Tucker did really well for his first time out alone at a new place.


----------



## ChasingDreams

I went for a ride yesterday morning. Chase was really amped up in the ring Friday night (first time we’d ridden in over a week) so I wasn’t sure how he’d be out Saturday, but he was great! Must have gotten it out of the way the night before [emoji57]









































2020 miles~ 144


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## phantomhorse13

I got some saddle time last week. The whole story is in my journal.

Tuesday, I started with Iggy:



















Next up was George:



















Wednesday, I started with Phin:




























Then Iggy helped walk Kestrel:









2020 mileage
...
5/12 iggy 12.1 miles 2135 ft climb 5.2 mph 38F 851.62 total miles
5/12 george 10.5 miles 1570 ft climb 5.8 mph 44F 862.12 total miles 
5/13 phin 10.7 miles 1745 ft climb 5.7 mph 39F 872.82 total miles 
5/13 link 0.56 miles 22 ft climb 3.5 mph 50F 873.38 total miles 
5/13 iggy 2.5 miles 219 ft climb 3.8 mph 52F *875.88 total miles*


----------



## rambo99

Haven't posted on here for a while. Been getting lots of saddle time beautiful weather and dry. Putting many hours an miles out on trails. Riding trails we haven't been on for awhile. 

Did a 3-1/2 hour ride yesterday surprised we only saw 4 four wheelers being it was Saturday. Have a friend from South of me, who's been hauling up here to ride with us. Nice to have someone else to join my daughter and I trail riding.

Hopefully my friend will come up this week to ride. Her horse needs shoes he was a bit ouchy on our Rocky trails. 

Our horses got shod Friday all 4 feet ices back feet were woren real short. Farrier hardly had enough hoof to nail on shoes. 

Some pictures from some rides.


----------



## ChasingDreams

@Rambo, our barn just got a new boarder... a golden quarter horse pally that reminds me of Ice [emoji7] His name is Teddy though, super cute boy!


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## egrogan

Spring appeared overnight, so I've been able to ride 3 out of the last 4 days. It's so nice to get back into a routine!









We have conquered the scary mini donkeys along one of our regular routes!









It's amazing seeing all the greeeeeeeeennnnn suddenly emerge.









Of course, with spring comes swarming, biting black flies. We're prepared this year. :rofl:









Yesterday we went on a nice 7-mile ride with our riding buddies. Longest we've gone so far this year.


















*Total 2020 miles: 53.2 *
I looked back at my tracker from last year, and at this time last year we had gone less than 10 miles! What a difference a year makes :grin:


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## rambo99

@ChasingDreams that's neat there's another pally on ices order. 

Got in a 4 hour ride wasn't planned to be that long. Went to ride a loop we had done 3 years ago. Appearently I didn't remember which trail it was. 

In our search for that loop we discovered the north trails are in tough shape footing wise. Big ruts super Rocky even edges of trail where ruts are is tough going. Our horses trail skills were put to the test.

There were some pretty views once we got past the bad footing. Plan on riding out there tomorrow daughter thinks she knows, we're the loop I was looking for is. We were running out of daylight so had to head home. 

We are in serious need of rain swamps are drying up. Fire danger is on high even though it's greened up. Hopefully Thursday we get the storms that are predicted. Otherwise pasture isn't going to last all summer. Made the mistake of mowing the back 5 acres,it not looking to good. 

So horses only have front 5 acres for grazing and I'm limiting there time to 2 hours a day. 

Cinder an ice are such good trail horses went where we pointed them,no questioning our directions.


----------



## phantomhorse13

I got more saddle time at the end of last week. The whole story is in my journal.

Thursday, I went over to ride with Nicole. I rode Polo:



















Friday, I took George out.



















Saturday, I went out with Gina. I rode Amish:



















Sunday, DH and I got Iggy and Phin out for a nice long ride:



























2020 mileage
...
5/14 polo 11.2 miles 781 ft climb 5.7 mph 60F 887.08 total miles
5/15 george 11.0 miles 680 ft climb 4.0 mph 80F 898.08 total miles
5/16 amish 12.7 miles 1639 ft climb 3.6 mph 62F 910.78 total miles
5/17 phin 19.2 miles 1916 ft climb 5.4 mph 63F *929.98 total miles*


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## knightrider

*Success! I Made It!!!*

Last year I decided I was just too nervous on Windy, my daughter's mare, to ride her solo, so I quit trying. Life is too short to deal with that kind of anxiety when we're supposed to be having fun.

But I knew in the back of my mind that I'd want to try again. I'm just not the kind of person who gives up. 

My daughter's friend got injured and couldn't ride anymore, and her other friend's mom won't let her leave the house due to covid 19, so my daughter quit riding. She won't ride (much) without her friends.

So, I started riding Windy about 3 times a week to keep her fit and work on her training. She's such a nice mare and a fine trail horse . . . or could be if someone worked with her. My daughter is not a big fan of working with Windy's running walk and canter. It's definitely work, but it's fun work, and I could see improvements with every ride.

I had to schedule my Windy rides because they always had to be with other people. But when I ride with my neighbor, I started getting braver . . . and trusting Windy more . . . to ride the .2 miles home by myself. Windy kept getting better and better. By spring I was feeling like when summer came and the weather warmed up, (and Windy was not so spunky) I'd try a solo ride.

Today was the day. I was determined it was going to be good. We rode 6 miles in almost 2 hours and Windy did well. She rode like a horse that doesn't ride solo, but I know it takes time for a horse to get confidence when they are alone. 

We had to pass the vicious dog that bites the horses. When I'm on the other horses, I often gallop past the dog and don't fool with the Dazer, but I didn't want to gallop Windy on this ride. I whipped out the Dazer when the dog came after us, and it kept the dog away like magic. The dog is really afraid of the Dazer. 

Our whole mess of problems started with me letting Windy do running walk and canter on our second solo ride, and then, when it came time to walk home, she was exploding in bucking, rearing, and bolting the whole mile home. It's her nature, to rebel when she wants to go faster and isn't allowed to, but that ride showed it up really badly. And after that, I had a hard time getting my nerve back when riding her.

I've ridden her hours and hours and miles and miles in the company of other horses, and although my confidence is pretty good with her, I was still plenty nervous about this solo ride. It's me, not her. When my other horses act up, it doesn't worry me, but when she does, I get scared.

So, today was the day. I kept telling her we'd do great. It would be fine. Right now, the grasses and bushes are so high, you can only see the deer's white tails bouncing through the scrub. Windy did a huge spook at 3 deer (tails), and after that, she was her bouncy, jumpy, worrisome self all the way home. I kept telling her (and me) that we were going to manage this just fine and when we got home, I would brag about her on Horse Forum.

The photo is from an earlier ride. No pictures today. I was happy just to do the ride!


----------



## egrogan

Glad it went well(ish?) @knightrider! I love this line:


> I kept telling her (and me) that we were going to manage this just fine and when we got home, I would brag about her on Horse Forum.


I totally do that too!

We enjoyed spring weather yesterday and did a 4-mile loop. 









When we were in the homestretch, coming up our road (which is a 1.5 mile uphill climb) Fizz again proved her trail horse street cred. She locked on to something walking towards us from the opposite direction, but without my glasses on I couldn't quite tell what was coming our way. It looked like it might be someone on a horse, because the head was tall, but the legs weren't really moving in a way that looked horsey. We were still aways away, but I heard a man's voice call out to us- weird, because there really aren't many men who ride around here- and I called back to say it was ok to keep coming towards us. Finally we got close enough to see, and it was a tall man with a toddler up on his shoulders, out for a walk. I joked that Fizz had never seen a two-headed human before, but we stopped for a second for the little guy to say hello to her. She didn't care a bit. As soon as we parted ways, I heard a bike coming up behind us- it turned out to be two guys on mountain bikes. To their credit, they asked if they could pass and came behind us at a reasonable speed on the left. She didn't bat an eye at that either. 









(Bikers heading off into the distance)

There aren't many of the old farmers left on my road, but a very nice older couple still lives in their house, which has this fabulous sign hanging in the driveway:









I know it's a little small and hard to read, but it says:
Oleo Farm
One of the cheaper spreads
:rofl: Makes me laugh every time :rofl:


*Total 2020 miles: 56.9*


----------



## PoptartShop

Took Promise on some trails near the barn this past weekend. Put some miles in!  About 6 on Saturday, then 8-9 Sunday. It's a start for us, we haven't been out in awhile so I didn't wanna push it.


----------



## knightrider

The last 3 months, I haven't been adding up my hours or miles and posting them. But things are doing better here, so here are my hours and miles for March, April, and up to May 20

March 76.5 hours
252.45 miles

April 61.5 hours
202.95 miles

up to May 20 46.75 hours
154.27 miles

Year to date: 318.75 hours
1,051.875 miles

My daughter, the youngest and last one, graduated from high school on Friday. I haven't been homeschooling her much the last two years and, of course, won't homeschool her at all from now on. My riding really increased when I wasn't homeschooling much. Now, my grandchildren come over a lot, and I expect to ride a bit less because I spend a lot of time with them. They don't want to ride, but they do love feeding the horses carrots and leading them around.


----------



## weeedlady

I did some bushwacking with Raven this morning. Only 1.78 miles. She was almost good as gold. We only had two little discussions.


----------



## Celeste

I had a nice ride on Monday. It was a lot of fun. Walked, did a civilized trot, and even a civilized canter. I'd like to think that it was because of the brilliant training that I have done with my beautiful Princess. I suspect that the heat made it not be worth the effort to be overly enthused. 

Total for year: 121 miles


----------



## Celeste

knightrider said:


> Last year I decided I was just too nervous on Windy, my daughter's mare, to ride her solo, so I quit trying. Life is too short to deal with that kind of anxiety when we're supposed to be having fun.
> 
> But I knew in the back of my mind that I'd want to try again. I'm just not the kind of person who gives up.
> 
> My daughter's friend got injured and couldn't ride anymore, and her other friend's mom won't let her leave the house due to covid 19, so *my daughter quit riding*. She won't ride (much) without her friends.
> 
> So, I started riding Windy about 3 times a week to keep her fit and work on her training. She's such a nice mare and a fine trail horse . . . or could be if someone worked with her. My daughter is not a big fan of working with Windy's running walk and canter. It's definitely work, but it's fun work, and I could see improvements with every ride.
> 
> I had to schedule my Windy rides because they always had to be with other people. But when I ride with my neighbor, I started getting braver . . . and trusting Windy more . . . to ride the .2 miles home by myself. Windy kept getting better and better. By spring I was feeling like when summer came and the weather warmed up, (and Windy was not so spunky) I'd try a solo ride.
> 
> Today was the day. I was determined it was going to be good. We rode 6 miles in almost 2 hours and Windy did well. She rode like a horse that doesn't ride solo, but I know it takes time for a horse to get confidence when they are alone.
> 
> We had to pass the vicious dog that bites the horses. When I'm on the other horses, I often gallop past the dog and don't fool with the Dazer, but I didn't want to gallop Windy on this ride. I whipped out the Dazer when the dog came after us, and it kept the dog away like magic. The dog is really afraid of the Dazer.
> 
> Our whole mess of problems started with me letting Windy do running walk and canter on our second solo ride, and then, when it came time to walk home, she was *exploding in bucking, rearing, and bolting* the whole mile home. It's her nature, to rebel when she wants to go faster and isn't allowed to, but that ride showed it up really badly. And after that, I had a hard time getting my nerve back when riding her.
> 
> I've ridden her hours and hours and miles and miles in the company of other horses, and although my confidence is pretty good with her, I was still plenty nervous about this solo ride. It's me, not her. When my other horses act up, it doesn't worry me, but when she does, I get scared.
> 
> So, today was the day. I kept telling her we'd do great. It would be fine. Right now, the grasses and bushes are so high, you can only see the deer's white tails bouncing through the scrub. *Windy did a huge spook at 3 deer (tails), and after that, she was her bouncy, jumpy, worrisome self all the way home. * I kept telling her (and me) that we were going to manage this just fine and when we got home, I would brag about her on Horse Forum.


After getting injured twice this year after going 10 years without a spill, I don't think that I want to ride crazy horses. I'm not talking about the two accidents that I had. Those horses are great. They were just accidents. 

Is it worth risking getting injured to the point of not being able to ride at all over a horse that your daughter is not even interested in? 

Maybe you can keep her as a horse to ride in groups. I would personally think long and hard about whether it is worth taking those kind of chances. 

I'm not telling you to act your age. I get mad when people tell me that. People my age are usually boring. I'm just suggesting that you choose your poison. You have several really nice horses to ride. It is pretty obvious that you are a great rider from the stories that you tell. I just am sitting here remembering that horses can break you no matter how good you are. 

They say advice is worth what you pay for it and this was free.

My bruised backside hurts right now. 

I would have had a great ride today. Instead I stayed home.


----------



## egrogan

Another quick lunchtime ride yesterday- and by quick, I mean actually quick. We've primarily been walking the past couple of weeks as we get back into shape slowly, but with limited time I decided to go a little faster and mostly trotted/cantered. It was fun to move out a little bit. We only went 2 miles, so it felt reasonable to go faster over a shorter distance.








*Total 2020 miles: 58.9*


----------



## Saigold

Got out twice over the last few days. It’s was great. Yesterday got out on the trail and we found a few new routes that come up to the water. Which was amazing. Did 9.5km yesterday and 4km the day before.


----------



## phantomhorse13

I have gotten more saddle time this week. The whole story is in my journal.

Monday, I hopped on George bareback and moseyed around with Kestrel:



















Tuesday, I got George out for a real ride:



















Wednesday, I went over to ride with Nicole. I rode Polo:


















2020 mileage
...
5/18 george 2.56 miles 276 ft climb 3.3 mph 70F 932.54 total miles
5/19 george 10.1 miles 1291 ft climb 5.9 mph 58F 942.64 total miles
5/20 polo 10.8 miles 759 ft climb 5.3 mph 56F *953.44 total miles*


----------



## phantomhorse13

I got a bit more saddle time at the end of the week. The whole story is in my journal.

Thursday, I got Iggy out in the morning:



















Then, I rode Amish in the afternoon:



















Friday, I got Phin out:



























2020 mileage
...
5/21 iggy 10.5 miles 1338 ft climb 6.0 mph 55F 963.94 total miles
5/21 amish 13.6 miles 1342 ft climb 3.6 mph 70F 977.54 total miles
5/22 phin 13.6 miles 1909 ft climb 5.6 mph 62F *991.14 total miles*


----------



## weeedlady

Took my boy out for a little 2.18 mile ride this morning. 

Stopped to visit a minute with my sister in law and my niece. I learned their Pygmy Goats are scary, even though the Nigerian goat that lives in our new barn is fine. Their tiny Lab puppy is also scary! Silly horse.

More scary than goats and puppies is the Japanese Maple tree by the office door! That tree could be a horse killer!!! 

No pictures 'cause I had my hands full. Even so, we made it home in one piece on a loose rein. Very proud of Tucker Allen again today!


----------



## egrogan

Really fun weekend of riding. Sunday went on an adventure with my riding buddy looking for an elusive trail. We didn't find it that day, but she went out on a 4-wheeler yesterday and was able to figure it out. We were happy that we hadn't continued looking on the horses, because it took her an hour of going the wrong way and doubling back with the 4-wheeler before she found the right way. We went 7 miles Sunday and will go back to try this new trail next Sunday- which should end up being about 12 miles. That will be our longest ride of the year so far.









Yesterday went out on a solo 5 mile ride. Had a great ride, tackled a tricky hill that has given us lots of problems in the past and that allowed us to extend a ride through some beautiful scenery.









Oh, I also learned that a big flag snapping in a brisk wind is no big deal for my mare. One more thing to check off the "good trail horse" checklist :grin:









*Total 2020 miles: 70.47*


----------



## knightrider

For the last 13 years my family and some friends have enjoyed going to Doe Lake with horses for a week around Memorial Day. But this year, the trip was canceled due to covid 19.

Happily, Shangri La opened up just in time for a happy Horse Forum meet-up. @4horses, @LoriF, and @mslady254 joined me at Shangri La for a super fun 4 days of camping.

4horses is still recovering from a badly injured foot, and I brought Acicate for her to ride. LoriF brought Laela. And I rode Isabeau. mslady254 joined us on two evenings for fun rides while 4horses rested her foot after 3 hour morning rides.

Shangri La is unique in that the trails are up and down, unlike anything else in Florida. All the hills were created by WPA in the 1930's when the government thought it could create jobs by building a cross Florida canal. It turned out to be a far more difficult feat than originally anticipated. Also, it has a gruesome history. The men digging the canal received minimal pay for extremely hazardous work. When they lobbied for more pay, the supervisors kidnapped the organizers, tortured them, sewed their mouths shut, and then crucified them as an example to the men. The idea of a cross Florida canal was revived in the 60's, when they had machinery to dig the canal. Environmentalists were horrified at the decimation of the natural wildlife, and lobbied to end the canal. Again, it was vastly more costly than anticipated, even using machines, and the plans were abandoned. It was made into the Cross Florida Trail in the Ocala National Forest. I believe they are some of the most beautiful trails in Florida and spectacular to ride.

The photos I have are ones that LoriF took of me and mslady254. Unfortunately, I don't have other photos of the rest of the group. The trees are where we camped. The final photo is LoriF's glorious Fresian Saddlebred cross Laela, who has to be the most reliable and amazing trail horse ever!


----------



## knightrider

Mildly interesting ride this morning. I was riding Acicate, who is the most dependable trail horse I have, and for some weird reason, I decided to ride him solo in my FreeMax saddle, which isn't much more than a glorified bareback pad.

Flies were bad on the route I chose. People had built a doghouse next to the dirt road where I ride, and moved their jumping barking chained dog to the doghouse. Normally this dog is tied up back behind their house, and Aci was NOT HAPPY that the dog was somewhere close. Didn't matter that he was chained up. Aci spun around and wasn't going to go there. 

Just as I got him turned around heading the right direction, 3 adult pigs and 3 babies ran out of the yard . . . and stopped to look at us. Aci is used to seeing those pigs wandering around the road, but not there. So, again, he told me in no uncertain terms that horses are not supposed to go past chained dogs and wandering pigs who have never been in that part of the road before.

And, of course, the minute we got through the dog and pig problem, the biting vicious dog came roaring out of his driveway, ready to bite Aci's fetlocks. Oh My Gosh. The Dazer works well on that dog, but I had a job getting it out of its pocket with Aci dancing around over the 6 pigs that were still running and stopping to gaze at us.

I never used the Dazer this time. I just booted Aci into a gallop and got outta there. The vicious dog seems happy enough to prove that he can chase a big horse away from his area.

On the way home, I had to pass all the same obstacles: pigs still there, attack dog, and barking chained dog where he never was before. I just went fast past everything and didn't even get the Dazer out.


----------



## weeedlady

This morning I got in 3.48 miles with Tucker by circling around the corn field and doubling back and forth on several short trails. Last week the Japanese Maple by the office door was so scary we could NOT get past it and chose to go a different way. Today it was nothing. I had to get off to keep from stepping on my brother's lab puppy who doesn't know enough to stay out from under a horse. She thinks everyone is her new best friend. Tucker was very good about trying to stand still with puppy under his feet and big dog barking at him from about 10 feet away. He was a good boy. 
On the way home we had one BIG spook and bolt but I got him back under control pretty quickly. We ended the ride almost walking back on an almost loose rein. He was trying so hard to contain himself, I just had to take what he was giving me today.
No pictures again today. I was busy riding.


----------



## gunslinger

Finally got out again today on Mr. jack...No rodeo today, and he was quite the good boy. Got 11.8 miles in.


----------



## phantomhorse13

I have gotten some saddle time this week. The whole story is in my journal.

Sunday, I started with Phin:



















Then, Iggy:



















Monday, I rode Amish with my SIL:



















Tuesday, I started with Iggy:



















And then rode Phin:


















2020 mileage
...
5/24 phin 11.2 miles 1669 ft climb 5.8 mph 60F 1002.34 total miles
5/24 iggy 12.6 miles 1950 ft climb 5.0 mph 64F 1014.94 total miles 
5/25 amish 13.6 miles 1545 ft climb 3.6 mph 72F 1028.54 total miles 
5/26 iggy 11.6 miles 1595 ft climb 5.9 mph 89F 1040.14 total miles 
5/26 phin 11.9 miles 1616 ft climb 6.0 mph 95F *1052.04 total miles*


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## egrogan

What a weekend! Rode 20+ miles between Friday and Sunday. It was 90*F and awfully humid Friday, and 45*F with a cool breeze whipping through the woods today. 

Dodged rain storms on humid Friday:









A nice, leisurely ride under sunny blue skies yesterday:









An adventure today, finally finding a trail and set of back roads that's impossible to locate on the map. We are proud to say that today we rode 1/10th of the Vermont 100 endurance ride :grin:


















*Total 2020 miles: 90.87*


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## ChasingDreams

I’ve had a few rides! But, I also had some phone issues and had to reset my iPhone to factory, and two were lost along with all of my ride data so far this year 

The first was shorter, around 1.5 miles. My daughter was coming to ride, so we just did a couple loops up top.

The second ride was solo, around 3.5 miles. We “rescued” a cow in distress. I came to the top gate and found a cow outside the fencing with what appeared to be blood on her. My phone had died, so I had to ride down to the house to get someone.

On my way to the house, I found the ranch manager on his way up to her. She’d had a breech calf and wasn’t doing well, and he’d taken her out to recover without being picked on. He wasn’t optimistic that she would recover though, quite sad  

Our next solo ride was yesterday evening. Chase was in a mood, so we were disagreeing here and there. But, otherwise was a nice ride and I was able to get a few pictures. The grass was HIGH at the quarry, so snatching was inevitable and a bit taxing.










































































Today, I got to ride with the new boarder and her palomino, Teddy. BM was there with Scout as well, and it was just a very nice ride. Weather was gorgeous, and all three horses were saints. Just a wonderful ride. 
























2020 miles~ 156.9


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## phantomhorse13

I have gotten more saddle time this week. The whole story is in my journal.

Wednesday, I got Iggy out:



















Friday, I rode Aztec with my SIL:



















Today, DH and I got Iggy and Phin out:



























May total: 359:43 miles
Phin: 159.00
Link: 5.14
George: 41.49
Iggy: 86.0
Amish : 39.9
Polo: 22.0
Aztec: 5.9


2020 mileage
...
5/27 iggy 12.9 miles 1467 ft climb 5.9 mph 82F 1064.94 total miles
5/29 aztec 5.9 miles 728 ft climb 3.5 mph 85F 1070.84 total miles
5/31 phin 24.9 miles 2553 ft climb 6.5 mph 62F *1095.74 total miles*


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## Cordillera Cowboy

I haven’t posted in this section for a while. My rides tend to cover the same roads, up into the mountains or down to the barangay and level valley floor. 

I did something different this morning. We stayed in the pasture. I used to ride our first horse, Skippy, bareback through there often. But we turned our attention to longer outside rides. 

Today I saddled up Pinatubo, our new horse. I considered the bareback pad. But the terrain is challenging in places, and this horse is named after a volcano for a reason. So we tacked up in full battle rattle. 

Pinatubo, under saddle on a different ride. (Forgot to take a pic today.)








First, we went down what we call the long hill. This is the area just below the site of the goodewyfe’s future dream house. On the adjacent hill, you can see the traditional farmhouse we live in now. 









We crossed the little gulch that separates the two hills, and went down to the spring for a drink. Spotted a pair of red dragonflies there. 

















Seem to have hit the limit on photos. I’ll continue in the next post.


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## Cordillera Cowboy

We crossed the creek and chugged up to the fence line by our access road, pausing there to gaze back at the main part of our farmstead. 









We did some bushwhacking to get to the far corner of the pasture. Nice view of our protected forest there. 







. 

Going back by the same route, Pinatubo tried to speed things up and expressed her eagerness to get back. Lots of zigzagging , reversals, and circling around trees and such kept her reminded of who was driving. 

After about an hour, we got back to the barn.


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## Cordillera Cowboy

Last photo didn’t load.


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## carshon

I am excited to post that I rode twice this weekend! The weather was gorgeous!! Hubby took Saturday off so he could ride with daughter and I. We have finally had a few days with no rain and decent temps. Our state parks opened Friday so off we went! We gaited almost the entire park - it felt glorious!!! This was hubbies first ride of the year. His horse hasn't been ridden in at least 3 months and she rode off like a champ. What a blast we all had. And my new hip felt great! My old hip not so much!

On Sunday daughter and I rode with "the crazy lady" and she brought a friend, I was not sure how new titanium hip would respond to 2 days in the saddle (just had my 12 week post op anniversary) but off we went. I felt great! Tillie was on her toes and daughter and I were trying very hard to keep our gaited horses rated to "the crazy lady" and friend. Friend said let er rip - my horse had a nice lope. So Tillie and Sawyer could walk out to their hearts content. My hip was feeling good so we rode the entire park (8 miles) and and and I got to canter Tillie this is only the second or 3rd time since I have owned her. We cantered up a big hill because friend likes to canter. WhooHee! it was fun! New hip was great - old hip sore - can't wait to get that one replaced.

We are do for a weather change starting today - back to hot - humid and rainy.


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## egrogan

I'm so, so happy you got out for two days of riding and the new hip was great @carshon :grin: I was laughing that you were able to convince your daughter to ride with crazy lady- thought she said "NEVER AGAIN" :rofl:


Please keep the humid, rainy weather out there because it is nice and cool again here!


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## weeedlady

I'm glad most everyone is getting some good ride time.

My trailer is broken so I can't haul anywhere, but I'm making the most of the space I have to ride at our new barn. I have access to the perimeters of my brother's corn fields and a tiny bit of woods trail. Our weather has been perfect. Raven and I got in 3 miles this morning.















and yesterday with Tucker:


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## Celeste

I have had a hard time with my lower back. It started out with me flying over Dillon's head. That has been at least 2 weeks. Maybe 3. I got what I thought was totally better and started riding again. Then I turned the water trough over to clean as well as shoveling manure. Then I had back trouble. Not the place that got hurt (right gluteal muscles) but the other side. 

I finally decided that I would try it again yesterday. 

I rode my mare. She was absolutely angelic. I am trying to pretend it is not the heat making her more agreeable. 

Today, I rode Dillon. He was nervous but did great anyway. 

Who in the entire universe can remember to wear an eventing vest (that doubles as a cooling vest if wet) and forget to wear their helmet? I didn't notice it until the ride was halfway over. (I bought the vest since I seem to fall off lately. I would have bought one ages ago if I had known how much it cools me down.)

I guess that those who really know me know that I have a disability called myasthenia gravis. I am determined to ride until I drop dead though. I have been having trouble mounting without a block. So I just use a block. But today, I couldn't dismount. I was stuck. DH shoved me in the right direction. He seemed annoyed, but it worked. Dang. I guess part of it could be the back injury. 

Three miles each day. *130 miles total for year.*


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## weeedlady

@Celeste I manage to forget my helmet about every third ride. I think because I hate it, but I have accepted that it is a necessary evil.

Sorry your back is still bothering you. Keep moving. I thinks sometimes that's all we can do.


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## knightrider

@Celeste, I like your vest. I've wanted one for a long time, but I thought it would be awful hot. Also, I'm concerned that if it didn't fit perfectly, I'd make excuses not to wear it. Living in cowboy country, finding a vest I can try on is just about impossible. I'd have to order it. It's good to know you like yours.

Very sorry to learn of your continuing back pain. I hope that heals up soon. I have found physical therapy on-line to be extremely helpful when I injured my rotator cuff and cracked my ribs in separate accidents. The doctor wanted to do surgery on the rotator cuff, but I googled "physical therapy for rotator cuff pain" and did it faithfully 3 times a day for about 6 months. Didn't cost me a thing and I am fully recovered now. I am now a firm believer in physical therapy for injuries, and thanks to the internet, you can get it at home for free. I hope the best for your pain.


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## ChasingDreams

I got two rides in this weekend. Saturday evening was a solo ride, it was starting to cool some, but still pretty hot and muggy so we took it easy.


























































Luckily, the humidity broke overnight and we had gorgeous 70s and breezy weather for a Sunday morning ride. A friend trailered her mare, Amber over, BM rode Scout, and the new boarder was there with Teddy.

Chase was very interested in the mare, as was Scout. Much more so that when we last all rode together, so I suspect she might be close to her heat cycle... though she wasn’t yet. They boys had a little competition going to see who would be riding closest by her  You could tell they haven’t seen a lady in some time.

I forgot to start my ride tracker, but I did manage a couple pictures. 

























I’m estimating we rode about 4 miles. Bringing the 2020 total ~ 164.7


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## QueenofFrance08

Been riding a bit, nothing terribly special so I haven't gotten around to posting much on here. I've been doing some of the virtual mileage challenges, we just wrapped up the first 100 miles that started April 14 and are starting on the second. We've also been rebuilding our house a lot from storm damage last fall so that has been cutting into riding time.

This weekend I went to a friends house and we rode to the local bar and took the horses swimming. Stitch managed to roll with me 3 times and my friends got some funny pictures so I figured I would share! It was over 90 degrees so I wasn't necessarily discouraging her from both of us getting wet!

I'm at about 209 for the year!


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## carshon

Got to ride this weekend. And I have pics but don't have time to load them to my computer from my phone and I have never figured our the forum on my phone. Crazy lady did not ride with us which was weird as usually she is texting me early in the week to ask when I am riding on Sunday ( I usually work the other 6 days of the week) it was supposed to be up near 90 with low humidity so daughter and I decided for an early ride at our local park. We got there and tacked up and hit the trails. The horses were in great spirits and we started off gaiting the most amazing smooth gait ever! We were making some good time and came to some riders on got off the trail to let them pass. Shortly after daughters horse Sawyer was obviously very agitated, stomping, swishing her tail, throwing her head. So unlike her. DH got off and Sawyer immediately started biting hard at her shoulders and stomach and pawing aggressively. I had a gelding do this only when he got into stinging nettles so DH scratched her all over and took the towel I carry and wiped her all over until she settled down. Got back on to a still agitated horse and down the trail we went. Horses were now really ready to go. We decided to try to canter up a hill. Understanding this is usually a no no BUT I have only cantered Tillie for a very short time once since I owned her (because it hurt my hips so bad we never tried again) and Sawyer is young and DH has never cantered her - so off we go. Tillie was super excited to canter Sawyer started out at a hard pace and daughter threw her hips forward to get a canter which Sawyer did - Sawyer was so excited to canter she threw a buck in too! We had a good laugh and kept on our way. We past quite a few more riders and came to a group and guess who was in that group? Crazy woman - I guess I won't feel so bad when I don't invite her every time I ride because I never got an invite to join her. We had a great ride with lots of gaiting. Rode 7.5 miles in 1 hr 50 minutes (including the stopping time) and made it home at 1 in the afternoon. It was so much fun!


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## Celeste

@carshon I like cantering uphill because it makes it so much easier to slow the horse down if you need to. My horses get excited when they see a hill. (If I let the canter, they are always tired of it by the time we get to the top)


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## egrogan

Had a nice ride with my riding buddy yesterday. The weather was nice and cool- probably only around 50*F in the morning when we started out- with a nice breeze, so almost no bugs at all in the woods. We changed our planned route mid-way through to spend more time in the woods since it's so rare to be bug-free this time of year. Also, we came to a flooded out edge of the lake where the water was hock-high for the horses, and even though my riding buddy and her horse floated through it, I'm sort of embarrassed to say I chickened out and didn't want to try to get Fizz across for fear of getting yahooed into the lake. Didn't like the prospect of having to ride several miles home wet and muddy, but in retrospect I probably should have worked our way through it. :redface: My riding buddy graciously turned around at the flooded spot and we backtracked to another trail to take home.








Our horses are usually pretty unflappable and don't spook at much, but along one of the roads we took to hook up with the trail system, they were both pretty convinced this giant spool of cable was going to eat them. We went through first, and were nearly past it when Fizz leapt into the ditch to give it a wide berth, and then seemed embarrassed and continued on like nothing had happened. Riding buddy behind us sat through an impressive 360* spin and then dismounted to walk past it a couple of times before getting back on and continuing. Not sure why THAT was the thing that scared them, given the usual stuff we pass, but they definitely were suspicious.


















Otherwise, it was a fun ride. We also moved out, trotting and cantering on the uphill parts of the trail (too rocky and muddy to do anything but walk on the downhills). 


















*Total 2020 miles: 101.4*


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## Celeste

knightrider said:


> @Celeste, I like your vest. I've wanted one for a long time, but I thought it would be awful hot. Also, I'm concerned that if it didn't fit perfectly, I'd make excuses not to wear it. Living in cowboy country, finding a vest I can try on is just about impossible. I'd have to order it. It's good to know you like yours.


It actually cools me down when I soak it with the water hose. I got it from Stateline Tack. 

Link

It has a sizing chart. You can send it back if it doesn't fit. You have to loosen the strings on the sides, then zip it up, then tighten the sides back up. I will ask DH to help me with my corset. It is not uncomfortable. I soak it down before I ride. Then after rides, I hang it over the shower curtain rod with a fan blowing on it to be sure it is completely dry. (After I shower myself off good.)

They seem very expensive for casual riders like me, but I am tired of my husband and grown kids trying to tell me not to ride. I will ride if I have to pack up and move and leave no address.

I am 62 years old. I will make my own decisions. A riding accident won't kill me young. (I feel like I need to add "na na na na boo boo")


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## weeedlady

Another 3.38 miles for Tucker and me today. No pictures because they would be the same views I've already posted. There's only so much to look at when riding around a cornfield, but hey- it's better than riding around in a circle in an arena, right? 

my ytd total is up to a whopping 72.7. :cowboy:


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## Aprilswissmiss

Sunday was a fantastic day to ride. April and I went out on a group ride and discovered some amazing new trails. The commentary and additional photos are in April's journal!


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## LoriF

egrogan said:


> Our horses are usually pretty unflappable and don't spook at much, but along one of the roads we took to hook up with the trail system, they were both pretty convinced this giant spool of cable was going to eat them. We went through first, and were nearly past it when Fizz leapt into the ditch to give it a wide berth, and then seemed embarrassed and continued on like nothing had happened. Riding buddy behind us sat through an impressive 360* spin and then dismounted to walk past it a couple of times before getting back on and continuing. Not sure why THAT was the thing that scared them, given the usual stuff we pass, but they definitely were suspicious.



I can very easily see how that spool could eat at least two horses


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## LoriF

Someone turned on the humidity switch down here in Florida (it's aweful) so now I will live vicariously through everyone else's rides. Besides, I can't trailer anywhere as my trailer is being borrowed by a 2 inch finch that has her nest in the gooseneck.


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## egrogan

LoriF said:


> I can very easily see how that spool could eat at least two horses



Fizz wanted me to thank you for being a voice of reason and helping me understand that we were lucky to get out of there alive. 

:rofl: :gallop: :rofl:


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## Celeste

LoriF said:


> Someone turned on the humidity switch down here in Florida (it's aweful) so now I will live vicariously through everyone else's rides. Besides, *I can't trailer anywhere as my trailer is being borrowed by a 2 inch finch that has her nest in the gooseneck*.


That is awesome! 

I had to change the water in the water trough yesterday. I discovered that it had a ton of tadpoles in it. I almost dumped it, but I felt so sorry for them. I put water in a bucket and netted them out. I cleaned the trough and put them back in. That sounds like something I would have done when I was six. Oh well.

I'm glad to hear that I am not the only softie her.


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## PoptartShop

Forgot to post, but went out two weekends ago & had a really good ride!  Tried out Promise's new trail boots - got rid of the Easyboots & got Cavallos. They are a HIT!! Super pleased with them. 

Explored more of the serpentine barrens. About 6mi. It was getting really hot & not much shade where we were exploring! 

Gonna head out again this weekend!


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## LoriF

Celeste said:


> That is awesome!
> 
> I had to change the water in the water trough yesterday. I discovered that it had a ton of tadpoles in it. I almost dumped it, but I felt so sorry for them. I put water in a bucket and netted them out. I cleaned the trough and put them back in. That sounds like something I would have done when I was six. Oh well.
> 
> I'm glad to hear that I am not the only softie her.


Really, the whole story is the finch built her nest under the gooseneck of the B/O's trailer. She comes to me saying "Oh nooo, what am I going to do?" She had tried to discourage the finch from building there and then had to go to work for three days only to find out that the finch was pretty persistent as to where she wanted her families home. Her trailer has a ledge under it, mine doesn't. She has to go to a competition this coming weekend so what we did was swap out locations of our trailers and I built a ledge out of foam board insulation and relocated the nest. Exact same spot. The little bird went for it and she's happy. 

All of this for a little 2 inch bird and her three eggs. We couldn't bear the thought of her home and kids blowing away in the wind on the highway.

I figured that it's too hot and humid to go ride anywhere anyway so I had no intention of using my trailer. What happens next? Laela decides to somehow get a splinter jammed in her neck and now I can't trailer her to the vet. Paying for a farm call. lol


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## rambo99

Been getting saddle time had some night rides do to bugs & heat. Don't always bring phone ,actually I forget it then realize it, when I want to take pictures. 

Got to do a ride during the daylight hours yesterday. Was cloudy an cool so not many bugs. Rode out two hours should have done a shorter ride. But no I figured forecast for rain was wrong. 

Daughter said when we turned for home she felt rain drops. We decided to move along to get home faster. Got not even half way home and the sky opened up and poured rain. It was wind whipped coming down like crazy.

Of course my phone holder isn't water proof, thankfully phone only got just a little damp. We galloped entire trail home going through huge puddles. I was worried it would start lighting an thundering. Never did till we got home.

We were soaked ,saddle pads, saddles everything was wet wet wet. But had fun and some good laughs 😜. That's what I get for not believing the weather forecast. 

Did ten miles 8 was probably in the pouring rain. Horses got a workout galloping 8 miles. Got lots of treats for there hard work. And spent the night in the barn where it's nice an dry. 

Some pictures before it dumped rain on us. The pictures of pond can see where it's brown on edges. That was where water used to be,it's down a good 2 feet from last year.


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## ChasingDreams

Got an elusive mid-day, weekday ride in yesterday.

Was a bit more pressed for time than usual, and it was around 85F and very humid. The one respite was a nice breeze that offered some relief, but regardless we only rode for about an hour.









Chase was mostly well-behaved, though a tad sluggish understandably. He did refuse near the cow gate again, this time I shut it down before he had a chance to start his antics, and hand-walked him through before going back and riding through. It seemed to work, but I wonder if he’s ever going to get over his issues here  It’s only been two years and hundreds of rides on this lane....

We met a friend in the top woods. I actually thought to grab a short video to show my kids, so I’ll share with you all too 

https://vimeo.com/428455453









































2020 miles~ 167.7


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## Jolien

I rode for 3 hours in the woods this morning :cowboy:This time I didn't forget my seatsaver because after the last trailride I had 2 open wounds on my seatbones  I still have bruises but no wounds or skin gone this time. I used to ride 4-5 hours a week and my problem was less severe but now due to corona my skin weakened (??)


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## CaliforniaDreaming

I got invited on what essentially was a last minute trail ride around our usual stomping grounds of Ellwood Mesa. Like literally, my friends I usually ride with texted me just before 8 am and said they were planning to ride around 10 and did I want to go. So I fed the ponies and hitched up the trailer and loaded up my gear while they ate. 



It's our first time off the ranch since January before the pandemic began. Since I had my own trailer, I could park well away from my friends and social distance today, and I was really glad to get out. Since it was going to be a nice leisurely ride, I decided to bring my old mare along. She's been doing really well lately (which is itself a miracle considering I thought her DSLD was getting to her 2 years ago and we'd have to put her down). She's definitely retired, and will never be ridden again, but since she's an iron horse (immortal, I tell ya, she's gonna out live me) I didn't really want to leave her behind. Plus, the trail is flat, and easy footing, and we could always could double back if she felt uncomfortable.


She came off the trailer and whinned, ears up and looking around. I used to take her to these trails years ago when I was leasing her and a friend would haul us over. She was definitely having flashbacks. And she was amazing ponying today. She's never going to be sound enough to be ridden, but I think ponying her is good to get her out and about.


We took a side detour on the way home and separated from our friends so I could ride into my neighborhood and visit my house with my horses. That was a fun little side trip. Just ponies, clip-clopping along.


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## Celeste

I have been alternating between my two main riding horses while I don't have anybody to ride with do to the zombie apocalypse or whatever we have as a world. I generally ride three miles each ride. 

The horseflies and deerflies are horrendous. They are fast and bite right through insecticides. I noticed that on the way back, there are always a lot less. Hopefully they are dying. I manage to squish about 2 each ride. 

I have no idea where I am on posting, so I think that I will just put in a few ride picture. My year's total is 139 miles.


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## Celeste

A few more pictures.


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## knightrider

@LoriF, how is Laela's neck now? Keep us posted on the finch family!


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## Celeste

@ChasingDreams I loved your ride pictures! The turtle was cute. How did you post the video?


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## LoriF

knightrider said:


> @LoriF, how is Laela's neck now? Keep us posted on the finch family!


I know that the finch is sitting on her nest. I haven't done much peeking because I don't want her to get uncomfortable.

They couldn't get Laela squeezed in until Tues. I gave her a tetanus shot myself and poultices of epsom salt is drawing the infection. There is still a hard area and I think that there might still be some wood in there so I'm keeping the appointment. They might have to cut and pull it out. She's acting fine though.


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## weeedlady

Today’s adventure may not have been too scenic but it sure was good desensitizing. Tucker handled it like a champ. Except for the deer! OMG 😱 Why are those deer behind a fence? They must be horse eating deer! Gotta get outa here.....























2.59 miles today puts me at 77.3 for the year.


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## lb27312

Finally went camping.... by now I've usually been camping 4 or 5 times and one of those times is a week long camping trip. 

Had wonderful trail rides while camping this past weekend. Got a ride in on all three days. All horses did great and got along great, did go through some water which was fun. One point we saw deer in the distance and showed the horses the deer not a big deal but then when we got right to where the deer had run from, almost right under Challenger a baby deer pops up. That was fun but what was funny was all of us in unison said AWWWW it was too cute! Chal didn't do too big of a spook just a slight jump which wasn't bad as the baby was very young and was thrashing around more than jumping. 

My app stopped working again!! Argh.... did about 5 miles the first day and then the second and third day did 9.5 miles as we got lost at the same point on Sunday as we did on Saturday lol. I got my app working for the Sunday ride. It was nice and peaceful....

Again have no idea of my total for the year...


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## carshon

I seem to have become a weekend warrior of a rider. 2 years ago we averaged 2-3 riders per week. Last year the weather was not in our favor and this year - work has all 3 riders in our family wore out! So Daughter and I rode with the crazy lady on Sunday. The weather is just simply to die for! Of course, it won't last. Projected high humidity and temps of 90 most of the week. I had invited another friend to go but she shared that she had to have her mare put down unexpected on Friday - this friend is in her mid-70's and loves to ride but with losing her mare she said she thought she may hang up her saddle. And I said NO! We will find you a replacement for Annie.

So we went to the park and had just a wonderful ride. lots of riders out - Tillie and Sawyer were extremely forward - which made some of the steep ravines - um - interesting! But we had a great ride and good conversation after the ride.

Still haven't figured out the forum on my phone yet so no pics.


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## egrogan

Rode ~20 miles this weekend, going out all three days Friday-Sunday. Like @*carshon* , I'm also finding myself in weekend warrior mode these days. The weather was rather gloomy, but the good thing was that the bugs were mostly out of the woods. The deer flies are definitely starting to come out so if the weather warms up this week we may be avoiding the woods for the next few weeks.




























*Total 2020 miles: 122.7*


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## PoptartShop

Keep the pictures coming everyone. 

Hit the trails yesterday - explored some new paths, didn't get lost, wahoo! 

Promise loves drinking from the creeks. :lol:


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## ChasingDreams

Celeste said:


> @ChasingDreams I loved your ride pictures! The turtle was cute. How did you post the video?



Thanks! I love meeting critters on the trail, as long as they aren’t bears [emoji28]

I hosted the video on Vimeo, then just copied the link to the post.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Saigold

Had a nice trail ride with a friend yesterday. It was actually cool enough to warrant a light sweater. Kind of nice after baking at around 30c plus humidity for a while. We did a quite a bit of trotting. Duke was a good boy as usual. Kind of amazing how horses know where home is. Anytime we were going ‘home direction’ he’d want to be in the lead. And as soon as we’d turn the loop, he’d try to walk slow as molasses. Very nice ride in good company.


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## rambo99

Monday we were able to ride during the daylight hours. Horse flies & deer flies were out but not horrible. Seems they are always way worse on dirt road. 

Did 13 miles lots of trotting as ice has been really hot, and wanting to go fast. So not many pictures because we were flying down the trail at a fast trot.

He's got endless energy even after 13 miles he was ready to keep going. Cinder wasn't he was ready to be done. As ice walked super fast last mile an half home leaving cinder in the dust. Had to stop an let cinder catch up. 


Kinda of an odd year usually we see lots of frogs and turtles. We've seen maybe a handful of each in the last two months. Seems the smaller wildlife just isn't around even the wild rabbits hardly any to be seen . 

Did see a big snapping turtle on our ride,got a few pictures. Got pretty close to get pictures, usually they are ornery. But this dude was pretty chill and not trying to go after my horse. 

Yesterday was 88 degrees so did a night ride. My not so favorite creepy creatures were out BATS. We only did 3 miles as it was humid so didn't want to get horses hot an sweaty. Can't hose them off after being it's late night. 

Another hot day today so will be riding after dark. Here's a few pictures from our ride on Monday.


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## knightrider

*Boo hoo hoo--lost my trails*

Today the farm owner's son asked me not to ride on their back property because I "scare the deer," and he plans to deer hunt in November. I was so sad because I've had permission to ride their beautiful trails for at least 6 years. It's my favorite place to ride close to home.

We do a lot of riding at Oleno State Park where deer are protected. The horses do not "scare the deer." The deer frequently ignore riders because they know they are no threat. I believe deer that see riders regularly are LESS scared of humans.

But, my nice trail riding place is now off limits to me. I'm quite sad about that. Here are some photos of my former riding area, so you know what I don't have anymore.


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## egrogan

Oh no, @*knightrider* . Is this a "forever" loss, or a seasonal request? Any way to appeal to the father or is it the son's call? And- do you want to trailer to Vermont and ride here? :wink:


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## carshon

@knightrider what a huge loss I would agree with you that the deer most likely have become used to the horses


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## knightrider

It sounds to me like "forever" or at least until the son gets married, has some kids, and gets too busy to hunt . . . which did occur to me could happen if I am patient. I also thought about appealing to the father, who actually owns the land and does not hunt, but somehow, coming between a father and son sounds like bad karma. I'm not doing it.

It sounds wonderful and amazing to ride in Vermont on your beautiful trails. If I was rich and had a fancy safe trailer. I was reading that other thread about trailering across country. I've done Texas to Maryland and Florida to Maryland; Maryland to Florida about 4 times. I probably should have done a few more of the things on that list because we had some troubles a few times--the horses always did great--the truck and trailer, not always. Hauling long distance is quite daunting. It was daunting back then, and even moreso after reading all that wise advice.

Our worst trip was hauling a half thoroughbred from Texas to Maryland. We had a 1960 Chevy station wagon with a manual transmission. And a tiny two horse with a canvas top. Unfortunately (or possibly fortunately because it kept the engine cool) we rode along with Hurricane Agnes the entire trip east and dealt with steady rain the whole 4 day trip. When we started the trip, we had a super problem loader. At the end of the trip, he hopped right on the trailer, and did from then on all his life. Some horses load better after spending hours in the trailer. Some load worse.

We took a wrong turn somewhere and in trying to turn around, we got the trailer wedged against a stone wall in someone's driveway. We had to dismantle the stone wall. That's when we discovered our half thoroughbred had decided to load beautifully. He had a nice long shady rest while we put the stone wall back together.

That's just one of the many harrowing adventures over the years of trailering long distance. Probably more information than you ever wanted to read. I'm not a fan of long distance trailering. But I sure wish I could come ride with you!


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## Celeste

@knightrider That is really too bad about losing those trails. Deer don't remotely care about horse riders. If you took dogs along that chased them, that might be different. I haven't had a deer chasing dog in many years. Prissy will tree an occasional squirrel.


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## Celeste

Yesterday is the first ride that I have had that was not extremely painful. It has taken forever to get over that last fall. It was fairly cool the past two days. It didn't get over 80 while I rode! I can't ride every day due to work obligations. I wish that I were rich. Oh well. That's life. 

