# 2023 Edition: Share your trail



## egrogan (Jun 1, 2011)

This is our annual thread for all things trail riding, trekking, hacking, endurance, competitive trail, horse camping, long riding, etc. No ride is too short, no trail is too groomed-all are welcome!

There’s only one rule: you are not referred to as “just” a trail rider, and your equine partner is not “just” a trail horse. This kind of riding takes too much skill, fitness, and some days, bravery, to downplay what you do! 😉

In prior years, this thread has taken us all over the world, through forests and fields, across beaches and deserts, along dirt and paved roads, and up and down mountains. So please, join and and share the view through the ears of your favorite trail horse!! If you’re so inclined, feel free to use this as a place to track your mileage, number of days ridden, average speed, whatever is interesting to you and aligned to your goals for the year.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
I managed to get in a short ride this afternoon to start the new year. It’s still oddly warm here (central Vermont) so we’ve had lots of melting, leaving us with lots of mud to trudge through.
















We had almost 2 feet of snow two weeks ago, but it’s melted fast!








If you look through the ears though, you can see there is still at least some snow on the trails up on top of our local ski resort ⛷








*Total 2023 (!) miles: 2.5*


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## boatagor (Jun 27, 2017)

Hoping this is the year I finally get to join in on this thread!


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## charrorider (Sep 23, 2012)

I caught up with all the work I had. So Ibn and I hit the trails in the National Forest around our home. The last time I was on a horse was 7 weeks ago. That was before everything started going wrong in the farm and Mother Nature tried to kill us. But now is a new year. We had a gorgeous day. Temps in the high 50s, mostly sunny, little wind. We rode 5.4 miles (8.7 km).


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## younghorsetrainer (5 mo ago)

boatagor said:


> Hoping this is the year I finally get to join in on this thread!


Me too!!


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## younghorsetrainer (5 mo ago)

Hmmmm. How does everybody clock how many km ( miles) they went??


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## younghorsetrainer (5 mo ago)

LOL today I only rode 800 mt. How I know?? I measured the distance on Google Earth that I rode up to and it was 400 mt and I rode up and back down so 800 mt.  so much riding 😂🤣🤣🤣


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## weeedlady (Jul 19, 2014)

We are having oddly warm weather here in the UP also, but it takes a lot of above freezing weather to make 5 foot drifts disappear  It still doesn't feel safe to ride, although the horses did venture out into the pasture on their own today and came running at dinner time, lol. 
So no riding for me yet, but I AM gonna make that 1000 mile goal this year. I signed up for a different challenge today (you know me and my challenges). This one is from a different site. A place called Equistarte. I'll let you know how that goes.
@knightrider I am still working on the Pony Express, but it is taking me forever. I'll get there if I have to do it one mile at a time, lol.


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## Slave2Ponies (May 25, 2013)

I trimmed hooves today, so my back refused to pick up a saddle. I long for those days when I rode bareback, but 90% of my falls were from bareback, so I quit that.

My goals for 2023 are laughable compared to you all. I just want to ride 3x per week at least 2 miles. If I can get my young horse going, I can increase that.

This week, we're under the atmospheric river again, so no riding. 😞


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## charrorider (Sep 23, 2012)

younghorsetrainer said:


> Hmmmm. How does everybody clock how many km ( miles) they went??


I use a gps, or an APP called Geo Tracker. Since I'm in the USA, I track my distance in miles, then convert the distance to kilometers for the benefit of all the members who live in countries that use the metric system. There are a bunch of APPs you can install in your cell phone to help you track your ride.


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## charrorider (Sep 23, 2012)

I would consider myself very fortunate if I had the opportunity to ride once a week. Because of that, I don't bother signing up for any of the virtual races. But if I did, the one that is based on the Mongolian race sounds interesting.


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## dogpatch (Dec 26, 2017)

Slave2Ponies said:


> I trimmed hooves today, so my back refused to pick up a saddle. I long for those days when I rode bareback, but 90% of my falls were from bareback, so I quit that.
> 
> My goals for 2023 are laughable compared to you all. I just want to ride 3x per week at least 2 miles. If I can get my young horse going, I can increase that.
> 
> This week, we're under the atmospheric river again, so no riding. 😞


There is no such thing as a laughable goal! There is no comparing your joy to someone else's "accomplishment"! I hope I might sit on my horse again this year. The joy will be infinite!


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## younghorsetrainer (5 mo ago)

charrorider said:


> I use a gps, or an APP called Geo Tracker. Since I'm in the USA, I track my distance in miles, then convert the distance to kilometers for the benefit of all the members who live in countries that use the metric system. There are a bunch of APPs you can install in your cell phone to help you track your ride.