Same little trails as usual. I heard somebody target practicing. I talked to DH, and he said that it sounded like a neighbor that is farther from the trail than it sounded like. The horse was not remotely worried. I was. We practiced some trotting. I didn't want to gallop on that deep woods trail, but I did want out of there. She did a fantastic collected trot. I could sit on it. Last time I rode her, when we cantered, she took the correct leads easily. Today, I asked for a left lead. She took it, but randomly switched to right. It could have been the way I was sitting. Or maybe she was in a right lead mood. Just so we both arrive home alive and I am still on the horse and have no new injuries, I usually am pretty happy with the ride. 

I am up to 145 miles. 

The flower is out on the trail. The bird eggs were actually in a planter on my daughter's porch.


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## weeedlady

oh @knightrider of course I can't like your post. I am so sorry you've lost that lovely spot to ride!
Perhaps they will reconsider?


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## LoriF

@knightrider Oooh Nooo, That is not very nice. How many times have we ridden right past deer and they just stand and look at us. They are not afraid of the horses. I'm sorry, that just sucks.

By the way, Laela's neck is healing and the vet found no more wood left in her neck. I guess what I pulled out was it and the rest was just swelling. Not a total waste of time, Star got her coggins for the year as she was due this month. 
The little bird is still sitting on three eggs.


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## ChasingDreams

@knightrider that’s too bad  We have deer EVERYWHERE on our property - they graze with the horses side by side in the pasture. The PO’s do hunt, and for those few weeks of rifle season we are limited to the top woods only. They hunt at the quarry and understandably don’t want any tragic accidents... but, it’s not because the horses scare the deer - they definitely don’t. 

I lost a trail last year because we have to edge about 50ft along someone’s property to get back into the woods and the owners decided that they didn’t want us to any more. We were always respectful and stayed as close to the woods as possible as to not disturb their yard... but, it didn’t matter. 


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## ChasingDreams

I had a ride with BO last weekend, I forgot to post. Beautiful weather, horses were pretty well-behaved albeit frisky with the break in heat and humidity. We got a couple good canters and some trotting in, so it was fun. Didn’t take many pictures though, I tend to take less photos when I’m not riding alone - too busy chatting I suppose  

















2020 miles ~ 171.9

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## egrogan

@*knightrider* , those trailering stories are crazy! I hope at some point in my life I'll have a horse that doesn't mind trailering. Mine are really not very good loaders nor good riders. To be fair, I don't have my own trailer, and I am convinced that it's a skill horses need relatively regular practice to maintain. We had been considering upgrading our truck and finally getting a trailer this year, but there were other needs around the house that had to come first, so it's not looking like it will be this year. That's ok, we have great local trails so I don't feel like I'm missing out- particularly since so many organized rides are cancelled this year! I do need to get my oldest mare in to the vet office for some advanced dental work, so hoping to borrow my riding buddy's trailer for a few days of refresher practice and then the actual trip later this summer.

Speaking of deer, while out walking my puppy a couple of days ago, I nearly stepped on a fawn curled up and napping along a woods line. Silly puppy had no idea it was there, so I quickly moved us off in a different direction.









We've had a heat wave here the past couple of days- it's 87*F and muggy here, so no riding in the afternoon. I took tomorrow off from work so will try to go out in the morning before it's too miserable. We did get our first load of hay delivered though today, with another coming in a couple of weeks. That should see us through until next spring.


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## Avna

Today a couple friends trailered up to my house and we did a 10.25 mile loop, for which I took no pictures at all but here's a pic from two days ago when I did the loop alone. These two people I met last year when they came to my horse-community-themed Christmas party (parties seem totally alien now). One has a lovely endurance-bred young Arabian mare, the other was riding her 'husband horse' as her older Arab is laid up. They do Competitive Trail, something I don't know much about but am interested in anyway. One thing I noticed was that they are both cheerful, competent, and not overly talkative! 

I was so pleased with Brooke because the first time I rode this loop (two days previous), I had to coax her over the fairly scary wooden bridge while leading her. It is high up crossing a ravine so there is no possible ford. This time she remembered and went straight over. I won't say she kind of scurried ... 

In the course of the ride we got briefly lost, saw TWO scarlet tanagers, and were chased by yellow jackets. I was ahead, and I heard N. call politely, "I just got stung, and there's four wasps following you, do you think we could trot?" 

We galloped. 

We started early enough that we almost missed the worst of the heat and humidity, it was just the last bit. It's been quite dry which has damped the enthusiasm of the deer flies, so that was good too. 

When we got back to the barn I was able to offer them a horse rinse-off at my newly installed wash area outside, and a roll in the pasture (the horses rolled, the people did not roll). 

I saw them off, cleaned my tack, put the flysheet on my horse, and went into the house, drank an enormous glass of water and fell asleep! 

Great day.


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## carshon

@Avna I am so happy to see your post! I have missed your updates about Pippa and Brooke. SO nice to have found some people to ride with .


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## Avna

carshon said:


> @Avna I am so happy to see your post! I have missed your updates about Pippa and Brooke. SO nice to have found some people to ride with .


They are great folks but live a trailer ride away so I won't be riding with them all that often. However I have been riding every single day my health and the weather allow, alone if you don't count Hope the dog. My summer goal is small -- ride whenever I can as far as I can, and get my horse trailering again, even if we only go to the next village. She does load up as easy as she ever did (which is imperfectly easy but she does get in). I just need to nerve myself up to start the engine. 

She is all recovered from her big accident except for the scars. 

In other horse news, I fertilized my pastures (probably the first time it's been done since before WWII) with the non-predicted result that both horses immediately laid on a giant layer of fat like I've never seen on either of them. Yikes.


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## Celeste

@Avna I am glad to see you posting and glad that you are riding so much.

I took Dillon on a ride today. He was an angel. It was very hot. I poured a lot of my drinking water down my shirt and on his neck. He seemed to appreciate it. 

We saw a deer. The flies weren't bad, but I did catch and crunch a horsefly. That's always a bonus. And after the ride, rather than just rinse him off, I actually used soap and tried to get some of his white spots to look white.


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## rambo99

@Celeste your paint gelding is so handsome. Really love all the pictures of everyone's rides. Beautiful trails fun seeing where others ride.

Been riding did a few night rides when it was hot humid,an bugs were bad. This year bugs are hit an miss bad. Usually by now horses are in barn during the day. They've be in barn 3 days so far,we aren't getting much rain though. 

Rode during the daylight hours today did 10 miles,in an hour an 45 minutes. Of course we were moving along at fast pace. Ice is redicuoulsy full of energy, if I don't make him walk ,he just keeps on trucking . Managed to get pictures though. Pic of a wild rose and some other kind of flower. 

This week we did 85 miles total easy to keep track of miles. There is a 10 mile loop 20 mile loop and a 5 mile loop. The dirt road to the where it t's off is 5 miles. Then there's 30 mile loop. 

Here's some pics from different rides,on crazy Mr ice .


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## Txshecat0423

I live in Texas and ride for a rodeo drill team. Normally we would be traveling and performing this time of year, but our summer rodeos were shut down due to COVID. We’ve used the time to get some trail riding done and check out some obstacle courses! 


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## knightrider

*Interesting Ride Today*

Lots of things happened on today's ride which made it interesting.

First of all, my neighbor riding buddy got himself a new horse yesterday. He is regularly getting new horses, but it keeps my life interesting. I get to ride and evaluate them without having to buy or sell them. This new horse is a white Paso Fino which he named April. No papers. Supposed to be gentle. He is 76 with health issues so he needs gentle, but like me, he's been riding since he was small, so he likes lively. We like Paso Finos for that reason.

He tried April yesterday for a nice long solo trail ride and she was calm and quiet. My teens were riding with me today, and as we were getting ready to meet up, he called and said he had fallen from the new horse--that she was acting crazy, the minute he mounted her. I offered to get on her and see if she was crazy (see above--we just can't believe we can't ride these animals anymore . . . which we have no business riding anymore).

She is quite calm and easy on the ground and good to mount. I had my neighbor lead her around a bit as I sat on her (with no stirrups, takes too long to adjust Western stirrups and too much trouble to switch saddles-- yuck, I'm thinking, "What are you thinking!?)

As he led her, I could tell she was wound tight as a coiled spring, but what the hay, we'll give it a go. He released her and she was sure enough a coiled spring, giving me a complete fino gait, which is achieved with really tight coiling/collection. She wasn't spinning, as she did with him, but I wondered if I was going to survive the ride on this firecracker. I rode her around his trees and told him I thought she was too hot, and he'd better get out his gentle Paso and put her up.

Like me, he prefers getting a hot horse out on the trail and letting it relax. I don't mind riding in an arena, but if I have a difficult horse, I want to be out somewhere in the open.

So we switched. I got on my good ever dependable wonderful Chorro and he got on April. We headed out for a ride, hoping April would calm down as she went along. She was finoing those little piston legs a mile a minute, flapping her lips and pouring sweat. We are fairly certain she had some ACE or something in her yesterday when he tried her out because she was dead calm yesterday.

By the time we had ridden a half mile, with my calm Pasos, she was mostly walking, and after a mile, she was walking decently. She sure enough did calm down. A lot of Pasos start out riding hot hot hot and usually settle down. We were hoping that's what April would do, and she did.

I wrote last week that I lost some of my most beautiful and beloved trails, because the owner's son said I was "scaring the deer" and could no longer ride there. Deer season starts in November. So we have started riding another half mile further from those trails to another gorgeous set of trails further down. But to get to those fine trails, we have to pass two aggressive Anatolian shepherds, who used to be just unpleasant loud barkers, but recently one had begun biting horse fetlocks and that last time I rode that way, both dogs drove my horse into a rickety barbed wire fence. As my horse kicked out when he was bitten, he caught his leg in the wire. Luckily, he got his leg loose and we were fine.

But my neighbor decided enough was enough and went to have a pleasant discussion with the Anatolian owners. He reminded them that it is illegal for dogs to roam the streets, and their dogs were dangerous and had begun biting horses and they needed to keep them up. The dog owners got nasty and snippy, and it turned into a difficult situation.

The next day we rode there, just to see if the dogs were up. My little dog is terrified of the Anatolians and either goes home or waits for me in the woods. I have written about this problem in the past on the Horse Forum. I don't like riding off for an hour not knowing where my dog is. So I only ride those beautiful trails if I have extra time and can get around the Anatolian shepherds.

My dog is smart smart smart, and the only thing I can figure out is that she knew those Anatolians were up. For the first time in 6 years, she came along on that ride.

When I said that my dog doesn't usually come past her house, the woman owner called me a liar. She said the only reason her dogs come out is because they are interested in my dog. My dog doesn't go past her house. She said if my dog could be on the road, then her dogs should be on the road. Only thing is: my dog follows the horses, never bothers other dogs or wildlife or livestock, and doesn't bite. The woman got so agitated that she "threatened", "I'll just chain my dogs right here next to the road. How'd ya like that?!" And my neighbor said, "We'd like that fine. No problem. Just please keep your dogs from bothering our horses."

We've been riding every day since, and the dogs are up. The woman stands in her driveway, arms akimbo, glaring at us with hatred. Ugh.

Today, someone let the dogs out as we rode by. My smart smart smart little dog, who must read minds, did not go past the woods into their area, but waited for us in the woods. How did she know not to come this time when the dogs were up and let out as we rode by? 

Whoever let the dogs out realized that they were truly yes, going to run out to the horses and that person caught them up and held them. It was not the unpleasant woman, it was a young man, probably the son?

By this time, April, the new Paso Fino, was riding calmly. No spook, nice smooth paso gait, just the right size, good age, quite pretty. Good horse. I'm glad my neighbor stuck with her, in spite of her early shenanigans. Good ride, we all had fun. Hopefully we are done with Anatolians, and amazingly, my dog is so terrifically smart, she knows when they'll be out and when they'll be kept up.

Picture of my nice trail (with dog because previously I could go through that other territory and avoid the Anatolians).


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## Saigold

Got out for a group trail ride today. Put in 11kms. Day started out cool (ish) but humid and by the time we finished it was 30c plus humidity making it feel a lot hotter. Mostly walking and some river crossing. It’s amazing how disorienting moving water is.


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## egrogan

@*Saigold* , look at all those little fluffy blondies in the front. Their manes are awesome!

Similar weather here- 80*F/27*C when we left the house to meet our riding buddy at 9am. We also mainly walked. Had planned to spend only a little time in the woods since the deer flies are out in force, but weirdly the bugs were worse on the roads than in the woods. About halfway home we stopped at one of M's friend's house to let the horses play in the creek and get a drink. They were very refreshed!

















Also did a couple of slow, hot miles Friday afternoon. Had to actually skip yesterday because the heat was just too much all day.








*Total 2020 miles: 131.3*


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## Saigold

@egrogan a friend of mine brought 4 Haflingers to the ride lol. They are very fluffy and cute!

The deer flies almost carried us away on our road that goes through a swampy area, and were not bad at all on the trail. I need to put the ear bonnet on next time as his neck is too long for me to reach over and flick the bugs off the ears lol.


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## carshon

Again no pictures to post here. Its just too much to download from my phone to computer and then here. And I can't seem to get the forum on my phone and navigate it well. We rode at our local park yesterday. We have had terrible heat and humidity all week and yesterday was no exception. 72F when I went out to feed the horses at 5:30 AM and just getting warmer. Daughter, crazy lady and I rode - it was already hot and humid. It was a mostly uneventful ride - the deer and horseflies made their first appearance of the season in swarms. Tillie offered a wonderful little lope a couple of times and Crazy lady got to canter her horse for the first time she had owned her. We rode a little under 2 hours and 8 miles. Hosed the horses off and loaded up right away to come home.


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## PoptartShop

Loving all the pictures & group rides too. So jealous, I always ride alone! :lol:

Hit the trails Saturday, it was the perfect way to get out of the sun (for the most part) because it was so hot & humid! :lol: Rode Promise bitless on the trails for the first time, she was a superstar!


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## Saigold

@PoptartShop I used to mostly ride alone too. And then I created a fb group for trail riders and all off a sudden I have other people who trailer over or jsit ride over to ride 🙂. You could do that too!


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## QueenofFrance08

Been way too long since I've posted here! Work has been too busy...

Spent this weekend camping (FIRST CAMPING TRIP OF THE YEAR!!!!) at a state park 4.5 hours away. It was supposed to be an endurance ride that was cancelled due to COVID but most of us came and camped and rode anyway. It was so great to see everyone and get a bunch of miles in. All 3 of MY ponies got ridden this weekend, Chico by me and our friend who is currently rehabbing her horse, Stitch by me, and Lilo by DH who couldn't get his young horse in the trailer. 

Chico did 29 miles
Stitch did 27 miles
Lilo did 20 miles

I did 35 between Chico and Stitch! So fun!


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## phantomhorse13

Catch up time.. from over two weeks, yikes! Good thing I keep a training log (otherwise I can barely remember what I had for breakfast). The whole story is in my journal.

Thursday the 4th, I started with Iggy:



















Sunday (the 7th), DH and I got Iggy and Phin out:









It didn't go quite according to plan when Iggy stepped off a shoe.











Monday (the 8th), I got Phin out:


















2020 mileage
...
6/4 iggy 13.8 miles 2174 ft climb 5.4 mph 87F 1109.54 total miles
6/4 link 0.81 miles 79 ft climb 3.9 mph 90F 1110.35 total miles
6/7 phin 7.2 miles 664 ft climb 5.1 mph 70F 1117.55 total miles
6/8 phin 13.1 miles 1829 ft climb 5.4 mph 72F *1130.65 total miles*


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## phantomhorse13

Still playing catch up.. The whole story is in my journal.

Tuesday (the 9th), I took the baby on his first "trail ride" around the yard!










Wednesday (the 10th), I got Iggy out early:



















Then I went over to meet Nicole. I rode Polo:



















In Friday (the 12th), I drove two hours south to meet with Lani and Kathy. I rode Brimstone:




























Saturday, I drove back down to Michaux to meet up with the ladies again. This time I rode Musubi:




























2020 mileage
...
6/10 iggy 6.0 miles 654 ft climb 5.0 mph 85F 1139.31 total miles
6/10 polo 8.2 miles 668 ft climb 5.2 mph 95F 1147.51 total miles
6/12 brimstone 20.2 miles 1652 ft climb 4.8 mph 85F 1167.71 total miles
6/13 musubi 15.4 miles 1916 ft climb 4.2 mph 71F 1183.11 total miles


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## phantomhorse13

still catching up.. the whole story is in my journal.

Sunday (the 14th), DH and I got Iggy and Phin out:




























Then it was Link's first real trail ride!










On Tuesday (the 16th), I got Iggy out first thing:



















Then I went over to ride with Nicole. I rode Hombre:



















That evening, I got Link out for trail ride #2:









2020 mileage
...
6/14 phin 9.6 miles 841 ft climb 4.8 mph 65F 1192.71 total miles
6/14 link 1.43 miles 79 ft climb 3.3 mph 68F 1194.14 total miles
6/16 iggy 8.7 miles 1266 ft climb 4.7 mph 55F 1202.84 total miles
6/16 hombre 11.3 miles 868 ft climb 5.0 mph 70F 1214.14 total miles
6/16 link 2.07 miles 197 ft climb 3.3 mph 70F 1216.21 total miles


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## phantomhorse13

Still catching up.. The whole story is in my journal.

On Wednesday (the 17th), I got Phin out:



















I got Link out for his 3rd trail ride in the evening:



















On Thursday (the 18th), I got Iggy:




























On Friday (the 19th), it was Phin's turn:



























2020 mileage
...
6/17 phin 8.3 miles 1079 ft climb 4.8 mph 72F 1224.51 total miles
6/17 link 2.13 miles 190 ft climb 3.2 mph 75F 1226.64 total miles
6/18 iggy 16.1 miles 2771 ft climb 5.4 mph 84F 1242.74 total miles
6/19 phin 14.5 miles 2461 ft climb 5.3 mph 86F 1257.24 total miles


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## phantomhorse13

Finally caught up! The whole story is in my journal.

Saturday evening, I got Link out for trail ride #4:



















Sunday, DH and I got Iggy and Phin out:





































Sunday evening, I got Link out for trail ride #5:

__
Sensitive content, not recommended for those under 18
Show Content



















2020 mileage
...
6/20 link 2.65 miles 230 ft climb 3.2 mph 88F 1259.89 total miles
6/21 phin 20.8 miles 2389 ft climb 6.1 mph 90F 1280.69 total miles
6/21 link 2.83 miles 282 ft climb 3.0 mph 91F 1283.52 total miles


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## charrorider

QueenofFrance. The endurance race ran in our "backyard" went on as scheduled this past weekend. There were a bunch of riders. I met a rider from Louisiana, another from Virginia, and even one from Canada.


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## phantomhorse13

charrorider said:


> The endurance race ran in our "backyard" went on as scheduled this past weekend. There were a bunch of riders. I met a rider from Louisiana, another from Virginia, and even one from Canada.


You got to meet Mary (the one from Virginia)! So nice to see rides starting back up again.


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## Celeste

I have ridden two days in a row. I try to alternate my main horses. My rides are going to be short as long as this virus is going on. It is too hot to ride that far due to the heat anyway. The only reason I rode either day was that DH dragged me out of bed at a ridiculously early hour. Tough love type stuff. 

Yesterday I rode the Princess. She was good. The flies are bad. No spooks. Just walked mostly. Did some nice trotting and cantering, but not for long distances. 

Today I rode Dillon. It was hot but the wind was blowing like crazy. It made him very nervous. I kept him to a walk except for short distances and right at the end of the ride once he had calmed down. He has a lovely canter and a wonderful running walk. Every now and then, he does the old "broken washing machine" gait that walking horses get in to when they confuse themselves. All I know to do is to slow them down and start over. It seems to work for him. 

I will post a bunch of pictures without a lot of explanation. Except the first one. I took it today. I caught that dang horsefly and I squished it. Ha! Victory! 

Year to date: *153.9 miles*


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## weeedlady

My trailer is fixed!!! Hopefully now I can get out and ride some different trails.

I have a lot of catching up to do. My YTD is is only 80.2.


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## rambo99

Been doing some early morning rides nice to ride during the daylight. So we are covering more miles. 4 hour rides last two days. 

Some pictures from Wednesday and today plus a short video. 

Got tired of riding at night plus it's kinda creepy. Mostly it's the bats I have issues with..


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## knightrider

Very successful solo ride on Windy today--the best one yet. Windy was well behaved and mostly calm. 

My dog came along (she sometimes doesn't when I am solo), so I decided if she stayed back in the woods, as she usually does, when I ride close to the Anatolian's driveway, I would go that way. If she came along with me, I would turn back and ride around in the woods where she normally waits for me.

She stayed back, so I rode Windy on past the scary dog driveway. No Anatolians and no barking, so that seemed good. Cows graze in a huge pasture past the Anatolian driveway. Windy hates cows, but has learned to tolerate them. We had to pass a herd of pigs earlier in the ride, and she hates pigs even worse than cows, but we managed to get past the pigs for the first time ever, riding solo.

We got past the cows too, without too much hesitation. I decided to ride her down a dirt road and ride on the beautiful trails that I can no longer get to without passing the Anatolians. That meant riding 3 sides of the huge cow pasture, but Windy managed it. 

We were on our way home from enjoying those trails, back on the dirt road, going past the cows again, when my dog showed up. She must have gone the looooong way around, on the trails that I am not not allowed to use.

I thought, "Well, no problem, the Anatolians are shut up, and we will just ride quietly home. Nope. When we got to the Anatolian driveway, they came barreling down the driveway, barking their heads off. My little dog started looking for a way to escape. She is terrified of those large fierce dogs. I thought about riding past them anyway. I knew my smart dog would figure some way around them. But I also knew the Anatolian owner called me a liar when I said my dog didn't go past her driveway. So, if she even saw my dog, she'd say she was right--even though it would have been the first time, ever. There was a good chance she wouldn't see my dog, as my dog disappears the moment she encounters aggressive dogs. She is small and really good at melting into the woods.

But, just to be safe, I turned Windy around, rode BACK past 3 sides of the cow pasture and took the long way home through the woods I'm really not supposed to ride in any more. And Windy was GOOD GOOD GOOD! 

Windy only misbehaves on the way home. I think it is because she wants to running walk or canter home, and when I tell her to walk, she gets mad. She was lively and animated, but not naughty.

Coming up our long driveway, she got SUPER lively and animated, but it was all good. I was proud of her, and proud of me for learning and teaching her to ride solo, even though it was nerve wracking. I think we are well on our way to regular solo rides.

My teens are coming to ride Sunday, and I plan to ride past the Anatolians again to see if they come out and bother the horses. Sadly, I will have to shut up my little dog, since now she has started cutting through the woods to get back with me instead of waiting for me to return.


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## Saigold

We trailered out to a place about half an hour away and had a group of 11 riders. It was hot and sunny. But the forest gave good shade. Even then I think i got too much sun. But it was fun to get out. Duke did pretty good getting on the trailer there and back. Will still have to work on it as he was pretty nervous about stepping off of it while backing up. 
We stopped for a break and the horses loved the lush grass. We passed a deer, bikes, strollers and lots of hikers with dogs. Duke didn’t spook at any of it 🙂. Did 10km.


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## phantomhorse13

More saddle time this week as momma nature smiled with some of the nicest weather we have had in weeks. The whole story is in my journal.

On Wednesday, I got Iggy out first:




























That evening, it was Link's turn:




























Thursday, I got Phin and Kestrel out first:



















Then I took Link out on his first solo trail ride!!









2020 mileage
...
6/24 iggy 13.5 miles 1691 ft climb 5.9 mph 72F 1297.02 total miles
6/24 link 3.8 miles 374 ft climb 3.2 mph 75F 1300.82 total miles
6/25 phin 5.0 miles 588 ft climb 4.4 mph 80F 1305.82 total miles
6/25 link 1.52 miles 93 ft climb 3.3 mph 82F 1307.34 total miles


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## carshon

Went on our weekly ride - I miss riding more than once a week but for some reason cannot get it together this year. It has been hot and steamy here in IL temps in the mid to high 80's with high humidity. Random pop up thunderstorms. We were predicted to get high winds Friday night but it missed my area and went north. Trying to beat the heat we decided for an early ride at a park with wide logging roads to ride on and great river views. We got to the park early and tacked up and headed out. Bugs have been an issue so we all had fly masks on our horses. All was well until we hit the trail to ride along the river. The trail was blocked by a downed tree - no biggy we went up and over. Only to find more and more downed trees. We had to venture off the trail and bushwack. Sounded like a good idea at the time but the trail butts right along the river and the off side is a very steep bank going straight up about 5 feet (to prevent flooding of the forest when the river is up) Tillie was the only one that would lead. We went up the bank and down the bank too many times to count. The river portion of the trail is about 2 miles long - my mare gave me everything I asked for as we walked over trees that were over her knees, walked down the river bank to go around trees and then up the retaining bank. My daughters young mare followed along like a champ and the crazy lady on her nice little mare brought up the rear. It was grueling and our horses were soaked. Daughter mare cut herself and was bleeding from the coronet and had a hoof soaked in blood. We made it to the end of the river trail only to find the turn to go to the forest was absolutely impassable- daughter even got off and tried to clear a path. By now Crazy lady's horse is limping slightly, Sawyer has a bloody hoof and poor Tillie is sopped with sweat from leading through the dense under brush in the forest and going up and down the bank countless times. We turned back - went up the bank and bush wacked further through the forest to a corn field and rode the edge of the corn field to a Rangers access road that led us to a trail that we could take back to the trailer. So much for an easy ride on a hot muggy day! I am so proud of my horse!!! Sawyer got her hoof cleaned and dressed and crazy lady gave her horse some bute. We will all live to ride another day.


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## weeedlady

Wow @carshon that sounds like quite the adventure. At least all the horses were good and you all made it home in one piece!

I put 2.19 miles on Tucker this morning just riding around the cornfield again. It was clear that I need to ride more often, because he was quite full of himself! 
We also made it home in one piece, with no real adventures to report, so that's a good thing. 

YTD 82.4 miles


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## egrogan

So many great adventures to read about (though @*carshon* , sounds like a little _too much _adventure- hope Sawyer's bloody foot was just superficial!). And, I love that @*Celeste* is entertaining us with pictures of smooshed deer flies. So satisfying. Yesterday while grooming after untacking, I swatted not one, not two, but three nasty deerflies in a row off Fizz's size and crunched them with satisfaction under my boots. I was impressed with my own hand-eye coordination for getting them on the first try :rofl: Isn't it amazing how a horse knows when you're hitting them really hard to kill a fly and doesn't get offended!

We had a gorgeous day with no humidity Thursday, but the rest of the weekend was overcast and muggy. And bugs, bugs, bugs. Did about 15 miles total over the weekend.

Sunny day ride:









Gloomy day ride:








*Total 2020 miles: 145.3 *
Outpacing 2019 by over 100 miles at this point in the calendar!


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## csimkunas6

I've ridden quite a bit this year so far, but this past week I rode 3-4 times. All rides were essentially in "the front yard", technically it belongs to a rancher that lives a few houses away from me, his family owns about 13k acres give or take so Ive been exploring some of the land.

I recently found a woman within an hours drive of me that knows several places around, so planning on tagging along on a few rides with her here shortly!

Rodeo was the best our first ride, forward, felt great to be on him as it has a month or so since I had last rode. We walked around some cows, got chased by a momma cow for a minute, and just overall had a superb ride.

Second ride he was more "watchy" was a bit more windy, and right off the bat 3 antelope ran up towards us as we were approaching the top of a small hill so that didnt help. He was a bit fidgety, we ended our ride standing patiently next to the highway as cars whizzed past us at 70+mph.

Third ride was a bit hot, he was rather lazy and spent majority of the ride walking, and standing taking in the extreme beauty that eastern Montana has to offer.


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## rambo99

Riding after dark now last morning ride we did, deer flies were swarming by 7:30 am. This week has been hot and humid so bugs have really ramped up.

Been doing only 3 to 4 mile rides and doing a lot of walking. Just to humid and horses just aren't very energetic. Even with the shorter rides at night horse are soaked in sweat. 

Was still 79 degrees at 10pm last night and air was thick. Not taking many pictures they all look the same,dark. 
@phantomhorse13, link looks to be doing really good. All your horses look amazing. I'm always impressed your a good horse mom. 

A few pictures one is from last ride during daylight hours. Other pics are from night rides. Yeah ice is wearing his fly mask,even at night,he hates mosquitos getting on his ears face


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## knightrider

@carshon, that ride sounds and looked extremely difficult. Kudos to you, your horses, and even your friend for getting through it.

Yesterday @4horses and I had a super fun adventure. We met at Saarinen Preserve to go for a ride. 4horses brought her Paso Fino Florian for me to ride. Florian was a project horse, but he developed uveitis, so no project. 4horses has done an amazing job training a very difficult horse, and he was pure pleasure to ride yesterday. He is so light and responsive. We just hated to quit riding, we were having so much fun. The bugs weren't bad at all, and in the shade, we were not too hot.

This morning I took Acicate past the Anatolian shepherds to ride on the beautiful trails near my house. Everything was going great when Aci did a big spook. I looked over to what he was spooking at. It was a skunk! I encounter skunks on the trail about twice a year. I usually turn around and go somewhere else, but this time, the skunk was about 20 feet away from me in the woods. There was no other trail I could take, and after braving the Anatolians, I wanted that ride!

I told my good dog, "LEAVE IT" and she left the skunk alone. I wanted to ride past the critter, but he kept advancing toward me, closer and closer. And he was laughing. I don't know if skunks actually laugh, but it sure looked like dogs look when they seem to be laughing. I hoped I could get past him before he got to me. He was laughing all the way and flicking his tail.

We managed to get past him before he got to us. I looked for him on the way back home, but happily, he had headed somewhere else and was no longer near the trail.

Speaking of going back, are most of you trail riders aware that there always seem to be fewer bugs if you backtrack on a trail home the same way you came? That's what I do when there are bugs (there were very few today), and you will have a much pleasanter ride home if you go home the exact same trail you rode out on.


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## charrorider

Rode 5 times in the month of June, which is two more times than the total number I rode in the previous 4 months. And with that, I also went over 100 miles for 2020. I'm over my surgery; Ibn is having his arthritis treated and Chance has licked the hooves abscesses. So, hopefully, from here on out, June will be more like the norm.


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## Aprilswissmiss

knightrider said:


> Speaking of going back, are most of you trail riders aware that there always seem to be fewer bugs if you backtrack on a trail home the same way you came? That's what I do when there are bugs (there were very few today), and you will have a much pleasanter ride home if you go home the exact same trail you rode out on.


Really? I've had the opposite experience! During my most recent trail ride, I definitely noted that the ride back was much worse for bugs than the ride out, and I always take the same trail back because we have maybe one loop around here but it's all the way at the end of a one-way trail. April was shaking her head and asking to stop occasionally to itch her face on her legs, the bugs were so bad. It seems she sweats off the heavy layer of fly spray about half way through the ride and the bugs bombard us afterward.


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## rambo99

knightrider said:


> Speaking of going back, are most of you trail riders aware that there always seem to be fewer bugs if you backtrack on a trail home the same way you came? That's what I do when there are bugs (there were very few today), and you will have a much pleasanter ride home if you go home the exact same trail you rode out on.


Hasn't been my experience not for the last 3 to 4 years. There was a time we could ride out 5 miles. Stop let horses rest deer flies would be just awful. But after about 4 minutes horses standing there, deer flies would be gone.

We could ride home hardly a bug bothering us. Now that doesn't happen the deer flies just swarm us entire ride. We have to move along fast or they drive horses just nutty. Even at that my horse gets to flipping his head around. Mask with ears an extended nose peice helps but not a cure. 

That's why we now ride after dark with headlamps. We stay on trails we know footing real well. Only bugs are mosquitos easy to repel them. Much more pleasant at night for human and horse. 😁


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## knightrider

From @Aprilswissmiss



> Really? I've had the opposite experience!


From @rambo99



> Hasn't been my experience not for the last 3 to 4 years.


Now I am very curious as to other riders' experience.

The first time I realized the flies were much less on the way home was years ago. I trailered my horse to visit a friend in Gettysburg, PA. She lived near a "mountain," and she offered to take me up the mountain for a trail ride. The yellow flies (we call them deer flies) were unbelievably horrible. It was like a nightmare, with hundreds of them swarming and biting the horses and us.

After a bit, we rode down the mountain. We had maybe 3 flies the whole hour and a half ride down. I was astounded. She told me that was typical. Wow. I had never noticed that and I had been riding horses in summer since I was 8.

So, I started doing that at home, and discovered, wow, it was true. This morning I rode out with my neighbor in the hunting preserve behind our houses. On the way out, swishing regularly at flies. On the way home, only a few flies bothered the horses.

Now I want to hear from other riders: am I the only one who has experienced this phenomenon? Anyone else?


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## Celeste

@knightrider I also find that if I do an in and out ride, there are less bugs than in a circular ride. I am hoping that it is due to all the horseflies that I squash, but that is doubtful. I try to squash deer flies as well, but they are more difficult. 

Do you always ride in the morning? I usually do. I wonder if that could be the difference.


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## weeedlady

I've not paid attention to the out and back vs loop flies question but I certainly will now. I'm curious.


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## knightrider

@Celeste, I always ride in the morning. In the "winter", I sometimes ride in the afternoon as well.

Another skunk today! This time the skunk was off in the woods and totally ignored me. This one was coal black. The one that approached me on Wednesday had more white on it than any other skunk I've ever seen. I wonder if skunk babies are emerging as young adults? Neither skunk had any odor at all.

Successful solo Windy ride again today. We rode all around our trails and didn't have any shenanigans. On our long driveway on the way home, Windy decided to do a silly spook and sideways little rear, putting her ear into my nostril, which was kind of funny. That was the only obstreperous thing this she did the whole ride. I think we are on our way to confidently riding solo.

Finally I got around to figuring up my hours and miles for June:

June hours: 51.5
miles 169.95 miles
Year to date: hours 393.5
miles 1,298.55


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## Celeste

Has anybody noticed that it is hot? 

@knightrider I rode later than usual today and there were less flies. That could explain the going out coming in ride thing. 

This is part of a fly sheet that one of my horses ripped to shreds within 30 minutes of me putting it on. The neck piece looked ok, so I used it on my ride. I sprayed it down with fly spray. Horseflies would hit it and fly away!

We did see flies, but not as many as usual. I think that they may have had heat strokes and died. 

Total for the year: *157 miles*


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## knightrider

From @Celeste



> I rode later than usual today and there were less flies. That could explain the going out coming in ride thing.


It would be later if you rode in a circle too, but it has been my experience that if you ride in a big circle, you have horrible flies the whole ride. If you backtrack, you have far fewer flies. My theory is that the horses' footfall vibrations attract the flies . . . or that brushing past leaves disturb the flies. Anyway, I have long wondered if once the flies leave off from where they were sitting, they head out to look for more blood, hence no flies on the way back Just a guess, of course, I don't know a thing.

And according to some riders on Horse Forum, not even true for them. I hope more people chime in about their experiences, because I really am curious.


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## egrogan

Hmm...we do a lot of out and back rides, though most of those are on the roads, and the flies are just bad always. On the way out, and on the way home. But we are surrounded on almost all sides by damp forest interspersed with beaver ponds. So there's really no escaping. When I ride trail loops, we're usually in the woods one way because they will loop us through the woods parallel to a dirt road, and we'll take the road home. So I don't think that I've had that experience. I wish though!!


Fun ride today with a fun story to match. I am soaked from getting caught in the rain and need to go shower so I can make dinner- so more soon :grin:


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## rambo99

Been riding after dark and no big bugs so nice. It's been beastly hot here 88 degrees and 75 percent humidity. Real feel was 93. 

Tried a 5 am ride today and only got to dirt road ,and decided to go home. The deer flies were horrible. The little biting flies were just thick. Appeartly flies & deer flies haven't died of heat stroke,there thriving quite well in the heat. 

At one time we could ride out have horrible bugs. But coming home hardly a deer fly. Now we never can lose the deer flies even back tracking, not doing a big circle. Guess they don't get the memo they need to go away.

It's been dry what little rain we have had hasn't done much good. Pasture is dieing off and lawn is brown. Bugs are still horrible.

A picture from ride last night,not much to see it's dark.


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## knightrider

After this morning's ride, I have another question. Besides the burning question of trail riders saying if bugs are better if you backtrack.

My neighbor got himself a new horse (he is always getting new horses) that is horribly barn sour. When she gets to a turn-off that would go towards home, she spins wildly and refuses to go forward. He's been riding all his life, so he can manage it, but she is TOUGH.

He said that barn sour horses like that must never turn around and go back the way they came. That makes them more barn sour. Have any of you heard that? I never have. Aci and Isabeau were so barn sour, they were unrideable when I bought them, and now they ride great. I often turn around and go back the way I came, not only in buggy summer, but also in winter. Isabeau had to go home the way she came because when I was by myself, the only way I could ride her was to lead her for several miles out, then mount and ride her home. If I tried to ride her away from the barn, she would rear and come over on her rider. Now, Aci and Isabeau ride out beautifully.

I had Aci this morning, and when he saw the new mare doing what he used to do, he wanted to spin and refuse to go forward too. Funny how quickly they can revert back given the slightest provocation. But I kicked him and swatted him, and he went along as he knows he should.

My neighbor said we had to go in a huge circle or else his new mare would get more barn sour. Of course, I wanted to help him out, so we did. Horrible flies on the way home. Horrible.

So now, questions for trail riders: Do you find fewer flies if you backtrack home exactly the way you came? Do you think a barn sour horse should never backtrack but only go in a circle to eradicate that behavior? Does backtracking make a horse more barn sour?


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## egrogan

I wouldn't pretend to be able to settle a debate between two lifetime horsepeople such as you and your neighbor. But if I never did "out-and-back" rides, only loops (I think that's what your neighbor means?) it would be hard to have enough variation in my rides. When we do our most common out-and-back ride, which is to a pretty overlook that gives you beautiful valley and mountain views, we usually stop there, take a picture, and turn home. At first, Fizz would rush the second we turned and jig all the way down steep hills. But we just worked on walking calmly, and now I ride her home from there on the buckle. However, I have created another problem, which is that if I ask her to keep riding past our "Kodak moment" stopping place, she pitches a huge fit. That's totally my fault though for 90% of the time stopping there, where she rests while I take a picture, and then turning home. On other routes though, she has the very bad habit of trying to spin and pull down a turnoff that _could _(but not always) be in the direction of home when we're on trails and come to an intersection. I really, really hate that habit. But, those rides are actually not out-and-back, but rather loops with multiple options, so that seems like it goes against your neighbor's theory? What do I know though? It will probably take me a lifetime to ride the number of miles you all ride in a year or two! :grin:

Speaking of going out riding loops, yesterday I got to ride with a new horse and rider combo. Earlier in the week, a neighbor stopped by and asked if some of her friends could use our pasture to camp for the weekend since their usual annual camping trip location was no longer available. There are three beautiful trailers down in the field now, and yesterday I went out with one of the women and her cute little pony cross (Haflinger paint maybe?). He had a big motor on him, and it was fun for my horse, who also has a really big walk, to be able to just move right along without having to stop and wait for her buddies to catch up. This woman with the pony usually rides with Tennessee Walkers, and she says she is constantly having to slow him down or circle him so the Walkers can keep up. So both the pony and my horse got to ride at their preferred pace with no checking, no circling, no waiting around. They each got to lead and follow. Had a great time, did about 9 miles and just barely avoided a massive downpour- thankfully mother nature waited until we were untacking to start raining!

Pony was ready to go go go


















*Total 2020 miles: 158 *(I think that puts me in the same place as @Celeste?)


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## egrogan

@knightrider, being the researcher that I am, I decided to use a first-person participant case study approach today to test out the "reduction in biting flies" theory during our 2 mile "out-and-back" ride. Unfortunately for Fizz, the hypothesis that flies would be gone on our way home was not supported. I submit this empirical evidence, showing us riding a downhill section of the road approximately 10 minutes after we rode it uphill. Poor Fizz got pummeled (just like she did on the way up). 





Maybe your Florida flies can inform our Vermont flies about the theory that they're supposed to clear out when a horse goes through, and we'll see better results next time! :rofl:


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## phantomhorse13

Last week I got some saddle time. The whole story is in my journal.

Friday (the 26th), I drove down to meet Lani, Kathy, and Steph to ride. I rode Mu:



















That evening, DH and I got George and Link out:



















Sunday, DH and I got Iggy and Phin out. We took Kestrel along, too:




























Then, we got George and Link out:


















2020 mileage
...
6/26 musubi 12.2 miles 1803 ft climb 4.5 mph 85F 1319.54 total miles
6/26 link 5.5 miles 593 ft climb 3.1 mph 83F 1325.04 total miles
6/28 phin 9.5 miles 1260 ft climb 4.7 mph 90F 1334.54 total miles
6/28 link 4.2 miles 364 ft climb 3.2 mph 93F *1338.74 total miles*


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## phantomhorse13

I got more saddle time this week. The whole story is in my journal.

On Monday, I went over to ride with Nicole. I rode Hombre:



















Then I took a spin on Siri:










Tuesday, I started with Iggy and Kestrel came along:



















Next was Link:










Wednesday, I got Phin out:


















June: 261.84 miles
Phin - 88.0
Iggy - 68.2
Link - 31.54
Musubi - 27.6
Brimstone - 20.2
Hombre - 18.1
Polo - 8.2


2020 mileage
...
6/29 hombre 6.8 miles 645 ft climb 3.9 mph 88F 1345.54 total miles
6/30 iggy 10.1 miles 1767 ft climb 5.0 mph 82F 1355.64 total miles
6/30 link 1.94 miles 85 ft climb 3.2 mph 82F 1357.58 total miles
7/1 phin 14.24 miles 2713 ft climb 5.5 mph 87F *1371.82 total miles*


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## ChasingDreams

We have several small ponds and the quarry, so lots of standing water and lots and lots of bugs this time of year, unfortunately. 

I think the yellow deer flies that plague our area are supposed to be most active at dawn and dusk, and avoid direct sunlight... so if you are an early morning rider they are awful. The black flies, horse flies, and those giant Godzilla horse flies that sound like tiny lawnmowers... they seem to be worse as the day goes on, so you can’t win. 

I’ve though about riding at night like @Rambo...but I would be alone, and I know there are coyotes and other nocturnals that could spook my horse and leave me laying alone in the dark. 

I’ve had three rides since my last post. All solo rides, hot, buggy, and slow moving... but uneventful otherwise. I’ll just leave my maps and the few photos I took.




















































2020 miles ~182.4


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## rambo99

@ChasingDreams deer flies here are active daylight till dark. Once dark out they are gone till next day. Horse flies seem to have died off. The bitting house like flies are bad . 

Riding during the day just isn't a great option right now. We don't have trouble with the nocturnal animals. Coyotes ,wolves and bear we've never encountered them on our night rides. Deer are the only ones we will run into but horses aren't spooked by deer 

Didn't ride Saturday night due to fireworks. Plus on our Friday night ride we had a 4 wheelers go by us then would come back going really slow, they did this like 3 different times .

After they went by 3 Rd time we took of making our horses go fast. To get off dirt road and out of sight. Neighbors have trails that come out near our driveway. So we went off onto there trail that's posted no trespassing. Rode in grass along dirt road so the 4 wheelers couldn't track where we went. 

We heard the 4 wheeler go by again once we got into neighbors trail. We had took off our reflective vest and turned off our headlamps. 

We have had this issue before riding at night. Having people creep on us. So have to skip riding out for a few nights. We will ride at dusk tonight but will go in on first trail entrance. So won't be on dirt road very long. 

Would never ride alone at night no way no how. Not a good idea .


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## carshon

@Rambo I don't understand what the 4-wheeler riders are hoping to see or do? Do you think they mean harm or are they neighbors wondering what the bobbing lights are?

I too got to ride over the weekend. My Daughter and I both had Friday off so hubby got a chance to ride with us for once! It has been terribly hot and humid here for the past couple of weeks - no rain - everything is getting dry. We headed to our local park (about 12 miles from us) for an early morning ride. It was still 80F at 7 am with 67% humidity. The bugs were HORRIBLE!!! I always carry extra spray with me when I ride and we had liberally applied at the trailer but the poor horses tossed their heads for most of the ride. We had one minor issue - there are some trails the rangers have not mowed yet this year and the stinging nettles are taking over. Hubbies horse Belle started stomping and swishing her tail and really being reactive (not like her at all) so hubby got off and helped her scratch all of the burning itchy spots. Daughters horse was also itchy and biting at her chest and front legs. they came out of it and rode on with no issues. If anyone has ideas to help our horses not react so much to stinging nettles it would be appreciated! Daughters horse and crazy ladies horse both had bad reactions a couple of weeks ago as well. We rode 7 1/2 miles and got back to the trailer at about 9AM and it was already in the high 80's - we hosed the horses off and loaded up for home. I was invited to ride with the crazy lady yesterday but it was set to be 90 degrees and 70% humidity and I passed. I just had to ride when its like that. Here are some pics I took. You can see all of the nettles on the side of the trail in my shot from Tillie.


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## knightrider

*More Anatolian adventures*

Yesterday my dog came back from the ride really tired. As the morning wore on, she got more and more lethargic until we feared for her life and took her to an emergency vet clinic.

After sitting 5 hours in our car in 102 heat, the vet finally came up with the diagnosis of arthritis, and the vet says the dog can no longer go on horse rides with us. This is much more tragic for me than my family realizes. I've had a dog along on rides for 30 years, and it's so sad not to take my doggie. I don't want a second dog. I've always been a "one dog" person. I am really blue about not being able to take my dog on rides.

We had a big scare with the Anatolian shepherds on this morning's ride. I had my daughter and her friend riding with me. Since the owner said the only reason the dogs bother us is because my dog is along, which she isn't because she is afraid of big dogs and melts into the woods when she hears big dogs, I knew that today would be an interesting ride if the Anatolians did come out. I rode Aci past the Anatolian driveway on Wednesday and no dogs came out, so I was expecting no dogs today. I thought things were pretty much under control.

For years, the Anatolians were mostly just unpleasant, swirling around the horses and barking. It's only recently that one of them started nipping the horses' fetlocks. To recap, the larger more aggressive dog started nipping at Aci and drove him into a barbed wire fence. Aci kicked out at the dog and got his leg caught in the fence. Luckily, he was able to jerk it free and we rode on, no harm done. My neighbor went to the house to ask politely if the people would keep their dogs up when we ride by. We used to ride by only a couple of times a year because we had another riding territory for which we had permission to ride, and we could get to the fun trails going through there. A few weeks ago, that landowner's son said I could no longer ride there because I was "scaring the deer" which he planned to hunt in November. So, currently I MUST ride past the Anatolians if I want to ride in miles and hours of beautiful trails.

The Anatolian owner was incredibly rude, said it was my dog causing the problems, and when I told her my dog stays back in the woods because she is afraid of the Anatolians, she said I was a liar. Every time we ride past there, the owners come out to their driveway and watch the horses go by, presumably to see if my dog is along. Recently, at times, they have been releasing the less aggressive dog, which comes out and barks, but does not chase the horses. I'm fine with dogs that don't bother the horses, so I thought we were doing OK. I had even planned to buy them a box of Whitman's chocolates to thank them for keeping their dog up.

Today, of course, my dog can no longer go. And remembering that last Wednesday, there were no Anatolians coming out at all, I suggested to the girls that we ride past the Anatolian driveway. We were having a super fun ride and all was well. No dogs when we headed out to the fun trails. On the way back, we saw both dogs tearing down the driveway barking at us. 

I honestly thought they would just bark and swirl around and that would be that. But the aggressive one was more aggressive than ever. My daughter's friend was in the lead on Aci. When Aci saw the dog coming at him, he bolted onto the paved road, and the girl couldn't stop him. She tends to be a screamer, and screaming "Whoa! Whoa!" doesn't stop any horse. When Windy and Chorro saw Aci fast disappearing down the tar road, they wanted to gallop for home as well. Luckily, Aci is SUCH a good horse, he stopped, and the dog next went for my daughter on Windy. He began to nip at Windy's hind legs, and Windy started bucking, kicking out, and spinning around on the paved road. My daughter was yelling at the dog to "Go home!" I yelled to my daughter to get out of there any way she could. She said later that she couldn't get Windy to move forward. But finally, she galloped down the hard road too. 

That left Chorro and me, so the dog went for Chorro's fetlocks. He kicked the dog. I guided my good Chorro to the grass, and we galloped to catch up with Windy and Aci.

My daughter's friend knows someone at Animal Control in Suwannee Co., and they are dispatching a person to confront the Anatolian owners. We have asked them nicely. We have tried to not mind. Now we are taking it a step further. The two girls could have been badly injured if the horses had slipped and fallen on the paved road. Dogs that come out and attack horses on public roads cannot be allowed to continue.


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## QueenofFrance08

For 4th of July we headed 8+ hours West to Medora, North Dakota to ride the Maah Daah Hey trail. It was probably the most beautiful place I have ever seen in my life, for sure the most beautiful trails I've ever ridden, and a ton of fun. I'll have to do a bigger post with more pictures when work isn't so busy but here's some of my best ones!

We rode about 35 miles in 3 days in 90+ degree weather.


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## carshon

@knightrider I hope that animal control gets this taken care of. How scary for you all. And I am sorry about your little doggie. Getting old sucks!


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## egrogan

@knightrider, I was cringing and gritting my teeth reading about the dogs. I just have no words. I really hope someone helps you with this problem.


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## lb27312

@knightrider - I also hope you get the dog situation taken care of... you've had to deal with them a lot.... 

I went to Big South Fork, TN for the long weekend.... had some wonderful, beautiful rides. I did ride a little long one day, got kinda sidetracked. But it was all good. Chal did soooo good, I was super proud that he paid extra attention where he was putting his feet as there was a dog that was chasing deer and bear through the woods and then would come bounding back to the trail making a ruckus. The bear I was a little bummed that he chased it as all I saw was a black blur running like crazy from the dog. The person in front saw it. Some of those trails were pretty technical, I could hear Chal going I'm not a mountain goat, I'm not a mountain goat. But like I said he did good. Some of them were like lay back give him as much rein as needed and hope for the best. 

Pictures below just doesn't do it justice so not doing that many, but I got tons!

Rode 32+ miles over the long weekend.


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## Celeste

The flies have all died of heat strokes and I am not far behind them. My husband tried to drag me out of bed at 6:30 this morning, but I couldn't get up. So, I rode a bit later. This video is not much, but what makes me wish that it was good is that we saw a deer. You may see it at 23 seconds. 

I am up to 160 miles. I probably won't get a lot more miles in until it gets cooler. Like mid 80's or something.


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## Celeste

I did manage to take a clip out of the video to show the deer.


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## egrogan

I know we've been talking incessantly about the flies, but I can't help add another post about them. Today we went out at lunchtime, and they were swarming the second we hit the road. My question is how other people's horses handle it. Mine seems to have almost no tolerance at all before she's absolutely miserable- the second she has two or more on her neck or face, she's flinging her head around, doing full body shakes, and taking tiny little mincing steps forward as though she'd rather just lay down in the road and _die _rather than continue on the ride. I mean, I get that they are annoying and uncomfortable- I'm getting attacked by them too- but I feel like her reaction is a little extreme. She's wearing a full fly mask and gets sprayed right before I get on, but I don't think I'm ready to commit to lots of fly gear since she tends to be hot and sweaty as it is. Do others' act this way too?

We went ~3.5 miles today- there were sections of the road where there were no bugs at all, and others where we were swarmed. We mostly had a nice breeze, but it didn't really help in the buggiest sections. Maybe I just need to take a break for a couple of weeks until the worst of them are gone?









Stopping for a drink at the town spring:









This was sort of neat, if you look really closely in the purple flowers to the left of the shadow of my left shoulder, there's a beautiful giant turkey feather there.









*Total 2020 miles: 172.2*


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## trailhorserider

I guess I am pretty blessed as far as flies are concerned. I think it's too dry right now to have a ton of them. We mostly have regular house flies, and the fly spray seems to repel them pretty good. There is an occasional giant black horse fly but I don't see them very often. I try to smash them if I can.  

We get a few greenish, blood-sucking deer flies in the woods, but maybe only one or two a ride. My precious mare lets me smack her pretty good to try to kill them. She knows I'm trying to help. But they are not a chronic or constant problem.

I did ride at a place, years ago, that had the worst deer flies I had ever encountered. They even bit ME through my pants! I was riding my young horse and he was going crazy. I've never seen flies like that before or after, thank goodness. 

I have been riding mostly in the late evenings because it's been pretty hot. And the shadows are so pretty in the evening, I decided to get some photos this time around. Saw some elk too, but they are so hard to get pictures of!

Knightrider, I really feel for you with the dogs. I gave away my green horse, whom was born at my place and I loved to death, because we have to ride past a place with dogs every time we ride to the forest. They are *mostly* behind a fence (occasionally one is loose) but my horse would spook and I would get such anxiety riding past the dogs, just waiting for them to rush out from the backyard, that I just couldn't take it anymore. They have 5-6 dogs at this house at any given time. Riding my greenie was just not fun anymore. I still have to deal with the dogs with my current horse, but she is older and wiser and less spooky. She's always looking for the dogs to run out too though. There is just something about dogs coming at you from outta nowhere to really make a horse nervous. 

People always seem to worry about wildlife and I always say it's not the wildlife I worry about, it's loose dogs. Wildlife runs away from you, dogs run toward you. :evil:

But anyway, I wanted to share some of my pictures from today. :smile:


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## ChasingDreams

@egrogan Chase has pretty dramatic reaction to the flies as well... not dangerous of course, but besides the head shaking, frequent stomping, and tail-swishing... he will stop every three or four strides and look back at me like “Do we have to do this, really?” It makes for a really slow ride... and sore legs from urging him on [emoji849]Not really fun, *sigh*


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## carshon

@egrogan we have a mixture of horses that react differently to the deer flies. I use EcoVet fly spray with pretty good results and carry a small spray bottle with me to reapply during the ride as my horse is all black and a sweater. Tillie (my horse) is very stoic she very rarely reacts to anything in a negative way. I personally think that in a previous life she was punished when she did anything but walk straight down the trail. She may speed up and shake her head a little but that is it. My daughters young horse sounds like Fizz. Sawyer swishes and sways all over the trail - it is rather comical until - it isn't. Our horses also wear fly masks and are sprayed before the ride. The EcoVet helps but our deer flies and horse flies have exploded in population because we are so hot and humid now. My daughter has started using her crop to wipe the offenders off and may be using a neck cover much like @Celeste here in the near future. I don't see the bug population subsiding anytime soon.


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## knightrider

For some weird reason, this summer where I live in N. Central FL, there are not so many flies. Some years they are horrible, but not this year. Yay for me, lucky, I know.

My Chorro hates detests despises flies. He gets quite upset when they are biting him. He used to get me off every July. I always wondered why I would have a bad fall in July. He would just explode in a horrible spook with no warning. I finally decided it was flies. He'd just get so frustrated with the flies biting him that he would explode. He's better now, at age 16, and with our lack of many flies this year, I have high hopes that I will stay on him through July.

The other three are more stoical about the flies. My neighbor just got a new horse, a white mare, who does nothing when the flies are biting her bloody.

The worst horse about flies is @4horses horse Florian. If even one fly is buzzing around him . . . not even biting or landing on him . . . he flips out. If he were a human, he'd be throwing a temper tantrum.

I make fly swishes out of swatches of Chorro's and Isabeau's tail. I cut a nice swishable chunk out of the underside of the tail. The best swishes are from coarse straight tails. Fine wavy hair doesn't work so well. I have used all kinds of sticks or handles from pieces of fishing rod, broken arrows, dowel, bamboo, broken riding crops, and my favorite is rattan. Take the stick and smear it with Elmer's glue on the end, then shove the tail hair so that the stick is right in the center of the hair piece. Wind feed bag string around the gluey hair two layers up and down the stick. Then smear a thick paste of Elmer's glue over the wound string. Wait 24 hours. Some people like a handle and I duct tape a string handle for them. Takes about 15 minutes to make one. Even super reactive jumpy horses get used to it being swished around. Florian loves being ridden with one, and he is quite reactive to many scary things, especially whips. The horses figure out right away they are not whips.


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## egrogan

Brilliant @knightrider! I don't know why I didn't think of making my own swisher. I considered buying one last year but they were $50 at our tack shop! I actually need to trim some tails since they are starting to brush the ground, so now I have a project for the cuttings :grin:


Fizz fortunately doesn't jump around and buck, but she is still pretty reactive. I got a couple of deer fly bites through my riding pants yesterday too, so I get it!


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## weeedlady

I have one of those fly swisher things. I call it my tail on a stick. Both my horses appreciate the help. Sometime I take it with me when hiking. I don't like flies either!


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## rambo99

Rode Tuesday night was pretty nice ride did 10 miles. Got interesting last 6 or so miles. My headlamp batteries were almost done for. So light was very dim didn't seem to effect ice he still flew down the trail. 

No riding last night as it got stormy lots of lightning and thunder. Had hail wind heavy rain lighting and loud thunder that literally shook the house. Started at 10 pm and went till after 3:30 am. So didn't get much sleep. Kept horses in barn ice wasn't having any part of going outside for the night. Just as well a tree went down ,and took out a section of hot fence. 

Here's a video of storm coming in. And video of ride the other night. Mosquitos about carried me off ,doing video of storm coming in.


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## phantomhorse13

Last Thursday, I got some saddle time. The whole story is in my journal.

I started with Iggy:



















Next was George:



















Then it was Link's turn:


















2020 mileage
...
7/2 iggy 9.52 miles 1781 ft climb 5.7 mph 89F 1381.34 total miles
7/2 george 5.25 miles 748 ft climb 5.2 mph 93F 1386.59 total miles
7/2 link 2.1 miles 243 ft climb 3.2 mph 95F *1388.69 total miles*


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## Celeste

I rode Dillon today. You will notice in the pictures that he came with his own fly shield on his neck. He has got the thickest, wildest mane ever! And it was a bad hair day for him as well.

It had been a while since I rode him. He seemed to be very happy to get out and go. I had to mostly keep him at a walk because the trail was so wet. He slipped with a back hoof twice, but he is generally very able to stay on his feet.
There is one dry spot that I am able to go faster without fear of them falling. I let him canter and he was wide open. He really seemed to have fun and I had a blast!

It didn't seem that hot when I left out, but by the time I got all the horses put out and chickens fed and other outdoor chores done, it was a bit too warm.

I am only a little less than a thousand miles behind @phantomhorse13! It shouldn't be too hard to catch up, right? 

2020 miles so far: *163*


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## phantomhorse13

Celeste said:


> I am only a little less than a thousand miles behind


At some point, you said your goal was to be 10% of my rides.. well I better step it up cause you are beating that!


And as always, @*knightrider* is kicking my butt in total mileage.


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## knightrider

No nah, @phantomhorse13, you have passed me. I was way ahead in the winter when I could ride 2 horses almost every day. Now, it is too hot to ride more than 2 or 3 hours, and way too hot to climb on a second horse. I could ride in the evenings, but I just . . . don't. I'm a morning person and evenings for me are for taking it easy.

Also phantom, you ride much further and faster than I do. I MIGHT have as many hours as you do, but not as many miles.

knightrider hours 411.75
miles 1358.775

phantomhorse miles 1388.69
hours???

You got me beat by 30 miles. What is your average speed? Mine is 3.3 mph. I'm sure yours is much higher. Figure out your average speed and divide into miles, and we'll know approximately how many hours you ride. It would be fun to know.

I am perfectly happy with you beating me in riding miles (and hours). I am so impressed with your skill and dedication, and also am honored to know you and ride with you. There is no shame in taking second place to phantomhorse!


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## egrogan

Celeste said:


> I am only a little less than a thousand miles behind @*phantomhorse13* ! It shouldn't be too hard to catch up, right?
> 
> 2020 miles so far: *163*


:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

I really needed this laugh! I so wish I could go out and ride with a bunch of you southern ladies, I think it would be a blast.

It felt like Louisiana here today- hot and humid even early in the morning. I did manage to drag poor Fizz out, and we battled through the bugs and heat, dripping like an over-saturated sponge out there as we sweated our way down the trail. @*Celeste* , you would have been proud of the number of crushed deer flies, but for every one I killed another 5 just took their place :icon_rolleyes: We made it 6.5 miles today.










*Total 2020 miles: 178.6*


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## weeedlady

no riding for me lately. Too Hot. I just can't make myself do it.


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## rambo99

Celeste said:


> I am only a little less than a thousand miles behind @phantomhorse13! It shouldn't be too hard to catch up, right?
> 
> 2020 miles so far: *163*


I Didn't catch this first time I read it I seriously thought you had close to a 1000 miles. 

Well looks like I'm in third place on miles @phantomhorse13 has me beat. So does @knightrider. To date have 1145.78 miles for 2020.


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## egrogan

That’s awesome @rambo99! That’s a lot of miles!


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## gunslinger

I'm not even in the running.....only 50 miles this year....haven't been riding a lot....of course there was the ankle this spring, and I've been working on some projects around the house......put up 250 feet of 6 foot privacy fence....got a deck that needs to be re-done....Oh the joy's of home ownership.
It's getting to hot to ride much now......but hopefully come September I'll get some saddle time.....
Rambo99, you go girl!


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## rambo99

@egrogan thanks some of the miles were being a bit lost. Riding in the dark with headlamps isn't ideal that's for sure. 

Did 30 miles last night in 3-1/2 hours didn't get to bed till 2:30 am. Took some wrong turns, but worked out ice knows the trails thank goodness. Some nights we do two loops so miles add up.

Hopefully soon we can ride during the day deer flies should die off soon. No pictures well because it's dark and pictures all look the same. 

We did have an encounter with a bear,ice spooked pretty good too. Did a 180 and scooted down the trail about 100 yards.
The fun of riding in the dark.😂 
@gunslinger thanks we are riding a lot and having some really late nights. So I average about 3 hours of sleep a night.


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## knightrider

@rambo99, wow . . . and WOW !! Buns of steel! And riding so long at night (I dislike night riding because of things like bears .. . and branches slapping me in the face . . .and getting lost in the dark) so another WOW! I am so impressed. Are you interested in riding endurance? 30 miles in the dark! My hat is off to you!


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## rambo99

knightrider said:


> @rambo99, wow . . . and WOW !! Buns of steel! And riding so long at night (I dislike night riding because of things like bears .. . and branches slapping me in the face . . .and getting lost in the dark) so another WOW! I am so impressed. Are you interested in riding endurance? 30 miles in the dark! My hat is off to you!


I've thought about doing endurance maybe next year. Ice has got so much energy it's ridiculous. Actually last night was first time we encountered a bear in a few years. 

Yeah the in the dark part makes it well interesting. My headlamp is really bright it's led so helps. Have it adjusted so I can see the footing in front of my horse. For most part we don't see or run into much wild life. We run into deer the most horses aren't spooked by them so not an issue.


Tonight will be a shorter ride probably 7 or 8 miles. Oh my saddle is pretty comfortable and have fleece seat cover,I sometimes use. Have my aches and pains mostly my right knee. 

Being ice is pssm he really does better if kept worked an fit. Think he looks best he's ever looked. Here's a picture I took beginning of July. He's so fun to ride loves going out, ears up and moves along at a fast walk. When he's trotting really fast he gets really smooth,so I can sit the trot 

Daughter claims he looks to be gaiting,told me last night. Looks like his legs are going in lateral pairs. He really covers ground when he gets going. He doesn't always do this but it's a fun ride when he does. He was really on his whatever gait he's doing last night. Daughters horse had to canter to keep up.


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## phantomhorse13

More saddle time this week! The whole story is in my journal.

On Tuesday, I got Iggy out first:



















Next up was Phin:



















Once DH got home that evening, we got George and Link out:










Thursday, I rode with my SIL. I rode Amish:

__
Sensitive content, not recommended for those under 18
Show Content




















Yesterday, I got Iggy out. Kestrel came, too:



















Today, I rode with my SIL again. I rode Aztec:


















2020 mileage
...
7/7 iggy 11.52 miles 1572 ft climb 6.0 mph 83F 1400.21 total miles
7/7 phin 4.99 miles 656 ft climb 5.1 mph 85F 1405.20 total miles 
7/7 link 2.64 miles 276 ft climb 3.1 mph 87F 1407.84 total miles
7/9 amish 5.95 miles 850 ft climb 3.6 mph 93F 1413.79 total miles
7/10 iggy 8.12 miles 1214 ft climb 5.6 mph 84F 1421.91 total miles
7/11 aztec 5.4 miles 889 ft climb 3.5 mph 95F *1427.31 total miles*


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## Celeste

@phantomhorse13 It almost looks like you are riding more miles since there have not been competitions. When they do start back, you will clean up the ribbons!


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## Jolien

@rambo99 I think deer have the same body language as horses so that might be why they don't scare eachother that much?


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## charrorider

Been wanting to ride this trail for a while. Was going to ride it yesterday, but with the temps at 99 degrees (37 c), plus a humidity of 57%, which equaled a heat index of 123 F (50 c), or 156 (69 c) for those who add temps + humidity, I waited until today. It was a nice trail. Only thing wrong with it was distance --too short. Had to retrace my steps some to make it 6.5 miles (10.4 kilometers). Forgot to turn my gps, hence the gap between 'start' and 'finish'.


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## ChasingDreams

Got a decent ride in on Saturday morning. It was partly cloudy, with a little breeze... and we rode around 2 hours. The deer flies are still in full force close to the lake and quarry, but we did a big loop around the hay fields and past the lower pond and weren’t bothered by them at all.









The farm owners had a yard-sale going on down by the road at the end of the lane, so once we were done in the top woods we rode down to say hello and check out the goods  Chase wasn’t impressed with the various scary items laying about, but he walked by and tried his best to be brave [emoji23]

























2020 miles ~187


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## PoptartShop

Loving all the pictures everyone!!

Haven't hit the trails yet at the new private barn, but we did some exploring the other day around the property!  So many areas to explore, it's huge!


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## rambo99

Been riding Monday got rained out big storms came through. Saturday we got out kinda a late start so did a shorter ride.

We were about 3 miles from home just coming towards end of trail. It was 11:55 pm had just stopped to take a break. We were letting horses walk for a bit. We see lights heading our way it was a truck coming down the trail. 

Found it really creepy as this dude had passed us, on dirt road in beging of ride. So after he went by us on trail we got moving along fast. We did 3 miles in 10 minutes. 

We don't know this guy only see him in passing. Why he was out and driving around don't know ,but really weird he was out on trail late at night.

So we have started riding early evening while still daylight. And get home before dark Or ride early morning ,changing up our times so we are never out there at same times. 

Seems deer flies are dieing off not nearly as bad. So should be able to start riding during the day by end of this month. 

Some pictures from Saturday nights ride and some from yesterday's ride. Can actually see the trail whoo hoo.
@Jolien ,horses used to spook at deer. But have gotten used to them being out and about. Think it helps too that we have more deer out in our pasture. So horses see them all the time.


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## knightrider

More skunks; more dog problems.

On Monday I had my young adult rider with me. We encountered a skunk in the woods. This one had a lot of white on it and was extremely fluffy. My riding companion is much more cognizant of rules and risks than I am, and she wanted to immediately turn around. I wanted her to have fun, so we did. After a bit of riding the other way, I suggested that we go back down that trail, since it is the prettiest in that area, most fun, and almost no flies. I figured the skunk was probably gone.

As we were returning, there was the fluffy very white skunk, now on the trail. The skunk completely ignored us, and had no odor. We made a detour into the planted pines to give it lots of room. Then it also meandered into the planted pines. We managed to encounter it 4 times before we left that area.

Today, I was solo and opted for a super lovely trail, shady, few flies, lots of time, but I have to pass the aggressive Anatolians to get there. I was on Aci, brave and bold. I figured it was as good a day as any to head out there. The elderly Anatolian came out the driveway on the way, but did not approach Aci.

On that fun happy trail, we encountered a black not fluffy skunk in the woods right next to the trail. This skunk had a strip of white on its head from ear to ear. All the rest black. Again, no odor. We were next to it before we even realized it was there, so we just rode on. It was gone when we came back. Could it be that young skunks are leaving the nest and finding new territory? Normally I only see skunks once or twice a year at the most. Quite unusual to see 5 in 3 weeks.

On the way home, the large non-agressive elderly Anatolian shepherd was waiting for me on the road. It barks a lot, but does not bite or swirl around the horses. However, Aci has been bitten twice now, and he wasn't having any Anatolians, aggressive or not. Just as the dog came towards us, a pick-up truck came down the road. He could see us and was slowing down. I made the decision to go into the road where he could see us, trust that he would continue to slow down with this pony-size dog barking at us. Aci was leaping, bouncing, and cavorting around. I can't go on the actual Anatolian driveway because it is sharp rocks. I can't go on the grass on the other side because it is droopy sloppy barbed wire. The truck stopped while Aci played bronco, I got Aci going forward, the Anatolian gave up.

Meanwhile the horrible owner was screaming, first at her dog, I believe, and then after I was past her house, at me. For having the audacity to ride on a public road and disturb her and her unfenced dog.

It's so too bad that on that road there is little traffic, few flies, and some fabulous trails. The dirt road with the horrible biting pit bull now has horrendous flies, so I don't even consider riding there in the summer.


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## weeedlady

I got Tucker out today for a short 2.5 mile ride.

I thought I was well prepared. Fly spray all over. Globs of SWAT on his ears, poll, nose, chest and butt. I took my tail-on-a-stick.

Evidently, the deer flies in this area have not been informed that SWAT is a fly repellent. I was able to kill 3 of them because they got stuck in the globs on his ears. Got two more that landed on his neck. Got one on my arm.

Got out of that area and they were gone. Had a good ride after that. 

I got a decent canter departure when I asked, but we've got a lot of work to do. I don't think Tucker's been allowed to canter under saddle, so it is not pretty at all. He thinks canter means run as fast as you can and throw in a few little bucks. We'll get there. I just have to be brave enough to let him practice.


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## Celeste

I have ridden a couple of times since I posted. I was too busy with work today. It was also unreal how hot it was. It wasn't too bad when I rode. Oddly enough, the flies were not terrible. Just a few here and there.

My miles go up slowly. I do short rides. 

All my pictures look about the same. There is one big difference. The county filled in the giant mud holes that were in the road on the way to the trail! The first day that I rode there, Princess looked at it like "Who got my mud hole?" She was suspicious for a second for sure. If they would just grade the road, I would have a nice long canter spot. It is terribly rough for fast work in some spots. The whole trail is.

Total for year: 169 miles


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## Jolien

I rode for 3 hours in the woods yesterday. It was all very unprofessional. None of the other 'riders' could actually ride let alone steer a horse. Someone was hanging underneath the horse with their cinch and saddle loosened and there was a kid with rubber boots on (no heel). They were pulling the reins so hard they backed up on me and I had to do a lot of effort all the time to steer my horse clear from the others...That wasn't really as relaxing as I hoped it would be. I am not gonna claim I am a top rider but I know how to steer and control my horse. Seems to me that is the least you should be able to do... I felt bad for the little kids on the horses that were scared to trot and clearly felt uncomfortable. I chatted a little bit with them about horses. Anyways I am still glad I went outside in the woods to ride...  But next time it will be at my good old known spot again (not trying anything new soon) 



My 3 year old nephew wants to ride too! He keeps on telling me: auntie I want to be on the horse too! And when he saw a kid on a pony he said that he wanted to ride that pony too! I am curious from what age kids can ride?? I mean don't they need some kind of motor control skills for that? My nephew is smart (off course he is, I love him so much, he is perfect to me) and he understands when I explain how to treat animals. He also does what I tell him (how to handle the cat or dogs) so I dunno... ? Maybe in a year I can sometimes take him with me for a short ride? 





@knightrider omg that's so awfull! I knew someone that had a problem with an agressive barking farm dog and he shot just above the head of the dog.  dog was so startled he fled into his pen. After that he always quickly disappeared unto the sight of that person, lol. I would be so angry with that woman.


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## Saigold

We got out with the trailer again yay. My husband and I rode together for the first time since sometime last year. He doesn’t get on a horse too often. We trailered to another conservation area with a lake with a trail all the way around that lake. 

Duke was all riled up for some reason, and Montana, our older guy, is a follower so he was excited too. It was an interesting ride in the beginning with lots of jigging from Duke. Not sure if the saddle wasn’t totally comfortable as my husband weighs more than I do, or the fresh air or a combination of everything. Just too much excitement. It was also different as Duke is the lead horse and my husband is a beginner. Being in the back I couldn’t set the pace to make it a calm ride. Overall it was still quite nice. With the only exception being having to cross a bridge, only to realize that the barriers were not wide enough for horses on the other side. 
This was a long, narrow bridge over the lake and dam. It was high up above the water too. This is a multi use trail that allows horses. So i really wish they either had barriers on both ends or a sign that said no horses. We tried to find another way around but it was only a busy road there. And the sign said that main trail was across the bridge. So we braved it only to end up in a pickle. The horses refused to turn around initially, as it really was narrow, so we attempted to back them up. Half way through they got tired and tried to turn around with success. It was scary as duke is a bigger horse, he ended up touching the rail with his rump and his chest skimmed the other rail but he did it. I’m pretty sure I seen him praying when his head was over the side of the bridge, we were too! We all took a breath of relief as we headed back off to safety. But not before Duke managed to step on my foot and crush my one toe between him and the cement. Not broken, just bruised and twisted. 

Once off the bridge, we tried to look if the road looked better, but with a very small shoulder and traffic speeding by we figured it was probably safer to just go the way we came instead of finishing the loop like the plan was. My husband was pretty sore by this point too. So we took a break and then he got back on Duke and I rode Montana again. I lost track of how many times I got off and back on in the course of the ride. But with Montana being older I needed to give him breaks by walking or running beside him. He did great. That was really the first time I rode him since the beginning of the year.


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## charrorider

Went back to the same trail I rode last. Liking it more, specially at this time of the year when it is so hot. A small 3.5 mile (5.6 km) loop, with a couple tiny creeks that still have some water. The heat index today was 102 F (39 c). So I did the loop, gave Chance a 15 min break and then went back in the opposite direction. So 7 miles (11 km) all together. Don't let the short distance fool you; the horse is working. I took a screen shot of the elevation track.


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## knightrider

From Jolien



> I am curious from what age kids can ride?? I mean don't they need some kind of motor control skills for that?


Some people wait until their child is about 6. With my first born, I started taking him on the front of the horse when he could walk safely, which was 13 months. Of course, I have been riding all my life, and my horse was my mare which I broke and trained myself and had been riding for about 14 years when I started taking my son. Also, my husband, the father, said I didn't need to be riding so much and he refused to watch our son while I rode . . . so it was taking him along or not going. Actually, when he was smaller, I put him in his Pack 'n Play in the shade and rode in the pasture as I watched him. It was a real thrill when I finally got him up on a horse out on the trail with me.

My daughter started before she could walk, at 9 months, because I still had that utterly reliable horse, and had been taking my son several times a week for years. So I felt perfectly comfortable taking the next baby along. Between the two of them, I hardly ever got to go on a "real" ride for about 10 years. It wasn't the greatest for riding, but being a mom was the greatest and well worth the sacrifices I had to make.


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## Jolien

@knightrider my dad was on a horse from age 1.5. He rode alone from age 3... They had a farm and he used to take a big draft with him to a fence, he climbed up the fence and after that mounted the horse... They were voice trained so he could just tell them where to go. Not very responsible if you ask me, letting your kids pony around the farm on their own at that age... 
My best friend has a good horse, I trust the horse but I still wouldn't trust my nephew on him, not even when I or my friend rides with him. So he will have to wait. Also my sister isn't that hot for horses... I think she is going to lynch me for making her kid horse interested haha.


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## egrogan

@charrorider- I can't imagine being out riding with a heat index in the triple digits!  I'd melt right off the horse.


We did our short out-and-back to the overlook yesterday. Not sure if it was the elevation or the good breeze, but we had about 5 bug-free minutes while we were out. The rest of the ride, not so much, but we sure enjoyed those few minutes!






*Total 2020 miles: 184.5*


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## ChasingDreams

My daughter (4) has only ridden Chase alone in the ring once or twice, and always with me just an arms reach away. I’ve done a couple lunge sessions with her, and lots of leading and riding with her in the saddle with me. We’ve gone down the lane and around the front field a few times.

Chase is very quiet in the ring and in general (lazy boy [emoji23]), but being young and green, I don’t trust him enough to venture into the woods with her. I’ve thought about it, maybe getting a buddy saddle, but he is capable of some pretty big spooks even if they are few and far between. So, I’ve decided against it. 











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## Jolien

I rode over 40 kilometres in 3 days (3 different trail ride companies). For some unknown reasons they put me in the advanced group yesterday (I clearly told them I had only been riding for a year) so I got this big horse that was really gentle towards me while I was standing besides her. While riding she spooked and jumped up in the air to run away. I have never experienced a spook so I pulled her back and turned her around (riding bitless). After a few metres I was able to turn her around. While standing still (on another occasion) she agressively lashed out and kicked out hard towards the horse behind us. By that time I was getting light headed and anxious.  Since they put me in the advanced group we had to canter alot and I find the transition from trotting to cantering difficult when my horse decides when to do so and not me... (I asked the person leading us what the signals were to get the horse to canter but he said ''oh we are not that advanced, just kick her untill she does'').  He wanted me to whip the horse during cantering when she started to trot again but I told him I never use a whip and the coordination is too difficulty for me (staying in the seat, not losing stirrups, steering, not hitting trees)... While we were cantering pretty hard I saw that my horse was thinking about lashing out and kicking the rider behind us so I steered her head forward and bumped her in the cadans on her body in the hopes this would encourage her to keep running and focus her attention on me... I had already noticed she didn't respond at all to pressure while cantering so I decided to bump her... I found this to be very difficult for me because I had to: steer her clear from obstacles (she was very dead to steering too), keep my seat loose so I didn't bump (this I can do), press my feet a little bit in the stirrups to not loose them and at the same time use my leg muscles to bump the horse. I was also focusing on my hands. You can imagine I was really focused and not exactly enjoying the moment. lol. 

At the end of the ride they said to me that I was in the advanced group so they would have just left me if I couldn't tag along becaue they weren't going to stop. They also asked if I had lied about my experience (I didn't and I can canter for minutes, I ride fast reining horses BUT I was scared and anxious...)  I felt really bad and disrespected about how they treated me. But I was too confused to day anything about it... They also made me sign a contract before we went riding. It said that all injuries and death during a ride were our own responsibility. I am for sure never going back there again. This is the second time I tried another trail ride experience and the second time it was not that good.


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## weeedlady

@Jolien sorry that your ride was not fun for you.


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## LoriF

Jolien said:


> @knightrider my dad was on a horse from age 1.5. He rode alone from age 3... They had a farm and he used to take a big draft with him to a fence, he climbed up the fence and after that mounted the horse... They were voice trained so he could just tell them where to go. Not very responsible if you ask me, letting your kids pony around the farm on their own at that age...
> My best friend has a good horse, I trust the horse but I still wouldn't trust my nephew on him, not even when I or my friend rides with him. So he will have to wait. Also my sister isn't that hot for horses... I think she is going to lynch me for making her kid horse interested haha.


Yeah, may be irresponsible by today's standards for sure. But, I grew up in an era with a lot more freedom and I can't say that I would wish to trade that for today's way of going.


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## phantomhorse13

I got more saddle time last week. The whole story is in my journal.

Monday, I rode with Gina in the morning. I rode Amish:



















That evening, DH and I got George and Link out:



















Tuesday, I got Iggy out first:



















Next up was George:



















Then was Link, for a solo ride:


















2020 mileage
...
7/13 amish 6.05 miles 912 ft climb 3.5 mph 83F 1433.36 total miles
7/13 link 3.88 miles 413 ft climb 3.0 mph 85F 1437.24 total miles
7/14 iggy 6.02 miles 1089 ft climb 4.3 mph 80F 1443.26 total miles
7/14 george 4.82 miles 561 ft climb 4.9 mph 82F 1448.08 total miles
7/14 link 2.32 miles 200 ft climb 3.1 mph 84F *1450.40 total miles*


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## carshon

Daughter and I rode on Sunday. Saturday was miserably hot and humid with the heat indexes into the 100's. She goes back to school in 2 weeks so we have been trying to ride as often as we can so we got up early Sunday to try and beat the heat. It was 80 degrees at 7 AM when we headed out on the trail. There was rain forecast for later in the day so it was still stifling with the thick humidity. We decided to ride about half the park - the horses were in tip top form even thought it was hot and sticky. We rode with fly masks on the horses because the bugs were bad even at the trailer. Tillie HATES being ridden with a fly mask on. It must distort her sight just enough that she becomes spooky - and when Miss Tillie is spooky she is more forward than usual. So we headed out at a brisk gait. While trying to pick not to strenuous trails we went on a logging road and Tillie and Sawyer decided to fight to see who would be in the lead. Tillie was doing some really weird gait between a flat walk and a running walk - I am guessing it was a stepping pace but very uncomfortable - but she was fighting me trying to hold her back and was tossing her head and flinging it in the air. It did not help that the deer flies and horse flies were out in swarms and both horses just wanted to get away from them. That set the pace for the remainder of the ride - both horses vying for the lead. What was meant to be a leisurely ride on a humid morning was a brisk tour of the park. My daughter and I had a blast! We cantered up hills - gaited on trails and raced on the wide spots. I actually think the horses liked it! We ride 5 miles in a little over an hour. Both horses were very sweat soaked and got a good hose down and an alfalfa pellet mash when we got back to the trailer. Once cooled down we loaded up and headed home. The girls were back in the pasture before 9AM.


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## Jolien

@weeedlady I enjoyed my ride  I was just very anxious, lol.  I guess I had a bad day. The owner of the trail was rude but the other riders were really kind towards me.  They encouraged me to keep trying and even offered to switch horses if I would feel safer. I don't think it was a bad horse though, she was really sweet and cuddly but just a little bit not well trained enough maybe (??) The horses are all abused rescue horses if I understood correctly... Maybe the horse had a past... who knows. 

The thing that bothered me the most was the rudeness of the owner. I don't like that kind of people. I costs you nothing to be kind towards other people...


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## Jolien

LoriF said:


> Yeah, may be irresponsible by today's standards for sure. But, I grew up in an era with a lot more freedom and I can't say that I would wish to trade that for today's way of going.



fair point. The horses were safe coldbloods and I guess my grandpa didn't have the time to farm and watch al his little kids' every move...  

The government tries to restrict everything it really annoys me. I am also the kind of person that would like to be left alone to do what she wants (read: i have a problem with authority lol)  You can't even bike around your friends! They stopped me telling me it is illegal to ride with two adult persons on one bike and that they would fine me if they would catch me again...


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## PoptartShop

We have to do some maintenance with the trails around the property because some stuff is overgrown, but the trails are really nice so far!  Didn't go that far (first day exploring the new area) but I am excited to keep exploring! The trails go back really far.

We also saw 3 deer whiz in front of us like 10ft away, but Promise didn't even care. :lol:


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## LoriF

Jolien said:


> fair point. The horses were safe coldbloods and I guess my grandpa didn't have the time to farm and watch al his little kids' every move...
> 
> The government tries to restrict everything it really annoys me. I am also the kind of person that would like to be left alone to do what she wants (read: i have a problem with authority lol)  You can't even bike around your friends! They stopped me telling me it is illegal to ride with two adult persons on one bike and that they would fine me if they would catch me again...


Lol, some people THINK that I have a problem with authority but I really don't. What I have a problem with is abuse of authority. These days, the only authority that I have to deal with is at work and I just do what they say because that is what they are paying me for. Unless they are asking for something dangerous or asking me to break a rule that is dangerous, then the brakes go on and I toss their rule book back to them.


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## phantomhorse13

Got more saddle time! The whole story is in my journal.

Last Wednesday, I got Phin out:



















That evening, I rode with my SIL. I rode Honey:



















Sunday, DH and I got George and Link out:



















Monday, I got George out:


















2020 mileage
...
7/15 phin 6.06 miles 981 ft climb 4.4 mph 80F 1456.46 total miles
7/15 honey 6.44 miles 659 ft climb 3.4 mph 85F 1462.90 total miles
7/19 link 3.85 miles 394 ft climb 2.8 mph 99F 1466.75 total miles
7/20 george 7.47 miles 1647 ft climb 5.2 mph 86F *1474.22 total miles*


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## ChasingDreams

@PoptartShop the first couple photos look so similar to where I ride that I started to wonder if maybe you moved to my barn and I didn’t even know it [emoji23][emoji23]

Looks super nice, glad you are having fun exploring your new trails!


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## Celeste

I hadn't ridden Dillon in a little while because his feet grew so fast that the shoes needed changing early. The farrier came out and took care of both of the horses that I ride on Monday. 

Tuesday, I got up early to beat the heat and took Dillon out. He was good but very nervous. He had the feeling of sitting on a rocket that might launch, but never actually did. He needs riding at least weekly. 

I got up early again this morning. I was going to ride him again to settle him down. Two trucks went down the dirt road pretty fast, so I decided to take out Princess instead. I got her groomed, sprayed for flies, put swat on ears and such, put on her overreach boots. I was just about to saddle her, when a whole convoy of heavy road equipment came through. 

I took off her bridle and the overreach boots and put her in the barn in hopes of riding soon, but they are working a long stretch of the dirt road. There is just no way I am taking her past all that equipment and all those ruffians. It has gotten too hot now. Dangit. Maybe tomorrow. 

I wouldn't feel so disappointed if I hadn't been sleeping so nicely. 

I may be able to take the dog out with the 4-wheeler for a short run. She knew we were about to go and is probably more disappointed than I am. 

Yesterday got me up to 175 miles.


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## weeedlady

We finally had a morning that was cool enough to ride! It felt good to get out, even if it was just for 3 miles around the same corn field. Raven thought so too. Things are starting to look different now as the seasons change.


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## weeedlady

And I got out again this morning!
Tucker thinks I am the meanest mom ever. “How can you ask me to go back and forth between these rows of corn and expect me not to eat?”
Don’t be fooled. He managed to steal plenty.

I love the smell of a corn field in the summer.


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## Celeste

I got out for a ride with my Princess. She was eager to go. She got annoyed waiting for Clay to let the dog loose to come along. We had a really fun ride. Lots of trotting and cantering. Also some of the most peaceful walking on a totally loose rein. It was a great, fun ride. 

When I got in after getting her showered and turned out and getting all the other horses situated and fed the chickens and such, I was tired. I took a nap. I took a nap for the entire afternoon. 

#notaspringchicken

Oh well. I won't get to do a lot of riding this next week because I have a ton of paperwork that I have to finish.


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## egrogan

Yesterday we went over 200 miles for the year! Bugs were just the slightest bit better, which was appreciated.









Refreshing in the creek


















Lots of hay being cut and baled the past week








*Total 2020 miles: 206.2*


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## ChasingDreams

I feel like it’s been ages since I could post. I rode one time, but it was so stinking hot and humid that it was only 15-20 minutes in the ring. Any more than that could be considered animal abuse. We also took a walk one morning, in-hand; but even at 7am it was hot, buggy, and sticky, and we were both drenched with sweat after about 10 minutes.

Yesterday, the temp finally dropped below 90 while still daylight! For the first time in a good week and a half. So, with a temp right around 82 and a slight breeze... it finally felt OK to hit the trails. We still took it slow, but it was so nice to get out. Picture heavy, since it’s been a bit I felt the need to make up for lost time.








The top woods were lovely, not too many bugs, so we poked around spotting deer and enjoying the scenery.










































The quarry was awful with flies, deer flies swarming and horse flies biting... so we trotted a good bit to get through it as quickly as possible. I’ll probably not go back to those trails now until they start to die-off. 










The sun was setting on our way back. That made for a few pretty pictures. We also had a couple wildlife encounters. A monarch butterfly that landed on a branch right next to us. He let me get my camera right up next to him, and instead of flying away... he started to display his wings as I got up close. So cool! 










































Right before the barn, I decided to stop at the little stream so Chase could get a drink and ran into a few nice buck coming out of the woods. They didn’t mind us at all, I had to make weird noises to get them to even look at me for photos. Chase probably thought I lost my mind LOL.

























2020 miles ~ 190.3


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## charrorider

ChasingDreams. Does your horse see fine with the fly mask on? I have used them a couple of times on my horses, but I don't feel like they see the same way they would without a mask (specially deep in the woods)? 

I went out for only the third time this month. Eight miles (13 km). If you all think you're behind in you riding time, look at me. Between my surgery, my two horses hurt, tons of rain in the spring and early summer, and then heat index that reached into the 110+ for most of this month, I've only ridden 129 miles (209 km) for 2020.


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## ChasingDreams

@charrorider this fly mask is made for riding, it’s a finer mesh than a standard pasture fly mask. I feel like he can see fine, and having flies all over his face and ears would be much worse for him. He’d be constantly shaking and tossing his head. With this, he’s much calmer... even mid-swarm.


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## charrorider

ChasingDreams. The fly masks I have are also made for riding. I have the ones made by Absorbine and Cashel. But I still feel that my horses don't see as well. Maybe is the Arabian blood. lol. I use an ear bonnet, sprayed with fly deterrent. That does a good job for several hours.


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## carshon

My horse Tillie hates riding with a fly mask on. She has a Cashel Quiet ride mask and is spooky and hesitant with it on. She wears a fly mask at home in the pasture more than 12 hours a day - I thought she would not mind one for riding. But she does. My daughter's mare rides fine in one


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## knightrider

Had a lot of fun introducing a fearful new rider to horses. This man is the fiancé of one of my daughter's riding friends. He was so afraid of horses, that he wouldn't get near them. The riding friend introduced horses to him in baby steps, first letting him approach them, pet noses, and after several years, lead them. Two years ago, he got on a horse for the first time, for about 15 seconds.

Yesterday, he agreed to actually ride a horse. I chose Isabeau, who loves to take care of beginner riders. I figured he would ride about 10 minutes around the pasture and then announce, "OK, I did it. I proved I could ride. Can we go in now?"

That did not happen. My daughter's riding friend had trained him well. He led Isabeau to the mounting block and mounted swiftly and smoothly. He rode correctly (she had practiced with him on fences and chairs) and quietly.

After 10 minutes, he said he was really liking it, so we left the pasture and rode to a neighbor's place who has lots of trees and quiet places to ride. We rode all around there, and he was still having an amazing time, so we went across the road to another neighbor's place and rode 30 more minutes. In total we rode 1 hour and 15 minutes, and he dismounted, smiling, saying he wasn't a bit sore, and he loved it. He's riding again with us tomorrow, out on a real trail.

It made me very happy.


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## weeedlady

Raven and I had a great morning. The weather was perfect. We rode 4 miles and I even let her open up a bit. She loves to run. We hit 14 mph and she was just getting started. Then home on a loose rein. What a good mare today!















so today I finally hit 100 miles for the year. Yay me, lol.


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## phantomhorse13

Last Thursday, DH and I trekked south to Virginia for our first ride of the season!! The whole story is in my journal.

Friday, I rode Phin in the 55 miler:

































On Saturday, I rode Lapco in the 30 miler:
































2020 mileage
...
7/24 phin 53.45 miles 7297 ft climb 5.5 mph 90F 1527.67 total miles
7/25 lapco 33.5 miles 4669 ft climb 5.6 mph 99F 1561.17 total miles


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## rambo99

Haven't posted here for a long while. Last ride we did was Monday. Ended up being a easy short ride as ice was really off. Not his usual self,slow was happy to follow and get left behind. Totally out of character for him. 

Tuesday morning he was really sick 103.4 temp and totally off feed an not drinking water. So my week was spent doctoring him back to health. He seems a lot better now.

Need to do last IV oxytetracycline treatment, then can remove catheter after. Something I wasn't super comfortable doing. But vet walked me through it. Plus wrote down the direction on what to do. Ice survived and I got less nervous after first time doing the treatment. 

One other ride from earlier in July was a fun ride on a beautiful day. So some pictures from last two rides. 

One picture of ice drugged up after catheter was put in Tuesday. He was pretty pathetic boy ,I spent a lot of my day checking on him. 

Beautiful pictures from everyone wow love them all.


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## phantomhorse13

@rambo99 : so sorry to hear about Ice - hope he is on the road to recovery! does he have a tick-bourne illness?


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## Saigold

Went on another off property ride on Friday. Same place as last time, around the lake. But avoided the bridge this time. There were 4 of us. My youngest niece (14yo) rode Montana. I rode Duke and had two friends with us. It was a nice not overly hot, easy going ride. The only time we had an issue on the trail was when our older paint wanted to buddy up to the 4 yo mare, and she kicked him in the hip area. I wasn’t there to witness it as I went on foot to see if we could scout a way to get around the bridge. I’m happy that Montana seemed to be ok. Wasn’t too happy that the lady said nothing about her horse being a kicker ahead of time and there was no red ribbon. 

We ended up turning around and going the same way we came as the lady with the horse that kicked never had her horse on the road yet. Duke slowed right down on the way back, and kept wanting to go to other trails instead of back. He wanted to try a bike trail that almost ended up in me eating low hanging branches lol. But he was good and came back out and we continued on. Almost back to the trailers we ended up going in the lake for a bit. Really nice ride overall. Did a total of 9km.


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## knightrider

Today my neighbor and I decided to see if the Anatolian people were still keeping their dogs up. When I take the teens and young adults, I don't go down that road any more. I don't want to endanger my child or other people's children.

But my neighbor and I have been riding all our lives and have good quiet horses, so we risk it. The trails past those dogs are wonderful--few flies, shady, cool, lots of fun. The dogs came running out when we headed out the trail, but did not catch us in time to bother us. On the way back, it was a different story. The dogs were waiting for us. I had Isabeau and pushed her into a fast corto. I have learned this year, from dealing with 3 sets of biting dogs, to just hurry on past. The dogs are aggressive because they want me and my horse out of there . . . and I am more than willing to be out of there, so everybody's happy.

My neighbor thinks he can "fix" things, so he stopped to scold the dogs, yelling at them, "Go home" and "Git" which does not work. I was yelling, "Move move! Go on! Don't stop!" because I knew the dogs would not respond to any orders. He stopped, the aggressive dog bit his horse, and he transferred his scolding from the dogs to the owner, who came out to watch. "Call your dog! It's biting my horse!"

Isabeau and I kept on trucking down the road getting away. My neighbor wants to film the dogs going after horses and persue the issue. I am happy just going fast, getting away from the dogs, and enjoying that lovely trail. The dogs cannot be controlled. The owners have no interest in controlling them.

One set of dogs moved away, the set that we had to pass every ride. The other set is on a road that is swarming with horrible flies, so we won't go that way until October. They respond well to the Dog Dazer, so I don't worry about them. That just leaves the Anatolian Shepherds, and I only ride that way when we have a lot of time because it takes so long to get to those trails. And I just scoot away when the dogs come out. It's icky, but it's OK.

Here are my end of July totals:

61.5 hours
202.95 miles

Yearly totals:
455 hours
1,501.5 miles


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## Carol Reyner Barnett

Love this


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## rambo99

@phantomhorse13. Ice had anaplasmosis. He's feeling better but not a 100 percent yet.


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## weeedlady

@knightrider I think your approach is the right one. Just move on past quickly and don't escalate the situation with the dogs. 
Your neighbor is probably justified in wanting to pursue the issue, but what will that accomplish? Nothing probably except even more bad feelings.
@rambo99 hoping Ice continues to improve. 

Nothing happening in my world. Hope to ride tomorrow and planning to trailer out, pick up my friend and her horse, and ride on Friday. Fingers crossed nothing gets in the way of that plan. We've not been "out" riding since February!


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## ChasingDreams

I had a ride Saturday morning. It was very humid yet, but partly cloudy and a bit cooler than it has been, so better. I had planned to ride alone, but just as I was finishing tacking up... the cute palomino, Teddy’s, owner arrived to ride. I offered to wait for her so we could ride together, and she was happy for the company as well.

Teddy and Chase have very similar riding personalities. Both are strangely much more bold alone than they are with company, and both prefer to follow rather than lead. So, we had to play a little “who goes first” in some spots with both “acting” scared in places they totally weren’t. For example, both spooked in place at a butterfly at least once during the ride  Nothing big, they were both very good overall... it was just, comical. It was a fun ride and I’m happy we were able to go out together for a change.

Of course I didn’t take any pictures, too busy chatting and laughing at our cowardly horses. But, we did see many more beautiful butterflies, had a brief encounter with the cows at the top gate, and enjoyed a short canter at the quarry. 








2020 miles~ 193.4


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## charrorider

Been able to get out twice since I last posted a ride, here. This isn't bad for me, 2 rides in 5 days. I was forced to cut one of the rides short because Chance lost a hoof boot on one of his front feet and it is too rocky, here, to have no protection on the front feet. Hope the rest of the month brings more opportunities to ride. Saw a lot of deer and even some fawns.


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## phantomhorse13

Got more saddle time last week! The whole story is in my journal.

Last Sunday, DH and I got George and Link out:



















Last Monday, I went over to ride with Nicole. I rode Polo:










































Tuesday, I got George out:



















Thursday, I got George out again:



















Then I worked with Link, who tried some new footwear:









July - 230.83 miles
Phin: 78.74
Iggy: 35.18
Lapco: 33.5
George: 32.98
Amish: 12.0
Polo: 7.33
Honey: 6.44
Aztec: 5.4


2020 mileage
...
7/26 link 4.05 miles 554 ft climb 3.0 mph 95F 1565.22 total miles
7/27 polo 7.33 miles 633 ft climb 5.0 mph 96F 1572.55 total miles
7/28 george 7.9 miles 1319 ft climb 5.0 mph 98F 1580.45 total miles
7/30 george 7.54 miles 965 ft climb 5.4 mph 92F 1587.99 total miles
7/30 link 0.42 miles 23 ft climb 3.3 mph 95F *1588.41 total miles*


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## CaliforniaDreaming

I'll be logging all my trail miles from here on out, since I signed Mitch and myself up for the Virtual Tevis Ride. Only way he and I are ever gonna do it because he's 21 (still going strong, but I have no illusions about the Mighty Floof) and I know he just won't make it on the real thing. I was happy to toss in my $68 bucks for the virtual ride though since it was a fundraiser since the actual ride got cancelled.


I couldn't register till yesterday, so we got a bit of a late start. We made it out of "Virtual Robie Park" today though and are 3 miles down the trail headed for "Virtual Watson". We got to say hello to our goat friends we met on our last virtual endurance ride.




















































It'll probably take us the whole 100 days to finish this thing, although I hope I can haul off property a few times to pick up more miles because our barn trails aren't super stellar and can get boring after a few loops.


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## egrogan

Just catching up with this thread after a lot of riding last week. Had a couple of good mid-week solo rides. The weather was pretty hot and steamy, but the bugs are finally getting a little better.













































That was good preparation for doing 25 miles this past Saturday/Sunday with my riding buddy M. Our local horse association was sponsoring competitive trail rides both days, but my friend and I entered as pleasure riders since we knew we'd be too slow for completion of the competitive option. Still, we got to ride the same trail as the competitive riders, and loved seeing scenery we don't typically have access to (landowners open their trails for the ride weekend but it's typically posted/off limits).












































As with any ride that long, we had a few "interesting" situations: broken reins, chatty neighbors, a galloping herd of horses charging the fenceline when we passed, bucking ponies wanting to leave their field to join us, evil llamas, people searching for a lost horse another rider had fallen off of, 50 dairy cows loudly eating dinner, and aggressive dogs being chased through our horses' legs by their angry owner. Phew. Fortunately our horses kept their composure through it all, and we enjoyed our time on the trail!

@*CaliforniaDreaming* , have fun with your virtual Tevis ride! I was considering joining a team for the virtual Mongol Derby, but didn't get my act together in time to coordinate with some folks I met via Facebook so missed out. But I will enjoy living vicariously through people who signed up for the various rides.


*Total 2020 mileage: 239.2*


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## knightrider

*Skunks*

Never encountered so many skunks as we have this year! What's with the skunks? I usually see one or two a year.

Yesterday I had my teens and young adults along including a beginner who used to be terrified of horses, wouldn't even touch them. He went on his second trail ride, and did amazing.

We were riding through the woods, with me on Chorro in the lead, when a skunk came out of the underbrush right next to me. There was an alternate path right there and I took it leading away from the skunk. One of the young people asked me, "Are you sure it was a skunk?" Well, yeah, if I had been skilled enough, I could have leaned down from the saddle and scooped it up, I was that close. Yuck. It was all black with one white stripe from ear to ear across the head.

Today my neighbor and I headed out for a looong ride (for us). We were far out on gorgeous trails, nothing more beautiful in Florida, in my opinion, lots of hills and vistas. I was on Acicate today, because my neighbor's new gray mare likes to spin, back up, and do little pop up rears when she comes to a trail leading home. She'll follow Aci nicely. Funny because Aci used to do that exact thing--except big rearing--which is how I got him. But he's really good now, and he's the horse my neighbor wants in the front. Chorro does huge side leap spooks. Windy wants to slow down and look at everything, and Isabeau doesn't like leading and regularly tells me she doesn't think she should ever have to lead. She'll lead, but it isn't pretty.

So we were enjoying the most beautiful trails in Florida when suddenly, a skunk appeared right next to Aci. I was going to turn my horse around, but we were past the skunk by then. I yelled to my riding buddy that a skunk was heading towards him. The skunk scuttled almost under Aci's feet, and came straight towards the gray mare, tail lifted menacingly. It spun around, thought about spraying the mare, but decided discretion was the better part of valor, and waddled across in front of the mare and into the woods. This skunk today was the standard black with white stripes.

As I said last time, I am thinking these are young skunks leaving their dens looking for their own homes. But, really, I just as soon not see any more.


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## QueenofFrance08

I ended up riding 45 miles this weekend!

Last week I found out that a bunch of endurance riders were camping at one of my favorite parks that is a little over an hour away. They invited me to join them when I made a post on FB asking if anyone would ride with Lilo and I over the weekend. Unfortunately all of the campsites were taken but I didn't have any problem driving out for the day and an endurance rider who lives on the outside of the park offered to let me stay in her yard overnight if I wanted. 

Lilo and I packed up Saturday and met another girl who came to ride for the day in the fellow endurance rider's yard (she runs a boarding barn so there is plenty of room to park!) we moseyed off towards camp in an attempt to meet up with the camping group and were thrilled to meet them on the trail right away! We went for a speedy 9 miles having to stop a few times for the less fit horses (including Lilo) to catch a breath. Two of the ladies invited us over to their campsite for lunch and a ranger drove by and so we asked if there was anywhere I could camp as we noticed the site next to them was open. They told us they would check into it because they had some sites closed for COVID restrictions and others closed for flooding but they thought they could probably find room for me. We asked them to leave a note on one of the camper's windshields and went out for another 3 miles with the small group at a slower pace. When we came back there was a note saying I could have the empty spot next to them. The ladies offered to ride us back to where our trailers were parked so I could move in to my temporary home. While on our way there we got rained on a bit which made for a soggy packing up and moving to the campground. We hit exactly 14 miles of riding on my GPS when we got back to the trailer.

We had a great evening and my friend's shared their dinner with me (because they said my packed pb&j sandwiches weren't acceptable!) and then a bonfire with the large group. We headed to bed at 10:30 and I was invited to bacon and eggs at 7:15 before our Sunday ride.

The two ladies and I headed out for our Sunday ride and got to expolore the rest of the park that was open (unfortunately heavy rains had closed several of the trails for flooding) and did another 14.5 miles. Lilo was incredible all weekend and never misbehaved one bit. She was a little tired at the end and I would have liked to have shoes on her because we had some boot issues all weekend but I couldn't have asked for better behavior for a just turned 5 year old! She got many compliments on her behavior and temperament all weekend! 

Monday, a friend and I took the day off to go measure a trail for the ride manager of our August 15th ride that just got approved. I brought Chico who was mad at me for leaving him at home for the weekend. We drove up 2 hours to the park and were able to snag a spot on a gravel road across from the local bar which is right next to the pasture we rent as camp for our ride. The trails turned out to be in rougher shape than we hoped (at one part we were supposed to enter a trail off a private road we had approval to be on and we found out there wasn't any trail for the first 1500 feet and had to off road through the woods!). Another trail looked like it hasn't been used since our ride last September and was very overgrown. My friend had some boot issues (Chico thankfully is shod all around so no issues for me in that area) and I took a spill when a log spooked Chico so hard he tripped over himself and went down hard tossing me in the process. Thankfully we were both fine (other than I literally ate dirt) and able to finish the loop. He seemed to find more energy as we rode and was still very enthusiastic when we finished our ride which made me happy. The loop was supposed to be 20 miles but my GPS said 16.5 which means it was likely closer to 18 miles. 

Great extended weekend with lots of riding!


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## phantomhorse13

More saddle time! The whole story is in my journal.

Saturday, we got George and Link out first thing:




























That evening, rode with my SIL. I rode Amish:



















Yesterday, I got Iggy out first thing:



















Then, I got Link out for a solo ride:


















2020 mileage
...
8/1 link 6.26 miles 981 ft climb 2.9 mph 88F 1594.67 total miles
8/1 amish 7.71 miles 1247 ft climb 3.2 mph 83F 1602.38 total miles
8/3 iggy 7.02 miles 909 ft climb 5.0 mph 83F 1609.40 total miles
8/3 link 3.25 miles 299 ft climb 3.0 mph 85F *1612.65 total miles*


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## knightrider

*Skunks again*

Can you believe it? I encountered not one, but TWO skunks on this morning's ride!

I was riding Windy solo. I was really happy because Windy is doing better and better at solo riding. Once I made up my mind that I was going to keep Windy, no matter what my daughter did, I knew I would want a horse that would ride solo. She's still not exactly fun to ride--ploddy going out and hyper and animated going home. But now days she is safe-- ploddy and hyper, but basically safe. No rearing, bolting, or plunging any more.

What's with these skunks anyhow? Today in the woods, we came across the standard black with white stripes. And then 15 minutes later, we encountered a black one with a white stripe across the head. Windy hates cows and pigs, but skunks don't bother her a bit. The skunks are not the least bit afraid of Windy and me, either. I really don't like coming so close to skunks on almost every ride!

Here are pictures of black ones, and a picture of a white one that I encountered not far from the other ones on a different day. Are they like cats and produce all different colors? Or separate species all living in the same forest?


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## weeedlady

Wow @knightrider you are seeing a lot of skunks!

I don't think they are different species of skunks. As I understand it, skunks are, as you suggested, like cats and can show up in many different patterns. Of course, they are always black and white. At least I THINK they are always black and white.

If anyone is going to see a skunk of a different color it will be you!  

My dog chased a skunk last week and unfortunately she got to close before I could call her off. Oh my! Oh my. That was not fun. She still smells a bit when it rains. Hope it goes away eventually.

My ride for Friday got rescheduled. We are going tomorrow instead. I'm really looking forward to this. It's been forever!


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## CaliforniaDreaming

Picked up a few more miles yesterday! Mitch got his hi-jinxs out before we started by playing "social distance keep away" when he saw me coming with the halter. I may have to resort to making a pocket halter so I can cookie-bribe (it's not that he doesn't want to be ridden, but he's my only riding horse, so if he sees me coming, he knows whats going down and maaaaaaybe he'd rather eat his hay or something. Perks up and goes out, ears forward once we get out on the trails though so I know it's all an act)


We did 2.16 miles in the arena as warmup, doing walk. trot canter (which is how I managed to get 10 MPH outta this boy, definitely not a Thoroughbred. 😂) and then went off for the rest of our mileage on the ranch trails.











Off we go!




















Golf course off to the right, and to the left, less than a mile away is the big shopping plaza with a Costco. Love my barn. Trails aren't crazy great and we can't hack off the way other places can, but we're closer to 'civilization' and haven't had to evacuate from fire nearly as often as they do.










Hello smol goot we meet again.










On the creekside of the ranch ... green things!











Side trail time!










Thorough the avocados










I hopped off at 4 miles so we could walk for a bit. We juuuuust passed the shortcut turnoff that goes back down to his paddock, so he got stubborn about going on. But then we did.






















We've got a total of 8.53 miles, which means we're ~5 miles out from "Virtual Watson's Monument" which will be our first Achievement Unlocked. today I'm only planning to do a few miles because I'll be hauling out tomorrow to meet up with a friend for a socially distanced ride which should put us right into "Watson" on the map and maybe just a bit past it.


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## knightrider

This is probably more than anyone wanted to know about stripes and colors of skunks, but I got curious, so I googled skunk stripe patterns. Here is a synopsis of what I learned:

"No two skunks' stripes look exactly the same. Some striped skunks have thicker stripes, while others have thinner ones, for example. Some also may have shorter or longer stripes than others. Sibling skunks may even look very different, stripes-wise. One wee skunk in a litter may appear practically free of stripes, while his brother may have especially thick and conspicuous ones. Skunk litters generally consist of between 5 and 6 young ones, all of which can have totally different patterns of stripes."

"Other Types of Skunks

Striped skunks are by no means the only type of skunk; however, they are definitely the most prevalent species within North America, according to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. For example, the Eastern spotted skunk (Spilogale putorius) does not have standard stripes, but still is born with its own very obvious lined pattern."

So . . . @weeedlady, you are right. All those different patterned skunks I've been seeing are probably all the same species, just different patterns, like kittens. Oh, and baby skunks are called kittens, something else you probably didn't care to know.


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## Celeste

For the first time since my daughter got bucked off of a 17 hand draft cross and broke some ribs a little over 2 years ago, she decided that she would like to ride again. She rode in the yard for about 20 minutes yesterday, and when it looked like her old pony was going to do well, she wanted to do a short trail ride with me today. We rode 2 miles. I was so worried about the pony (large pony, small adult on her), but she didn't break a sweat. I think she had a great time. We just walked which pained Dillon but was good for his soul.

Total for year: 180


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## rambo99

Been out riding a few times since ice has been better. Rode today daughter an I traded horses for a bit. As her horse was being naughty. He seemed just fine while I rode ,once we traded back he did good for daughter. 

Did one longer ride a loop that goes by a lake. Had fun but ice got tired so not quite himself yet. I hopped off him and lead him for a while. 

Today he did much better but we did a shorter loop. Here are some pictures from both rides.


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## carshon

I had a few days off of work and had lots of riding time. Mother Nature gave us the gift of fall weather at the end of July to early August and we took advantage of it. Hubby had the weekend off of work as well. Daughter left for college today so we wanted to spend as much time with her as possible as we are not sure when she will be home again due to COVID. 

Friday night we went to our local park. We rode the short loop (about 4 miles) and cantered and gaited A LOT! I loved it and so did Miss Tillie as she loves to go fast. Hubby has not had a chance to ride much this year and his horse has been dealing with some white line separation and boots that no longer fit well. So he rode barefoot and his mare was great! Not so bad for a horse who was chronically foundered before we got her 4 years ago! 

Daughter and I rode again on Sunday - we rode early as we had things to do that day. Tillie and I had a minor mishap. We were gaiting on a grassy stretch and the grass was very wet with dew and as we gaited around a fairly sharp curve Tillie's feet slipped out from under her. BAM before I knew it she was laying on top of me with my leg underneath of her. Like slow motion I watched as my left foot came out of the stirrup as she stood up. God Bless her heart my anxious flighty horse ran a little ways and then came back to my daughters horse where she stood there and trembled. I got up thankful we landed in the tall grass next to the trail. My new hip suffered no damage from a horse laying on it so I felt great. The only issue I had was finding a log to use to mount back up! The rest of the ride was uneventful - although Tillie was very hesitant to gait more. My daughter was scared and worried that I had really hurt myself - but other than being a little sore and having a couple of bruises all was well.

Hubby, daughter and I then rode again on Tuesday. We had so much fun! We trailed to a park about an hour away. Hubby had boot problems (slipping and turning) so he decided to try barefoot again. I am happy to say that although tender on rocks his mare did great! Lots of steep ravines and water crossings at this park as well as open prairie to ride in. We rode for a few hours and headed home to cook on the grill. I had a lovely few days off. And now back to work and the 500 emails I received the 3 days I was off.


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## Saigold

Trailered to a different conservation area yesterday, almost riding at the beach, but not quite. We had to stay in the forest area. But the footing was all compact sand. It was so cushy! We did some trotting and cantering and was great fun. We did get swarmed by deer flies at one point but we’re able to outrun some and killed off a lot of them that the ride became pleasant again. 
The lady that was our guide rides a paso fino and it’s amazing how seemingly fast and effortlessly they ‘walk’ away and disappear from view. She also let me try to ride her horse and wow what a big difference in how it feels.


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## CaliforniaDreaming

Yesterday, I only did 1.47 miles to get us up to 10 miles total. I was trying Horse Tracker as an app, and loved the map, but hated that it didn't track my stats as nicely as I wanted without buying the subscription. According to the Tevis map on the virtual ride page, at 10 miles, we would be passing through Squaw Valley near the ski lifts and the 1960 Olympic Village if we were on the ride itself.






















We got a *LOT* of miles today though! I hauled over to the private stable where one of my friends boards her horses which is fairly adjacent to Hope Ranch (one of the places where the rich people in our area live, the other place is Montecito further down the freeway -- Orlando Bloom has a house there) and they have amazing horse trails. I was allowed to use their small arena to warm Mitch up while she was tacking up, so we did some walk trot, canter. I didn't want to wear him out knowing what we had ahead, but wanted to let him get some bucks out. He got a little squirrely after we got started because there was a horse on the other side of the hedge along the trail, and he was just doing those little popping bucks as we went along. Gotta love him, 21 and he's still chugging along. Had a great time going along trails that i remember fondly from years of riding, even if it had been a long time since we went on them. We got lost just a bit because we went on a trail that neither of us had been on in years, laughed about what we'd find around the next bend, and made it back to more familiar trails. Got a total of 9.9 miles for 3 hours and 16 minutes of riding.


After our ride, I untacked Mitch, loaded up my tack in my trailer and grabbed my ice chest with all my snacks, and he got to hang out in the small arena for a while as my friend and I socially distance chatted over snacks. It was nice to let Mitch relax a bit before we headed home. (And we took an unscheduled detour to Walgreens on the way home because it has a big parking lot and I could park my trailer by the pharmacy drive through and run in to get some iced tea because I was dying of thirst even though I had water on the ride)










The memorial bridge, ponies clipped-clopped over happily. Guess there weren't any trolls lurking underneath, but maybe if there were, they were waiting for billy goats gruff.










This is one of my favorite fountains. I haven't been by it in years, but it is a good place to stop and water the horses. Mitch always loved to splash and play in it.










The Fjord wouldn't really drink till Mitch did.










I love how shaded and cool the trails are here. It's definitely one of my favorite places to ride. We switched between leading which is good, as both horses are used to going out alone, so we were able to keep a pretty good distance between each other. It did mean we had to shout a little to talk, but it was all good.










This was nice to ride through











This was part of the trail I didn't really remember having ridden before, but it was a lot of fun to explore!











Stopped at another water fountain. I had to hop off here to adjust my girth and saddle, and Mitch almost tried to go swimming (got one foot in, I had to pull it out) Silly old pony.










And heading back towards the barn where my friend boards. Oh look! it's us! All matchy-matchy.










Was trying Equilab today. I think I might like it better than Endomondo. Because I love the map, and don't really need to subscribe to see better stats.










We went aaaaaaaaaallll over.


And since we now have 19,9 miles along the virtual Tevis trail, we passed our first milestone at Mile 14.










I love how interactive the virtual ride page is. It gives you history of the ride, the milestones you pass, and that really makes it fun! I hope they do this annually since it seems to be so popular. There's something like 664 people doing this on horseback, and we're #125 so far! Our next milestone is "Lyon Ridge" at 20 miles and that's juuuuust ahead of us. I'm giving Mitch the day off tomorrow since he put in so much this week so far, and we'll likely pick up a few miles on Saturday before picking up the pace again on Sunday.


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## charrorider

As far as I am concerned, anytime a rider gets home astride his/her mount, it was a good ride. I went out on a 9 mile (14.5 km) ride today and had to stop and unmount 5 times. Three of those times to fix a hoof boot that had come off. I've never had that problem before. Obviously, some adjustment is required. And all that stopping can sure put a dent in the average speed! On the other hand, Chance is learning the difference between canter and gallop.


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## charrorider

This is what the rocks around here can do to a hoof boot.


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## phantomhorse13

CaliforniaDreaming said:


> I'm only planning to do a few miles because I'll be hauling out tomorrow to meet up with a friend for a socially distanced ride which should put us right into "Watson" on the map and maybe just a bit past it.


 You were here (the monument itself is kind of hidden by the tree between the horse's ears):












CaliforniaDreaming said:


> According to the Tevis map on the virtual ride page, at 10 miles, we would be passing through Squaw Valley near the ski lifts and the 1960 Olympic Village if we were on the ride itself


So you are here:










The way you are doing Tevis is the only way I would consider doing it again. :wink:


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## phantomhorse13

More saddle time this week! The whole story is in my journal.

Wednesday, I started with Iggy:










Next up was George:



















Yesterday, I got Link out solo:
























Next, I hopped on George bareback:









2020 mileage
...
8/5 iggy 2.04 miles197 ft climb 3.3 mph 85F 1614.69 total miles
8/5 george 6.24 miles 902 ft climb 5.1 mph 88F 1620.93 total miles
8/6 link 4.36 miles 413 ft climb 3.0 mph 82F 1625.29 total miles
8/6 george 1.52 miles 164 ft climb 3.1 mph 82F *1626.81 total miles*


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## PoptartShop

All the rides look fantastic!  I'm hoping to hit the trails finally this weekend, as it's been so nasty/wet all week with the rain/storms! Ugh!


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## weeedlady

Tucker and I rode yesterday with my favorite friend. We enjoyed the relatively cooler temperatures and some beautiful summer scenery. We even took a little detour to do some visiting in the nearby neighborhood. Six more miles!
























We headed home to drop off Mary and her horse. Luckily it's only a few short miles, because this happend!







I drove on to the the barn sooo slowly and we made it safely, unloaded the horses, and called DH to come change it. (yeah, I could have done it, but that's why I have a husband).

New trailer tires is on the agenda for next week.


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## knightrider

> The way you are doing Tevis is the only way I would consider doing it again.


I so so so so want to do that virtual ride like you are doing, @CaliforniaDreaming. That looks so cool and so much fun. I never wanted to do the Tevis because it seemed too daunting for a rider like me, but I so admire people who do it . . . and love hearing their stories.

Now I am loving your story, CD, and I hope that @phantomhorse13 keeps showing us the photos too. Anything to do with the Tevis interests me . . . except actually doing it . . . which I think would be way over my head.
@weeedlady, that tire is truly scary! I am glad you made it safely home!


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## CaliforniaDreaming

knightrider said:


> I so so so so want to do that virtual ride like you are doing, @*CaliforniaDreaming* . That looks so cool and so much fun. I never wanted to do the Tevis because it seemed too daunting for a rider like me, but I so admire people who do it . . . and love hearing their stories.
> 
> Now I am loving your story, CD, and I hope that @*phantomhorse13* keeps showing us the photos too. Anything to do with the Tevis interests me . . . except actually doing it . . . which I think would be way over my head.
> 
> @*weeedlady* , that tire is truly scary! I am glad you made it safely home!



There's still time to sign up! It goes until November 9th, so still almost 3 months to do it.


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## weeedlady

Raven went to the scary place next door. I could not believe how brave she was. Then a short stroll up the road so we could take the long way home.- if 2.96 miles can be considered the long way!


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## CaliforniaDreaming

Got 3.3 miles in this afternoon/evening. I found out the BO had someone clear out the upper trail through the old big pasture (used to have horses in it, but after one rainy season when nobody wanted it, there were a couple of trail paths put in instead) and that is a blast because there's two hills that are awesome for cantering up and at the very top of the hill, we can look down on the whole ranch. We also ran into some kids that were playing with the baby goats (one was the BO's grandson and I'm not sure about the two girls) and one of the little girls was very happy to be able to pet Mitch before we went on.



We're now at 23.2 miles total for the virtual Tevis trail, and have passed Lyon Ridge and are "camping out" atop Cougar Rock.










Always love this view. I like the next property over, and wish I had had the money to buy it when it was for sale a few years ago. But hahaha, like that would ever happen.










Best view from the top of the hill. "Look Mitch, everywhere the light touches is our kingdom"










Mitch: "Are you sure this is Cougar Rock? It looks questionable to me. I thought cougars didn't have manes?"






















I really am starting to like Equilab as a tracker. I had Endomondo before, but I love the map on Equilab. Loads of fun.










And there's the milestone we passed at Mile 21.


Next milestone is Red Star at 28 miles. Should hopefully snag that one tomorrow since I'll probably do a couple of miles of ringwork before we head out.

Definitely having a blast doing this virtual ride. It's been good motivation to get me to ride.


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## Saigold

@CaliforniaDreaming you’re making me do that virtual ride too!! Looks fun and a great motivation to get riding in!


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## Saigold

Making me want to*


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## knightrider

OK, @CaliforniaDreaming, I registered! It's going to be close for me because I ride 4 horses, alternating each day. Today I rode Chorro for 5 miles. But I registered on Acicate, so I can't count any miles but the ones on Aci. I did the math, and if I can do the normal rides, I can make the 100 miles on Aci, just barely by November. I had my daughter's friend on Aci on today's ride, and she fell off--for the 4th time in 4 months. So, tomorrow, I am not going to let her ride Aci any more until ??? So, I am thinking I will put more miles on Aci than I have been, and hopefully, he can complete it. I am really excited, and thank you very much for telling us about it. I'm sure it is the closest thing to the Tevis that I will ever do. I think it will be very fun.

I hope that @Saigold joins in, and I appreciate any comments from @phantomhorse13, who actually did it.

Today was a super fun ride with @4horses at Saarenin Preserve. I've been regularly taking a beginner rider who used to be terrified of horses. Today was his first trailering-out ride to a "real" trail. We had about 6 changes of plans before we pulled the whole thing off, but it was great fun. The trails were beautiful, shady, and cool. No ticks. There were almost no bugs. I think I used my fly swish only once or twice. Convivial company, great horses. The bad part was that my daughter's friend fell off Aci. I love sharing my horses, but normally the riders don't fall off. I don't like that at all. I had the formerly super nervous beginner on my super dependable beginner horse Isabeau. I'm going to have to put the beginner on Chorro tomorrow, and my daughter's friend on Isabeau, just to be on the safe side. Actually, our beginner is really coming along beautifully. I am so proud of him! That will put me on Aci for our first set of miles for the Tevis!!!!!


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## phantomhorse13

CaliforniaDreaming said:


> We're now at 23.2 miles total for the virtual Tevis trail, and have passed Lyon Ridge and are "camping out" atop Cougar Rock.


Cougar Rock is the place most people think of when they think Tevis. The money shot is my profile pic, but the photogs do a nice job of capturing the climb from two angles. This is the other one:










and if you are camping out at the top, then you actually are more like here (where I paused to wait for the junior I was sponsoring to finish climbing up):


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## carshon

I have continued my riding streak and have ridden every weekend since the parks opened. This weekend was my first solo outing since last fall since my daughter left for college last week. I met up with the Crazy Lady and new friend as well as Crazy Lady's old friend I have ridden with before. Crazy Lady brought a friend to ride her paint horse. New friend has not been on a horse since childhood and is now in her early 60's. Crazy Lady and I both ride gaited horses and old friend rides a cute quarter horse and new friend rode Crazy Lady's paint horse. The usual shenanigans from CL started at the git go. Tacking up took a good 30 minutes and it was already hot and humid. Tillie was unimpressed with all of the dropped reins, need to change saddle pads, hoof boot issues and all of the rest. So now it is sticky humid and we are just hitting the trails. CL asked to lead so she could show new friend the trail - and I moved Tillie behind. This did not last long as Miss Tillie has a very forward walk she politely tried to stay behind but all it did was cause us to have to stop every 10 feet so as to not crowd the 2 riders in front - she tried to rate herself and was even stopping on her own to let them move ahead. Just miserable for us both. Old friend happily brought up the rear on Norman - who just pokes along at the same pace regardless of how far in front the other riders are. I finally had to move ahead. Tillie took the lead and was walking slow (for her) and even stopping on her own to look behind her and wait for the others to catch up. Still hot and sticky. CL walker had had enough of the slow pace as well and was trying to walk out and CL was spinning her and in her mouth. So much so that Old Friend and I told her to stop it or she would pull her horse off of her feet. I finally just said I am going to walk out at whatever pace and you guys can meet me at the trailer. Tillie was still stopping on her own and looking back and allowing the others to catch up before she moved off again. New friend is having a blast but lost the reins, the saddle slid and CL almost fell off trying to sit sideways in her saddle to talk to new friend. Still hot and sticky. The ride continued on like this the entire 6 miles. Poor Tillie she tried to walk slow but she just can't - we did a lot of stopping and waiting and CL's walker did a lot of spinning. It was along 6 miles and I think I will ride by myself this weekend. It is extremely dry here *(light drought) and very hot and humid again. I prefer to ride early in the morning before it gets too hot - CL and Old friend are not so keen to get up and out early they prefer to ride from noon to whatever time and I just hate to spend the hottest part of the day on my horse if I can avoid it. No great pics to show - just a lot of stopping and waiting.


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## weeedlady

@CaliforniaDreaming and @knightrider I signed up for the Tevis thing also. I'll be riding Tucker because Raven is having an issue with her shoes right now and I prefer to take it easy on her.

Getting new tires on the trailer on Wednesday and then we will be hitting the trails. I love the fact that our very own @phantomhorse13 has actually done the real thing and can share her experiences with us. 

I was just thinking I need some sort of challenge to get me motivated to ride. This is it!


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## egrogan

I'm in catch-up mode again, and am loving seeing so many trail shots in this thread. Hard to believe we've rolled into August already. It feels like it here this week- it's on its way to 88*F/31*C today and I can barely stand sitting at my desk (no air conditioning here), let alone imagine going out to ride. Horses are lazing around and don't seem too bothered to have no where to go! :grin:

This weekend was nice though, and we passed the 250 mile mark for the year after a great 10 mile ride on Sunday.




































*Total 2020 miles: 251.3*


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## Saigold

Well I decided to do the Tevis cup challenge as well! But I’m doing it without registering. I almost did and then thought that I can put that money toward something that will help me condition the horses. I am planning to getting a heart monitor for them. 

Rode for 12km today with some adventures. I had the farrier coming at 130, so didn’t get out until later in the afternoon and it was warm and humid. 26C and feels like around 32c. Anyhow we made it the trail and did some trotting. Amazed at how much the trail changes every time I go. The foliage grows like it’s on steroids and changes the landscape. Rode down to the river and waded in it for a while. Then headed back to higher ground and eventually made our way back to the water. Since I was solo, there was no one but my Horse and the dog to say where we went. Since neither objected we walked the riverbed until the water starting looking like it was getting deeper. So I asked Duke to turn around, but instead of just coming out of the water, he decided to try a few steps toward the middle. Well it got deep fast. Every step sunk us by almost a foot. So I took my phone out in case we got dunked and the next step, we went up to my waist and he started to swim. I’m pretty sure he’d go on the other side if I let him. He calmly turned around and we were back on shore. That kicked in some adrenaline for me and I needed a few min to quit shaking lol. Duke just grabbed some grass and waited. Then we made our way back along the riverbed, crossed the rapids and headed back the other side of the loop. There’s a bit of a climb to get back to the trail and I let Duke trot and then canter. As he did that, I would come off the saddle a bit and since I was soaked, an air pocket would get sucked into the seat of my pants and when I’d sit back down the air would rush out through the pant legs with a swoosh and other unidentifiable sounds lol. It did that every time I went up and down. Super weird feeling. Going any faster than a walk in wet jeans isn’t as much fun so we mostly walked. Since I had the dog with me, I usually walk on the section that takes us across the road and leash the dog. But I had a feeling that I wouldn’t be able to easily get back in the saddle if I came off, so took a shortcut to avoid a bridge and the rest just timed between cars and trotted back. All ended well. It was a good ride and added 12km to my other 12 from start of August. So we’re 24 km out of 160km needed lol.


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## ChasingDreams

I’ve had a couple rides since my last post... I’ve been slacking  But, I’m now over the 200 mile mark for the year, so yay!








First one was another sunset ride, solo. We started in the top woods, did a little detour down to the cattle field for a change in scenery. It was a tad cooler than it’s been, so it was pretty nice.


























When we got to the quarry, I was worried about flies so I decided to circle the field first and see how it went. I pleasantly surprised to see a nice path had been mowed all the way around. Presumably for the owners to walk their dog, but hey... I’ll take it! 

















By the time we got to the end of the field where it enters the woods... it was getting dark and there wasn’t a fly in sight. So, I decided to make it a bigger loop and go for it. Good call, as we had no issues with flies, and just a nice ride.


The next ride was an early morning ride, also solo.








I went to the quarry first. As soon as I crossed the road the flies started to swarm, so I knew I wasn’t going to have the same luck around the water as I did the last ride. I decided since the field path worked so well, I’d just stick to that. It was really pretty.

















When I got to the woods again, I’d already decided I wasn’t going near the water with the bugs. So instead, I decided to try a little “off-road” trail that extends behind the field. I was told before that it is a dead end, and it was... but, again, just something different. Just to see how far I could get. It was really overgrown, and we dodged some pretty crazy looking spiderwebs The dead end was on top of a little ridge, so at least we had a bit of a view before turning back.


























After, we came back along the edge of the woods before getting in a nice loop around the top woods and calling it a day. It was getting hot by then, and I used the opportunity to give Chase a good scrub.











2020 miles ~ 202.1


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Saigold

Out on the trail again. I met up with 3 other riders who trailered there. Duke and I rode the 2km there. It was hot again, but didn’t feel too bad with a bit of a breeze. Although Duke, who normally likes to lead, fell in behind while catching his breath after trotting in the 26C plus humidity. We walked through the shaded trails and then the river, no swimming this time. At halfway point we took a good 15-20min break and the horses took full advantage of it. So while we stood ankle deep in cool water all 4 of them dozed off. Then someone noticed two bright kayaks coming around the bend. One of the horses thought they were horse eating monsters and got all prancy and white eyed and ready to head for the hills. The others just watched curiously. Once the kayaks were out of site, and the fire breathing dragon calmed down, we headed back across the rocky riverbed. Crossed the river again and headed up to higher ground. The deer flies were almost non existent this time. By this point my knees were getting fairly sore and we still had a ways to go. So I would take my feet out of the stirrups to give them a break. Once back at the trailer, I hopped off and had a break, while the others untacked. Duke was the only one left saddled as we still had to hike it home. After some treats for us and the horses, duke and I headed out. Even though my rear end was sore too, I wanted to extend the ride by a tad, so instead of heading straight home, we walked around a large corn field, prob 100acres. The corn cobs were at the perfect height to hit my knee caps. That called for some creative riding. We did finally get out of the corn and headed home across a wheat field. That wrapped up our 14.5km ride. Making it a total of 38.5km for August, toward the tevis cup challenge and put us at 212km for year to date.


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## egrogan

Love that corn picture @*Saigold* !


We've had some good riding this week. I haven't been posting in this thread much since I've realized my pictures are pretty boring this time of year. Don't get me wrong, in real life it's a beautiful place to ride. But in the pictures, it's pretty much...









Surrounded by green riding trails in the woods...









...or surrounded by green riding on the dirt roads that cut through the woods.









Every now and then, we have an interesting obstacle to navigate, like this tree that came down in some storms and left the trail pretty rutted out to.









And sometimes the forest breaks up long enough for the scenery on the side of the road to offer more interesting sights.

















But this time of year, it's just a wall of green. Fall is coming soon though, and that's the real reason to live here! :grin:

*Total 2020 miles: 274.6*


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## Celeste

@egrogan I like your pictures. They are not boring. They are great! 

I haven't posted because I have been working like crazy instead of riding all week. I thought teleworking was supposed to be easy.


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## rambo99

I've been riding almost every day did miss Friday as weather wasn't good. Thursday night it started storming at 1:45 am and was still storming at 7 am.

Not much sleep as lots of thunder an lighting wind and very heavy rain. Friday proved to be stormy one storm after another. So didn't ride not keen on getting caught in a lighting storm with heavy rain.

Rode Thursday though did 20 miles horses got a good workout. Moved along at a fast trot with walk breaks. Had some exciting moments with 8 4wheelers that came up behind us. We got off on side of trail to let them by.

Narrow part of trail so wasn't much room. They decided to turn around to go back the way they came. Last 4 wheeler to turn around decided for some reason to go through the brush. 

Well I wasn't expecting ice to totally loose his mind. That four wheeler cracking through the brush. Scared the living crap out of my horse. Was all I could do to control him he spun around went flying backwards. Leaped sideways and was absolutely terrified. Then was dancing around in place. I just kept talking to him telling him your ok easy boy. 

My daughter was riding ice prior to the four wheelers. We traded horse but had stopped to let them eat some grass. We decided to trade back,good thing we did. 

Cinder spooked also at four wheeler crashing through the brush. But didn't loose his mind. My daughter said mom I'm glad I wasn't on ice,he probably would lost me. I was glad she wasn't on ice also, that might not of ended well. 

The guy on wheeler that caused my horse to spook never slowed down,just kept right on crashing through the woods. 

Other than the major spook ride went well even after the being so spooked. 

Rode yesterday did a shorter ride horse needed a break after 3 days of 20 mile rides. Did only 3 miles yesterday easy ride trotting and some cantering. 

A few pictures haven't been taking many pictures. Have phone but just forget to take it out an snap pictures. A picture of the sky a few hours before a big storm rolled through.


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## weeedlady

Saigold said:


> Well I decided to do the Tevis cup challenge as well! But I’m doing it without registering. I almost did and then thought that I can put that money toward something that will help me condition the horses. I planning to getting a heart monitor for them.


My friends are questioning why I paid $65 to register for this. But Hey, I gonna get a T Shirt hahahaha. 

I'm 13.76 miles for the Tevis thing and 117 total for YTD. 
I'm heading UP North at the end of this week without my horses  so I will really need to get busy when I come home!


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## PoptartShop

Didn't go very far, but we went a bit past the property on Saturday - it was raining, so I just rode in my bareback pad. :lol:


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## QueenofFrance08

Had a great weekend at our first MN ride of the season! We brought 4 horses and all 4 completed their rides!

I headed up to the ride on Thursday afternoon so Chico and Comet could have an extra day to settle in. Unfortunately it stormed all night Thursday and I was awake from 1-3 watching Comet and Chico in their flimsy pen crossing my fingers that it would stay up in the wind. The wonderful ride managers even went around and checked on everyone's horses at 3 when the storm ended. 

It rained all day Friday until vet in and when I was trying to scrape the water off of Chico's back before we went up with a sweat scraper so the vets didn't have to touch his soaked back I noticed him flinch a few times. I haven't ridden him in a week and a half (we jogged last weekend and he didn't have a saddle on) so I was shocked. When I looked closer I realized Comet had bit Chico sometime during the day (he had been bossing him around all night and day) and he was very tender and had a risen lump right behind his withers. I started panicking, thinking they wouldn't let him vet in and if I tried to ride it would get worse during the day. A friend suggested putting a blanket on his back to warm him up (all the blankets had come with Josh in the second truck/trailer so I didn't have them until Friday afternoon). 

I blanketed him for the next half hour and warned the vet when we went up and she gave him an A- for back and A's for everything else. I was so relieved! I kept him blanketed for the rest of the night and liberally applied Desitin all day Saturday before we left and at every hold (poor horse looks like an Appy right now).

The weather was great, low 80's and not horrible humidity! We went really fast for the first 2 loops and finally had to separate from a friend we were riding with whose horse was moving too fast and forward for our group because I couldn't handle Chico pulling the whole time and my other friend's horse had cantered most of the ride and was starting to wear out. We had a junior with us and her horse was also having trouble keeping up. I felt bad but didn't want to risk Chico overheating or wearing himself out after our last ride ended poorly. We ended up taking the last loop slower but Chico was very forward and finished with all A's except one minor category! 

Comet and Jake finished the 30 mile LD with DH and our friend M! They turtled as M wasn't feeling too well but finished with a lot of time to spare! Jake had tons of energy at the end and I think he's ready to do a 50 if I can find someone to ride him!

Sunday Lilo and I rode with a novice group that included 2 friends and one of their daughters! One was my friend who I've been trying to get into endurance all year (Unfortunately COVID got in the way) and she go High Point and 1st place and won a pair of Renegade boots!

A great weekend with amazing friends! I rode 62.5 miles (and am feeling it today!) and after doing a little math I think I'm at 425 for the year!


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## carshon

Gosh - I hate to follow @Queenoffrance post since my ride was nothing extraordinary! Rode with the Crazy Lady and friend on Sunday. Trying to mix my forward walker with friends quarter horse is proving challenging. Not because of anything friend is doing. Her little gelding is a saint! Never hurries or acts up when he falls behind - just a wonderful little horse! But Tillie is frustrated with the constant stopping and waiting and even when I work to slow her down we outdistance them. Crazy Lady's walker actually bucked this ride. I really feel like she has had enough of being held back as well and she finally let her frustration show. We rode a little over 2 hours on a gorgeous day at one of my favorite parks. All in all a wonderful ride. Tillie kind of lost her marbles when we stopped towards the end of the ride and got off the trail to let a group of riders go past us. I am not really sure why but she was agitated and would not stand and was just really light in the front and tossing her head a little. But the riders past and she calmed down again when they were gone.

We are in a drought here and my third cut of hay looks horrible. So those of you getting rain - if you could send it to NW IL it would be greatly appreciated. One good thing came from this ride. Friend used to travel all over and ride a lot of different parks in IL. We are planning a road trip to a park a couple of hours away and I am pretty excited about it. We car pooled (trailer pooled?) this ride as it was a little over an hour away and I saw no reason for us to all leave the same general area with 3 different trucks and trailers when we could ride together and chat on the way up and back. Friend and the Crazy Lady loved the idea so I think we will be doing more of it. The riders just gave me $5 each toward diesel and I thought that was great.


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## knightrider

I am hoping that posting this will encourage the others doing the Virtual Tevis Cup ride, will also post where they are.

Acicate and I completed 25 miles this morning, and got to Lyon Ridge. These photographs are beautiful, and I appreciate anyone who has actually done this to chime in. Also the virtual riders . . . so we can encourage each other.

Lyon Ridge :: The Tevis Cup


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## egrogan

I have to admit I was too cheap to sign up for the virtual Tevis. I wasted $40 earlier this year signing up for a challenge on the "Top Trail" app and then found it very annoying to try to convert the "proof" of my miles I tracked in my Endomondo or Equilab app over to this other app, and I just decided to stop participating. I love tracking my miles but I hate having to mess around with a bunch of different apps. But I am celebrating all of you in your progress! :cheers:

@carshon, you know you have my sympathy about having the fast horse in a group! Is Tillie allowed to eat while you're out on the trail? Fizz now seems to know that when we ride with Coalie, grazing breaks are numerous and she no longer gets irritated with stopping. Also, M has been diligently working on getting him to stride out better at the walk so their pacing together has really improved. We've also realized that Coalie can trot along comfortably at the same pace as Fizz's comfortable walk pace (and she can trot comfortably when he canters), so M asks him to trot more and that keeps them closer together. Not sure if any of that will help on your rides, but it's been so nice not having a grumpy horse when I'm having fun with my friend!


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## carshon

@egrogan Yes, Tillie is allowed to eat while the others catch up. I did not post this but Crazy Lady rides a wonderful TWH mare. On our ride yesterday her horse finally had enough of being held back when she wanted to walk out and gave a big buck in frustration. Even Friend commented that she was probably just frustrated at being held back all of the time. I try very hard not to criticize other riders but Crazy Lady is a very "handsy" rider and is always fiddling with her reins and pulling on her horse. This has led to some head tossing issues - and even though CL asks for advice I am hesitant to give too much. Her poor mare is a saint but is not really allowed to gait even when we are riding without non-gaited friend. CL rides with very long stirrups and pushes her feet out in front of her toward the horses shoulder and pushes herself as far back in the seat as possible so she is basically braced into the saddle. CL says she just can't get her wonderful little horse to hold gait and I am sure it is because she is not relaxed in the saddle. We have worked on it some and her horse will gait but I just hate to get after someone I ride with


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## CaliforniaDreaming

We hit "Red Star Ridge" on last Sunday's ride (not yesterday, but the Sunday before). My Equilab gave out on me during the ride (probably when I stopped to take a picture using my Apple Watch) so I had to boot it back up again to finish getting our 5 miles so i have 2 logs for Sunday. Mitch got to wear his Lil S hack that day, and we did stop a few times to snack.










































































Haven't ridden much this past week. I gave Mitch Monday off, and then had feed store errands to run on Tuesday so no riding then either. Wednesday, I was so far behind on Shark Week shows (kept falling asleep thorough the last one of the night) I was just feeding and cleaning so I could catch up on my sharks. Plus, I've been working on a ton of fanfic lately, and wasn't getting out of the house much before 4:30 PM. Thursday, Friday and Saturday were warm, so I said frell it (and who remembers Farscape to know where I get my vocabulary from) and just didn't ride. Figured we have loads and loads of time, and no point in rushing the ole boy and me.


Did ride yesterday though! Shark Week's over, so no rushing home to try and catch up on shows. Wasn't horridly hot, but was pretty humid so I put my dressage saddle on the pony as that has a full sheepskin seat saver and wore my capris. We stayed to a walk, and I probably made Mitch regret every moment of it by singing all my favorite songs (current favorite is "Penelope's Song" because I'm working on a fic that takes place in the Mediterranean and the "deep as the wine dark sea" line keeps making me want to sing that song because it makes me think about my story)










It's so dry ...










Pausing to look at the property I wish I had, lol










Ewww, my legs are so pasty-white































We cooled off a little on the creekside of the ranch










Worked up a sweat despite the fact we pretty much only walked, so I sponged him off and he rolled immediately once he got to his paddock.


We're now 32.2 miles down the "Tevis" trail and about 4 miles from the vet hold at "Robinson Flat" (which we should hopefully get to today if all goes well.


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## Saigold

@egrogan thanks. The corn field was an extra loop just because. Duke is getting in the habit of just bee lining it home so I figure it’s good to do something different. But to ride around a ~100 acre full grown corn field was maybe more fun in theory than actuality lol. I was quite ready to be out of it by not even half way around. 

No rides since sat, but looking at the tevis cup map, 38.5km is 24miles, so that puts us at around cougar rock.
@rambo99 ATV are fun from horseback aren’t they? lol. Glad you made out ok. I find it annoying when some users don’t really think about others. But then again I supposed most people don’t think what they’re doing can have a bad ending for someone. On our last ride we had a few very considerate drivers. I have to cross a bridge over the railway and usually will let loud traffic go by if I can help it. But when we were almost to the top I glanced over my shoulder and see a full size tractor trailer coming up. So I got Duke to trot to make it over faster. The driver however slowed right down and moved over and and lagged behind until we were over the bridge. I’m sure duke would have been fine, but didn’t want to find out that high up lol. I was very thankful to that person. Unlike to the teenager on a dirt bike who blew by about 3’ behind the horses while they were tied to a trailer. He’s lucky he didn’t get kicked off his bike. The horses just looked and moved over. 
@weeedlady lol because I’m in Canada, they would only ship a bandana. And I don’t wear those. So for that much money I decided to get a heart monitor instead. It’s supposed to arrive tomorrow. But just got notification that I have to pay a $110cad in duty across boarder. So maybe the registration would be been cheaper.


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## phantomhorse13

CaliforniaDreaming said:


> We hit "Red Star Ridge" on last Sunday's ride
> ...
> We're now 32.2 miles down the "Tevis" trail and about 4 miles from the vet hold at "Robinson Flat" (which we should hopefully get to today if all goes well.


Red Star Ridge had more amazing views:









It was the first place you had to pulse your horse. Here we were heading to the vetting area:









Once you were pulsed down and had jogged you were free to go, but most people waited at least a few moments to let the horses have a drink and a snack. It was also a good place to electrolyte (which is what the syringe in the bag and in my hand is).


Heading into Robinson:









For a full vet check:









And an hour hold, which went by in no time!!


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## phantomhorse13

Another crazy week! Trying to catch up. The whole story is in my journal.

Last Monday, I started with Phin:



















Then Link solo:



















Tuesday morning, it was already insanely hot by 9am. I tossed the bareback pad on George and we took Kestrel down to the creek for a walk:









2020 mileage
...
8/10 phin 8.35 miles 1224 ft climb 4.7 mph 96F 1635.16 total miles
8/10 link 3.37 miles 407 ft climb 3.0 mph 98F 1638.53 total miles
8/11 george 3.02 miles 285 ft climb 3.1 mph 99F *1641.55 total miles*


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## knightrider

@phantomhorse13, can you write a little bit about the horse you rode, why you chose that one, how it felt? If you want to . . . I really enjoy seeing other people doing "the real thing" since this virtual one is about all I will ever do. Reading about other people's exploits makes it more fun for me, who is only pretending.


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## weeedlady

Tucker and I are pretty far behind everyone else on the Virtual Tevis trail. 
A 2.47mile evening ride today put us at just over 16 Tevis miles, so we just passed the Watson monument. 

I almost never ride in the evening and Tucker was not impressed with the schedule change. He also did not like seeing our farmer checking his crops on his ATV. This farmer also likes to joy ride through the field next door, and into the woods, so I'm kind of liking that he is making some new trails for us to explore.

Saturdays ride involved an encounter with the mini excavator at my brother's landscaping yard. Tucker has seen this thing before and was skeptical. Saturday it was moving and following us down the drive. Lucky for me, the operator knew enough to keep his distance and we made it out of there alive.
Poor Tucker has not been enjoying the excitement.


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## lb27312

I finally went for a ride! I had issues with a trailer tire that was keeping me from going anywhere grrrrr. Plus the heat! Finally got that fixed, it was the valve so replaced that with a metal one, will replace to metal on the other tires when I can. Went camping up in the mountains, it was good but then there was a bad storm where my awning got bent, been trying to fix it for the last few days, just want to get it where it will roll up and down without too much help. Will replace it eventually probably. 

The mountains were really nice, first day went for a nice quick ride, only about 6 miles, second day went up to the fire tower, that's the pics below one is taking a turn on the cut back. Such a pretty ride. Then the next day as everyone saddled I told them I wasn't going on the trail but was going to use the arena available to check Chal's skills it's been sooo long since he's been in an arena and wanted to lope around. They thought I was crazy but I really wanted to see how his take off was and if he took the correct lead. He was soooo good, I'm sure if anyone was listening they thought I was crazy, as I was loping around the arena I was saying yeehawww!! That's my boy! lol Then it got cloudy and since the storm the day before was really bad I wanted to get packed up before it started up again. 

Love everyone's pics and enjoy the stories!! Good luck with everyone doing the Tevis Trial...


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## Finalcanter

This past saturday I went on a guided trail (haven't been there since January). It went pretty well!

I wrote more about it in my journal here 'what a day to ride'.
Not as many pictures this time. My friend and i lagged behind to canter a few strides stretches.. 

It was a nice day


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## jannette

*Aspen*

So many amazing places to ride that are less then 20 minutes from my barn :smile:

Very fortunate to live in such a beautiful area... We get to ride out 2 sometimes 3 times a week and average 10 miles a ride..


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## weeedlady

Almost 4 more miles for Tucker and I in the Tevis thing. This morning I was in 584th place! Yay me! lol

Beautiful weather here today and I couldn't resist getting Raven out for a short evening ride. She's been being neglected since only one horse can count for the Tevis challenge. I will say it's a great way to stay motivated. That, and some cooler weather that's made riding really pleasant.


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## knightrider

This morning I had a lot of fun pretending to go up Cougar Rock for the Tevis trail challenge. I got to ride with my neighbor, who, as usual, has decided to sell his perfectly lovely trail Paso Fino mare. We rode almost 3 hours and did 9.9 miles. We calculated about how far I would ride before I would encounter Cougar Rock, and then laughed about our horses going up the summit. It was fun pretending, and made the ride fun. I feel sad that he is selling this nice mare, and I hope someone responsible buys her.

I am now 35 miles into the Tevis challenge, and very much enjoying it.

Someone came this morning to look at the mare and really liked her, but doesn't have the $700 he is asking for her. She wanted to make payments. Someone else is going to try her on Sunday. It is hard on me when he sells these horses--fun for me when he buys them and lets me ride them-- but I hate it when he tires of the sweet ones.


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## CaliforniaDreaming

Last ride was Monday. We got 4 miles, which put us at 36.2 miles down the virtual Tevis trail, and we rolled into "Robinson Flat" on a hot and sultry afternoon with almost no wind (UGH). Mitch got a good sponge down and then went and had a nice roll before dinner.










Selfie!










Rolleh poneh! I just norticed this morning that all this trail mileage has been doing wonders for his figure. :lol:






























Pretty sure this was a thunderhead building up waaaaaaaaay in the back country (but considering the direction, it could have been the Lake Piru fire too, although it's a lot whiter and fluffier than smoke usually is)


Because California is burning again (when isn't it?) the air quality has taken a dramatic plunge from OK to Semi-Vesivuian for our local area and I'm sure it's approaching Mount Pinatuboan for anyone closer to the fires. None in our county, thankfully (so far...) but the two counties boarding us have fires and there's loads more.


I don't think I'll be riding for a while yet. We might just have to 'wait' for a lot longer than an 'hour' on this 'vet hold'.


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## phantomhorse13

Still in catch-up mode! The whole story is in my journal.

Last Wednesday, I started with Phin. Kestrel came, too:



















Next, I got Link out solo:



















Friday, I rode George with my SIL. Kestrel came, too:



















Saturday, DH and I got Iggy and Phin out:



















Sunday, we got George and Link out:























2020 mileage
...
8/12 phin 9.25 miles 1644 ft climb 4.2 mph 92F 1650.80 total miles
8/12 link 3.34 miles 358 ft climb 3.0 mph 96F 1654.14 total miles
8/14 george 11.05 miles 1352 ft climb 3.2 mph 90F 1665.19 total miles
8/15 phin 10.26 miles 1532 ft climb 5.2 mph 85F 1675.45 total miles
8/16 link 6.11 miles 764 ft climb 2.9 mph 84F *1681.56 total miles*


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## phantomhorse13

Got some good saddle time this week! The whole story is in my journal.

Tuesday, I started with Iggy:



















Next up was Link, solo:



















Wednesday, I got Phin out:



















Thursday, Nicole came over. She and I got George and Link out: 



















Yesterday, DH got home from work a bit early so we got Iggy and Phin out:


















2020 mileage
...
8/18 iggy 6.4 689 miles 4.8 mph 80F 1687.96 total miles
8/18 link 3.75 358 miles 2.9 mph 82F 1691.71 total miles
8/19 phin 6.72 709 miles 5.6 mph 82F 1698.43 total miles
8/20 link 6.0 620 miles 2.8 mph 80F 1704.43 total miles
8/21 phin 8.52 1348 miles 5.2 mph 90F *1712.95 total miles*


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## knightrider

Today's Tevis Cup milestone was Robinson Flat, which, from the photos, is anything but flat. We got our first vet check and hour break. 

I rode with friends at Oleno State Park this morning. 60% chance of rain was predicted, and my friends were dubious about us trailering there, only to possibly get rained out. I prevailed because I had planned to ride Aci, and use the miles for the Tevis Cup virtual challenge. I knew my friends like to ride on and on and hate to go in . . .and they did. 

We never got any rain. In fact, the sun peeked through several times. We had a super fun ride, and I managed 2 hours, 50 minutes and 10.175 miles, which puts me at 45 miles for the Tevis.

Tomorrow, my young adult friends come to ride, and we always manage 5 miles and sometimes 6, so that will put me halfway. yay! If it doesn't rain, as predicted, again.

Rain was not predicted for this afternoon, and we got strong thunderstorms and 2 different tornado watches. The weatherman got it all backwards today, but it worked out well for me and my riding buddies.

Here is a photo of a different ride with those friends in that park, just because photos are nice. Didn't take any today.


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## carshon

Not much to post. We had a Derrecho go through 2 weeks ago today and it wreaked havoc on our trail systems. Only 2 of our local parks are open. The crazy lady and I opted to ride the less technical of the 2 that are still open as the other park was bumper to bumper trailers and the trails were crowded. Tillie hates a crowd and gets ovrely anxious about catching up to the horses in front of her so the less technical park was a better choice. No exciting pictures - just one of my girl tied to the trailer waiting for the ride to get going.


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## egrogan

Didn't ride much last week because work was so nuts, so all week I looked forward to my Sunday ride with my regular buddy. We did 10.5 miles in 3 hours. 

For the first time in quite awhile, we ran into another rider on the trail- a local endurance legend, Ray, who is known to have one speed- FAST (or FASTER) :rofl: We came down a steep section of wooded trail to a road crossing, and he happened to arrive at the same gate at the same time as us, coming from a different trail. He very nicely stopped his very...energetic...chestnut Arab to ask if our horses would be ok if he continued on. They aren't bothered by that stuff at all so off he went. No sooner did he head down the road than a dog came blasting out of the first house he passed, with a woman in a bathrobe screaming at it to stop (it was probably 11am by then, hahaha). Our horses just stood there grazing while the scene unfolded, the lady got the dog, Ray and his horse disappeared in a cloud of dust down the dirt road, and we never saw him on the trails again.




































*Total 2020 miles: 287.4*


----------



## Saigold

Went solo. It was nice morning ride with birds and the rush of the river going by. It was already humid but still just around 23C. Later in the day it would be 32C fees like 39. 
Met a lady walking her two border collies, who was so happy to have the opportunity to touch and smell a horse (said she hasn’t done that in years). And she was impressed that my dog didn’t chase the quad that went by. 
This was the first time that Duke took every opportunity to drink. Normally he only plays with the water. He was also pretty adventurous. Anytime we came to an access point in the river he wanted to go in and cross it or go in the deep side. I wasn’t planning on going across this time, as he seemed a tad tender after the last few rides over the rocky river bed. But Duke had other ideas. When we got to the crossing spot, I gave him the opportunity to drink same as before, and right after he started crossing on his own. I let him choose where to go and he chose the overgrown path. We went past the green onion field and explored a new area that turned out to be a nice lookout over the river. It was all mowed. So not sure if that was private property or someone cuts the grass on crown land. In either case there was no one around to ask, so we we spent a few min just enjoying the view then continued on to see how far we could get. Turns out it took us to the same spot where the rocky river bed did on the last ride. Again at the water Duke wanted to cross. But the bank on the other side was a good 4’ high and just straight up. For some reason Duke was set on climbing it. So we had an argument where I didn’t allow him to go up as up is easy. But there’s no way he’d jump back into the river from that height. We turned around and headed back along the river but tried to stay off the rocks on higher ground. That didn’t work so well, as the amount of tall grass and trees overhanging, plus a few feet drop off going down to the water left no room for us. So we ended up wading through the river slowly, the whole time trying to keep him out of the faster and deeper water that he was being drawn to like a magnet. Then tried to go back on the higher ground again but the tall grass was hiding very uneven ground. Not sure exactly what was under us but just as he’d come up his front end would drip back down into a ditch or something and it was like that for a good distance. We took it very slow and I fully let him choose his path. Then we chose safer ground which led us through a crazy amount of yellow flowers that blew out clouds of thick yellow pollen. I literally held my breath it was so thick. I’m pretty sure Duke did the same. Needless to say we looked like a pair of chickens after. Not doing that again lol. 
After coming back to the crossing spot Duke was pretty happy to just stand by the bank. Eventually we made it back across and headed up a hill where he likes to canter on and then into an area that safe for faster speed. We trotted all the way around and headed back toward home. Instead of riding over the bridge we took the shortcut over the tracks. A train passed not long ago, but we still listened to make sure it was clear. All quiet. As we went to cross however I could see the trains headlight in the distance. But it was far. We made it across and had enough time to cross half of a big field before it lumbered behind us. We trotted a section of the road and after saying a quick hello to my husband and kids as they drove by, headed home. Total ride was 11.5kms. 50kms (31 tevis miles) (puts us a few miles after Red Star) and 223.5km YTD.


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## CaliforniaDreaming

Well, the smoke and heat were bad all week, so didn't get to ride until yesterday when the wind shifted and things got a little better. Was still kinda humid, but thank goodness for a breeze.










King of the hill










Finally, blue sky! But there were an awwwwful lotta vultures up there. 























We've made it 40.2 miles down the Tevis trail!


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## knightrider

Today I rode with my young adult folks and that ride put us over the 50 mile mark for the Tevis ride. What we did today was very different from what we would have done on the Tevis.

Last Chance :: The Tevis Cup

Those narrow trails and drop-offs are really nerve-wracking to me. I'd be really scared if I was actually doing the Tevis ride.

One of the riders in our group was the young man who was super phobic about horses. He is making wonderful progress, and it is a pleasure to watch him come along so beautifully. Of course, Isabeau is a super nice nursemaid who takes really good care of him.


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## Celeste

This is my second try on replying. I hate it when I flush something I wrote. 

I am not even sure where I am on posting. It has rained most every day, so I have not gotten many rides in. 

I am very happy that my daughter has started riding with me a little bit. She had become terrified of riding after being thrown by a half draft. He broke several of her ribs and all of her confidence. She suggested that she would ride if we could go slow. 

My total mile for the year are up to *195.7*.


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## Celeste

Maybe the pictures will load this time.


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## CaliforniaDreaming

@knightrider You passed us up on the trail, didya see me waving? :lol:


Much much cooler today (low 70s, and a 10-15 MPH breeze, ahhhhhh blisssss) meant we could do some more riding today after all the delays from last week's crazy smoke and heat. Got 4.1 miles so that means we're hopefully going to hit Last Chance in a few days (tomorrow's my feed store run/nephew watch day, and I'm hoping the farrier comes Wednesday)










So nice to see blue skies after the smoke from last week.


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## knightrider

Yes, @CaliforniaDreaming, I did see you and wave to you, but those terrifying trails required so much focus, I couldn't stop to chat. Whew! But, now I understand, the trails ahead are going to be even more terrifying. I'm glad you are along.

Today I am riding 7 miles with a friend along her shady quiet dirt roads that have no traffic and no bugs. It's always fun. But I'll be pretending that I'm on a narrow trail with a 1000 foot drop straight down. I don't think I could do that in real life, but it is sure fun pretending. Thanks, CD, for letting me know about the Tevis.


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## knightrider

New milestone on the virtual Tevis ride.

Deadwood :: The Tevis Cup

This is so different from what i did today. Where I rode today was very hot, but shady and no bugs. My friend wanted to do a lot of trotting, and my Paso does corto. Good thing my boy is so fit, because I don't normally do that much trotting/corto. The 7 miles we rode brought us to the goal of Deadwood.


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## Saigold

Got another 14km in today. That’s 74km tevis cup (46miles), which places us a bit short of the Last Chance point. And almost half way through the challenge. It’s fun tracking progress!

Hot, but breezy day to ride. Kody (dog) told Duke off, in no uncertain terms, for stepping on his foot. But then continued to be right by Dukes side, touching my foot with his head. (He’s ok). Not sure how he doesn’t get stepped on more often, considering he’s underfoot a lot. 

Hope everyone who’s experiencing the forest fires stay safe. We’re lucky that we don’t usually have those issues. We get the odd tornado warning, but actual damage is usually either far from us or minimal. 

While riding met a lady walking a few dogs who turned out to be an old acquaintance. Rode with her a few times many moons ago. She has horses just down the road from us. Will make plans to ride with her and her young daughter in the near future.


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## CaliforniaDreaming

@knightrider Glad you're enjoying it! It's been a lot of fun logging my miles and seeing where I am, and finding all those little moments for photo ops (Swinging Bridge tomorrow or Friday, but I don't think we'll actually get on this one because I could probably cross it, but I'm not sure about Mitch)


Got 5.8 miles in today, so that puts us at 50.1 miles total and we're just over the halfway point in Last Chance. Time to settle in for a nice hay bag, a cooler and a cold root beer. Hopefully it's all downhill from here! :lol:










After the usual warmup in the arenas, we headed out for the barn trails.










Our usual "King of the Hill" shot, only facing the other way










Mitch: How many more miles, man?










These miles are really getting him into shape. If if if if Sesenta Anos goes this year in November, we might actually be able to do Intro this year










Flopping down at Last Chance


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## CaliforniaDreaming

And we romped into Deadwood today. Mitch was feeling very very fresh since he got yesterday off (mainly because I was obsessed with watching the trailer for the new Sims 4 Star Wars game pack over and over and then had to run out to feed before it got dark ... oops! :lol The weather was great today, nice and cool, and no smoke or anything. Made for a great ride. I did about 2 miles of work in the arena and then we went out like we usually do.






























We had a bobcat encounter tonight! With a very small bobcat. We were riding around the old gate into what used to be a big pasture that's now part of the barn trail system when I noticed a quail land on the ground and start walking towards a big bush (in the picture above). Mitch and I were maybe 5 feet behind him, and then I saw a blur of fur, and this small bobcat came rushing out and tried to pounce on the quail who flew up immediately almost under Mitch's nose. Poor cat got these huge "Oh crap!" eyes when he realized he'd almost pounced on Mitch's hooves and then lit out under the bush again.


Mitch was an absolute trooper though, didn't bat an eyelash, and after hanging around for a minute to see if I could spot the bobcat, we went on up the trail.










And here's our "Swinging Bridge" (which would have been Collapsed Bridge if we had actually ridden over it)






















We're now at 55.1 miles. Next checkpoint is Chickenhawk in about 9 miles. Hopefully that'll happen Sunday.


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## charrorider

We hauled our horses 80 miles (130 km), 1 hr-36 min, to the Canaan Conservation Area. That's the farthest I've ever gone to ride away from my home turf of Cole Creek. We rode 8.5 miles (13.7 km). The trails are wider, less rocky and not anywhere as hilly. There was a section that was like a kiddie roller coaster. We walked most of the way because we didn't know the trail. But one can trot or canter much of it. Still, we moved at a rate of 3.1 mph (5 km). We didn't know it until we got there, but the conservation area is being logged. For whatever reason, there was no logging going on Friday. Fortunate for us. But we rode through a large section being logged. I started the month of August with 128 total miles (207 km); I'll finish it with at least 176 miles (285 km).


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## Saigold

At 81kms (50miles) We reached the halfway point of the tevis challenge. ‘Last chance’. Interesting history of how you his spot got its name. Luckily we’re not starving and don’t have to rely on a single bullet to bag a buck. 

I have finally received the hylofit monitor and was excited to try it out with mixed results. The rider transmitter was able to connect and stay that way for the duration of the ride. But the one on Duke kept cutting out all the time. But from what it did record, despite trotting and cantering in the hot and humid afternoon, his heart rate never went higher than about 94bpm. Which leaves us in zone 1 as far as a workout. Going to use a longer girth tomorrow to see if that will help with the contact. Planning on trailering to a conservation area to ride as a group. 

It was a technical ride so we stayed in the hay and back fields, with lots of on and off trying to figure out and fix the placement of the monitor. If placed the proper way as suggested it was going up under the saddle pad and I think it was pinching him as he was reluctant to trot and would switch into a canter. And this guy doesn’t usually go to that gear unless he really has too. Pinned ears and a mild buck threat had me flip it and then he seemed more comfortable. 

As we cantered a slight hill, we surprised a young deer 🦌. S/he still had the spots visible over the back. Did a total of 7km, and 244.5km YTD.


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## egrogan

Today's ride pushed us over the 300 mile mark!

It was a beautiful, fall-like day, only about 60*F/16*C. The wind was brisk, so the horses started off on their toes, but once we trotted up the first good hill, they managed to get their sillies out and settle in. We finally figured out a 5 mile loop through a tree farm, and it was 5 miles more out and back from my house, so we ended up with a really nice 10 mile ride in a little under 2.5 hours (including a few minutes of stopping and chatting with a brand new neighbor- who has horses! :clap




























Can even see a tiny bit of leaf color hinting through already!









So satisfying to see a proper loop- it can be hard to do that around here. We have lots of trails, but so many of them are snowmobile trails so they go on much farther than we ride, so we end up doing lots of "out and back" rides.









*Total 2020 miles: 300.3*
(^^a very satisfying palindrome! :grin


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## lb27312

Went camping up in the mountains for a long weekend. Went to Grayson Highlands in VA.... beautiful rides! The second day was one of the toughest trails I have been on... it was pretty straight up, some steep climbs and pretty rocky. But it was also probably one of the prettiest trails I have been on, the one picture was when we were pretty close up to the top. The other 2 days were pretty rides but not too tough. There's the cutest wild ponies there with babies, did come across a few long horns that made Chal do a double take and get bug eyed for a little bit. lol 

Have no idea on my totals.... my phone died on the way up on the longest trail that I had started my tracker on and the others didn't get the app turned on. Oh well!


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## phantomhorse13

knightrider said:


> Last Chance :: The Tevis Cup
> 
> Those narrow trails and drop-offs are really nerve-wracking to me. I'd be really scared if I was actually doing the Tevis ride.





Saigold said:


> At 81kms (50miles) We reached the halfway point of the tevis challenge. ‘Last chance’.





knightrider said:


> New milestone on the virtual Tevis ride.
> 
> Deadwood :: The Tevis Cup


When I went out to ride Tevis, I was able to go out a week early and pre-ride a good portion of the trail on a couple friends' horses. These pics are from one of those pre-rides - I am riding an amazing mare named Halo. After seeing the trails, I was moved almost to tears that her owner allowed me to not only ride her horse there, but did so without her even being present. It was my first glimpse of the infamous drops and I will admit I did ride a lot of it looking very hard at the uphill side!!




























:dance-smiley05:


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## carshon

My streak of good weekend weather has held. That has its good and bad points as we are in a drought and desperately need rain. The very hot and humid days broke Saturday morning so my Sunday riding weather was low 80's with low humidity! I met the Crazy Lady and new friend for a ride at a local state park. We had plans to trailer to a park father away but there are protests going on in a city along that route and none of us were confident enough to drive a truck and trailer through an area with protests. 

It seems the entire tri-state area decided to ride at the same park. We got there at 10:30 AM to find no places to park. Crazy lady was there so New Friend and I parked in front of her trailer. While tacking up we were talking with the folks parked next to Crazy lady. The lady brought a young horse to ride and was nervous because all of the other horses etc. Her little Paso did great while tacking up and they headed off - we found out at the end of our ride that her little horse shied when other riders came up behind him quickly and she fell off and had to leave the park in an ambulance. The friend she was riding with was at the trailer with the girl and her husbands horses (as well as her own) the little Paso was still very nervous and would not load. So the three of us friends helped this lady load her friends horses so her husband could drive them back home. That poor little Paso was so sweet but all of the activity at the park must have been just a little too much for him. The friend said she was riding in front and did not see what happened just heard her friend and husband call out and the little gelding passed her on the trail sans rider. She ponied her friends 2 horses back to the trailers as husband waited with his wife for an ambulance. They thought she may have broken her shoulder.

Crazy lady, new friend and I headed out and had a really great ride. Miss Tillie was on her very best behavior and even followed quietly behind the other 2 horses for part of the ride. She did not like the slow pace but quickly figured out that I was happy to let her grab a few bites along the trail if she would follow quietly and not pull on my hands the entire time. Our ride was wonderful and the weather was fantastic. We rode about 2hr and 45 minutes - the horses were glad to get back to the trailer and eat their lunch as we helped the others load their horses.


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## Saigold

Trailered out to ride yesterday. Did 14.1km which puts us about 4 miles past deadwood vet check. 

Was supposed to have 4 other riders with me. But two didn’t show and didn’t let us know until we got tired of waiting and I sent them a msg. The reply was, ‘Oh sorry can’t make it’. Irked me a little, considering they asked us to push the ride by half an hour specially for them.

We set off in the escarpment and rode some Interesting trails. One of which we took, probably closely resembled some parts of the tevis trail. I honestly wouldn’t even consider going down that trail, but my guide has been there before and she was in front heading down. It was very steep, with a bunch of roots covering over the path, steep drop off to the left and curving. Duke really had to work hard and pick his footing one at a time to keep us safe. I could actually see him tremble with effort at one point. We made it out alive at the bottom and came to a wider trail that was much easier to navigate and breathe. Duke probably though we were nuts to take that one. He wasn’t wrong! Don’t think I’d do it again 😂. After that even though there were hills, they were pretty tame in comparison. One thing I wasn’t too fond of though, was that the other two riders kept allowing their horses to trot every single down and uphill more or less uncontrolled, despite uneven, rocky and rutted ground. Duke walked and took it easy. I was thankful he didn’t try to follow running. That’s a good way to get hurt on those trails. We did some speed going up though, and that was fun. 

The scenery was absolutely amazing. Abundant and varied vegetation throughout. 

After about 9km we got back to the trailers and my companions had enough for the day. My hubby, Duke and I had a break with snacks and I headed back out solo for another 5km. We don’t come there often and I wanted to explore a bit more. That ended up being a social ride. This trail system is right by a big city and lots of city folks were enjoying the trails too. Lots of hikers, bikes, dogs and strollers passing by. Lots of people, especially kids wanted to talk about horses and pet him. We got lots of compliments. Duke was pretty good about it, so I let people touch his shoulder and even let a few kids get on him for pics. That made their day, the parents were grateful and it made me happy to give some of them the opportunity to interact with a horse. It wasn’t until my hubby said that prob wasn’t the smartest thing to do during covid, but until then it didn’t even cross my mind. 

All in all it was a great experience and I’m happy that there are some kids out there who will dream about riding for a few days. 

I did use the HR monitor which was nice when it worked. As it showed dukes HR was averaging about 56bpm, lowest being 30 and highest at 97.


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## Saigold

Anyone else has been getting ‘congratulations you win...’ when trying to load the pages here? 
These two are also from yesterday’s ride


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## ChasingDreams

Two rides with BM. This last ride was amazing, cool breezy and no bugs. We crossed the water at the lake and enjoyed the quarry again.

2020 miles ~ 210


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## knightrider

@CaliforniaDreaming, I feel like I have co-opted your reports when I post the latest milestone in the Tevis Cup virtual challenge. I think I should wait for you to catch up and post them.

I do enjoy very much reading them and hope other folks do as well. This is the last one I will post, and then I will let CaliforniaDreaming post the rest.

Chicken Hawk :: The Tevis Cup

I do enjoy imagining my ride if I were doing the Tevis. It's been a lot of fun, and I thank CaliforniaDreaming so much for letting me know about it.


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## CaliforniaDreaming

knightrider said:


> @*CaliforniaDreaming* , I feel like I have co-opted your reports when I post the latest milestone in the Tevis Cup virtual challenge. I think I should wait for you to catch up and post them.
> 
> I do enjoy very much reading them and hope other folks do as well. This is the last one I will post, and then I will let CaliforniaDreaming post the rest.
> 
> Chicken Hawk :: The Tevis Cup
> 
> I do enjoy imagining my ride if I were doing the Tevis. It's been a lot of fun, and I thank CaliforniaDreaming so much for letting me know about it.



No worries. We just hit Chickenhawk tonight, so I imagine we'll get to Foresthill tomorrow and I can just put up the milestone report then.


I'm glad you're having fun! It's been great for me too.


I got a little behind, so I've got two reports to make. 



After Friday's excitement of running into a bobcat on our way into Virtual Deadwood, the weekend was pretty anticlimactic. We mooched around a bit on Saturday, I let Mitch wear his Little S hackamore to take a break and he was nice about not trying to stuff his face with food while we meandered.










Mirror selfies!










I love my handsome ponybutt




















5 miles put us at 60.2 miles on the virtual trail.


And today was a nice day to ride. Just breezy enough, bit of a squirrelly pony (he got yesterday off) but he was a good boyo still. We mostly stayed in the arenas, but got about 2 miles out on trail.










Golden ears in the golden light against the golden hills




















4.8 miles meant we got to mile 65 on the trail, so we're just past the virtual milestone of Chickenhawk on our way towards Foresthill. I'll probably only end up doing about 4 miles tomorrow just to get us there, and then make plans for more riding this weekend, and maybe haul off in the trailer for a longer mileage ride.


So by doing the Virtual Tevis event, this allowed me to really track my miles for the month of August.


We rode *14* days out of *31* (might have ridden more, but we did have a week there where the smoke and heat was so bad I didn't want to push us into doing anything we didn't need to do) and averaged about *4.64* miles per day of riding for a total of *65* miles.


On to September!


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## egrogan

@*Saigold* - if you don't have an ad blocker on your browser, that should take care of the "congratulations" pop up messages. I've had good luck with Ad Blocker Plus, it's a free download.

Love seeing all the great ride pictures. I'm regretting not signing up for the virtual Tevis.

We wrapped up August with a nice mid-day ride, and ended up with 91.54 miles for the month. That's the most we've ever done in one month! 

Saw this impressive fungus in the woods. According to iNaturalist, it is a _Climacodon septentrionalis_- a fairly common "tooth fungus" that lives on dying trees.

















*Total 2020 miles: 306.8*


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## Saigold

@ergogan. I’ve o my recently started getting those. Thought I somehow caught a virus, but it only happens on HF website. 

By the way while I’m doing the tevis cup challenge, I didn’t actually register for it. I’m doing it within the timeframe provided but I put the registration money toward a hylofit monitor instead lol. So if you’re keeping track of your mileage you can do it jsit like I am!


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## knightrider

@CaliforniaDreaming, we are fairly close together now on the Tevis trail. If we aren't greeting each other, we are doing the vet checks together.

I rode Aci again today for 8.7 miles. I get to use him on the Tevis ride. I now have 76.3 miles in the Tevis virtual challenge.

Today is the day I turn in my Pasos for Pleasure hours for the year. They go from Sept. 1 to August 31 each year. I can only count the hours I ride registered Pasos, so I can't count the hours when i ride my neighbor's unregistered horses or Windy, who is a TN Walker. When my neighbor gets a registered Paso, I can count those hours, even if I don't own it.

I turned in 739.75 hours this year for Pasos for Pleasure which is 2,441.175 miles on registered Pasos. I was surprised that I had the most hours on Isabeau. I would have thought it would be Acicate. I don't get to ride Chorro as much because when folks come to ride, they prefer my precious Chorro. I think I have fewer Aci hours because my daughter's friend wasn't allowed to ride Chorro for about 4 months due to an injury, and she was riding Aci. Beginners always get Isabeau, so I didn't think I got that many hours on her. But, clearly, I did. Just for fun, the breakdown of hours on each horse:
Isabeau 268.5 hours
Acicate 256.75 hours
Chorro 214.5 hours 

PS: My daughter's friend wasn't allowed to ride Chorro because he can spook big, and Aci doesn't spook. Doctor's orders.


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## LoriF

knightrider said:


> @CaliforniaDreaming, we are fairly close together now on the Tevis trail. If we aren't greeting each other, we are doing the vet checks together.
> 
> I rode Aci again today for 8.7 miles. I get to use him on the Tevis ride. I now have 76.3 miles in the Tevis virtual challenge.
> 
> Today is the day I turn in my Pasos for Pleasure hours for the year. They go from Sept. 1 to August 31 each year. I can only count the hours I ride registered Pasos, so I can't count the hours when i ride my neighbor's unregistered horses or Windy, who is a TN Walker. When my neighbor gets a registered Paso, I can count those hours, even if I don't own it.
> 
> I turned in 739.75 hours this year for Pasos for Pleasure which is 2,441.175 miles on registered Pasos. I was surprised that I had the most hours on Isabeau. I would have thought it would be Acicate. I don't get to ride Chorro as much because when folks come to ride, they prefer my precious Chorro. I think I have fewer Aci hours because my daughter's friend wasn't allowed to ride Chorro for about 4 months due to an injury, and she was riding Aci. Beginners always get Isabeau, so I didn't think I got that many hours on her. But, clearly, I did. Just for fun, the breakdown of hours on each horse:
> Isabeau 268.5 hours
> Acicate 256.75 hours
> Chorro 214.5 hours
> 
> PS: My daughter's friend wasn't allowed to ride Chorro because he can spook big, and Aci doesn't spook. Doctor's orders.


Wow, that's a lot of hours. Good luck and I hope you win with the most hours with pasos for pleasure!!!!!

If I joined the virtual Tevis Cup ride, I'd still be sitting at camp, lol. Sounds like you're having fun with that too.


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## phantomhorse13

Playing catch up again. The whole story is in my journal.

Last Sunday, DH and I got George and Phin out:



















Monday, I started with Iggy:



















Then it was Link's turn solo:















Tuesday, I got Phin out:



















Wednesday, I went over to ride with Gina. I rode Honey:


















2020 mileage
...
8/23 phin 6.9 miles 1129 ft climb 4.7 mph 92F 1720.59 total miles
8/24 iggy 10.36 miles 1476 ft climb 5.5 mph 95F 1730.95 total miles
8/24 link 5.18 miles 686 ft climb 3.0 mph 97F 1736.13 total miles
8/25 phin 6.05 miles 971 ft climb 4.7 mph 93F 1742.18 total miles
8/26 honey 6.59 miles 860 ft climb 3.5 mph 80F *1748.77 total miles*


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## Celeste

I have ridden once since I last posted. I have been helping my daughter with her house and it has been unbelievably hot here. I had a nice ride and am up to *198.7 miles*. I was really annoyed not to break 200 in August. 

But after the first few weeks of September, we may actually have a cool day or two. (It could be after the first 4 weeks of September). Well since I use the 10% rule, which means that I count my ride as 10% of the other person's ride, that puts me ahead of @phantomhorse13. There is no way I will ever get up to within 10% of @knightrider. Maybe I could use the 1% rule for comparison. 

I am actually only competing against myself.


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## knightrider

Na, @Celeste, my total was for the year Sept. 1 to Aug. 31, so my totals don't count for Horse Forum. Actually, @phantomhorse13 is waaaay ahead of me. I am rather a wussy rider, slow and steady like the turtle. Because I live in Florida and because I am retired, I just manage to ride every morning, day after day. And we don't get that much rain. And it usually doesn't rain at dawn, only in the afternoons when folks who work are looking to ride.


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## knightrider

*Flies!? Go figure*

Yesterday I rode Aci for 2 hours, 15 minutes on a trail that normally has few flies. I have to ride past the biting Anatolian Shepherd dogs, which I dread, but Aci is good about it, so it was worth the risk. I lost my fun trails, which were easy to get to because the landowner's son thinks that riders scare the deer away.

I didn't spray because it is expensive, and pretty much all summer, those trails have almost no flies. But I did put on a fly mask and carried my fly swish. Yesterday the flies were horrible. I was so busy slapping at flies and swishing my swish that we ran into banana spiders TWICE!!! in the face. Banana spiders are as long as my index finger, fat, and very scary. And their webs are sticky yellow stuff that will not come off. Imagine a sticky spider as long as your finger crawling in your hair (below the helmet, near the shoulder). Eek.

As usual, on the way home, almost no flies, quite a pleasant ride home. AND--the Anatolians did not come out. They did not even bark, and I wondered if they were still there.

Wednesdays are solo Windy ride days, and with each ride, I try to give Windy a slightly more challenging activity. She has risen to the challenge every week, getting better and better. I am super proud of her.

I decided her challenge this week would be (besides riding past pigs and cows) to go past the Anatolians and see if they came out. Are they really gone?

We got past the pigs, using @bsms 's bullock cart technique. Windy went waaaay off into the planted pines away from the pigs, and she balked at the furrows and scrub brush, but we managed.

I also solved the mystery of why the Anatolian owners stand behind the trees in their driveway and watch us ride past every time. They were feeding their goats this morning as I rode by. They must be doing their morning chores when I ride by, and they see and hear the horse hooves on the road. This time with Windy, the Anatolians started barking and coming after us as we rode out to the fun trail. But they did not come out into the road. So that was fine.

We got to the lovely trails and what??? NO flies this time. I stuck my fly swish in my boot. Didn't need it. Great ride, and Windy did fine.

I dreaded passing the Anatolians going home because I saw they were loose. My daughter insists that Windy will kick a dog that nips at her, but Windy missed last time. I saw her kick out, but it looked more like a buck than kicking at the dog. Anyway, I hoped Windy WOULD kick one. But happily, the nasty owners must have decided to cooperate because the dogs were barking and barking, but never came into the road. Windy blew 3 danger snorts and pranced and danced, but we made it past easily.

On the more busy road near my house, the electric company was replacing power poles with two cherry pickers, 4 trucks and numerous workers. Noisy and crazy. I kept telling myself, "There is no shame in dismounting." But I didn't have to. Windy danced and pranced again, but went by all right. I was very proud of her!

And what's the deal with the flies? One day, flies everywhere biting like crazy. Next day, no flies.


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## phantomhorse13

knightrider said:


> we ran into banana spiders TWICE!!! in the face. Banana spiders are as long as my index finger, fat, and very scary. And their webs are sticky yellow stuff that will not come off. Imagine a sticky spider as long as your finger crawling in your hair (below the helmet, near the shoulder)


 Oh H#LL no.. I would not have still been on the horse to have to worry about going past those awful dogs a second time, as my conniption over a spider _the size of my finger_ being on me would have had even lovely, tolerant Aci dump me and run away. And you had it happen not once but TWICE!!
:eek_color: :dance-smiley05: :falloff:


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## phantomhorse13

Still catching up.. the whole story is in my journal.

Last Thursday, I started with Iggy:



















Next up was Link solo, and the wind got _ugly_:
























Friday, I drove down to Gettysburg to meet friends. I rode Lapco:




























Sunday, DH and I got Iggy and Phin out first :







'




















Next, we got George and Link out:


















August - 203.53 miles
Phin - 64.96
Link - 55.76
George - 21.83
Iggy - 34.26
Amish - 7.71
Lapco - 12.49
Honey - 6.59


2020 mileage
...
8/27 iggy 8.44 miles 1529 ft climb 5.4 mph 90F 1757.21 total miles
8/27 link 7.72 miles 1388 ft climb 2.9 mph 95F 1764.93 total miles
8/28 lapco 12.42 miles 1181 ft climb 5.1 mph 93F 1777.35 total miles
8/30 phin 8.91 miles 1362 ft climb 5.8 mph 70F 1786.26 total miles
8/30 link 5.68 miles 666 ft climb 3.2 mph 75F *1791.94 total miles*


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## ChasingDreams

phantomhorse13 said:


> Oh H#LL no.. I would not have still been on the horse to have to worry about going past those awful dogs a second time, as my conniption over a spider _the size of my finger_ being on me would have had even lovely, tolerant Aci dump me and run away. And you had it happen not once but TWICE!!
> :eek_color: :dance-smiley05: :falloff:



I’ve nearly gotten myself dumped over a spider already [emoji23] I freaked out, screamed and started swatting furiously at myself, and Chase spooked like “Woah!!! Is it a mountain lion? A bear? What is UP there with you???”


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## charrorider

ChasingDreams. Our woods are full of spiders and their webs, right now. Some riders go with a long stick, which they wave in front of them to break the webs. I don't mind the spiders and neither do my horses. So everything is cool. When we get done with a good ride, it looks like we are ready for a Halloween party we have so much web on us. After a ride, I've even found spiders inside my shirt pockets. They don't bite, but they are prickly. So like I said, everything is cool. It is amazing how quickly they can rebuild their web traps.


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## Celeste

We are definitely having spiders right now. Most are just annoying. I had a rather well endowed friend riding with me last summer. She ran into a spider web and the spider got into her bra right in the cleavage. She didn't panic, but she halfway disrobed. He scratched her a bit, but did not bite. 

That is one good thing about helmets. They catch a lot of the webs.


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## ChasingDreams

I’m fine when I can see the webs, I can usually dodge them or break a few strands to move the web without really disturbing the creepy crawly residents. I’m even fine when I accidentally go through webs before I see them - as long as don’t actually SEE the spiders on me. 

But, when I look at my shoulder and see a huge furry one staring right at me or one drops down on my face from my helmet visor- Hand me the blowtorch [emoji15]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## knightrider

This is probably more than you ever want to know about banana spiders.

https://www.wikihow.com/Identify-a-Banana-Spider

They are SO creepy! According to what I read, their bite might hurt either as little as a mosquito or as unpleasant as a bee sting, but it won't kill you.

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/f...xt="They're not aggressive spiders," she said.

I know that the sticky yellow web got all over Aci's fly mask and the only thing that would get it off was hot water and soap. I have often thought that scientists should research whatever those webs are made of for glue because it doesn't want to come off of your fingers or your clothes.


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## phantomhorse13

Lots of saddle time this week. The whole story is in my journal.

Tuesday, I started with Phin:



















Next was Link, solo:

__
Sensitive content, not recommended for those under 18
Show Content




















Yesterday, I started with Iggy:










Next was Phin:










Last was Link, solo:










Today, I hopped on George bareback to mosey around with Kestrel:










2020 mileage
...
9/1 phin 8.16 miles 1247 ft climb 5.5 mph 71F 1800.10 total miles
9/1 link 8.06 miles 1234 ft climb 3.5 mph 74F 1808.16 total miles
9/3 iggy 4.08 miles 423 ft climb 6.0 mph 80F 1812.24 total miles
9/3 phin 4.62 miles 476 ft climb 5.8 mph 83F 1816.86 total miles
9/3 link 5.06 miles 518 ft climb 3.9 mph 85F 1821.92 total miles
9/4 george 2.38 miles 217 ft climb 3.8 mph 78F *1824.30 total miles*


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## weeedlady

I am back in Ohio for now and back in the saddle finally. Tucker and I made it to Cougar Rock today in the virtual Tevis.

I am very far behind all of you. My stat page says I am in 773 place out of 1066 (or something like that). So at least I'm not dead last. I don't mind. I just want that $65 T-shirt:smile:


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## Saigold

Went to a local trail with a new friend. The was a brisk breeze, a chilly morning. While it’s nice riding weather, you can smell the forthcoming cold. Which I could do without. There’s a prediction for lots of snow this winter. But so far the weatherman is wrong 90% of the time. So who knows. 

We rode along the river, then crossed it and did a loop there. Took a break by the water and headed back. 

Duke seems to have the knack on finding things. First he stopped a sniffed out a tennis ball in the grass, later he found someone’s baseball cap and took his time investigating it. Then a dead deer carcass. He must have been a detective in his previous life. 

We rode a total of 15kms, which puts us at 110kms (68miles) and right at Foresthill Mill site. 274km YTD. 

http://teviscup.org/the-trail/trail-locations/foresthill-vet-check


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## knightrider

From @weeedlady



> I just want that $65 T-shirt


Ha ha, that made me laugh out loud. I am looking forward to my shirt too. I have lots of t shirts with horsey stuff on them, but the Tevis is special, and it will be fun to have the shirt.

I took Aci to ride with my friends this morning at Oleno State Park. We did 7.2 miles and I am now on mile 83.5 of the Tevis. We had a super fun ride. All horses did great--it wasn't too hot because Oleno is mostly all shade, and there were almost no flies.
@weeedlady, don't worry about being in the back. I am waaaay in the back also because they place your placing by time as well as miles, and I don't go very fast.

I have enjoyed it very much, and my friend said she was kind of wishing she had signed up for it too.


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## weeedlady

I rode my good girl for an hour this morning. I can't count it for the Tevis because I'm using Tucker for that, but it was Raven's turn. I think she's been feeling left out. 































It’s feels good to ride again after two weeks away. We had someone watching over us the entire time.


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## LoriF

phantomhorse13 said:


> Oh H#LL no.. I would not have still been on the horse to have to worry about going past those awful dogs a second time, as my conniption over a spider _the size of my finger_ being on me would have had even lovely, tolerant Aci dump me and run away. And you had it happen not once but TWICE!!
> :eek_color: :dance-smiley05: :falloff:


I was just getting ready to say that I don't think that they even bite and then remembered the one that got on top of my head. All of the sticky web kind of freaked me out and I hit the spider accidentally. More like brushed it. It bit me but I can't blame the poor thing as it was probably more terrified of me than the other way around. It mostly itched for a couple of hours.

Golden silk orb weavers, as we fondly call banana spiders here in FL are actually quite pretty, I think.


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## egrogan

We had a wonderful weekend participating in the GMHA Distance Days event- rode 32 miles over three days and saw some beautiful trails I hadn't ridden before. I finally have pictures of something besides me riding in the woods to share :wink:























































_OK, one of riding through the woods..._








*Total 2020 miles: 338.8*


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## Saigold

@ergogan that’s some nice scenery! Looks like it was a lovely ride!


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## charrorider

In my quest to see more of MO from the saddle, I drove 1hr-40min to Meramec River Conservation Area. So far it is the best trails I've been on in MO, The best part, IMO, very little rocks. There are 11 miles (17.8 km). I rode 9 miles (14.5 km). And except for a couple of short sections, the trail was free of rocks. Hallelujah! I'm not used to that. Also, there were a couple of steep hills. But two steep, short hills in 9 miles? That's a piece of cake. The trail had enough curves and gentle hills to make it interesting. One can probably canter about 50% of the loop, and trot most of it. For the bad news. #1 no camping. It was hot yesterday, 88 F, which I believe is about 31 c, and the sun shinning. There isn't a sliver of shade at the trailhead. I hate to be at that trailhead in July and August. The other thing I wish it wasn't so, is the lack of water. There isn't any at the trailhead and there was only one creek that had water in it. We crossed a few creeks, but they were all dry. Not even the pools had water. We came upon the one creek with water at 6 miles (9.7 km) and that was it. Chance likes to drink a lot of water, so I felt sorry for him. I will go back because I loved the trail, just won't go at the height of the summer.


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## charrorider

Had the wrong trail photo. Canaan was last week. This is Meramec. Sorry. I should've previewed the post.


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## lb27312

Went camping again this weekend, only for one night. Great riding and it has finally cooled down, even had to put my heat strip on this morning for a little bit.... trails were great, they have definitely done some maintenance and marking since the last time I went to these trails. It was really dry so not much drinking on the trail. Chal will drink but it has to be running cool water... lol Some of it was pretty steep, could trot a little but no way on loping. All horses did great and stayed in sync with each other. I had stayed at this campground a while ago, maybe 4 years? It went up for sale and they weren't allowing overnights so hadn't been there in a while. The new owners were super nice and have done a little maintenance.... 

First day was 7 miles but there were some pretty steep climbs and drops the next day got lost a little and went not so long before we decided to turn around. The trails were pretty. Will definitely go back again since it's opened back up...


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## rambo99

@egrogan beautiful pictures fun seeing other places through pictures.

Been a while since I posted ,been riding but less miles last week or two. Haven't felt good, then having issues with joint pain. Some days it's so bad I can't do much.. 

Gotten in some nice rides cooler weather. Only mosquitoes to deal with now. Rode Saturday evening so didn't see anyone out on trail so nice quiet ride. Have pictures from some other rides we did. 

So here's some pictures from our rides.


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## carshon

Rode a couple of times this long weekend. We finally got some rain!! After having the driest August on record here it rained on Sunday! Daughter was home from college and hubby took Saturday off. We had a great ride at a local park. We gaited a ton and had fun on the hills and ravines. Daughter had taken the trailer solo on Friday and rode that day as well. We had Sunday off due to the rain (2 inches!!!!) and so daughter and I rode on Monday at a local park. That park is easy trails no hills but is mostly gravel. We had a great morning ride and sat and chatted into the afternoon. Its raining again today (Yeah!) and daughter left early this morning to go back to school. I am going to miss her.

I have pics but did not upload them from my phone to my computer.


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## PoptartShop

Everyone's rides look amazing!!!  So beautiful!

Since I haven't ridden Promise in about a week (it was raining like every single day) I took her out past the property & we did a little trail. It was super peaceful!


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## Celeste

I have only had two rides in what seems like a million years. I can't deal with 95 degree weather. Today it cooled down a little bit and I took Dillon out. It had been over two weeks since I rode him, so I halfway expected some shenanigans. He was a perfect gentleman. 

I was so glad to get to take my dog, Prissy, along. I think that she tried her best to die a couple of days ago. She woke up with a severe neurological problem. Her signs were consistent with brain damage, but she had not been out off leash at all and she sleeps in a crate. So I figured that it was a stroke. I gave her a steroid shot, a klonapin for seizure like activity, and some aspirin. I really didn't think that there was much else to do. 

Then I got to thinking about toxins. She has been fascinated with mushrooms lately. I keep them picked up out of her pen, but I walk her after dark, and she could have snatched one. 

Whatever it was, by yesterday morning, she was in good shape. And I am so glad! By today, she was bouncing off the wall. So I let her come for the ride. We only did 3 miles and she had a blast. 

Oh, I past 200 miles for the year today. 201.7 miles


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## Celeste

I'm not sure that I posted pictures from my last ride either. This was with Princess. 

If these are reruns, sorry. My 63rd birthday was yesterday. I have an excuse.


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## carshon

Happy Birthday @Celeste! I am so glad Prissy is OK.


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## phantomhorse13

I hope everyone had a great weekend. I got some saddle time and the whole story is in my journal.

Friday, I went over to ride with Gina and Nik. I rode Honey:



















Saturday, DH and I took George and Link for a mini-adventure:


















2020 mileage
...
9/5 honey 6.55 miles 712 ft climb 3.5 mph 75F 1830.85 total miles
9/6 link 7.15 miles 909 ft climb 3.4 mph 85F *1838.00 total miles*


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## CaliforniaDreaming

Looks like I've got some catching up to do!


My last post was August 31 and had us at 65 miles.


My ride on September 2nd was 5.1 miles long and got us into "Foresthill" which was a picnic area at our ranch, I timed it just so we got into that spot at 68 miles, took a few shots and we went on for another 2 miles or so.































































And then I didn't ride for about 6 days. It was super hot (record temperatures in what seemed like virtually every freaking city in California, plus the state started burning. Again. Or it was still burning from the last time a few weeks ago, only we got new fires on top of the old fires.) Definitely not a good time to go riding. So we didn't.


It finally cooled down enough on Tuesday that I was able to go out and get another 5 miles. I've just got the charts for those, no other pictures.






















That put us at 75.2 miles.


And today, we only did 3.3 miles, but now Mitch and I are 78.5 miles down the virtual trail, and have made it into Cal2-Peachstone. Had a little excitement today! I was only intending to walk because fires are still burning elsewhere, and the sky looks weird. It's either fog or really high smoke, but I checked the weather and air quality sites and they said my area was 'Good' so I figured we could get a few miles at a walk just to make it into the next checkpoint since we were so close.


So off we go, and round the corner by some avocado trees just as a coyote comes down the trail. He said "HALE NAW!" at the sight of us, and dove for cover, leaving Mitch pretty snorty for a few. I'd put his Lil S hackamore on thinking to give him a bit of a break, and the first thing that pops into my head is "I should have put the bit on because this pony is gonna be out of here in a second." But lucky for me, he wasn't, and we went on.










































So, tomorrow I'm hoping to get a couple more miles and make it to 80.5 total. We're 288 out of 1088, and I'm pretty happy with how it's all going for us, despite the weather being touch and go. Mitch has been really doing well weight wise, it's like Flab-to-Fit for him. My hopeful plan is to try and make 90 miles by the end of the weekend, and then plan to haul off for a long 10 mile ride through Hope Ranch again to make our last 10 miles really awesome.


So we've got some virtual trail switchbacks tomorrow. @phantomhorse13 do you know of any pictures of those?


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## knightrider

@CaliforniaDreaming, I've got 6 more miles to finish, and I've been riding other horses so haven't finished. I'll finish on either Sunday or Monday, depending on how long my young adult riding companions agree to ride.

So, we get to meet virtually on the finish line! How cool is that! It's been quite fun, and again, I thank you for clueing me in about it.


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## weeedlady

@knightrider and @CaliforniaDreaming wait for me at the finish line. I'll be there before November! 

Tucker and I got in 8.72 miles at Mohican State Forest on Monday and another 4.30 today at home. That puts us at 38 miles and we've moved up to 689th place! 
I thought I posted pictures of my Mohican ride but evidently not? 
So here we are-Me and Tucker and my cousin and her horse Topper. We've been riding together off and on for more than 50 years.


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## rambo99

Went riding this evening saw deer one buck and a doe. Got pics had to zoom in. After I took picture got about a foot away from buck. 

Did 8 miles was cool and bugs have finally died down. No fly mask now even didn't need to fly spray horses. Fall is for sure here leaves are changing colors. Days are getting shorter quickly sure sign winter is coming. 

Here are pictures from today's ride. Hopefully will get some miles tommorow weather permitting, supposed to rain. Last picture is of sunrise this morning. On my way to work,6:25 am.


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## knightrider

This morning I completed the Tevis 100 mile ride. I did the ride in 30 hours, 3 minutes, and 6 seconds. I came in 147th place. I am guessing that @CaliforniaDreaming is also finishing the ride today. We are greeting each other and giving each other high fives at the finish line. I will let California post the final statement. It is well-written and fun to read.

It's been a great challenge, and I really enjoyed doing it. Aci is an amazing trail horse.


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## egrogan

Congrats @*knightrider* , and hope @*CaliforniaDreaming* is enjoying those last few miles coming down the trail!

We've been out a bit this week as well. It's feeling like fall here, with beautiful blue, sunny skies. Frankly I feel a little guilty enjoying such beautiful weather while looking at so many devastating pictures from other horse people in the surreal firescape out west...:sad: I've been glad to hear most HF folks are relatively out of the way of the worst of it, and I really hope it stays that way.

Some rides from this week...



































Apple season is here!









As the days get shorter and it's starting to get cooler, I'm really hoping I can make my 500 mile target for the year. I think we have a chance, but will need November to be relatively warm and snow-free to get there. But, that's my goal!
*Total 2020 miles: 361.4*


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## phantomhorse13

CaliforniaDreaming said:


> Mitch and I are 78.5 miles down the virtual trail, and have made it into Cal2-Peachstone.
> 
> So we've got some virtual trail switchbacks tomorrow. @*phantomhorse13* do you know of any pictures of those?


 I have pictures from the pre-ride I did with my friend. That section is normally done in the dark during Tevis itself.. and after seeing it in the daylight, I would be thankful for darkness to hide it!!

I don't do heights - I don't even like a stepladder. Knowing this, the friend who I pre-rode with graciously offered to go first for these sections. That seemed like a great idea.. except that meant I could see EXACTLY how close her horse's feet were to the edge of the very narrow trail!! I wound up going first once I could pass safely because I literally had to close my eyes to keep panic from overcoming me looking at her ride the trail.




























Down towards the bottom, this was a neat place with a spring - great to stop for a drink.










Amazing trail for sure!


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## Celeste

I had a long post put up and then my computer ate it. I hate it when that happens. 

I believe that I have ridden three times since posting. The first time was on Dillon. He was a doll. He did one tiny little spook when a hawk flew practically in his face and I almost dropped my phone. 

I'll go on and post that first, and put the other rides in a different post.


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## Celeste

Then I rode Princess. She had gone about a week and a half without being ridden, and that doesn't work well for her.

On the way out, she was ok. She actually rode at a walk with the reins laying on her neck while I held my phone two handed it after almost losing it the first day I had it from Dillon's spook. 

She was ok until we got to our favorite canter place. I asked for a canter, but I got the old "Yahoo, we are in the Kentucky Derby and I'm going to win and you might as well just hold on". I was not terribly pleased with that.

I rode her the next day, and she was MUCH easier to deal with. I made her walk in her Kentucky Derby place until she would walk on a completely loose rein. And then we kept walking. I did let her canter for a short while. This time it was a nice little easy to ride actual real canter. And then we rode on beyond the house so that she couldn't think that she was galloping for home.

And those dang frogs did it again. We have another batch of tadpoles!

Total for this year: *208.1 miles* I'm hoping to make 300 but that will depend on the weather and my health.


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## Saigold

Rode out solo yesterday and did 14.5km by the app. I somehow disabled cellular data when I checked something on the phone and it threw the apps off. Fitbit showed 16km, but I’ll go with the app. That puts us at 115kms (71miles). Guess we’re not as quick as others and will take a bit longer to finish the tevis challenge. 

I was a bit anxious riding out alone, as we haven’t been out in a week, and while Duke is fine to sit in a pasture and still be a good sport, today was the first time we were going alone without my dog in a while. Kody has been a bit sore getting up from laying and would take a few lame steps and then seem fine. But I didn’t want him to overdo it, so decided to leave him at home in case he’s pulled a muscle somewhere (haven’t been able to locate the pain area though and really hoping it’s not hips). I didn’t realize how much Duke came to depend on having Kody along with us for company. He was Uncharacteristically jumpy even while tacking up. It was a windy and brisk morning. So I’m sure that contributed to his uneasiness. But he was wound up. I feel safer when we have the dog with us as I feel more protected when we’re out alone. I had butterflies in my stomach and jello legs for the first few kms out. I eventually was able to relax mostly and enjoy the ride. Although about halfway through the ride Duke started rushing more and it felt like we left power steering at home. He just wanted to go go go, and was giving me a hard time when I’d ask him to stop and wait. Even after getting him to move in circles over and over he still wanted to plow ahead. So a bit of a frustrating ride. But I supposed I set us up for that. 

We had someone that was trying to finish up her chores and meet us on the trail, so we took our time and went through some smaller trails that we didn’t go on in a while. At one point there was a log across the path, pretty much on the ground, and since Duke was in such a rush, I gave him his head and let him trot up to it seeing what he’d do. He didn’t hesitate in jumping it. I’ve never really jumped before, so wasn’t sure what to expect. Duke has. He’s a power house lol. We sailed over it like a freight train and continued on like nothing happened. 

We met some people walking a few spaniels off leash. The dogs seen us at the last moment and started barking and running at us. I turned Duke to face them and one took off to the owners and the other down the trail. Prob figured Duke was a giant dog. Glad he’s used to barking. 

The lady who was supposed to meet us didn’t end up coming, so we headed toward home. Duke was pretty happy to head back. He figured I got lost with all the circling and it was his job to get us out.

On the plus side I was able to get the heart monitor to work most of the time 🙂. It’s interesting to see that when I couldn’t shake the nervous feeling, is when Dukes HR spiked way up. And then was normal for the rest of the ride. 

Ps. I love how you can see so many dapples on his coat. Just noticed them recently.


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## carshon

After a week of very much needed rain we had a gorgeous sunny day yesterday. I rode with the Crazy Lady and new friend. They are headed off for a short trip to Shawnee National Forest at the end of next week so wanted to take it a bit easier on our ride. We avoided any parks that may have steep hills that would be muddy and slippery and went to a local prairie restoration site. The weather could not have been more perfect! We rode about 8 miles - I spent most of the ride on my own as Tillie walks so much faster than their horses but I still enjoyed our ride. Fall is in the air and the horses barely broke a sweat.


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## QueenofFrance08

Spent the weekend camping at Wildcat Mountain State Park in Wisconsin with some endurance friends. I was planning to ride Jake (in preparation for his and my first 50 next week) and DH was going to ride Chico (in preparation for DH's first 50 next week) and we both planned on trying out saddles. I ended up asking DH to ride Jake which he was happy to do and Chico and I had a blast testing out his new Reactor Panel saddle. 

It rained heavily Friday night until about 1:00 pm Saturday so DH and I took a little drive Saturday morning to explore. It is beautiful, very hilly, wooded country which is pretty different than home! They have a large Amish population so we got to see a lot of horses and buggies out in the rain! I would like to go back for longer next time and explore some of the Amish tack shops and bakeries! 

After the rain, the 6 of us (endurance friends) went out for a ride. One lady was riding a new to her horse who wasn't settling in as well in the group so she got off to walk the first stretch. Unfortunately for her but fortunately for us also riding excited endurance horses, the first mile of trail was a super steep hill! It helped most of the horses settle a little but I felt terribly for the lady walking! The trails were slippery and technical so we walked the entire ride. 

We continued on with a few more adventures (new horse thought jumping steps DOWN hill was fun) and were going up a narrow trail when we heard a pop and a thud. Thankfully we were able to settle the horses and realized that our friend with the new horse had fallen off (thankfully wearing her safety vest which was the pop) after we think her horse got caught on a log. She was thankfully not seriously injured but had taken a smack to the head so we tried to figure out how to head back after that. 

We got back to camp and I was trotting Chico down the road our friend D came over and asked if DH and I were going back out because she would come. I said sure I'll go again and surprisingly DH wanted to back out as well. We are all planning on riding the 50 next weekend and trying out new tack setups so we wanted to get a little trotting in. We were out about another 4 miles (we got to trot and canter up a lot of hills, poor ponies were huffing and puffing at the top!) and went on a really cool trail where there were random old cars in the woods (cool for us riders I guess, not sure the ponies were thrilled!). We ended our ride just as it was getting dark with about 10.5 miles total for the day.

Sunday we all woke up and tacked up for another ride and a new friend who is interested in endurance joined us. A few of the riders from the day before stayed back so we got to move out a little more on Sunday (and the trails were less soupy too!). We ended up with another 10.5 miles with lots of hill work for the horses. DH and Jake had a great weekend (despite some temper tantrums from Jake about his pace) with no big spooks and Chico and I had a blast as well. The horses seemed to do well with their new saddles as well! Overall a great weekend!


----------



## carshon

Love Wildcat!!! But we have had a lot of rain here!


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## QueenofFrance08

carshon said:


> Love Wildcat!!! But we have had a lot of rain here!


It was certainly too slippery to go very quickly! I told DH I would love to come back for a longer weekend and do more of the trails/some at Kickapoo and visit some of the Amish shops as well! Hopefully on a more dry weekend!


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## gunslinger

DW and I went to Zenith campground at Big South Fork over the Labor day weekend....near perfect weather, highs in the high 70's and lows in the mid fifties......rode down to the O&W and over to the O&W bridge.....and back.....20 miles.....Sunday we rode the Grooms branch trail down to the O&W.....10 miles....Grooms trail was not in very good shape....


I'm at a pitiful 85 miles for the year....


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## carshon

@gunslinger I don't know how you do it. Not getting much riding in and then doing 30 miles in a weekend! I would be paralyzed from being so sore.

But any riding is still good!


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## CaliforniaDreaming

phantomhorse13 said:


> I have pictures from the pre-ride I did with my friend. That section is normally done in the dark during Tevis itself.. and after seeing it in the daylight, I would be thankful for darkness to hide it!!
> 
> I don't do heights - I don't even like a stepladder. Knowing this, the friend who I pre-rode with graciously offered to go first for these sections. That seemed like a great idea.. except that meant I could see EXACTLY how close her horse's feet were to the edge of the very narrow trail!! I wound up going first once I could pass safely because I literally had to close my eyes to keep panic from overcoming me looking at her ride the trail.
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Thanks for the pictures!

We’re still at the same mileage we were the last time I posted. The winds shifted again, and brought in the smoke and it’s “unhealthy” so no riding for now.


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## weeedlady

Tucker and I added another 6.61 miles to our virtual Tevis total this morning. 44.72 miles and in 655 place, lol. Almost half way there. 

This morning was a perfect late summer morning.


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## Celeste

I got in one more ride since I last posted. I took Dillon out. He was perfect! He walked calmly on a loose rein. He did a running walk and a rocking horse canter. I also got him to go down "Scary Road" just a little way. He was looky but he went. It is really just the road in front of our house towards the highway. But there are "Scary Trucks" and "Different Dogs". So he was very brave to go on his own. Well, Prissy was with him, but she stayed right behind him. 

We did see a rat snake on the trail. He looked up at us like maybe he would challenge us. Dillon looked at him. You could almost see him waving and saying "See ya" as he took off. Then we just calmly went on. 

*It was so much fun.* So much more than working and working. Teleworking should not be work, but it is. I look forward to shoveling manure over looking at this computer. I guess that is why I am not the world's best at posting these days. 

No raining for the next few days. It is raining an raining and raining. We are getting the edge of that hurricane in the gulf. I hope my bridge doesn't wash out. Rain, rain, rain. But, in better news, it is supposed to start being nice weather after the rain stops! Hurray!

My pictures aren't that great this time. Dillon always has bad hair days. I love his bad hair. It is very good to hang on to and also cute. 

Total miles for year: *211.5*


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## gunslinger

carshon said:


> @*gunslinger* I don't know how you do it. Not getting much riding in and then doing 30 miles in a weekend! I would be paralyzed from being so sore.
> 
> But any riding is still good!


 Miss Lacy's a Cadillac ride so it's not near as bad as riding one of the quarters.... but she's 20 years old....and thinks she's still a filly.....but she's funny in that she's always going to be one the first horses back.....


It wasn't to bad until Tuesday when I went back to work.....but yea, I felt it....
We're headed to Saddle Valley campground at Big South Fork next weekend.....probably won't do big miles but last trip we were focused on making it to the O&W bridge.


It's riding time here in Dixie! Weathers cooling down!


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## egrogan

Cool weather here in New England too...of course cool quickly turns to COLD. But we're not there yet! :wink: It was gloomy today though- and the haze from the fires out west is still sitting with us. We are all more connected than some people would like to think, I suppose...








*Total 2020 miles: 368.02*


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## weeedlady

We made it to the half way point in the virtual race today. 7.31 miles puts us at 51.92. We had a great ride and the weather in NE Ohio is beautiful today.


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## Saigold

The more we ride and the more places we go, the more I find that it becomes just another ride, thrilling but not the same as when it was a complete novelty. I remember when I got to go for my first ever trail ride in 1997 (at 13yo). I was so excited I couldn’t sleep. Well yesterday We trailed out to the trail where I went for that very first ride. We planned it last Monday and were going on sat, and let me tell you, I had a hard time waiting. It felt like I was a kid again and was so excited. 

There were 6 of us, my niece and myself, and a few old and new friends. The horses were both excited to get off the trailer and we’re looking around everywhere. The trail starts at the edge of the city and we rode the manicured trail to a less travelled by the public one. There were lots of forks and detours and the trail mostly ran along the river. I remembered parts of it from way back when. We crossed a pasture with cattle where the owner allows people to ride on. They just ask to keep the gates closed and respect the land and animals. Not very many of those around. Very thankful that folks like that still exist. 
Going through the weighted gates, the person who said her horse was pretty good at opening and closing them, was able to go through it but her horse wouldn’t stand still for her to hold the gate open. This was a first for Duke and I, but I figured he can do it, so I asked him to push the gate, which he refused, but when I shoved it open slightly and urged him to go through it, he did and we were able to hold it open for everyone to pass. I was proud of him as we’re working on standing when asked and he wasn’t really cooperating earlier on the ride. So it was an accomplishment. 
We encountered lots of cattle, but they were resting and not all that interested in us. A few of the heifers came closer to investigate, but none too close. All the horses were ok with them and we continued on. 
One of the riders was a guide in the past for the riding place (where I rode so long ago) and she found a river crossing spot they used in the past. Even though the water looked kind of deep, she said it didn’t rain in the past week so it should be good. I bragged how my horse loves water, since he’s been wading in it most of the summer and even took me half swimming on his own accord. Of course when the other horses started to cross and the water came up halfway up their body, dunking their riders up to their knees and butts in cold water, (these horses were 16-17hh). Duke took a look and said no way. I asked him to go in but didn’t insist too much as my niece was riding Montana who was the smallest horse (15hh) there and she would have ended up in the water up to her waist. The day started out with frost on the ground, so not really swimming weather. The others riders crossed back and we continued on the same bank. 
There were a ton of herons (cranes?) in the water. We probably counted a dozen at least. We did end up crossing the river a few times but water wasn’t nearly as deep, it was up to the belly at most, and Duke was ok with that. 
We crossed bridges, and narrow spaces between big mighty trees, came across a carving in the tree where someone has done a very nice job of it. And called it ‘wise old oak’. 
We also came across a big open field where it’s allowed to canter through, so took advantage of that. 
By the time we made it back to the trailers our behinds and knees were getting sore. We did just over 11km. 126km tevis challenge. And 299 YTD. 

For the tevis cup challenge, 126km = 78miles. Which puts us at Cal 2 (peachstone).


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## carshon

A quick ride with someone I met on a Facebook group yesterday. Tillie was a peach (I love my horse) and I hope my new friend and I get to ride more often. My first ride wearing a sweatshirt the entire ride. Temps are very fall like now. I am dreading the end of riding season but love fall riding!


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## ChasingDreams

I’m so far behind on posting rides [emoji37]

I’ve had 6 rides since my last post. 3 solo rides at home, 2 rides with BM, and a FUN first trip trailering away from home!!!

Chase has been coming along so well, and hasn’t even been “up” with the changing weather. His first trailer away couldn’t have gone better, and it was the first really cool day we’ve had. He walked straight on and off the trailer and was just awesome.

I’m not going to post all the maps, and unfortunately my phone was dead for the entire trip to the lake. But, I’ll share a few photos that my companions took and some from our home rides. 

2020 miles~ 236




























































































Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## egrogan

We've had a big change in the weather- fall is here! It's made for very interesting riding the last week or so  This is the third fall I've had my mare Fizz, and I don't remember her being spun up so much by the cool temps, but she has been quite a handful the last few days. 
:gallop:
But today we had a calm, relaxed ride and I felt like I had my normal buddy back. We're just starting to see the color of the foliage intensify- in a couple of weeks, we'll be at peak already!




























*Total 2020 miles: 378.78*


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## knightrider

Kind of interesting ride for me today. It was Chorro's turn and I decided to ride down the dirt road to see if the brindle pit bull dog would come out and bother me. My daughter's friend appears to have lost her nerve after her somewhat serious injury. She won't ride past that dog anymore, and that makes for some short rides when she comes along.

I've been riding past the house with the aggressive dog, and it hasn't been coming out. So today seemed like a good day to see if that lucky streak continued. I figured about 6 rides with no dog would demonstrate it was now safe to ride there. On the way there, Chorro and I encountered a toilet on the dirt road leading to the trails. Someone must have tossed it off their truck because the toilet bowl was separated from the toilet tank separated from the toilet seat. Chorro had never seen a toilet before, together or separated, and he wasn't going to have any part of it. This is HIS road, and nothing like that has ever been on HIS road. He wouldn't move forward, and his heart was pounding out of his chest. Toilets are deadly dangerous to horses.

I decided to use @bsms bullock cart technique, which I really didn't want to do because the berm next to the road is loaded with sand spurs, cacti, and a buried barbed wire fence. When they made the berm years ago, they just bulldozed the dirt up against the barbed wire fence and sort of knocked it down and sort of just covered it up with dirt. But Chorro made it through the obstacles and went through the planted pines until we got around the toilet. I wondered how he would do on the way home past the toilet.

About a quarter mile further on, we came upon a long roll of insulation, the kind that is shiny on the outside with pink insulation on the inside. It looked like perhaps a human body was rolled up in there. Kind of creepy since last year someone did roll up a murdered body in a tarp and leave it on the side of the road. Chorro didn't care for that strange object on his road either, but he had seen insulation before . . . and the attack toilet had not gotten him, so he figured he could manage past the insulation.

My luck ran out with the aggressive pit bull. He came roaring out after Chorro. I have decided my best practice with aggressive dogs is to RUN AWAY. The dogs come tearing out their driveways to chase off the horses and the horses want to get away from the dogs. So far, it is working fairly well. Yesterday I braved the biting Anatolian shepherds. Their owner had been keeping them up, and I had hoped it would continue. It did not. Aci and I had to outrun the Anatolians yesterday, and Chorro and I took off away from the pit bull today. The dogs give up the chase when they see the horse heading out quickly. My guest riders cannot handle it, so when I bring young riders, we just can't go that way . . . for now anyway. But today, Chorro didn't feel like cantering. Instead he gave me the sweetest most delightful largo--fast and smooth. I was grinning.

When we got to the insulation, Chorro thought it looked just as frightening from the other direction. He danced past it OK, but as soon as he passed it, he bolted for home. He's easy to stop, so it was no big deal. But I did wonder how he would handle the toilet. That was coming up soon.

I looked ahead on the road. No toilet. What? Did someone come and pick it up while I was riding? It wasn't a nice toilet that anyone would want. Weird. When we got closer, I saw that some vehicle had blasted into the toilet, shattering the porcelain into a million pieces. I wonder what kind of damage there was to the vehicle. Nothing passed me on the road that was sturdy enough to smash a porcelain toilet without damage. The toilet seat was still perfectly intact, lying in the road. Chorro wasn't worried about the toilet seat and we happily rode home without any other incidents.


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## Saigold

@knighteider you seem to have some terrible luck with dogs. Hope one day you can ride without fearing an attack.


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## Saigold

Got out for an autumn ride today. The leaves are just starting to get their orange and red tinge, since we had a few frosty nights and while the day started out cool, it warmed up rapidly to be able to ride in just a t-shirt. I had two other riders with me, and it was a nice calm outing. We rode by the river and wandered in it a few times. At one point one of the riders almost came off her horse when we crossed water, as the horses front legs sunk into either muck or a hole. But she recovered nicely and we continued on. 
Did a total of 15km today. Which puts us at 141km (86miles) for the Tevis challenge, just past Francisco’s vet check. Even though it’s virtual it’s nice that we’re nearing the finish line lol. 

According to the heart monitor we didn’t work very hard, but we sure felt tired after the ride 😂.


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## egrogan

@knightrider, that sounds positively awful. Though the case of the mysterious toilet is kind of funny. Hope you have some better rides soon!


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## knightrider

@Saigold, isn't it funny, we have the exact same fields of goldenrod blooming currently as you do. You in Canada and me in Florida with goldenrod blooming like mad in both places.
@egrogan, it's really not that awful, now that I am used to it. The Dog Dazer works OK for the pit bulls. I just found is it easier and simpler to outrun the dogs. They want us gone and we want us gone. Win for everyone. Once the dogs see the horse moving away quickly, they give up the chase much faster than if we walked sedately along. They follow for about a quarter mile if we walk. They often don't go past their property if we canter. The dogs are proud of themselves for protecting their property, and really, that's all they want to do.

Today was Windy's turn to ride solo. I rode her for 2 hours. She gets better with every ride, and today was no exception. This was her best ride yet. Every new ride is her best ride yet. She is just about where a decent trail horse should be. She was slow going out and extremely animated coming home, but safe the whole ride. I still am feeling ecstatic over "safe!" Yay!


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## phantomhorse13

Potato harvest is in full swing, so I am very behind. Starting to play catch up..

A couple weeks ago, DH and I went up to New York state for a competition. The whole story is in my journal. I rode Phin in the 50 miler.

































2020 mileage
...
9/12 phin 50.48 miles 5306 ft climb 7.0 mph 70F *1888.48 total miles*


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## charrorider

Went for an 11 mile (17.8 km) ride today. With this ride, I finally topped 200 miles (324 km) for the year. It has been slow. I met another rider at the trailhead who had never been in Cole Creek before and asked me if he could tag along because he was afraid to get lost. He was riding a Missouri Foxtrotter, but told me it was slow. I enjoy my solo rides, but told him I could show him around. Chance has an above average walk, about 3 mph (4.86 km), which in these rocky hills it's not bad. He had no problems, neither following, nor leading the Foxtrotter. Well, his Foxtrotter may be slow...but slow for a gaited horse. When we got back to the trailhead, I checked my gps and our average moving speed had been 3.9 mph (6.3 km). Chance has never walked that fast before. Hope everyone has a chance to get out on the trails and celebrate National Trails Day this weekend.


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## weeedlady

Working on those Tshirt miles again today. 7.08 miles at SilverCreek Metro Park. It was a beautiful day in NE Ohio. I rode with my dearest friend and her horse for probably the last time. I'll be taking my horses to our new home UP North in a few weeks and I don't think she and I will be able to squeeze in another ride  Made it a bittersweet day.























I'm at 59.11miles for the Tevis. I'll have to get busy if I'm going to finish before I move the horses.


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## phantomhorse13

Still playing catch up.. the whole story is in my journal.

Sunday (the 13th), DH and I got George and Link out:



















Monday (the 14th), I got George out:


















2020 mileage
...
9/13 link 4.0 miles 453 ft climb 3.8 mph 75F 1892.48 total miles
9/14 george 7.28 miles 1165 ft climb 5.3 mph 74F *1899.76 total miles*


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## charrorider

Not a fan of riding along the highway. But I wanted to explore the few, new miles of trails that were opened for last June's endurance race. The two sections were divided by a section on the highway.


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## Saigold

@NightRider, yes lots of goldenrod everywhere. Love the colour that they and other plants add to the landscape. 

Trailered out to ride at Puslinch tract trail system yesterday. We ended up meeting at someone’s property, as she had trouble with trailer loading her horse the last few times, and then rode a few kms to the actual trail. It was a beautiful sunny day, warm, no wind and absolutely gorgeous autumn colours. I’ve always wanted to ride in the changing landscape, but usually by the time I could get out, a big storm would come in and rip all the leaves off the trees. I hope this year it stays nice for a long time. 

We ventured through pine trees and maple trees and everything in between. The trail led us by a pond and a lake. We waded in the water for a bit. One of the riders went in the water no more than 5’ out and was going to cut across and to the shore, as they had in the past, and all of a sudden her horse got bogged down and started sinking into muck. At one point his feet started sliding out from under him and you could actually see the horse starting to lean sideways at a considerable angle. He did a few big leaps and was thankfully able to recover his footing and they both came out unharmed. All of us had flashbacks, as there was a very recent incident close to home, involving a teenager who’s horse got bogged down and she ended up under the horse and drowned. 

There was a part of the trail that led through tall pines and was very twisty and narrow in spots. Had to really watch your knee caps. Also lots of up and down over hills. Nothing crazy, just enough to make the horses work for it. 

After we got back Duke got some more carrots and a few horse treats. A quick bath to wash the sweat off and we let him and another horse out in a small spare paddock. They got acquainted on the few times we rode together and neither one put up a fuss. Don’t think they even cared to sniff each other while turned loose. Just focused on the hay available. 
As for us we ended up doing a little potluck and just chat for an hour or so. 
When it was time to go home, Duke was keeping tabs on us and making sure we didn’t forget about him. After a bit of encouragement to get on the trailer, he loaded up and we headed home. 

We rode just over 11km. Which puts us at 153km (95miles) for the tevis cup challenge. Just past ‘Lower Quarry’ on the map. One more ride and we should have the challenge completed way ahead of the deadline.


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## phantomhorse13

Still playing catch up! Thursday (the 17th), I headed down to Maryland for a 3-day CTR. The whole story is in my journal.

Friday, I rode Lapco:




























After we finished, I tacked up Brimstone and took him and Fugi out for a leg stretch ride. They were both were snorting dragons, so I didn't have enough hands to handle them and take any pictures! 


Saturday, I rode Lapco again:
































Sunday, I rode Lito:

































2020 mileage
...
9/18 lito 0.81 miles 20 ft climb 4.5 mph 48F 1900.57 total miles
9/18 lapco 25.95 miles 2804 ft climb 6.1 mph 61F 1926.52 total miles
9/18 brim w/fugi 2.45 miles 203 ft climb 7.4 mph 63F 1928.97 total miles
9/19 lapco 25.65 miles 2799 ft climb 6.2 mph 60F 1954.62 total miles
9/20 lito 25.28 miles 2798 ft climb 6.5 mph 58F *1979.90 total miles*


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## egrogan

So many fun stories and great pictures! 

We did a good bit of riding this week. Temps warmed up a bit (back to t-shirt weather) and even though it's been so dry, the foliage is looking gorgeous.

Mid-week ride with my riding buddy- we took the afternoon off to enjoy the weather, and it seemed like the rest of our town did too. We passed a bazillion bikers, ATV riders, and people out driving around.


















The gorgeous weather held right through the weekend. Saturday I did a short ride on my own:












































Sunday was back out with my riding buddy. Our horses were enjoying the ride too, so we got a bit adventurous and tried two new-to-us trails. Our horses each seem to get impatient with indecision when we're trying to figure out new trails, but yesterday they were willing to just go with the flow without fussing about it, even when we surprised them by turning away from home to explore a new trail. Aside from a family out hiking with their kids and dogs, we never saw anyone else out there, which was pretty unusual for as nice as it was. The ATV parking area at one of the trailheads was packed like a can of sardines, so I guess we just got lucky that we picked the trails we did. Our ride ended up being 10.5 miles by the time we got home.



















We did hear some crazy bear ROARRRR sounds in the woods off the trail, but fortunately we never saw it and we were very close to the dirt road taking us home, so we just continued on our way.

The weekend left us tantalizingly close to 400 miles:
*Total 2020 miles: 398.6*
We're getting some much needed rain the next three days, so not sure I'll be able to crack 400 miles by the end of September. I may have to get a little wet just to do it :wink: Can we reach 500 by the end of the year? I think so! Even if it gets pretty cold after this warm snap is over, I think we can do another 100 miles before Thanksgiving. Last year we were really able to keep going right up to Christmas as the snow came pretty late.


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## weeedlady

Tucker and I rode 10.51 miles on the Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath in Navarre today. That puts me at 69.62. If I get busy I can still get the Tshirt. It was an absolutely beautiful day in NE Ohio.


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## Saigold

Went out solo for another ride. The colours are getting more beautiful by the day. But there are a lot of leaves on the ground too. It was warm and windy. Duke was a bit wound up but did relax as we rode on. Out the way to the trail we took a path through some tall grass and almost stepped on a rabbit as it came darting out from between Dukes front feet. Later we surprised a deer. Duke didn’t spook at either one. Not even sure if he seen the rabbit lol. 
We took a round about way to get to the trail to avoid a rocky section and did a little trespassing. Not totally illegal as I did talk to one of the members of the gun club who said we can go and take a look at that area. It was pretty neat. They have little outhouses (I assume that’s what they were) and well maintained camping ground, with soft pine needle cover. However, our sight seeing got cut short as I spotted a guy following our tracks on the field. Not sure if he was the owner of the field or not and maybe he wasn’t even looking for tracks. But it was still unnerving to say the least. He had a long stick and was inspecting the ground. The part that put me on alert was how close he actually was to us and I didn’t see him following us to the trail from the road. So not sure where he came from but wasn’t staying to find out. Luckily my dog didn’t see him and didn’t bark to give out our position. He didn’t see us behind the trees and we were able to leave unnoticed. Only thing is that I was planning to go back out from the private area the way we came, but that would have put us right at the spot the guy was headed to. So we snuck out through the bottom gate and had to step over a hanging cable with a pipe on it. Duke easily stepped over with the front but kept getting hung up with the back legs as he wasn’t stepping high enough. After a few tries though, he figured it out and lifted his back legs up to his belly and cleared it. Much to my relief. We continued down the trail but the whole time I kept a close eye on any human movement. We stayed on the far trails away from that person and didn’t see him again. We stayed out long enough that I figured he’d get bored and leave. 
We did wade in the river long enough for Duke and the dog to drink, and then kept on the move. Didn’t go in any sections of the trail where there was only one way out. Call me paranoid but riding solo tends to highten the spidy senses to full alert. I was very happy I had our GSD with us lol. 

Eventually we did ride back up to the area by the field. And went off trail just for a bit to see a meadows area. Flushed out a deer who disappeared fairly quickly and quietly. Still keeping a sharp eye out. Then took a deer path through the woods as it looked like a trail, but it got pretty overgrown. At this point heard a few dirt bikes approaching. Duke got all worried and started rushing. Prob cause I was on full alert the whole ride. But he was headed toward where the bikes disappeared. So maybe he just wanted to see them. We continued down the main trail and figured we had enough for the day so didn’t loop around anymore. My rear end was still sore from last ride. Thought Duke may be a tad sore too. Heading back the bikes came towards us and when seen us, slowed down and rode slowly past. We trotted for a bit after and took the shortcut across the tracks to avoid having to ride across the bridge. By the time we made it to our field, Duke remembered that I emptied a bag or alfalfa pellets and a bag of senior feed on the ground (they had moth larvae when I bought them). He happily munched on some of it and when I asked him to go home, he reluctantly left the piles of goodies. About 50’ down the lane way I gave him his head to see what he would do. He obediently walked towards home, I gave him the slightest signal to turn back around (away from home), and he turned on a dime and speed walked back to the pile. Didn’t take him long to sniff it out. We diid make it home eventually. 

Todays ride gave us 11.6kms. Which puts us at a total of 164kms (102miles). Which means that we have finally completed the tevis cup challenge. And if I actually paid the registration fees, then I could happily wave around a $95 bandana lol. Instead I put that money toward a heart monitor that I think I have finally figured out how to use properly.


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## gunslinger

Spent the weekend at Saddle Valley Campground at Big South Fork.....rode from the campground to the Cumberland Valley Trail head and made the loop.....17.3 miles.
Sunday, we took a short ride around Spruce Creek....7.3 miles....


The good news is I've finally broken 100 miles....I'm at 110!!!


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## phantomhorse13

Finally caught up! The whole story is in my journal.

Last Monday (the 21st), I started with George:



















Next up was Link solo:



















Tuesday (the 22nd), I got Link out for our longest solo ride yet:



















Friday, I got George out first:



















Next was Link for his first ride with a strange horse:


















2020 mileage
...
9/21 george 7.19 miles 988 ft climb 5.5 mph 45F 1987.09 total miles
9/21 link 7.55 miles 1240 ft climb 4.2 mph 53F 1994.64 total miles
9/22 link 9.15 miles 1385 ft climb 4.1 mph 55F 2003.79 total miles
9/25 george 5.83 miles 791 ft climb 5.8 mph 70F 2009.62 total miles
9/25 link 6.59 miles 722 ft climb 3.4 mph 75F *2016.21 total miles*


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## charrorider

September didn't start too well, as far as horseback riding. One opportunity to ride in the first 12 days of the month. But it picked up the last two weeks and ended up with 5 rides and 41 miles (66.4 km) for the month. Last ride was at a place never been to before. One hour and forty minute haul. We were following Google maps instructions and it took us to the wrong parking lot. That and the fact we got a late start from home, forced us to adjust our plans. So we ended up riding an in-n-out trail, 8 miles (13 km). I've been able to put some miles the last two months. Began August with 129 miles (209 km) for the year and ended September with 217 miles (352 km). Want to visit one more horse trail in MO, then I'll be happy...maybe.


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## weeedlady

We got in another little ride around and around the cornfield and added 3.93 miles to our Tevis total. I'm at 73.55 now and in 553rd place. No milestones gained today and no pictures, cuz it's all the same corn, lol. Tucker was good although he had plenty of energy to burn.


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## Celeste

I have been riding several days a week. I am up to 239.1 miles. 

My own internet won't play this worth anything. If you can get HD it came out pretty cool. This is Dillon and I am playing the music. Just not while riding. Hard enough to hold the phone.


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## weeedlady

Woo hoo. Another cornfield ride. I intended to just do a token ride around the perimeter. Just so I could say I rode. That would be about 2 miles max.

Tucker was quite nervous to start with- there was a car in the cornfield!!!! and geese!!! But as soon as the car left he settled down and although he wanted to gait, not walk, it was such a lovely relaxed happy gait that we had to go up and down a few rows. And that was so much fun we had to do a few more!

I ended up riding for an hour and 15 minutes and we added another 5.02 miles to our Tevis total. I've moved up to 508th place, lol I'm at 78.46miles now and I plan to trailer out on Monday to get at least another 10. 

Can I finish this before October 19th when we head UP North? I THINK so.


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## Saigold

@weeedlady yay! You’re almost there! I’ll wait for you at the finish line 🙂. I finished the 100miles on sept 28th. 

We were supposed to trailer to a new trail yesterday, and the forecast said no rain. Well we got rained out and there was more that was supposed to come in once they adjusted their forecast (maybe by looking at the window). So we cancelled that adventure. All were disappointed, but safety has to come first. There’s too many steep hills there that would be unsafe when wet.

So went out today instead. A friend trailered over to our place and we practiced loading Duke into her trailer. After some convincing he did get on and we loaded and unloaded a bunch. Once he was just coming in the trailer without balking. We repeated it with tack. And then headed out to a nearby trail. Had a nice ride. Seen a deer. Lots of leaves down on the trails already. The rain that wasn’t supposed to rain, did sprinkle a bit. But being in the trees we barely felt anything. 
Did a few loops. The horses were great. It also felt good to ride Duke who didn’t seem as tender today. 
Over the last little while he was a bit hesitant over gravel areas. When I had the farrier out a week ago, he said Duke just really wore his feet down short and was unbalanced. So our orders are to ride mostly on non abrasive surfaces for now and maybe boots or shoes if we have to do lots of road work in the future. 
Upon refinishing our ride my friends horse went in the trailer with no fuss. Duke planted his feet. But with some encouragement he walked right in. It’s getting easier and easier, it still not where he just walks right in though. Practice will make perfect eventually. 
7.5km today with a total of 345.4km YTD.


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## knightrider

*Further Adventures of the Anatolian Shepherds*

One of the trails that I love best to ride has been closed to me by the landowner's grown sons. I can still get to those beautiful fun amazing trails, but I have to ride along a road where two aggressive Anatolian shepherds live. These dogs have been coming out of their driveway and nipping at our horses' heels. They follow us quite a ways, barking louder than any dog I've ever heard, chasing the horses, nipping at them, and trying to herd them.

I had to stop bringing the young folks to that area because the young people couldn't control my horses, who bolted, bucked, and almost fell several times on the slick paved road.

I was still going myself solo and outrunning the aggressive dogs, which was working fairly well . . . until it wasn't. We riders who live near-by have tried talking to the owners, who are clearly mentally ill and extremely rude. They seem to think that we riders are responsible for "harrassing" them by demanding to ride on a public road. Their dogs should be allowed to come onto the road and bite anyone they like.

Animal control has been called at least 4 times, by bike riders, walkers, and us, and confronted the owners, but animal control can't do anything, they say, because the dogs remain on property when the animal control people are there.

Since my super riding territory is now closed to me, except going past those dogs, I decided to film the dogs going after the horses. I did two "dry runs" last week with two different horses. Aci is already quite nervous about passing the dogs, as they once drove him into a barbed wire fence where he got his leg caught. Isabeau handled it a little better. Normally the dogs chase the horses until we are past the property, then they trot happily back up their driveway, proud of themselves for "protecting" their property. 

When Isabeau confronted the dogs, we went into our accustomed canter, and the dog went after her. I don't know if he nipped her or not, but she leaped into a dead bolt. I wasn't too worried. It was my gentle kind quiet Isabeau who was bolting "out of control". But this time the dog followed us past his own property, the next farmstead, and finally into the planted pines before he gave up. It wasn't super scary, but it wasn't fun either.

I decided I had had enough. I wore my daughter's helmet cam and rode with my neighbor and his tried-and-true steady eddie little Paso Fino. I decided to take my daughter's mare Windy because she has been known to kick at dogs (although the last time the dogs came after her, she bolted, bucking and kicking, and almost falling on the pavement . . . but my daughter was riding her, not me).

And the result was . . . NOTHING. The dogs did nothing. I got a great film of two dogs running out the driveway barking their heads off, and them standing there barking. The larger aggressive one went off to the side of the road and lay down! He has never done that, in all the 7 years I have been riding past those dogs. If that's all those dogs do, I'll be completely happy. Why have they been getting more and more difficult, and then suddenly . . .NOT? My neighbor thought that aggressive dog might be sick. Time will tell. I might get my riding territory back without any more confrontations.


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## knightrider

Totals for September: 
58.5 hours
193.05 miles

Totals for 2020
572.75 hours
1890.075 miles

The results were tabulated for the Paso Fino Pasos for Pleasure riding. I got first place. The contest runs from Sept. 1 to Aug. 30 every year. I was happy.


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## carshon

I had plans to ride twice this weekend and only managed 1 ride. On Friday hubby and I went to a friends to help with a horse with loading issues. My friend is 76 years old and lost her horse in May - she has spent all summer looking for a nice horse and purchased a cute little MFT - who unfortunately had not trailered off of property for over 10 years. They loaded her and brought her home where she quickly bonded with their ancient Arabian - and then she refused to load. To the point where she pulled back hard and broke the trailer tie and broke my friends finger when she reached in to unhook her. Now friend is afraid of her and is planning on relisting her for sale. I truly don't think she is a bad horse just a horse who had been alone for many years and doesn't want to leave her new friend or load into a slant load with a rear tack. I don't have a rear tack. She walked right into my trailer - when I asked her to back out she was shaking so bad the trailer was vibrating. I just think the poor thing is afraid to back out and just needs to gain her confidence. But friend is determined to sell this cute little mare - she loaded into my trailer about 20 times - we never tied her but she stood there and let us pet on her and even cocked a foot - and at the end had stopped shaking and rushing to back out.

So this friend has already purchased another little horse - but now she is nervous of any horse in the trailer. I convinced her to ride with friend L and I on Saturday. She was so nervous and said she would think about it. Well Saturday morning she called and said she was coming. We met at friend L's place where we were going to ride share to the park. I unloaded and loaded old friends horse for her because she was nervous. Friend L and Old friend realized they had met many many years ago and ridden together so it was a great happenstance. We trailered to the park and I unloaded old friends horse - what a pro. He unloaded and stood tied eating out of his hay bag like he did this every day. Friend L was also riding a new to her horse so both friends were a tad nervous. Tillie was the belle of the ball as the only mare and was a good calming presence when we met hunters on the trail. We had a wonderful ride and both new horses were perfect! 

Unfortunately, I was so sore after the ride that I had to cancel my plans to ride with another friend on Sunday. New hip #2 gets installed on Nov 18 and I cannot wait!


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## egrogan

@*knightrider* - I'm glad you had a good ride passing the dogs, but what cosmic timing for them to behave  I'd say keep wearing the helmet cam when you go past.

*@carshon*- that was really sweet of you to help your friend. The rear tackroom is also really problematic for Fizz. My friend M is helping one of her friends with nearly the same situation. Thank goodness for patient friends when we need them! 

It's the time of year when we need to make every nice weekend count. It was glorious weather here Saturday and Sunday so we did lots of riding. Saturday was a short solo ride- though we shared the road with what felt like a million leaf peepers also enjoying the pretty weather.


























We even found some free pumpkins along the way! :grin:









Sunday we did 10 miles with my regular riding buddy. Like @*Saigold* , there are a lot of leaves down, but oddly there are still a ton of trees that are still green, haven't started turning yet. I think next weekend should also be pretty. Not sure how much longer after that.


















*Total 2020 miles: 412.21*


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## rambo99

It's been a long time since I posted on this thread. Been busy taking reining/cutting lessons. We haul to an indoor arena once a week or every 2 weeks. Worked on stop backup an turnaround, and step off into canter from a standstill. All done off seat and legs only touch reins when needed. At end of lesson, ice did some really nice slide stops. 


Anyway had some nice rides beautiful weather. During the week not many ATVs to deal with. Run into an older guy who keeps trails cleared of downed trees. He did tell us there is a momma bear with cubs. Appearently she has been on main trail. Haven't seen her but see tracks. 

Horses got spooked pretty good last week. So thinking they might of smelled heard bears. All I know is both horses wanted to get the heck out of dodge. 

Going to be a nice week this week in 60s an 70 degrees tomorrow. Plan on doing some long rides. Here are some pictures from 3 different rides.


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## weeedlady

Today felt like a good day for an adventure, so Tucker and I donned our matching October outfits and set out to ride a trail that I have never done. I guess that trail will forever remain a mystery to me. When I started noticing only Blue rectangles as trail markers I suspected I had made a wrong turn somewhere. I began to feel that we were heading in the wrong direction.

Some very nice hikers confirmed my suspicion that I was on the Buckeye Trail. They could not help me find the bridle trail, but they did assure me that if I continued in the direction I was heading I would end up back at the Metro Park and be able to find my way to familiar ground. Tucker was happy with the footing and eager to go, so I decided to continue on......

What they didn't tell me was that we would have to climb a set of stairs set into a very steep hillside. I thought we should turn around, but Tucker said "Just Hold On Mom, We've Got This!". And up we went. There was no turning around after that, because going up is one thing, going down is an entirely different story.

As promised, we made it back to civilization. We hadn't been out nearly long enough, so we rode another, familiar trail with a detour to the river and the train station and back.







































All of that excitement added 10.96 miles to our $65 T shirt total. The best part was that Tucker was an absolute saint all day. He never argued, he never spooked. I love my big red gelding today.


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## knightrider

@weeedlady, I am looking forward to your finishing the Tevis ride! Great pictures.

Yesterday, @4horses, @LoriF, and I got together for a super fun trail ride at Watermelon Pond. Rain was predicted, but we went anyway and had a wonderful ride. I was so proud of Novia, @LoriF's young filly. It was only her 8th ride, and she did fantastic.

When Novia was a baby, LoriF was considering paying a trainer to start her. I encouraged her to do it herself, that she was a fine rider who knew enough to start a colt (or filly). Now she has, and done a great job, as I thought she would.
@4horses took the pictures, and I hope to encourage her to put some on Horse Forum. She took some nice photos.

More happy news: I rode Windy solo this morning. Each ride gets better and better. Each ride is the best one yet, and this one was no exception. Windy only bounced and juked about the last quarter mile home. That is such an improvement from ALL the way home which she used to do when I started riding her solo. She is really turning into a decent lil' trail horse.


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## egrogan

@rambo99- taking those reining lessons must be a big change from all the trail riding. Hope it's fun! @weedlady, I love all your matching orange! Great pictures. @knightrider and crew- I am jealous you all have the chance to get together so often. Hope the pictures get uploaded, they are always beautiful!

I'm inside right now where it's dry and warm, but we managed a short bonus ride this morning since the rain came later in the day than expected. The rain and wind are knocking a lot of the leaves down, but I took a short video of some of the last of the foliage for this year before the storm came.




*Total 2020 miles: 414.6*


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## Saigold

Finally got out to the trails I wanted to ride for awhile now. We had a group of 7. Two Haflingers, an Arabian, Spanish mustang and QHs. 
This trail was challenging at times. To start we had to walk down a rocky, steep hill, so the horses really had to watch their feet. Most of us went down that way and a few riders went around that section. Can’t say I blame them. I thought about it too. Then it flattened out into a beautiful trail with fall colours all around us. Lots of leaves on the ground. 
The girl who’s been through those trails before, had to leave after she explained some of the options to ride, since she had to work. We continued on our own deciding to stick to the easier terrain for our first time out. We also had a green horse with us, and it was her first trail ride. She did great. 
We followed the trail by the river for a bit and then it started to climb and we ended up on a trail right by the edge of a significant cliff (3rd pic). It was Breathtaking but most of us were holding our breath because of how close the drop off was and looking straight ahead. We were relieved when we made it to safer ground. The pictures really don’t show how big that drop off was. 
We ended up riding into a park and a passerby took some pictures of all of us. 
On the way back half of the group opted to ride the trail away from the drop off. The rest of us went back the way we came. It wasn’t as scary on the way back but still not something to go about carelessly. All the hills that we went up on, now we had to maneuver down, but al the horses did great. We made it back to the trailers. 
Since we only did 6kms, myself and two others headed back out and rode corn fields and more trails. We thought about going to the other side of the river and explore there, but since it was getting close to 4pm, we figured we should call it a day and leave that for next time. Had to climb some more hills to get back to the trailers. I could feel duke really working on that last big ascent. I thought for sure his heart rate would be up, but nope, it was around 120bpm. Despite the extra weight I guess he’s more fit than I thought. All that riding this year made a difference in fitness. We also rode in new wool saddle pad, which was nice as it kept the saddle more level. 
Total of 12kms. 357km YTD.


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## charrorider

Saigold. How far away was this trail?

Yesterday was a nice day to check out the emerging Fall colors at Cole Creek.


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## weeedlady

Lots of geese gathered in the cornfield/riding arena. Tucker and I managed 4 miles without causing anyone to fly away.


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## Saigold

@charrorider it’s close home here. It was only about 8 min drive from us lol. In Ontario


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## Mads.equ

*Amazing pics!*

Sadly there aren’t many trail ride options in my area so quiet rides are the only thing that really do us justice. Trail rides today with Poca xx


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## carshon

Took a couple days off of work. Hubby's birthday was Saturday so we decided to celebrate. Daughter came home from college and we got a couple of good rides in. The weather was perfect! On Friday we went to a "new" to us park about 1 1/2 hours away. We were told the park was hilly but when they said hilly they meant HILLY. The entire ride was up one very large steep hill and down the hills - one after another, and then another and then another. Almost 2 hours of just hill climbing. A lot of switch backs and creek crossings at the bottom of the hills. It was in the mid-80's and the horses were foamy with sweat and getting tired. It was an OK ride but to be honest even I would have liked a breather from the constant hill climbing.

On Sunday we rode again. Another gorgeous Indian Summer day. The fall colors here in NW IL are at their peak. We had a great ride and really enjoyed the weather. This will probably be hubby and daughters last rides of the season. Hubby works weekends so can't ride then and daughter went back to college and won't be home until Thanksgiving break - all the parks will be closed for the season by then and it will be shotgun season so you don't dare ride in any fields.

PS - I am the one in the blue on my wonderful TWH Tillie Mae.


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## weeedlady

Tucker and I were honored to be present when most of "our" geese took off on their long journey this morning! I was in awe as perhaps 100 geese lifted off and flew right above us, talking to each other in their excitement to be on the way. I could hear the air moving through their feathers. No pictures of that because I didn't want to miss even a minute of it fumbling for my phone. I did get these pictures that I think are kind of cool.























5.33 miles today. That puts me in 475th place with only 1.03 miles to Finish the virtual race. If I'd known how close I was, I would have finished today!


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## egrogan

We did about 25 miles this weekend- a short solo ride Friday, and then a 2-day pleasure ride Saturday and Sunday.

Friday we did our usual route to the overlook and back- leaves are surprisingly sticking around while longer.

















Saturday was unseasonably hot (75*F/24*C) and the horses really didn't enjoy themselves sweating in their winter coats and having to deal with bugs again. We rode 11.5 miles and given the grumpy horses, it was not the most enjoyable ride I've had this year, though there were of course good moments.



































A big storm went through Saturday evening, and Sunday morning was much more pleasant to ride. We did 10 miles.


















*Total 2020 miles: 438.2*


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## charrorider

Saigold. Eight minutes drive doesn't even warm up the engine. Not bad. I love the photo of the Arabian and the buckskin at the river crossing. What a difference in butt size! I would be afraid to ride with six other people. But that's another story.


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## QueenofFrance08

Haven't posted in awhile, had a crummy end to endurance season with lots of lameness pulls but I have been riding.

Had to share pictures from this weekend though since I was at one of my favorite places on earth, at least in MN for sure. 

Rode about 35 miles on Comet this weekend with some friends at the trail we usually have our last endurance ride at (would have been next weekend but cancelled due to COVID). Lots of hills and rocks and it was just about peak leaf changing season there (southern part of the state). It was shockingly warm, 80 degrees Friday and 70's Saturday and Sunday and the park was packed. 

Beautiful ride, beautiful place, pictures don't do it justice.


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## Saigold

@charrorider lol the grey Arabian was the most dainty horse there, while my buckskin was the biggest. By the way why wouldn’t you ride with multiple horses? 

Went riding today again, to a local trail. Wasn’t really planning on it but a friend was going with a few people and she was afraid of getting lost. I just ride over as it’s about 2kms from us. 
The leaves while still in their glory are past their prime now. There was lots on the ground and what’s on the trees is starting to turn more brown than colourful. Although there were still some gorgeous sections. 
We had good company and conversation. The owner of a TB said he wasn’t keen on water as we were approaching the river, and then her horse and another seen the water and practically ran into it and began splashing around and just enjoying themselves. Had a good laugh and shared some stories where our own horses made liars out of us. 
Turned out to be a very nice fall ride and the weather was balmy. We ended up seeing two deer as well. Love spotting wildlife in close proximity. Must have been young deer as we weren’t riding quietly and they still stayed within 10’ of us before taking off into the forest. 
Once we got back to the trailers, everyone took a few min to just pull up a chair and relax. But with kids waiting at home for me and still 2km ride to get back to the barn I headed out shorty after. Duke was eager to get home and wanted speed. But I didn’t allow him to trot on the paved road (he is barefoot and wore his feet down more than wanted over the summer). There’s an open field after the road though so I let him go and he went into a gallop. I let him have his fun. He normally doesn’t want to go faster than a trot. So I was enjoying some speed too. I wonder if the new wool saddle pad made it more comfortable and he didn’t mind going full out. This was the first time that I went this fast with him (we got him last year). He did run out of steam about a minute and a half later and was just happy to walk. 
12.5km for the day and 370 YTD. I hope once the cold weather rolls around and I go back to work full time I’ll still be able to get some riding in. 
Ps. Loving everyone’s photos! Out of all threads I always check this one for any new adventures posted.


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## rambo99

@egrogan yeah ice does mostly trail riding. He's bred reining/cow horse lines and it is shining through in our lessons. Plus it's really fun to learn new skills and improve my own riding. 
@Saigold your trees have more leaves an color then ours do currently. Got rain and wind Sunday night ,and trees lost most of there leaves. The oak trees still have leaves and a few of the Aspen do ,but for most part trees are naked now.

Been riding most every day beautiful weather and bugs are gone. Doing some long rides. Won't be long and firearms deer hunting will be here. Can ride after dark but have to stay on trails we know the terrain well. 

Some pictures of last 3 rides, been on the chilly side. So horses are feeling pretty frisky so we can really cover some miles in a short time. 

Everyone has some beautiful pictures so fun to see where everyone rides. This is one of first threads I check. Don't always post but do read about everyone else's adventures. Picture overload pics from oct 7th through oct 12th.


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## weeedlady

We finished the virtual Tevis race today with 2 miles extra. 100 miles in 100 days. I earned the $65 T shirt. Money well spent 😉


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## knightrider

> Money well spent 😉


Ha ha, @weeedlady, I agree. I am going to wear my tee shirt with pride. It's the closest I will ever get to the Tevis.

Today was a difficult ride for me. On Saturday, my neighbor and I went to film the Anatolian shepherds being aggressive to the horses again. I got a fabulous opportunity to show the dogs biting both my neighbor's horse and trying to bite my Chorro. The dog came at Chorro with mouth open and teeth bared. I turned my helmet camera towards him and yelled "Ah!" and he backed away. I was so thrilled to get it on video . . . only I didn't. When I got home, I discovered that my daughter had forgotten to put the sim card in the camera. So no video of dogs barking, and lunging at the horses . . . who were both calm and well-behaved.

So, we headed out this morning to try again. This time I brought Windy because she will kick a dog . . . and it was her turn, and she's good.

I wish this was not so, but I had a bad premonition riding towards the Anatolian farm. I kept telling myself that it was silly, and in a short while I'll be riding home with a decent video of the dogs going after the horses. Windy is good around the aggressive dogs. Why should I be worried?

The dogs came out and immediately nipped my neighbor's horse, which I did get on tape this time. Then they went for Windy. Perhaps she sensed my unease, because she was dancing around before the dogs even went after her. You can see it on the video. Then they drove her into the rusty woven wire fence interlaced with some barbed wire. This is the fence where Aci got a hind foot caught from those dogs.

So, I was looking at the fence, and guiding Windy away from it, trying to turn my head to film the dogs, and quite pre-occupied. Windy gave a HUGE buck, and the next thing I knew, I was heading for the ground. The only thing I could think about was, "I hope I don't get my foot caught in the stirrup." I have safety stirrups on almost all my saddles, but not that one. I did not get my foot caught, but I was pretty stunned. 

The dogs went after Windy, and she took off running. I did not know until later that they chased her onto the paved road, and she fell. She got 3 skinned up places, but they will heal.

I finally got up, figuring I was going to have a loooong walk home, hoping the helmet camera wasn't broken. Windy was fast disappearing towards home. I was super shook up and not thinking really clearly.

Next thing I knew, Windy was coming back, towards the dogs who were now just barking and swirling around my neighbor's horse but not biting him. Windy came all the way back to me and my neighbor. I was able to mount her and start riding home, when my neighbor said that Windy had fallen on the road and there were huge skid marks that her hooves had made on the road.

I dismounted, had him hold Windy, and walked back and filmed the skid marks. There was even a horse shaped dusty spot where she had clearly fallen. So I filmed that too.

When I got home, I called Suwannee County Animal Control and sent them the videos and lodged (another) complaint. This time, I hope those people KEEP THOSE DOGS UP!!!!!

I am banged up and bruised up a little bit, but plan to ride with some other neighbors tomorrow. Somewhere else, not past those dogs!

PS: Windy got piles of hugs and carrots for coming back past the mean dogs. What a lovely horse!


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## weeedlady

oh @knightrider ! I am so sorry that you had such a bad experience. Poor Windy. What a good girl to have come back to you!

You deserve a nice hot soaking bubble bath and a glass of good wine. Rest well and hope you feel ok tomorrow.


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## egrogan

Geez @knightrider, I’m so so sorry that happened the way it did. Were the people just hiding in the house acting like all that commotion wasn’t happening?  I sincerely hope someone takes your complaint seriously. If not, can you escalate to the mayor/town council/local state rep? It’s just not right!


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## Saigold

@knoghtrider that’s insane that no one is doing anything about the dogs. I think I would have called the police at this point. You still can. This is not animal control territory anymore (esp that they haven’t done anything about it). But it’s pure negligence on those dog owners that caused a wreck that could have ended so much worse. Glad you got it on tape. Sorry to hear about you and your horse getting hurt.


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## charrorider

It's been 14 months since I got Chance from a young woman who got him from a kill pen. He is still learning that although we are a team, he's a junior partner. I'm guessing that whoever owned him before didn't know how to instill discipline in a manner that Chance understood and knew what was expected of him. But, I surely love his walk. Even in this rocky, hilly terrain, he moves at 3 mph (4.8 km), which is pretty good for a non-gaited horse. We went solo today for 10 miles (16 km). We didn't see any colors and as usual, we were the only ones out there.

Saigold. Where I ride, limbs come crashing down from trees, deer jump out of bushes at the last second. The bigger the group, the bigger the odds there'll be riders who can't control their horses if they spook. Then, herd instinct takes over and it is more difficult to control your horse. I don't know how many times I've heard a story of someone who's horse spooked because the companion's horse spooked first.


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## carshon

@knightrider I was so mad when I read your post!!! I hope that your video gets some response. Poor Windy and poor you! What a mess.


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## Celeste

carshon said:


> @knightrider I was so mad when I read your post!!! I hope that your video gets some response. Poor Windy and poor you! What a mess.


Both of you could have been killed. Those dogs need to go. 

I wonder if the dog owners are renting. If they are, you could contact the home owner and tell them that you are going to sue them personally if the dogs are not controlled. 

If they own the home, call every insurance company you can think of. They would lose their insurance if they kept the dogs.


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## Celeste

I have been riding as much as possible. I usually try to swap horses so they both get ridden. They are both doing really well. They do perfect walk to canter transitions. That was taught when they were going the way they wanted to go. I decided to try to slow down my Princess's trot using the same philosophy. I will ask for a trot when going the direction she is not that excited about. I'll let you know if it works. 

All of my pictures are of horses going through the woods and my dog. I almost never have anyone to ride with because of Covid and also my 2 best riding buddies went back to college. I am having fun anyway. 

Miles so far this year are 263.4. I am hoping to get to at least 300. Gun hunting season starts tomorrow. So I won't ride the next couple of weekends. Hopefully during the week things will be ok.


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## Celeste

A ride from earlier today. It looks pretty good if you can get it to show as HD. My computer wants to show the lowest quality because our internet is not so great.


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## weeedlady

It was Raven’s turn today for the last ride in Ohio. The next time we ride (whenever that may be) it will be UP North. Getting excited.















I'm at 226 miles for the year. Hoping to get in a few more miles on each horse, but moving is going to get in the way.


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## walkinthewalk

@knightrider, I am so glad you and Windy are ok. I would also send those videos to your local sheriff and file a formal report. 

Anatolians are aggressive by nature if they aren’t properly trained. 

I used to carry a big squirt gun with me when I lived in SoCal and people’s dogs would come charging. 

After I moved here (Tennessee) I had a problem with a neighbor’s dogs on the road above me. He had trained them with a silent whistle. His house sat about 800’ off the road.

One day I caught him trying to hide beside a corner of his house watching his Shepherd/mixes come after Duke and I. I turned Duke on the dogs and started hollering, catching the dogs off guard, driving them back into their driveway.

. That’s when I spotted him, hiding and watching, not doing anything. I hollered at him, saying rural or not, our county has a leash law and I would be calling the police if those dogs came after my horse again.

I never saw the dogs come out again. I eventually found out he had already had run-ins with our county deputies regarding his dogs “holding up” cars as they drove past his house.

So give the police a copy of your videos, file a formal report, since AC is generally worthless anywhere in this U.S., and carry a good sized squirt gun full of water. You’re a rider that can walk and chew gum at the same time, so you will be able to point and shoot while your horse is moving


----------



## gunslinger

Knight rider, if you don't want to use lethal force, then I'd get a squirt gun and fill it with house hold ammonia. 
Funny, my horses "punt" dogs like they were footballs.......


----------



## rambo99

Been riding yesterday was on the chilly side with highs mid 30s. Did have a nice ride though did 15 miles. 

What a difference from yesterday have snow on the ground today. Hardly got above freezing. Trees are officially bare of leaves. Looks like winter like weather is here high 30 all this coming week.

Trough has tank heater in it had ice in it for several days. Horses weren't drinking very much so heater was put in yesterday. Both horses are blanketed as neither have much for a winter coat.

Today's ride was short just 3 miles on dirt road. Horses were really good and we had fun. Some pictures of both rides. Last picture was yesterday's ride.


----------



## egrogan

The weather has been a little less cooperative here, with cold, soaking rains finally coming in. But fortunately it's been every-other-day rain, mixed with sunny days and no snow to speak of yet! I'm NOT ready for that :wink: I can't believe you already have snow pictures @rambo99!

The mornings have been chilly but our afternoons are still pleasantly warm and sunny. The light filtering through the golden trees is so beautiful. It really is my favorite time of year.



































Feeling really good-our ride today pushed us over 450 miles for the year. Just 50 more to go!
*Total 2020 miles: 451.7*


----------



## rambo99

@egrogan yep already have snow an cold low in the 20s. To darn early for sure. No riding today horses need a day off.

Hopefully weather forecast is right and it will warm backup into low 50s.


----------



## walkinthewalk

This forum REALLY needs the passing out emoticon:beatup:

October 18 is too early for snow unless it’s in Yellowstone:shock:


----------



## weeedlady

walkinthewalk said:


> This forum REALLY needs the passing out emoticon:beatup:
> 
> October 18 is too early for snow unless it’s in Yellowstone:shock:


Or the UP


----------



## Saigold

Went for another ride yesterday and did a conditioning ride a few days before that. 
There were more leaves on the ground than on some trees. Still beautiful. Just rode at a walk. Even then one of the horses tripped on a root and went down on his knees. He walked lame for a min or so, his rider got off and walked for while until he seemed to be back to normal. Earlier on he was trying to buck which was unusual for him apparently.

Later, When we got to a brushy area, I mentioned to the group that you can see deer in there sometimes, and before I even finished talking, a big whitetail jumped out right in front of us on the trail and pranced away before crossing the field. 

One of the riders brought her 2.5yo gelding out. He only has 4 rides on him, and he did really well. Only minor spooks. In my opinion that’s too young to ride, but we also didn’t do anything more than a walk. Lots of trail obstacles (machinery harvesting soy, big trailers waiting in our path, deer, water, bikes) and he took it all in stride. You’d never know he was so young. 

Once we got back to the parking lot, a friend offered to give us a ride home. I was just going to ride but she insisted and Duke seemed to pull toward the trailer, instead of toward home like he usually would. So why not. He walked on the trailer with only one balk. Pretty good for someone who would plant his feet and refuse to budge before. 
Nice, easy ride. 9km for the day.


----------



## egrogan

@Saigold, that picture of all of you in a line coming down the trail looks like it should be the cover of a brochure for your local park or trail club. Just gorgeous!


----------



## Celeste

All you guys from up north have the most beautiful leaves!! We may have some nice color in a month. Maybe even in two weeks. I don't think that we can compete with those up north pictures though.


----------



## Saigold

@egrogan thanks! That picture did turn out really nice with all the leaves. This is the first year where I was able enjoy a lot of the fall from horseback. Mat leave has its benefits. 

We did a 6km ride today. Started out by doing a baseline ride. Just some flatwork with a heart monitor, to see how fit he is. It was a warm day and with a winter coat, Duke was sweating pretty good. So to cool down, we went around the big field a few times. Not sure why, but my saddle kept slipping to the left at the trot and canter. I felt myself leaning so far to the right to keep putting the saddle straight, that I prob looked like a lunatic hanging off like that. It was a pain. Did the same thing last time. Not sure if it’s me so unbalanced or something else. 

But we did get to enjoy the scenery, while keeping a lookout for hunters. Flushed out a big hawk so lazily circled the trees and then left.


----------



## rambo99

No riding today been snowing. Horses being shod hooves are ice balling up. Doesn't look like it's going to warm up enough to get rid of snow. Have 2 plus inch's,roads are a slick slushy mess. 

Rode yesterday did 5 miles no pictures I didn't bring phone. Was hoping to get in a good ride today but didn't happen.


----------



## Finalcanter

Sunday was an all day 'horsey' day as my friend and I were going to a new trail place, and I had a lesson before that. Long story short I ended up riding three different horses that day (a kid fell off his pony-he was totally okay and not fazed at all wow!- but said pony went full on bronc rodeo through the forest). The pony came back to the group and guess who had to ride him cause no one wanted to! 

I ended up giving the kid my trail horse as she was really calm. The trail guide was so sorry,* he said the pony was spooked as he was a saint on trails normally. He told my friend and I to come back next week for a private trail instead (given our experience). We'll hold him to it.


----------



## egrogan

@Finalcanter, if the last pic is the runaway pony he definitely looks more than a little embarassed :rofl: Glad it all ended well though!


----------



## lb27312

Went camping up in the mountains last weekend... it was cold!! brrrrr but warmed up nicely and had great rides. At night we got a heavy fog, took a pic as it was a little eerie... Had a nice group. Did come across some cows, I just wish Chal wouldn't be so interested in them. He used to work cows but that was a long time ago... 

Where we were riding there was a LOT of people out enjoying the change in the leaves. So many people were taking our picture that we started joking about the paparazzi... there were a few kids that were so excited to see a horse that I stopped a few times to let them pet my guy. One person with us was against it saying it was too much. I just know it would make their day so did it anyway...

Total miles for the weekend were 26.


----------



## Saigold

@lb27312 I stop and let people pet my horse too. I remember someone had done that for me when I was a kid and it stayed with me forever. So kudos for ignoring the other person and doing it anyways. I bet those kids will cherish that moment for a long time! Very nice pics! Love the one in the fog


----------



## Aprilswissmiss

Usually people admire my horse from a distance but if they ask to pet her, I always say yes. April loves the attention. Doesn't matter how spooky she's been on a ride, she'll always stand perfectly still if a stranger is loving on her. One time someone asked if her baby could meet her, and you wouldn't believe how gently she touched her muzzle to that baby's outstretched hand. A loud jeep drove right behind her butt and and she didn't even flick an ear, she was so blissfully distracted by the kid.


----------



## charrorider

Tried some new trails out in the woods, today. With all the leaves on the ground, I lost the path several times.


----------



## Finalcanter

@egrogan
Yep that indeed is the troublemaker! 

He actually looks like a horse that I loved back in college who helped me through some rough times (before he died of colic).


----------



## Finalcanter

Round 2 of the trail tomorrow. We don't really go far as these have their own time limits but- hopefully better than the last! 
It'll be much colder out.

double post sorry!


----------



## rambo99

Went riding Saturday not a very long ride though. Ice had shoes/pads pulled off Thursday because of the snow. Didn't realize dirt road would totally melt off. 

Was a bit ouchy on dirt road so let him ride edge of it softer footing. Only walked him got about a 1/3 of a mile. He was obviously not liking his bare feet. 

So I got off an lead him back to power line,daughter got off an lead her horse also. Then got back on to ride rest of the way home. So only riding in yard till Tuesday. Farrier going to put his front shoes/pads back on. 

Going to warm back up into 40s so snow will disappear. Yay😊 A few pictures of our failed ride.


----------



## egrogan

That's some serious snow @rambo99. Sorry Ice was sore on the road, hope the farrier can help.

We fortunately have no snow yet. Cold rain here today, but the weekend was good for riding. As has become our routine, did a short solo ride Saturday and a longer ride with our riding buddy Sunday. We had to wait until noon to ride on Sunday so temps would be above freezing, but the sun was so strong it felt really nice.

Solo Saturday:


















Sunday:



























*Total 2020 miles: 462.12 *Inching closer to our 500 mile goal!


----------



## phantomhorse13

Finally done with potatoes and am catching up with life!! The whole story is in my journal.

What feels like a million years ago now, but was actually Sept 30th, I got some saddle time. I started with Phin:



















Next was Iggy:



















Sunday, October 4th, I got Iggy out again:


















2020 mileage
...
9/30 phin 7.52 miles 1368 ft climb 5.1 mph 48F 2023.73 total miles
9/30 iggy 9.02 miles 1690 ft climb 5.5 mph 52F 2032.75 total miles
10/4 iggy 12.17 miles 2457 ft climb 5.0 mph 65F *2044.92 total miles*


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## phantomhorse13

On Thursday, October 8th, DH and I loaded up Phin and headed down to Fair Hill, MD for a competition. The whole story is in my journal.










































Somehow, it was very fitting that I surpassed my all time yearly mileage record on trail here!

2020 mileage
...
10/9 phin 1.7 miles 177 ft climb 3.9 mph 60F 2046.62 total miles
10/10 phin 90.96 miles 10548 ft climb 6.2 mph 57F *2137.58 total miles*


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## knightrider

We had a lovely Horse Forum meet-up at Black Horse Resort last weekend. @4horses, @LoriF, and @mslady254, and I met on Saturday. 4horses and I camped there for 5 days and 4 nights. The trails were super nice, and we'd had some rain, so not dusty. The riding was really fun. They have a swimming pool there and we spent many hours enjoying the pool.

What was not so fun was the heat! Real feel was in the 90's every day. The nights were pleasant and cool for sleeping, but it was surely hot for riding. The resort is so spread out that we had long walks to get to our horses, who were stabled in nice pens near water spigots. We surely did enjoy the screened room next to the pool as the mosquitoes were horrendous.

Every night, the riding club planned fun activities like a pasta night, a movie night with ice cream floats and popcorn, and a steak dinner. Because covid is so wide-spread in Florida, and Ocala is especially hard hit, we waited until everyone had gotten their food, then we got our food and took it back to our spread-out camp.

One day, I trailered our two horses and two young folks to Lake Mary so the girls could swim the horses. Our old camping place, Doe Lake, decided to close to horses and concentrate on just hosting weddings. The kids missed getting to swim the horses. They had a lot of fun.

We also had a costume contest which was a big hit. We got a lot of photos from 5 days of fun, but here is a sample of photos.


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## knightrider

Here are more photos of great times. I brought my daughter's horse Windy, who was just amazing. I was so proud of her. And my beloved Chorro for my daughter's friend to ride. 4horses brought Paris, a kill-pen treasure, who could not have done any better. Mslady254 rode Windy and I rode Chorro on a super fun quiet evening ride . . . but we were having such a good time that we forgot to get pictures of all 4 of us.


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## egrogan

It makes me so happy to see your Florida meet-ups. You all seem to have so much fun!

About as far away as you can get from 90*F and swimming in Florida, I can share some pictures from snowy Vermont :wink: I got in a couple of rides earlier in the week, before the snow came. This was Thursday:









And this was the same place in the road Saturday, after we got our first snow.









It was definitely pretty to look at, but not deep anywhere so we had a nice 7.5 mile ride with our riding buddy yesterday. The footing in the woods was a little sketchy, mostly because it's impossible to tell how deep the leaves are and so every now and then the horses would sink down into a hole or ditch. And the wet leaves over rocks made some of the steeper downhills slick. So we mostly walked and enjoyed the scenery.


















Weirdly, it's supposed to go back up to 55*F/13*C later this week, so the snow will all be gone, and our goal is a couple of longer rides at the end of the week. It's the time of year when we really try to take advantage of every warm, sunny day.


*Total 2020 miles: 473.1*


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## Finalcanter

Forgot to touch base here so i'll do so briefly: 

The trail was much better this time around and the weather was perfect for it! I forgot to put my tracker on, and I wish I had as we got turned around many times. There was a lot of leaf litter obscuring the paths. We went up and down some pretty interesting hills, through narrow paths and winding through the forests to see if we could find the main trail again. I certainly didn't mind as it was a private trail (no real time restraint).

oh and although it's a day after halloween I should mention... the road and woods around this area (sweet hollow) are supposedly extremely haunted. Driving through it was a bit creepy i'll admit. But the trail was perfect! 

I don't get the greatest pictures so please bear with me haha


----------



## phantomhorse13

Still more catch up. The whole story is in my journal.

On Sunday Oct 11, I got Iggy out:



















On Thursday, October 15th, I started with taking Iggy:



















Next up was Link solo:



















Last, I got George out:



















2020 mileage
10/11 iggy 10.11 miles 1568 ft climb 5.6 mph 52F 2147.69 total miles
10/15 iggy 6.81 miles 1322 ft climb 4.8 mph 55F 2154.50 total miles
10/15 link 4.38 miles 502 ft climb 3.4 mph 68F 2158.88 total miles
10/15 george 6.05 miles 778 ft climb 6.1 mph 70F *2164.93 total miles*


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## carshon

The weather finally cooperated, after missing 2 weekends of riding got to get out on Saturday. High wind warnings were issued but friend and I rode at a park that was in the low lands so not too bad! It was supposed to be near 60 but it was a cool 60 if that! Unfortunately, I paid for the ride on Saturday with a great deal of pain on Sunday. Hip replacement Nov 18 - I am hoping to ride a couple more times before then but we will see! We are due to have extremely warm weather this coming week (think 60's to near 70) and then crash the following week. So I want to ride while I can!


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## Celeste

@carshon Cold weather time is a great time to plan surgery. I hope that you get in a few rides and that surgery goes well and you are back in the saddle when the weather is nice.


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## charrorider

Saw this tree out on the trail. It reminded me of a praying mantis.


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## knightrider

This time our Horse Forum friends, @4horses, and @LoriF met at Princess Place near St. Augustine for 4 days and 3 nights of fun camping. Our weather was ideal, although the last day was a bit hot. The nights were cool and pleasant for sleeping.

The first day 4horses and I rode on the St. Augustine beach for 3 hours including a mile of galloping on the beach. That was pretty exciting. Although I didn't get any beach photos, I will include a few from past camping trips with the same horses and riders just for fun. The beach doesn't change much, and neither do we.

The next day we rode all over the trails at Princess Place, and the next day LoriF and I showed 4horses the trail (or she showed us a different way because she had a map, but we got there) to a land bridge over highway 75 and then fun trails around the Agricultural Museum.

We sat around the campfire at night, shooting the breeze and roasting marshmallows. The skeeters were pretty bad, but we got along OK.

The last day, we thought we'd do a sort of short ride, pack up, and go, but we were having too much fun, so it turned into a long ride. We had planned to go back to the beach, but the tides were wrong.

Here are some photos of this year's rides and a few from other years.


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## Celeste

I have been doing a lot of trail rides. I just haven't gotten around to posting about them. (I telework and am setting my own hours which seem to include weekends, so I don't feel guilty.) Every day, Monday - Friday this week, was beautiful! Some of the days were even a bit too hot. For anyone who doesn't know my animals, Dillon has the bad hair with the white in his mane. Princess is the black Arab mare. And Prissy is my border collie. 

I alternated riding the horses this week. Princess got three rides and Dillon got two. I had him on schedule to go three days, but he got so hot on Wednesday, that I gave Princess an extra day. She is less hairy and a bit more resilient. 

My rides are between 2.9 and 3.4 miles. That is so that I can stay on private property and hopefully avoid getting shot. Deer season is going full force. There are so many people out this weekend, that I am taking the weekend off. 

It has been a while since I posted. My *goal *for the year is *300* miles. I am up to *293.36 miles.* If the weather is good, I will reach my goal next week. I am not going to set a higher goal; I will call the extra bonus points. 

I will post some ride pictures. The random tree pictures are about the best color that I think we will get this fall. 70 degree afternoons help a bit with the pain of not having brilliant fall leaves.


----------



## phantomhorse13

Still playing catch up. The whole story is in my journal.

October 25th, DH and I got George and Link out:




























October 31st, DH and I got George and Link out again:


















2020 mileage
...
10/25 link 9.82 miles 1490 ft climb 3.9 mph 38F 2174.75 total miles
10/31 link 9.51 miles 1450 ft climb 4.2 mph 34F *2184.26 total miles*


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## egrogan

Our unusual weather continued through the weekend, with temps up to 70*F/21*C. Our wooly mammoths are not tolerating it all that well, and even just going for a brisk walk gets them really lathered up with thick, foamy sweat. So, tried to take it easy, but still managed to ride ~15 miles between Saturday and Sunday. It's weird to see such a barren landscape but be out riding in a t-shirt!



































Feeling pretty good about getting to the 500 mile goal- hopefully this week!
*Total 2020 miles: 488.3*


----------



## carshon

Got my last ride of the season in on Saturday. Like so many others NW IL is having some weirdly warm weather. The park was overly crowded and parking was hard to find. 2 friends and I car pooled (we met up at one friends and loaded horses into her trailer) and met another friend at the park. As we were unloading we were watching as a whole bunch of horses were acting up and even saw a rider become separated from his horse - whether by choice or not we were not sure. We could not see what the commotion was as it was at the first bend and water crossing just as you leave the parking area (you take a sharp curve and immediately cross a creek) A rider came galloping up the hill toward our trailer and managed to get her horse stopped and she jumped off. We asked what the commotion was and she said camels. We were like CAMELS? Yep- it seems that someone brought 2 camels to the park to ride the horse trails. The commotion at the crossing was the camels not really wanting to enter the cold water and horses not really wanting to ride by the camels! Friends and I decided to stay put until said camels were back that their trailer. We watched as they slowly made their way to their parking area with horses and riders parting like the red sea before them. Some horses did not seem to mind and others lost their head! I was sure Tillie would be in the lost their head category so we opted to stay until they were out of site. The high energy in the parking area had all 4 horses amped up. We hit the trails at record speed. In no time the horses were wet with sweat in the 75 degree heat - eventually they all slowed down. We had a great ride and managed again to avoid the camels as we got back to the parking area. The horses were hot and sweaty and ready to be done. I have to admit I really felt sorry for the camels. Most horses were extremely agitated at their presence and I am sure the camels had to sense the horses fear. They were sure cute but their Bawling really sent the horses over the edge. I was extremely thankful our parking area was so far away from them. No pictures - I needed my hands to steer and control my horse!


----------



## egrogan

CAMELS?


CAMELS!


CAMELS!?!

@carshon, you win 2020 with that story. I just...what?!?!?!
:rofl:


----------



## carshon

@egrogan I wish I were making it up. And I wish I had pictures. For the life of me I cannot imaging why a person would bring camels (there were 2) to a horse park to ride - especially on a really great day in November. There had to be at least 100 trucks and trailers at the park. Horses were lunging and swerving everywhere.


----------



## tinyliny

Holy moly! sorry, but what were those camel jockies thinking? They gotta know that the camels send horses into fits of terror, and it's dangerous to others. Perhaps they take pleasure in it, but . . .


----------



## lb27312

I agree @carshon wins for trail ride adventures!!! Though with the dogs @knightrider has some adventures too. 

I can't imagine what mine would do if they saw/heard a camel. I can tell you it wouldn't be pretty and no pics because of needed hands! Wow hmmmm


----------



## phantomhorse13

I agree with @*lb27312* that I didn't think anything could be more scary than the savage dogs @*knightrider* deals with.. but @*carshon* and the _camels_ takes the cake. Nope nope nope!!!

I would maybe, MAYBE have seen what happened with Phin in hand from a good distance.. but more likely I would have just put him back in the trailer and gone somewhere else.


----------



## knightrider

@carshon, camels??!! I agree, you get the prize for the most exciting trail ride!

Today I called animal control since they never notified me, to see if anything was done about the biting Anatolian shepherds. They said the dogs were now being kept up, and it would be safe to ride. Tomorrow my neighbor and I plan to ride to the property next to the Anatolians and see if they come down their driveway. We often ride that far with the girls (young adults now, only one teen left) and turn around when we hear the dogs barking. If the dogs come out and after us, we plan to hurry back into the planted pines, meanwhile taking a picture, (if I can be brave enough--it was pretty harrowing getting bucked off and then having Windy injured on the road) so that we can report the dogs are still going after horses . . . or not, if they don't come down the driveway.

I am really excited about getting back on those trails again. They were so pretty and fun. And just for fun, a picture of one of the trails I haven't been able to access since I got bucked off.

October stats:
55.75 hours
183.975 miles
Year to date: 628.5 hours
2074.05 miles


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## charrorider

Carshon. Too bad you didn't take pictures. I once saw a guy behind a motel walking his tiger, just as if were walking a dog, on a leash. The tiger was about half the size of a full grown one. I said to myself, "No one is going to believe this!" But I didn't have a camera with me. That was before everyone had a camera in their cell phone.


----------



## egrogan

Just trying out the new forum from my phone. Had a very warm ride this morning-went 6.5 miles around 8am and my horse looked like she had just run the Kentucky Derby. Still around 70*F/21*C and the hairy beast was drenched after a few long stretches of trot (and her _begging _for a canter in our “canter spot”). Thought you all might appreciate the sound of our bells while trotting along




It was a beautiful day for sure, but this weather just feels wrong!









Total 2020 miles: 494.6

tantalizingly close to our goal!!


----------



## egrogan

Oops not sure why the picture is HUGE but it was definitely much easier to post a pic from the phone than the previous version. I think it gave me an option to make it a smaller picture so will try that next time.


----------



## phantomhorse13

egrogan said:


> Oops not sure why the picture is HUGE but it was definitely much easier to post a pic from the phone than the previous version. I think it gave me an option to make it a smaller picture so will try that next time.


I like the bigger pic, personally. Saves me from having to click on it to enlarge it.


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## phantomhorse13

Still more catch up.. also will be interesting to see how this works (or doesn't) with the new forum changes. The whole story is in my journal.

Last Wednesday, I got some saddle time. I started with Link:




























Then I got George out:


















2020 mileage
...

11/4link5.09 miles499 ft climb4.1 mph48F2189.35 total miles11/4george7.09 miles853 ft climb4.3 mph58F*2196.44 total miles*

🐎


----------



## phantomhorse13

More catch up. The whole story is in my journal.

Friday, I got Phin out :

























Next, it was Link's turn:























2020 mileage
...

11/6phin6.18 miles761 ft climb5.6 mph62F2202.62 total miles11/6link7.02 miles1191 ft climb4.4 mph71F*2209.64 total miles*
🐎


----------



## phantomhorse13

Last Sunday, DH and I loaded George and Link up and drove about an hour south to ride. The whole story is in my journal.




























2020 mileage
...

11/8link10.57 miles2090 ft climb4.6 mph72F*2220.21 total miles*


----------



## rambo99

Last week had great weather and no snow. Rode every day had some great rides. Did some long rides saw lots of deer. 

Put on some miles in a week's time 180 miles lots of hours in the saddle. Brings total miles to date 2,180 most miles ever done. Lots of saddle time this year. Can still ride so if all goes well ,might make 2,300 for the year 2020. 

Between working and keeping up with stuff at home. Finally got the new forum format figured out. Hate change an struggling with depression, made it way worse. 

There's light at the end of the dark tunnel. Got back on my horse today a went for a ride. Reading on here about all the rides and beautiful pictures, brightened my outlook. Picture of sunset yesterday.


----------



## Celeste

@phantomhorse13 Link really looks great!

@rambo99 Beautiful picture!

To both of you as well as to @knightrider -- Wow at the miles!

I cannot do physically do that much. I can only do it in my dreams.


----------



## Celeste

I try to alternate between Princess and Dillon. I have cut back a little bit on Dillon because he is too fat and hairy and it will be cool pretty soon. I had a goal set for 300 miles. I met that on while riding Dillon on Thursday. I made it to *303.16* Friday when I rode Princess.

They have both been being so amazingly good lately. They both do (usually) flawless walk or even halt to canter transitions. They are good kids.

I am not riding on the weekends because there are so many deer hunters. I ride on private property except for a short dirt road to get there.

Something fun I did this week. There was a log down. I cantered Dillon up to it and he hopped right over it. The next day, I did the same with the Princess. I could have sworn somebody raised that log quite a bit. My neurologist would be mortified and I don't care.

Our weather is just starting to get nice!


----------



## phantomhorse13

Got some saddle time this week! The whole story is in my journal.

On Tuesday, I got Link out. We rode with Amish for the first time:



















Yesterday, I got Link out alone:


















2020 mileage
...

11/10link8.08 miles830 ft climb3.7 mph75F2228.29 total miles
11/14link7.31 miles1037 ft climb4.4 mph40F*2235.60 total miles*
🐎


----------



## egrogan

Congrats, @Celeste! We hit our goal this weekend too. Although nowhere near the "big horses"- @rambo99, @knightrider , & @phantomhorse13 . 😉 But I'm still feeling very satisfied to have nearly doubled my miles from last year, with a few more weeks of decent weather to go this year! I'm trying to decide just how big to set my goal for next year. But don't want to get too far ahead of myself, we have a long winter ahead of us.

Anyway, it was fitting we rode mile 500 with our weekly riding buddies yesterday. Rifle season started yesterday, so we're sticking to the roads and open spaces for at least the next couple of weeks

















And today we had a spectacular solo ride, even though there was a cold wind blowing in our faces the whole ride- the kind of ride that makes your eyes water and leaves your cheeks burning hot long after you've been inside. But Fizz was really happy and eager, and it made it a really fun ride.


















*Total 2020 miles: 505.2*
We need the old "happy dance" icon back 🎉


----------



## knightrider

WHY??? Does my photo say, "Sensitive content. Not recommended for those under 18" It's a picture of a trail with horse ears. What makes that sensitive content? How many of you did not click on it because you didn't want to see something nasty? How many of you did because you were curious? I am certainly baffled.


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## egrogan

knightrider said:


> WHY??? Does my photo say, "Sensitive content. Not recommended for those under 18" It's a picture of a trail with horse ears. What makes that sensitive content? How many of you did not click on it because you didn't want to see something nasty? How many of you did because you were curious? I am certainly baffled.


Haha, I wondered about it and did click to see. My guess was going to be that maybe it showed a cut or some kind of injury, so I was definitely baffled.

I just got an email from Youtube a couple of days ago telling me a video I had posted was flagged for inappropriate content for children. The title was nondescript so I couldn’t even remember what the video was-when I went to look, it was a short clip of me test riding a horse before I bought Fizz. Not sure what was inappropriate about that, except maybe my crappy riding skills?! 😆


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## phantomhorse13

knightrider said:


> WHY??? Does my photo say, "Sensitive content. Not recommended for those under 18" It's a picture of a trail with horse ears. What makes that sensitive content? How many of you did not click on it because you didn't want to see something nasty? How many of you did because you were curious? I am certainly baffled.


I clicked it of course!

Perhaps those ears are too phallic in terms of their shape.. good thing you don't ride a mule!! 🤪


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## Celeste

knightrider said:


> WHY??? Does my photo say, "Sensitive content. Not recommended for those under 18" It's a picture of a trail with horse ears. What makes that sensitive content? How many of you did not click on it because you didn't want to see something nasty? How many of you did because you were curious? I am certainly baffled.


*I clicked on it. And it was a between the ears horse shot. Very lovely. Maybe the horse had sensitive ears? The new program is insane. *


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## Celeste

egrogan said:


> Congrats, @Celeste! We hit our goal this weekend too. Although nowhere near the "big horses"- @rambo99, @knightrider , & @phantomhorse13 . 😉 But I'm still feeling very satisfied to have nearly doubled my miles from last year, with a few more weeks of decent weather to go this year! I'm trying to decide just how big to set my goal for next year. But don't want to get too far ahead of myself, we have a long winter ahead of us.
> Anyway, it was fitting we rode mile 500 with our weekly riding buddies yesterday. Rifle season started yesterday, so we're sticking to the roads and open spaces for at least the next couple of weeks
> *Total 2020 miles: 505.2*
> We need the old "happy dance" icon back 🎉


*You have to keep in mind that @phantomhorse13 and @knightrider exercise multiple horses. I have two, but 2000 miles would be too much even for two. I want my horses to last a long time. I don't want to wear out their joints and feet prematurely. *(I also have a disability that makes it a miracle that I ride as much as I do)
*Also, I am only competing with myself. Keeping up with my miles helps me to push myself just a bit more even if I am not feeling up to it. And it keeps me relatively sane. 
Congratulations and I think we are doing great. 😊
(That is a wimpy choice of emoticons.)*


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## egrogan

@Celeste, totally agree, I was just joking around. I couldn't be happier with the way our year went. It's the most time I've ever spent in the saddle, and to think about the improvement in my relationship and understanding with my horse from spring until now is pretty incredible. We're lucky we had a relatively dry summer, and being stuck at home because of the pandemic helped with at least a little more time for riding during the week than I'd typically have. No complaints from me at all!


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## Celeste

@egrogan Same here.


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## SueC

Just reading some of the recent posts in this, I have to say I was missing this thread and _all y'all_ on it. 🥰 (Yes, totally wimpy emojis, @Celeste... 😭) It's just, early this year in what was our late summer, and after a summer of lovely unproblematic fun riding, Sunsmart got very ill in a space of a fortnight, when his pituitary tumour that had been giving him mild Cushings grew. We re-tested his blood and his ACTH was through the roof uncontrolled (no IR though, which is good). His medication was instantly tripled. Still, for months he was like an old man barely shuffling anywhere and with dull eyes, always drinking, no interest in life, losing weight, growing a yak coat - and I thought his chances of recovering even just to have a good paddock retirement were only 50-50.

But then about four months into his increased medication, he started to feel better and look better, and he's been up and up since. He has been galloping around with the others again for two months, and finally shed his yak coat a fortnight ago. I put him back into light work three months back because exercise helps him build his muscles back up and have some adventures.

This was him a month ago before shedding his yak coat.








Right now, apart from a few telltale patches of longer hair on his legs (which is still disappearing), he actually looks like a normal horse again (and I'll take photos soon). He's not quite got his pre-Cushings summer coat - it's not as short as a normal summer coat, but it's a nice-looking, even, chocolate-coloured coat, and he has now stopped being sweaty on hot days.

In other good news: A couple of days ago I was watching the horses come racing around the back of the house headed for the forest track, as is their wont. Julian and Chasseur had run off ahead of the others, which was unusual, because for the past few months Sunsmart has been right with them again (just like before his health crisis), and even ahead of them a few times lately. This time, Sunsmart came trotting along with the donkeys who are always playing catch-up when the horses decide to race off...and then he spotted the sand patch behind the house (an old cattle camp), looked speculative, and decided to have a good roll there before proceeding into the forest.

When he got up from that, he gave a series of joyous buck-jumps, threw his heels up into the air like a young horse, and turbo-charged into a gallop punctuated by long leaps that weren't necessary for getting from A to B. It warmed my heart to see him like this again.

A couple of days ago when I took him out on a half-hour trail ride, he was super-enthusiastic, and halfway through his ride, heading back out on the swamp track, he said, "Let's go!" and cantered (not sedately, more like a chariot horse) the whole way to the back boundary off his own steam, which he hasn't done since he got ill last summer. He's feeling good - he'd already galloped up the first hillside as if turbo-charged, and after the swamp track, he galloped up the ridge in the other direction in a similar manner (lots of "yippee!") before we headed back more sedately on our western forest boundary. When I got off him, he was in a fabulous mood and literally smiling at me. After the ride, he wolfed down a small extra hard feed (with a bit of salt in it) before _galloping_ off merrily to join his friends at the far end of the hill paddock. So good to see. ♥

So that's why I've not been participating. But, I've got something for you all. A friend of mine is learning to ride on him whenever she visits, and she's fabulous at documenting things with photographs. Here's her ride from three months ago, which was only her second time ever on horseback (she does yoga, has super balance and loves animals). This was written in August.

*EILEEN'S RIDE AND PHOTOS*

Today we had to be home because of the driveway construction, so it was an ideal time to do a hiking adventure with two girls, a horse and a dog. Eileen had her very first horse ride on Sunsmart before Christmas last year; but then of course he got very sick a couple of months later. After three months of treatment on his tripled dose of Cushings medication, we were reasonably confident he'd have a bit of a retirement - he'd been so terrible, like an old and frail man, with mouth ulcers and tooth issues and losing weight rapidly and walking at a snail's pace and no interest in life, when he first got ill. But a while back, he began to perk up again and pick up in physical condition, and two weeks ago, he started racing around with the others again, looking like a galloping yak but clearly having fun, and keeping up.

I've not posted any photos all this time because the horse looked completely shocking. Warning: He still looks bad, mostly because of his horrendously long, lumpy, discoloured coat - and he's not in the shape he was. While he's been building up muscle again these past couple of months, and hasn't got huge hollows in his back and shoulders anymore, he's still pot-bellied and ribby and needing to build more muscle. But, he's got sparkle again and is adventurous, which is much more noticeable in real life than in still photographs.

We've had two little trail rides just recently, which I wrote about separately, and while he's enjoying them, I'll keep the little adventures coming, because they're good for him mentally as well as physically. Also, spring is coming up and that's a critical time for a Cushings horse, so he'll be far more stable in light work than completely retired.

So today, Eileen had her second ever horse ride. I'd like you to remember that when you look at the photos - she never had anything to do with large animals like this before, and yet look at her body language with the horse on the ground and in the saddle, and also her super balance and posture. Her heels aren't consistently down yet but that's something you can develop gradually rather than force; far more important is that a new rider learns to move with a horse, and she's doing that very well. She's got a background in yoga etc which is standing her in good stead, and is highly outdoorsy and completely besotted with animals. Eileen has been volunteering at a cockatoo sanctuary for years, recently started working with raptor rehabilitation (owls, wedge-tailed eagles), and is about to do a stint with the Monkey Mia dolphins, in a volunteer programme there. She's got this enormous camera and spends hours photographing birds with it when she visits. She took her phone on today's adventure, and though it can distort things, she got some lovely shots, which we're going to share here.

Photos 1-6: Hobnobbing pre-ride
Photos 7-8: And up!
Photos 9-10: Rider view - complete with crazy dog


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## SueC

So, you can see the usual thing I do with new riders, which is to leadline them, and give them a rope off a halter for themselves - no bit until the rider learns to balance consistently and to steer and halt with the rope first. It's not crucial that the rope is held "correctly" like reins, and also you can't jar the horse easily with a rope (unless you're deliberately brutal, or extremely unbalanced). Sunsmart loves trails, and people love riding in a natural environment, so that's what I do to start people off, these days - I started people in roundyards and/or on the lunge during my teens and 20s, but that was because I didn't have this ultra-reliable horse you could put a new person on, who would stay relaxed. My Arabian mare was a firecracker. Sunsmart had all her athleticism, but without the desire to run all the time - he was always just as happy to walk as he was to go flat out (so long as you didn't walk forever and ever).

Photo 11: The farm dam has finally filled nicely for the first time in three years, and the dog is having a quick dip as we go by.
Photo 12: Entering our bushland via the sand track - we're going out through the valley floor, like the last time I rode Smartie.
Photo 13-14: Sand track - the calendar may say late winter, but for the past week, the bushland has been saying "spring"
Photo 15: We're in the neighbour's place, near his first dam near the fenceline - you can see where we are on the ride map posted for the last ride I did with Smartie. This dam got dug out this winter because it ran dry with three years of drought, and we're climbing the large sand plateau that resulted from the deeper excavation, to get a bit of a view, and and uphill-downhill experience.
Photo 16: Going downhill. Eileen went, "Wheeeeeee!" :lol:
Photo 17: Of course, it rained buckets after the dam was deepened, so it is now full...
Photo 18: Sunsmart was always interested in looking at views, climbing up lookouts, taking wild animal tracks instead of vehicle tracks, etc... and he has all of that back now. 
Photo 19: This is the start of the valley floor tracks through to Verne Road. I've taken photos of this ride before (when the Christmas trees were in bloom, summer before last) and this is our last shot before Verne Road, because we were bushbashing on animal tracks for 20 minutes and Eileen was kept too busy to be able to get her camera out. More on that in the next post.
Photo 20: After hitting the end of this block, and you turn right, parallel to Verne Road, you come out on this huge meadow, which Eileen captured off horseback here.


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## SueC

Hahaha the camels story, @carshon, thanks for sharing, and the tiger story, @charrorider! 😂 It seems you've had some exotic adventures! @phantomhorse13, are your legs saddle-shaped yet? 🤪

Eileen always takes so many photos, I'm going to have to break this up into multiple posts despite of the fact that I only selected a fraction of them to share...

Going through the animal tracks in the neighbour's valley floor was great fun, because it's a beautiful, wild setting, and because the horse has rather odd ideas on how to proceed. You see, when I ride him, this is where he gets to choose his own way through the myriad of tracks in this section - he loves to explore. And when I'm leadlining someone else, he doesn't quite understand that it's hard for me to crash through the undergrowth while he is picking new tracks. 😁

I tried walking ahead of him, and that was OK for a couple of minutes, but then he said, "It's boring walking behind you and not seeing the view or choosing the tracks!" So I let him off the lead to choose his own tracks, while walking behind him. Eileen is learning to turn and stop with the rope, and doesn't need to be on the line all the time anymore. Sunsmart likes to walk this section and hasn't ever shown a sudden burning desire to gallop flat-out through this maze of undergrowth, so this was a good place to let him off. I walked along behind the horse for a couple of minutes; when he showed signs of wanting to trot, I put him back on the lead. This meant I was crashing through the undergrowth and having to jump over bushes while the horse picked paths for himself which are of course all too narrow to share.

We laughed and laughed and I got terribly out of breath, so I didn't notice on time that Sunsmart was heading for a path that had low tree branches across it. I yelled, "Duck, Eileen!" and though she ducked, and flattened herself to the top of the horse, the branches were too low for her to pass, and she got caught just as I was turning the horse sideways back out of this tree trap. To her great credit, she held balance and stayed on and they found daylight again. She must have got some scrapes in the process, but she just laughed and said, "Good thing I was wearing a helmet!" 

By the time we turned out of the valley floor, onto the firebreak near Verne Road, I was hyperventilating and Sunsmart was wanting to gallop up the hill, which I knew would probably be the case, so I forestalled it; but the extra animation made Eileen go "Wheee!" again.

By the time we were on the ridgetop, and in the huge meadow which is one of the first places to grow clover in the spring, the horse was interested in sampling the clumps of this highly prized food, so I was able to gradually recover my breath.

Photos 21-27: In the meadow
Photo 28: We got back through the gate into our property, and then turned right to go the long way home, through the swamp track in the centre of our own valley floor - not marked in the most recent ride map, but you can see it, starting opposite the neighbour's dam, which Eileen took a photo of passing from our side of the fence on the way back.
Photos 29-30: Heading back on the swamp track.


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## SueC

Phew, last post for this. 😋

After the swamp track comes the middle meadow, and then Scary Brook, none of which we photographed. Sunsmart doesn't like wet feet and jumps Scary Brook, so I prepped Eileen on what to do for her first jump. We had a dry run posture practice and then - wheeee! 😄 She was in a good position and moved with the horse, so excellent first jump - and she was going, "Oh wow, oh wow, amazing!" afterwards. She asked, "Did you jump too?" and I replied, "Yes, I don't like wet feet either!" 🤪

The dog went for another swim in our farm dam on the way back to the tiedown. The machines were working on the driveway we had to cross, and the big truck was coming our way, but the horse wasn't fazed and we walked ahead of the truck, to the utility area, where Eileen did a lovely dismount (she's on and off a horse like she's been riding all her life) and we took the saddle off. I then walked Sunsmart around a bit so he could watch the truck about to dump a load of dirt in the gateway 10m from us, rather than be surprised by sudden noises. Once the truck was done, we moved around each other and I returned the horse to his herd. He'd been fed before the ride - carrots and a big scoop of oats - and we girls were ready for a big cup of tea.

Photo 31: Happy rider
Photo 32-33: Whoosh into the dam goes Jess
Photos 34-37 : After the ride

























































Well, that was a notable recent-ish ride - with lots of photos...

I like going leadline on a trail with a reliable horse when introducing people to riding. It's more fun than just going around in an arena, and then after a couple of rides like this when they're relaxed and confident and have learnt a bit about seat and balance and communication, you can stick them in an arena with a few obstacles to steer the horse around as a challenge, etc. It's much nicer than group arena riding, which is how I learnt when I was a kid - that was quite stressful, and this approach is so relaxed - the rider always feels safe and is attended to, the environment is gorgeous, the horse is enjoying the outing, I get some exercise and everyone has fun...

@rambo99, I hope you're feeling better! Lovely sunset photo. 🥰
@Celeste, gorgeous photography as always, and love Dillon's face.
@egrogan, totally agree about missing "happydance" etc etc
@knightrider, finally found your camping trip report! 😍 Hahaha the "zebra"! You have so much horsey fun, and it's lovely to experience it vicariously...


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## rambo99

@SueC beautiful pictures love the scenery. Sunsmart is lucky to have you for an owner. Glad he's feeling so much better. Wow he had quite the coat on him. 

Looks like your friend had lots of fun riding. Good safe horses are a must for new riders. 

Yes I'm much better just had a few dark days ,happens with depression. Not much riding just to slippery with ice and melting snow. 

So horses are getting some time off. Rode once this week just around the yard. Just walking horses an working on collection leg yielding. Doing back up an turn. Ice's backing up an turning to left is a bit sticky. 

Got off and did it from the ground, Sometimes he just needs a little extra help. My daughter was on him asking for the back up an turn. I just helped guide him from on the ground. 

So no real trail riding going on this week. Dirt road on Sunday was a ice skating rink. Maybe with today's temps being mid 40s it hopefully melted off. Tomorrow will be mid 40s again. Maybe we will be able to venture out after dark. 

Firearms deer hunting so safer to ride at night with head lamps. Ice does really good riding at night. We shall see if riding tomorrow will happen. Road has to be pretty melted off. Won't put my horses well being at risk.


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## Celeste

rambo99 said:


> @SueC beautiful pictures love the scenery. Sunsmart is lucky to have you for an owner. Glad he's feeling so much better. Wow he had quite the coat on him.
> 
> Looks like your friend had lots of fun riding. Good safe horses are a must for new riders.
> 
> Yes I'm much better just had a few dark days ,happens with depression. Not much riding just to slippery with ice and melting snow.
> 
> So horses are getting some time off. Rode once this week just around the yard. Just walking horses an working on collection leg yielding. Doing back up an turn. Ice's backing up an turning to left is a bit sticky.
> 
> Maybe with today's temps being mid 40s it hopefully melted off. Tomorrow will be mid 40s again. Maybe we will be able to venture out after dark.


You are a braver soul than I am. I don't mind 80, but hoping for mid 40's is incomprehensible to me. So cold!


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## knightrider

Something fun happened after my ride today. It has been a bit brisk in Florida these last few mornings, and this morning I rode with gloves on. When I was coming in from my ride, it had warmed up enough that I didn't need my gloves to untack. I stuffed the gloves in my pockets and untacked Isabeau in the sacrifice pen. Imagine my surprise when Chorro walked up to me with my glove in his mouth! It must have fallen out of my pocket, and the sweet horse picked it up and brought it to me! He's a wonder!

My sweet and beloved Chorro


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## Celeste

That is so cute! A Paso Fino Retriever.


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## egrogan

We had a gorgeous 40*F day with bright blue skies, so took advantage of the nice weather to do a long ride with our riding buddies. We still have to stay on the roads because it's right in the heart of rifle season for deer, and there are clearly tons of people out in the woods. Can't count the number of trucks that passed us with everyone inside in camo. No one seemed to have a deer though 🤔

We did a 9 mile loop we haven't done in quite some time, maybe even a year. But it's a really nice ride, passing several beautiful old farms and really old little cemeteries.


























*Total 2020 miles: 515.95*


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## lb27312

@SueC - Loved all the pics!! And looks like you guys had great fun! 

@knightrider - too funny on Chorro bringing your glove!

I had a great ride today.... I have happy feet! My neighbor is back (she takes her horses to the mountains in the summer)!! Yay! That means rides to the lake more! Though there was some construction going on so we had to pick our way through and the trail was a little in need of repair so had to get off and go around a few obstacles but it was still soooo much fun! I'm soooo glad she's back! Even got a lope and some long trotting in! 

Then came home and saddled Captain and put his headstall on then ground drove him around the yard then on the road and he did so great!! Go Captain!! Wish a car had gone by but next time!


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## carshon

Got an unexpected ride in. I thought my riding for the year was over as all of the State parks close equestrian trails on Nov 15. A riding center in Galena IL was having a food drive for a local food pantry. Bring in a donation and get to ride their private trails for free. It just so happened that my daughter was coming home from college late Saturday night and the ride was Sunday. She was lamenting the fact that she could not ride when she got home - so off we went! We met our friend W there and saddled up and off we went. Tillie and Sawyer were in fire breathing dragon mode. W's horse Gryffin was not sure what to think of the two crazy mares. Poor guy. The trails were not anything great - private bridle trails in an extremely upscale community. But it was for a good cause and DH needed some horse time after a crazy semester at school. The weather was in the low 40's with no breeze - so not too bad. We rode just under 11 miles. I am feeling it today but so happy to have gotten another ride in this year!


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## knightrider

More Dog Trouble

Animal control supposedly went to the Anatolian dog home and warned them that they must keep their dogs up. Last week, my neighbor rode his horse Cowboy and I rode (somebody--can't remember now) to see if that was true. The problem is that 2 of my best riding territories have been closed off to me by landowners. I still have permission to ride gorgeous trails a little further on, but to access those trails, I have to ride past these noisy aggressive Anatolian shepherds. I used to be able to ride through another landowner's farm to get there and avoid the dogs, but that landowner's 2 sons have fussed with me so much and limited my area so much, I decided "forget it." Yes, I could go to the true landowner and whine about his sons being so difficult, but I feel it is wrong to come between a very kind thoughtful man and his two (in my opinion) selfish sons. Does it make the world a better place to cause a family discord?

So, that leaves me having to ride past these Anatolian shepherds. Last week, I stayed back in the privately owned hunting lands taking pictures as my neighbor rode his good level headed horse Cowboy past the dogs to see if they would come out and bother the horse. The aggressive one was tied up (barking his head off), and the older less aggressive one ran out into the road and nipped at Cowboy one time, then just contented herself (I think she's a she) barking and walking around Cowboy. I took a million photos to prove that at least one dog was still out on the road bothering passersby. But I did not contact Animal Control because the really scary bad dog was kept up, and I thought I might be able to live with the older (she looks older) less aggressive one.

So, today, I had my good sensible quiet Chorro and my neighbor had Cowboy. It was a gorgeous morning. We had some time to ride. We headed out to see how bad the older female less aggressive Anatolian would do. Turns out both dogs were loose. We got to the fun trails before the dogs got to us and had an amazing ride.

On the way home, both dogs were out and ready for action. I told my neighbor that my plan was to go very fast past the dogs--get the heck out of Dodge--and just get away. The aggressive (I think male) dog immediately nipped Chorro. Chorro leaped forward and took off at a brisk canter. The dog came after him, but, as I have said before, the dogs want us gone and I want to be gone, so it kind of works (and kind of doesn't because what horse likes to be nipped every time). But Cowboy had had enough. He has been nipped more than any of the horses because I have 4 horses who get nipped, and he is just Cowboy and gets nipped every time. Cowboy said HE WAS NOT GOING PAST THOSE ##%^ DOGS! Not gonna happen. He bounced and juked around and leapt sideways and backed up. In the meantime, I am cantering away. Cowboy's owner would have gladly cantered with me, but Cowboy wasn't having any of it. The dogs came after Cowboy, and all he would do is bounce away backwards, away from home, away from me.

When I got to the entrance to the hunting land, I turned around to see Cowboy going the wrong direction, very agitatedly. His rider was yelling to me that Cowboy wasn't going to go past those dogs. Luckily, he is friends with the landowner across the road from the dogs, so he went through that man's property, I went through the hunting land, and we met at a place we both knew.

As soon as I got home, I called Animal Control, and left a message, but have heard nothing back yet. I'd like to avoid the dogs by going through our friend's property every time, but my neighbor thinks it would be too presumptuous and inconveniencing to be riding there several times a week. Also, my neighbor thinks that it would be only a matter of time before the dogs see the horses coming down the driveway across the road and bother us the same as us riding down the street, which is probably true.


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## Saigold

[QUOTE="Animal control supposedly went to the Anatolian dog home and warned them that they must keep their dogs up. 
[/QUOTE]
@knightrider I don’t understand how they don’t take this seriously. Are you not able to involve the police? Here in Ontario animal control is pretty useless as well. But if I was repeatedly attacked by the same dogs I would contact police and esp if you have proof that the dogs are not just barking but actually causing the horses to react dangerously and especially if the dogs are biting and on public property, those folks would be charged. And the fine would get bigger every time.
I wonder if you were still going to brave it past the dogs, if you could spray pepper spray behind you as you’re trotting away. So if the dogs chase they’ll get a dose of it but you and your horse are safe as you’re moving forward. I bet a few times of being sprayed they would keep more to their own yard.


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## phantomhorse13

I got some saddle time last week. The whole story is in my journal.

Last Monday, I got Phin out for a bareback mosey:



















Tuesday, I got George out:


















2020 mileage
...

11/16phin3.06 miles338 ft climb3.4 mph31F2238.66 total miles11/17george3.67 miles446 ft climb5.1 mph21F*2242.33 total miles*


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## weeedlady

@knightrider Wow! I can't believe those dogs are still being allowed to harass you! That is crazy! Don't give up, though. There's got to be some way to get this resolved. I agree with @Saigold . If animal control is not effective, perhaps law enforcement needs to be involved. 
What happens if a person is walking up that road? Same thing? Or do these dogs just hate horses?


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## knightrider

The sheriff's department is part of animal control in Suwannee County where I live. Rural Florida is very much "live and let live" mentality. The government doesn't involve itself much in people's lives, and that's the way they want it. I think if I keep documenting the dogs going after the horses, I will finally get some success. The irony is that before I ever involved county officials, we asked the people to give us their phone number so that we could call them when we planned to ride by their dogs. Then they could put their dogs up during that time. But the dog owners were very rude and said they would NEVER give us their phone number. We tried hard to resolve this on our own, but they refused to cooperate.

The dogs didn't try to bite me when I fell off of Windy. I found that sort of interesting. Windy ran off and I got up, looked for my helmet cam, which had come off my helmet, dusted myself off, discovered Windy had run off, encouraged Windy to come back, caught her, and mounted her, while the dogs stood around barking at me.

The dogs do go after bike riders, motorcycle riders, and horseback riders. But apparently not pedestrians. The two times that animal control officers went to the house, the dogs did not threaten them on foot.

Animal control called me back yesterday and said that no one was home when they went to the house. They left a note saying the people must call the sheriff's department or there would be consequences. They never called sheriff's department last time that note was left, but the aggressive dog was tied up the next time we rode past. So . . . we'll see what happens. Unfortunately, I have to be a guinea pig each time to see if the people will comply. But, I've got a plan now that should keep me safe. I plan to ride close enough to bring the dogs out, but not go past them. And head back before the dogs can bite my horse. Thankfully, I've got very good horses that can handle that sort of thing . . . and can run like the wind when asked without getting stupid.


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## SueC

@knightrider, I'm sorry you're having to deal with all this shiitake... good luck with Animal Control. 🦑 (I'm afraid this is the closest thing to a hug in the current emoji lexicon... 😕)

And here's a 🦑 for you, @rambo99 - depression isn't fun.

@Ib27312, all those leaves on the ground look spectacular! 🤩

@carshon, can you remind me if you ride some kind of Walking Horse? Your avatar horse looks very athletic and big-stepping. 👍

@Celeste, hello! I wanted to send you a "waving" emoji, but can only find this... 🦋


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## egrogan

@knightrider , I just really hate your whole situation. It seems so unfair that people so irresponsible can continue to behave that way. Maybe you need to bring a local news crew out to film what happens!


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## Celeste

@rambo99 Yes, like Sue said, depression is not fun. I think that most people have it at some time or another in their life. I know one person that has seasonal depression. She uses some kind of light that is made to help with that. About half the people I know are on antidepressants. If you are not taking them, you might find that it helps. Life is more complicated these days and everybody gets down. Depression is a chemical imbalance that is often set off by stress. Just like diabetes is a chemical disorder set off by candy and soda. 

I hope that you feel better.


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## weeedlady

Antidepressants make a world of difference for me. Vitamin D can make a difference at this time of year also. Depression is a heavy and often misunderstood burden. Hoping you feel better soon.


----------



## carshon

@SueC I ride a Tennessee Walking horse mare, Tillie Mae. I have had her 4 years now and I love her to death. She is the right mix of spicy and a tad unpredictable but not too unpredictable. She tends to be very forward - which I do like but makes people riding with me work hard to keep up. We have spent the last 2 years working to get her to ride behind other horses. Some days are more successful than others! She will be 18 next spring ,and lord how I wish it was 8 and not 18!


----------



## rambo99

@SueC no depression isn't fun but it's something I have to deal with. My horses keep me going and of course my kids. My oldest daughter will come in from barn an say mom ,I have your horse ready to ride come out and ride with me. Pretty hard to turn that down.

@weeedlady I'm on meds for the depression DR changed meds here just last week. Seems to be helping a lot.

I've been doing some riding nice weather high mid 30s. Firearms deer hunting ended Sunday after dark. So yesterday we rode down to dirt road to see if it's ridable. Was solid ice last week. We got just enough snow recently it's now just snow covered. So plan on saddling up today and ride the dirt road. 

Rode bareback yesterday last few weeks we just rode around our place. So just riding bareback easier to just put on bridle an hop on. Ice got kind of silly last ride so lunged him yesterday. 
Wow did he ever have a lot of energy. He tore around bucking an shaking his head for a good 10 minutes. Then slowed down to a fast trot for another 5 to 10 minutes snorting and throwing in some bucks. He was nice and sane to ride, didn't feel like a time bomb ready to explode. 
We rode for an hour walk trot around here then rode the power line down to dirt road. It's about a 1/4 mile one way. Good thing ice got out his sillyness on lunge line. 

Had a dump truck turn onto dirt road an let out his air breaks. That would of been good reason for ice to buck spin around and act silly. I would of ended up on the ground being bareback. 

Don't have many more miles added to our total for 2020. With deer hunting and bad footing just couldn't do much riding. Riding in yard doesn't make for many miles .


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## Celeste

@rambo99 I think that you deserve to count any miles for riding in 30 degree weather in the snow. I am not likely to do that. Actually, I guess I did 30 something years ago. We don't get snow very often. Not even every year. 

While we are confessing to antidepressant use, I also take them. Isolation from the human race has made me a bit depressed. (There are actually quite a few people that I don't miss.) But I miss getting to see my sisters and I don't really see my grown kids much. Then it is masked and at a distance. They think that they will kill me if they breathe on me with all this Covid going around and them having to work.


----------



## SueC

Ooooh, are we all sharing? Well, I was diagnosed with complex PTSD in my early 40s, over 5 years ago now. It's a form of PTSD people get from growing up in homes with a lot of violence and stress, where you just never felt safe. While I've had (undiagnosed at the time) depression once, in my early 20s - a reactive depression to a textbook dysfunctional first relationship coming out of a dysfunctional home (and that ended when the relationship ended and I moved far away to a lovely town and a new job) - for some reason, it seems my particular brain setup with the way it was wired through all that early trauma actually tended to preclude depression, in part I think because I shoved a lot of stuff behind a wall in my head I didn't know I had. 

If you want to know what that kind of PTSD is like and how that manifested for me, I wrote about that here on an alternative music forum last year - because when the horrifying flashbacks finally started for me in my early 40s - basically when I finally felt safe - that was extremely disconcerting, and what helped me the most, apart from wonderful support from my husband, were the stories told by other survivors - I stopped feeling so alone in that stuff, and because it was so helpful to me to read what others had written, in time I wanted to write about my own experience, hoping it would help others in turn. So I did, and because music has always been a huge thing for finding and keeping my sanity, I did it as a sort of music presentation.

SSRIs were really helpful for the half year after the flashbacks began (technicolour surround-sound nightmares every night until I went on those; then the flashbacks became daytime which meant more able to be consciously processed and less distressing, and no interference with my sleep). The main side-effect of them was becoming more attached to my sofa than usual. 😄 Also, because serotonins are gut-active, they slowed down my gut motility to the point I was getting colicky, plus producing really smelly farts that could have been bottled for chemical weapons.  Halving the dose mostly settled that problem. But, I think it was really helpful for getting through all that mental and emotional processing of all that rubbish that I had to do for the first half year in particular.

Big hugs to all of you dealing with this kind of stuff. 🐙 I know that's an octopus, but I still can't find a hug emoji!

I hope to be riding tomorrow - bit tired at the moment because it's still hayfever season, and all those antihistamines seem to add up... Happy riding, all.


----------



## egrogan

Happy belated Thanksgiving to all. We had rain and thick fog around all day yesterday, so no riding. I had today off though so got to go for a short ride, despite the fact that it suddenly became mud season...








...in the middle of stick season...








And because of hunting season, we go out looking like _this _ 








*Total 2020 miles: 524.1*


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## weeedlady

I got Tucker out yesterday for about 7 miles with our new barn friends. Tucker was a hand full most of the time, but he tried to be good.


----------



## weeedlady

Today I took Raven out solo. She hasn't practiced her teleportation skills in quite some time so I was surprised when she disappeared out from under me. I landed on my butt in the soft grass in the field so no damage was done. I got back on and we had a great 5 mile ride. We stayed on the "main" roads because it's deer season. We returned to the arena and played with the one armed monkey for a bit. A good day. We both had fun.


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## rambo99

I've been riding just in the yard dirt road isn't safe to ride. Tried it out the other day, under the little bit of snow it's icy. And my boy is so energized it's ridiculous. Ended up getting off an leading him home. 

He can be a real pistol going sideways, spooking an leaping around. Being bareback he's hard to stay on, when he's being a nut.

Rode a bit today just around the yard he was pretty good. At least we can ride not anything exciting but it time on the horses. Here's a picture from other day.


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## Celeste

I have to be very careful where and when I ride due to deer season. And horses, the dog, and I are all wearing orange. The only hunters that I have come across actually got dog and horse kisses. I am not worried about them. I only worry about people who don't think about what is behind their target. As far as I know, I don't have any enemies.

My miles have made it up to *321.16* for the year. I was able to ride three times this week. They were three miles each.


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## Celeste

I still don't have this whole format figured out. I had 4 copies of all the pictures. Here are a few more. Hopefully only one of each.


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## knightrider

Yesterday my neighbor and I tried out our scheme to safely see if the Anatolian shepherd dogs were contained. We rode down our friend's driveway, which is across from the Anatolian driveway, and headed out to the fun trails. No dogs came after us on the way out, so we had a great ride. On the way back, the dogs came roaring down the driveway after us, but we turned onto our friend's driveway before they could bite our horses. 

Using our friend's driveway would be an ideal solution except that we have to ride through the privately owned hunting lands to get there, for which I do not have permission to take other riders, and no permission to ride myself. I can only go with my neighbor, who worked there for 30 years. I can't go when I am riding solo and I can't go when I take the different sets of kids who come to ride.

Needless to say, I called the sheriff's office again to report that the dogs are still uncontained and still going after horses (and bikes and motorcycles, but I can't prove that).


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## SueC

weeedlady said:


> Today I took Raven out solo. * She hasn't practiced her teleportation skills in quite some time so I was surprised when she disappeared out from under me*. I landed on my butt in the soft grass in the field so no damage was done.


 🤣 🤪 ...not that you fell, but your writing! (Gawd, I miss our ROFL emoji so much... )


💓💞 this one, @Celeste!











carshon said:


> @SueC I ride a Tennessee Walking horse mare, Tillie Mae. I have had her 4 years now and I love her to death. She is the right mix of spicy and a tad unpredictable but not too unpredictable. She tends to be very forward - which I do like but makes people riding with me work hard to keep up. We have spent the last 2 years working to get her to ride behind other horses. Some days are more successful than others! She will be 18 next spring ,and lord how I wish it was 8 and not 18!


Yeah, I know the feeling, I wish I could just freeze time on my horse because he's all I want to ride for the rest of my life...

Your mare sounds (and looks) fabulous. Exactly the kind of horse I like to ride - I love forward and Sunsmart also walks and trots at least twice as fast as the average horse for his "normal" - so I tend to ride alone, or find another person with a forward horse to ride with.

♣♣♣​
Today's adventure:

*IF YOU GROW UP ON PONIES, YOU CAN HANDLE ANYTHING*

As I write, I have a guest out on Sunsmart riding the farm tracks independently - for the first time in more than 5 years - because I actually don't often get people who are well versed in riding coming to our place. However, this guest grew up in England on ponies, and if you can handle a pony, you can handle anything...












Of course, it was raining this morning - Murphy's Law of Planned Rides - but at least there are lengthy breaks between rain bands, so you get hosed for about 5 minutes and then it's sunny for a quarter of an hour, rinse and repeat.

It is so lovely to see a competent rider riding your horse - because you never see him from that perspective when you're riding yourself!  Sunsmart is looking normal again after shedding his yak coat, and looks in very good shape too - he's got most of his muscles back, and his ribs are just covered - he's not carrying excess weight even though it's spring flush, and the grass is knee deep around here - you can't see the donkeys' legs when they're in the pasture! 😃

Shortly after I started writing this, it began pouring down outside, and I was hoping our visitor was in the forest at this time, but turns out she had come back into the meadow and was all exposed as a result, and didn't think the rain would stop, so headed back, untacked the horse and then appeared as a dripping apparition in the corridor. Murphy's Law continued - the same thing happens on horse show weekends, we all know that - and of course, the moment she had the saddle off the horse the rain stopped and the sun came out again. I asked her, "Do you want to tack him back up? He's still here and the radar says the next rain break will be lengthy!" but she was saturated and her hands were freezing, so we decided to maybe try again tomorrow morning for a longer ride, when the front is through.

I gave Sunsmart a carrot as he headed back out to find his herd. He was in a very good mood and kind of smiled at me with an "I had fun!" expression - he does love to go on an outing with a monkey. I was very impressed to find the saddle and bridle hung neatly back into the shed where the visitor had not actually set foot before (I'd gotten all the gear out that morning) - she found the correct spots and everything, and had even managed to take the hoof boots off on her own, with no prior personal use of such items! (Renegades = easy velcro straps, quite intuitive too)

We made some hot tea and she told me about the ride. She said, "He was so well-behaved! At the other end of the property he cantered up the hill with me, and then slowed down again immediately I asked him to, and was instantly relaxed and walking, no arguments, just happy. I've never ridden a horse with that kind of big-stepping trot before and was just getting used to this when our ride was cut short by the downpour. But it was so much fun!"

Just like my last ride, except I didn't get soaked that time! Sunsmart is such a pleasure to ride, and is thoroughly enjoying his outings - I don't always get to take him out as often as I'd like because weather happens and hayfever happens and life happens, but we're always happy when we get to go on a little adventure together - especially because this is like an Indian Summer in his life, coming back like that from being so ill earlier this year. Fingers crossed, the pituitary tumour won't decide to have another growth spurt - it would be really nice to have him stable another 6 years or so. Tomorrow is his 24th birthday! 🥳 🥕🥕 🍏

...and this is what he looked like the day he was born:


(...and yes, that was me in the paddock...)

...and this was when we adopted his mother for her retirement, and she got re-united with her only foal - they had another three years running together before we had to put her down at nearly 28 years old, three years ago...


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## egrogan

Unfortunately my plans for riding every day of vacation didn't materialize because of icky, rainy weather, but yesterday was the literal bright spot with beautiful blue skies and sun. I met my riding buddy for a 7 mile ride- it was the last day of hunting season, but surprisingly quiet, so we mostly stuck to the roads but did take a brief loop through the woods where we could still see the road. I'm definitely glad rifle season is done now! 

























*Total 2020 miles: 530.8*


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## rambo99

Rode Saturday afternoon was in the 40s an sunny. Even ventured out to dirt road and rode it for a short ways. Probably a 1/4 mile before it got to icy.

Didn't saddle up just bareback pads an bridles fast getting ready. I lunged ice before getting on ,he's got way to much energy otherwise. Not a fan of lunging but it's truly needed. 

In the last 3 rides we probably added a whooping 4 miles ,to our total milage for 2020. Have a lot of above freezing but it's not getting rid of ice/snow we have. Have bare ground and mud, also frozen mud today stayed below freezing. 

No riding today worked this morning then had house cleaning to do. Unfortunately house doesn't clean its self. Laundry doesn't wash its self either. Had to get that stuff done today laundry was getting out of control.

Hopefully tomorrow we can ride should be a nice day. A few pics from Saturdays ride.


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## carshon

@knightrider I was pondering your dog issue and wondered if you called Animal Control or a Sheriff and asked them to escort you past the dogs on your way home of that would help? I know that they will have excuses not to meet you there but you may get a sympathetic ear and someone may help.


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## knightrider

That is a very good idea, @carshon. We'll see how the latest sheriff's intervention works out. We now have a safe way of determining if the dogs are being kept up.


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## PoptartShop

Lovely rides, everyone!

Since Promsie is all recovered from Lyme, thankfully, I'm back in the saddle & we've been exploring some fields near the property (that were finally mowed down & rideable) & it's been quite fun!  

Although we missed the Black Friday paperchase ride at Fair Hill this year, I'm not even upset!


----------



## egrogan

@carshon, that is an excellent idea for @knightrider!
@PoptartShop - so glad to see you and Promise back out riding. Hope she continues to feel better!


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## phantomhorse13

Behind again.. The whole story is in my journal.

Thursday (the 19th), I got Link out:



















Friday (the 20th) was the last day before rifle started, so I was thrilled the weather cooperated for riding! I started with Link:
























And then it was George's turn:



























2020 mileage
...

11/19link7.76 miles1188 ft climb4.7 mph41F2250.09 total miles11/20link6.74 miles741 ft climb4.6 mph48F2256.83 total miles11/20george8.02 miles991 ft climb4.4 mph55F*2264.85 total miles*


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## SueC

*ANOTHER FIRST*

Again - not me riding, but other people! (But that's OK, I can ride anytime and a lot of people can't.)

Culturally, hosting a farmstay is really interesting - such a diversity of backgrounds come to stay with us. Currently we are graced with someone of NZ First Nations ancestry (plus a bit of Welsh and Irish), and a visitor from Myanmar. It's so fascinating hearing about other cultures, and being able to ask questions. For instance, I love the haka, it's so powerful - first saw it at a televised rugby game while channel-surfing as a child, when NZ was playing! And the woodcarving, and how the Maori gave the English colonisers a run for their money. And what life is like in Myanmar, and how people are coping with the pandemic there. Just so many things.

Anyhow, this morning I did not one, but TWO laps of our valley floor, with two different riders! Our female visitor had never ridden a horse before - however, she had ridden an elephant! I just sprung it on her - asked at breakfast if she'd ever ridden horse-back, and when the answer was no - did she want to? And it was very like when Eileen did her first 20-minute lap on Sunsmart - initial apprehension that turns into enjoyment within five minutes. "This is normal, your brain is reacting rationally to being on a half-tonne animal and high up by saying, _Is this a good idea? _But give it five minutes, and if you're not feeling better by then - well, you can get off the horse anytime!" And within five minutes, the anxiety drops and the smiles begin. 🙂

I asked, "So what's this like compared to an elephant?" and was told that there were four people on the elephant, in a sort of carriage seat - not astride like on a horse. Higher up, though!

It's always lovely to spring something like this on a complete beginner (where your instinct is that they have both the fitness/flexibility and the right disposition for animals) and after the apprehension wears off, know they're having an experience they're never going to forget: First ride on a horse, led so it's safe, through gorgeous Australian bushland currently bursting with wildflowers. 💞

I took photos with the guest's phone at the end of the ride, and our other guest had just gotten back, so I asked, "Would you like a turn?" He ran and changed into tights and off we went again. This guest did have prior experience, growing up on a farm with horses. I apologised for having him on a led beginner setup, because impromptu and following a beginner (no bridle on the horse, just led by halter with a rope for "reins"), and he said no worries, it had been a long time since he'd ridden and he'd just enjoy the walk around the valley floor. Seeing as I was there anyway, I multi-tasked the ride into a conversation about fire management, wildflowers etc.

After the rides, one of the guests went out to explore the Torndirrup Peninsula, and the other spent the afternoon in a hammock between two trees in the forest behind our house, reading his book and having naps while surrounded by a flock of black cockatoos who happened to have dropped in. Days like this, hosting farmstays is magic!


----------



## phantomhorse13

Last weekend, I went down to South Carolina for the last competition of the season. The whole story is in my journal.

I rode Lapco. We had a brief pre-ride on Friday:










And she completed her first 55 on Saturday:
































2020 mileage
...

11/27lapco4.61 miles103 ft climb3.9 mph60F2269.46 total miles11/28lapco55.32 miles3445 ft climb7.1 mph65F*2324.78 total miles*


----------



## egrogan

Complications of winter weather are starting to interrupt our riding time, unfortunately. Yesterday temps were pretty warm, but the shady spots of the road were dangerous with ice because of traffic packing down some light snow on the road overnight. I really wanted to get at least some miles recorded in December, so we stuck close to home and rode the fields, just on the roads to cross back and forth from the fields. Fizz was a little jiggy as we kept circling around home and her buddies were calling to her, but she was a good sport about it.

















My riding buddy and I were hoping to go out this morning before the first real storm of the year arrived, but unfortunately we've had steady rain interspersed with snow all day so far, so realistically we aren't going out today. Originally the forecast called for almost a foot of snow, but now it says mostly rain with about an inch of snow. Maybe we'll be able to go out tomorrow, we'll see how the road conditions are. It's supposed to be pretty cold overnight so I fear ice will be sticking around for a bit.

*Total 2020 miles: 532.3*


----------



## Celeste

@phantomhorse13 This has got to be the best picture ever!


----------



## phantomhorse13

Celeste said:


> @phantomhorse13 This has got to be the best picture ever!
> View attachment 1105914


Pretty fun when the photog gets the horse with all the legs off the ground!


----------



## knightrider

Say, has anyone received their Virtual Tevis Cup Challenge tee shirts? Because I haven't, and thought by now, I would have gotten mine. I want my $65 shirt! It was fun doing the challenge.


----------



## weeedlady

I haven't got my T shirt either. I'd actually forgotten all about it in the excitement of my move. I really want my shirt also. I guess we'll have to look into it.....


----------



## charrorider

Been so busy, haven't ridden in exactly one month. Today was a beautiful day. Went out for 10 miles (15 km). It took Chance close to half a mile before he focused on the task, but after that, he was as good as gold.


----------



## weeedlady

So I just went to the Virtual Tevis site. It says the deadline to complete was extended until 12/31. but that they would be sending out rewards to those who had already finished before that. I will look into it more tomorrow (it's late for me- so brain is not fully engaged) .

And I rode Raven for about an hour around the farm yesterday. My phone doesn't work in the cold, so I'm counting it as 3.5 miles. I'm at 260 for the year with both horses combined. I could aim for a few more miles.....maybe it will happen. Maybe not......


----------



## knightrider

Yay! My Tevis Cup virtual tee shirt arrived! I wonder if @weeedlady and @CaliforniaDreaming got their shirts also. It's long sleeved and black with a gold and white replica of the Tevis buckle. I am really pleased about it. Doing the virtual ride was really fun, and I am happy to have this memento of the hundred miles of riding.


----------



## weeedlady

I did not get mine yet, but I have moved and did not even think about giving them my updated address. My mail is being forwarded so hopefully it will show up. I will have my son check the mail box at the old house also, just to be sure!

I agree that doing the virtual ride was fun. Having a goal got me on my horse everyday. 

I hope I can squeeze in at least a few more miles yet this year. We had a high of 27F today and wind. I wish I could find my battery heated socks. I think they may still be in Ohio!


----------



## egrogan

Our riding days are winding down as the roads become too icy to safely ride, but this weekend we did add a few more miles.

Saturday was a little sketchy, and we probably _shouldn't _have gone out given the slushy/icy spots, but we made it. 

















Sunday was warmer, so everything was just sticky and muddy. It felt like April, which was pretty weird. But we were able to have a more normal ride, not having to be worried about dodging icy spots.

















*Total 2020 miles: 536.5*


----------



## knightrider

Today I got to take Chorro to field trials. I have written about field trials in the past, so I'll just make it brief. People use pointers and setters to hunt quail where I live. Then, at times, they have contests to see whose dog can find the most quail and hunt the best. People can ride along on these contests, and I am lucky enough to be someone who gets to ride along.

It's not as strenuous as a foxhunt, but it is fast paced. There are no jumps. Everyone has gaited horses, and they gait fairly fast. When the dog finds a quail, everyone stops and watches . Like a foxhunt, it is extremely important that the "gallery" not interfere with the dogs, the dog handlers, and the scout riders. 

Everyone is welcoming and friendly, and it is very fun. The folks will run dogs from 8:00 a.m. until dark, but I go in when I've had enough. Today I went in at lunchtime after starting at 8:00.

I made a mistake and put on Chorro's "hackaless" on him, so he was quite rambuctious and pulling harder than I wanted. I know better, just forgot. He needs a hackaMORE when there is a crowd of horses all pounding along around him, dog handlers calling their weird calls, blowing their whistle signal calls, and the dogs on truck barking in excitement, waiting for their turns.


----------



## phantomhorse13

I finally got a bit of saddle time. The whole story is in my journal.

On Friday, I hacked Link over to the ring since it was still rifle season:









Sunday rifle was over, so out on trail we went!









We tried bareback for the first time on the cool down loop:









2020 mileage
...

12/11link2.07 miles66 ft climb3.0 mph46F2326.85 total miles12/13link6.21 miles1178 ft climb3.4 mph38F*2333.06 total miles*


----------



## PoptartShop

Saturday, we went for a foggy morning ride!  Unfortunately, all week it's gonna be rainy, & some snow is coming our way.


----------



## CaliforniaDreaming

knightrider said:


> Yay! My Tevis Cup virtual tee shirt arrived! I wonder if @weeedlady and @CaliforniaDreaming got their shirts also. It's long sleeved and black with a gold and white replica of the Tevis buckle. I am really pleased about it. Doing the virtual ride was really fun, and I am happy to have this memento of the hundred miles of riding.


Nope, didn't get mine yet. But that's mostly because I was really lazy about updating my results. I finished back in early November, but only recently got my mileage recorded so I think I'll be in the next batch of prizes sent out.


----------



## phantomhorse13

Last Wednesday, I snuck in a ride before the big storm. The whole story is in my journal.

I rode Link and Kestrel came, too:























We got lucky to only get a foot of snow from the Nor'easter. Kestrel was thrilled.. though she kept losing her sticks (and yes, she is standing here). 🙃










Friday, I started with Link and Kestrel came, too:
























Next was George. We rode with Nik on Amish.























2020 mileage
...

12/16link11.65 miles1890 ft climb4.3 mph16F2344.71 total miles12/18link4.15 miles486 ft climb3.7 mph23F2348.86 total miles12/18george5.93 miles899 ft climb3.5 mph21F*2354.79 total miles*


----------



## charrorider

Beautiful day to practice social distancing. We were on the way back home when I good size leaf, blowing in the wind, hit Chance on the face. Poor guy was startled. His head jerked up, front feet came off the ground and he whirled 90 degrees to the right. And that was it. Never know what is going to happen around here.


----------



## Jolien

Due to corona this was one of my last trailrides for 2020 in november...


----------



## phantomhorse13

I got some saddle time this week. The whole story is in my journal.

On Saturday, DH and I got George and Link out:
























Monday, I got Link out:



















Yesterday, I got Link out:



























2020 mileage
...

12/19link11.36 miles1486 ft climb4.3 mph18F2366.15 total miles12/21link6.74 miles1037 ft climb4.2 mph33F2372.89 total miles12/23link8.44 miles1709 ft climb3.5 mph34F*2381.33 total miles*

Wishing everyone who celebrates it a very Merry Christmas and a great long weekend to those who don't!


----------



## charrorider

Don't ride Ibn much anymore due to his arthritis. But we went out yesterday for 8.25 miles (13 km). He was feeling good. It was great.


----------



## phantomhorse13

On Sunday, DH and I got George and Link (and Kestrel) out. The whole story is in my journal.
















We eventually made it home walking on a loose rein, but it took a lot of backtracking and transitions and there was a lot of angst. I have to say it was quite a frustrating ride, though it ended better than I expected, all things considered.

Wonderful DH got me a new helmetcam for Christmas, so I took it out on our ride to start getting acquainted with it. There will be a bit of a learning curve with the buttons and I need to buy more batteries as it died after about an hour in the cold. 






2020 mileage
...

12/27link7.74 miles932 ft climb3.6 mph27F*2389.07 total miles*


----------



## gunslinger

Looks like I'm ending the year with 144 miles for the year....this is the lowest yearly total I've had....part of that was due to the ankle sprain back in late winter which kept me out most of the spring.
We normally ride new years day, but with rain tomorrow, looks like a January 2nd ride instead.
Happy new year to all....I'm glad to see this year over.....as 2020 has certainly been a different kind of year. Hopefully we be past Covid soon and somewhat back to normal.
Happy trails,
Bill


----------



## PoptartShop

Loving all the pictures. 

I've had some lovely rides on Promise lately.  The ground has been either frozen or mushy, but it's starting to dry up (haha, jokes on me...it's gonna rain today & tomorrow).
So many leaves on the ground in the woods, LOL.


----------



## egrogan

Despite wild weather (3 FEET of snow two weekend ago, followed by 2 INCHES of rain that melted the snow and flooded everything last weekend), yesterday the roads were actually dry and ice free, so we went for one last ride of the year. December has been a disappointing month for riding with the weather swings, so we've hardly been out at all. It was nice to be in the saddle again even though the day was blustery.
















Here's how my 2020 shaped up: *538.86 miles total! *
Miles by month

*Month*​*Miles*​January7.94February0March2.12April19.13May63.33June58.62July 65.64August91.54September90.33October74.45November57.68December8.08

I hope 2021 brings a much better year for the world, more "normal" rides offered, and even more miles than this year. Definitely built a lot of confidence this year and have some fun goals for next season. Happy trails everyone! Will keep an eye out for the new thread tomorrow from whoever is lucky enough to have the weather to get out and ride


----------



## knightrider

I forgot to do monthly total for Nov. so here are Nov., Dec., and yearly
Nov. 53.25 hours
175.725 miles
Dec. 49 hours
161.7 miles
Yearly: 730.75 hours
2411.175 miles
When I submit the hours for Pasos for Pleasure, I cannot count the time and miles I spend riding my daughter's horse Windy because she is a TN Walker. I rode Windy a whole lot this year because my daughter's friend got badly injured in a fall, didn't ride, and my daughter didn't ride without her friend. Also, I discovered that the more I rode Windy, the better she did, so I rode her a lot because it was really making her a better horse . . . and I started really liking her too.

Which segues into my next paragraph--a camping trip with Windy.

I just got back from taking Windy camping for 2 days at Oleno Park. It was a super fun camping trip. I was delighted that @LoriF could come ride with us on her filly Novia. Novia did really well. Lori has done a fine job on her training. Windy also did really well. We had perfect weather for camping. North Central Florida is quite iffy in winter weatherwise. We can have temps from 21 F to 80 F from day to day. I watched the weather carefully and picked 2 days that were predicted to be 75 during the day and 58 at night. Lovely for camping . . . and it was.

About 3 years ago, LoriF came up with an interesting idea for a canopy over her trailer. As we camped together, and the years passed, I watched her refine her system. I told her once the canopy held up through a bad rainstorm and heavy wind, I would purchase all the parts myself and switch to her system. Our last camping trip at Princess Place in St. Augustine proved that her system could hold up. We sat under her very secure canopy watching the rain pour down in torrents, and I was convinced.

For Christmas, my family agreed that my Christmas gift could be all the components to put together a canopy like LoriF's. I got all the parts and my son and I experimented in the yard, setting it up. Then I took my grandsons camping without horses, and we quite successfully used it a few days before Christmas.

When Lori arrived yesterday, she helped me refine the final touches to the canopy. It worked perfectly. Last night we had rain and today, after the rain, strong wind, and it held up just fine. Many thanks to Lori for her ingenious system, and encouraging me to copy it.

The trails were beautiful, the horses were all well behaved, the company convivial. It was so much fun. We had a beautiful campfire in the evening, and very peaceful.

One sad note: One of the men on the trip is facing a difficult situation with his beloved wife of 44 years. His wife is on dialysis, is diabetic, has Alzheimer's, and a severe heart condition. She is very weak and needs constant care. He gave up camping and did very little riding for the last 3 or 4 years because he could not leave her. Finally, her dementia got so severe, that she did not recognize him and would not allow him to give her her insulin shots. He had to put her in a nursing home. She was miserable in the nursing home, refused to eat or drink, or take her medication and refused to go to dialysis. The hospital is recommending hospice care. He went camping with us to have some quiet space to make a terrible decision. It was a hard and sad time for him.


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## Celeste

I must have accidentally unsubscribed from this thread. It is my favorite place too. I have been teleworking. It sounds easy, but I spend so much time on the computer that I don't have time for much else. I have, however, done a lot of rides. My average ride is about 3 miles. It is in a safe place, away from hunters. We have some kind of hunting almost all the time, so I am very thankful to have a safe place to be. 

January 15 miles

February 9.33 miles

March 43 miles

April 28.5 miles

May 28.2 miles

June 29.9 miles

July 24 miles 

August 20.7 miles

September 34 miles

October 44.96 miles

November 43.5 miles

December 29.9 miles

*Total 351.06 miles*

​


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## Celeste

I will try to post of few pictures. I alternate between my Arabian mare and my Tennessee Walking Horse. The Arab has gone from being called Psycho Princess to just plain Princess. The gelding is called Dillon. (He is the black and white pinto with frizzy hair) My dog is a border collie named Prissy.


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## Celeste




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## Celeste

And I have one more to post. It is not about a horse. It is a picture of my friend's goat. He has a problem. He has developed a taste for beer. He screams for beer all day. He is causing complaints from the neighbors. Don't get such habits started if you have goats.


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## lb27312

Howdy all! These rides were all in 2020! Well except for the quick ride today just to say I rode on New Year's Day!

I drove down to Princess Place Preserve in Northern FL... the weather was awesome! Got 4 days of great riding in.... 1st day was a quick ride to get all the ponies adjusted to each other. The next day we went to the Ag center on the land bridge over I-95. That brought back such good memories as we used to go there every Thanksgiving a long time ago, now they don't allow camping there.... The next two days were equally good, going to the land bridge again but didn't go over it. I did do one moonlit ride it was a full moon during our stay, just a bareback pad and cruised down the road. 

Challenger did really good, even led the way over the land bridge when there was a two headed person(man with a baby in a backpack and there was a dog with them that looked like a coyote lol. He looked a little but kept walking till he was past. He's the slowest of the pack so he doesn't get the opportunity to lead often....

1st 6 miles
2nd 12 miles
3rd 8 miles 
4th 9 miles


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## knightrider

Wow, @lb27312 , we should meet you at Princess Place next time! 3 of us Horse Forum friends ride there also. It was fun seeing your pictures and remembering those areas. Do you trailer to the beach from there? How long does it take you to drive there from NC?


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## lb27312

@knightrider - We didn't trailer to the beach, though next time we will! I chose the wrong day to drive down there and knew it. I should have waited a day. Sunday after Christmas wasn't the brightest idea! lol I-95 was a parking lot in South Carolina... But it's about an 8 hour drive on average with stops... put a good podcast on and just drive... the weather and the rides definitely made up for the drive!


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## knightrider

Let's keep in touch about when we are going.


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## Celeste

Someone needs to start a 2021 rides thread. I haven't ridden yet. Hopefully I will ride tomorrow. Rain, rain, rain.

Jolien started it! Everybody needs to move on over. 

2021


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## weeedlady

I will add one post to the 2020 thread. I got my $65 T-shirt. I was afraid it had been lost because of my move and perhaps not forwarded. But I got back from Ohio today and it was waiting for me! I like it. I agree with @knightrider. I will do it again if given the chance.

My 2020 total is 263.4 miles. Hope to do better in 2021.


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## phantomhorse13

Finally getting caught up, as I did end 2020 with in the saddle! The whole story is in my journal.

I trekked down to Florida for a competition. On Wednesday, I took Lapco out for a pre-ride:









Thursday, I rode Lapco in the LD:
































2020 mileage
...

12/30lapco2.36 miles66 ft climb3.6 mph81F2391.43 total miles12/31lapco25.3 miles600 ft climb7.2 mph80F*2416.73 total miles*

2020 has been my highest mileage year to date!


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