Hmmmm. I don't have a smartphone. Just a good old dumbphone with push buttons only to use for calling and texting. So that option wouldn't work  Maybe I will just have to remember every little place I went on my ride and measure it on Google Earth.... so painstaking though!


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## Horse & Dog Mom (5 mo ago)

We are blessed in so many ways, but 2022 had some challenges for us. In November, I stopped riding for a variety of reasons. 

On New Years eve late , I went out to give hay. I put my arm around our horse's neck and gave his fuzzy ear a kiss and said hope we are all healthy & have a better year for riding in 2023!

... Towards that goal, I have setup to start working with a trainer towards the end of this month. Looking forward to that a lot!

This was last year, so can't wait to add a new pix! 

Google map works great for me to track my riding mileage.


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## weeedlady (Jul 19, 2014)

dogpatch said:


> There is no such thing as a laughable goal! There is no comparing your joy to someone else's "accomplishment"! I hope I might sit on my horse again this year. The joy will be infinite!


 ^^^^^^Exactly. Your goal is for you! no competition here! We like hearing what you've done and seeing pictures- no matter what.


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## knightrider (Jun 27, 2014)

younghorsetrainer said:


> Hmmmm. How does everybody clock how many km ( miles) they went??


Currently, I am using Equilab on my phone, which is dandy . . . except I want audio saying miles and this lady only says how many minutes I have ridden. Why would I want to know how many minutes I have ridden??? I have a watch. I can look at the Equilab and see when it turns to miles, so I can pretty much figure out how many miles on the trails I ride every day. But I do wish it would just SAY when you pass each mile.

I tried Avenza as per @weeedlady 's recommendation, but I couldn't get it to download maps. It would do some maps and not others. Probably my cheap phone, but I gave up and switched. Avenza also didn't say each mile out loud, and I really want that. When riding a spicey horse, I can't be whipping out my phone all the time.

Someone recommended an ap called Horseriding, which did say the miles, but it wouldn't work on my phone.

I loved Endomondo, but they stopped. Too bad.

For about a year or more, I used nothing, and still was able to track miles, so @younghorsetrainer , here is one way you can track your km: When driving somewhere in your vehicle, pay attention to when you have completed one or two or however many km. Then ride your horse that far, looking at your watch. If you do that about 6 times, both going out and coming home, you can figure your average speed. It's going to be inexact because Endomondo said my average was about 3.3 mph. Avenza said it was closer to 2.8. And Equilab says it is 3.1. I do believe I have slowed down some, but currently I am using 3.1 when I don't fool (or forget . . . or it doesn't work) with putting on the Equilab. Keep track of your hours, then multiply by 3.1. If you only ride 20 minutes, then use a decimal. Riding 20 minutes would be .333 of an hour, which would put you at 1.3 miles for your distance. Aci rides closer to 3.8 or even 4 miles an hour. Windy goes from 2.5 to 4 depending on her mood. Isabeau is also close to 3.6 or 3.8 for her average. So I just use 3.1 and don't worry about it. Close enough.


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## gottatrot (Jan 9, 2011)

@knightrider, have you tried mapmyrun? I haven't tried it on a horse yet but running along it says your distance and pace and tells you out loud you have gone one mile.


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## knightrider (Jun 27, 2014)

Yay! @gottatrot ! That sounds perfect. I assume it shows you on a map where you have gone so you don't get lost? I get lost a lot.

You all inspired me to add up my rides. I rode 525.5 hours and multiply that times 3.1 is 1,629.05 miles this year. I think I am one of the few people who would like to ride LESS rather than more. It would benefit my family for me not to be so obsessed with riding. My house could be vacuumed and dusted more often and more home cooked meals. So, hopefully for me, maybe a little FEWER miles would be in order.

To be fair, I am retired and I live in Florida. That means I can ride all year round and I can ride when the rain stops or when I get home from whatever I have gone to do . . . or before I go do what I have to do.


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## gottatrot (Jan 9, 2011)

knightrider said:


> Yay! @gottatrot ! That sounds perfect. I assume it shows you on a map where you have gone so you don't get lost? I get lost a lot.
> 
> You all inspired me to add up my rides. I rode 525.5 hours and multiply that times 3.1 is 1,629.05 miles this year. I think I am one of the few people who would like to ride LESS rather than more. It would benefit my family for me not to be so obsessed with riding. My house could be vacuumed and dusted more often and more home cooked meals. So, hopefully for me, maybe a little FEWER miles would be in order.
> 
> To be fair, I am retired and I live in Florida. That means I can ride all year round and I can ride when the rain stops or when I get home from whatever I have gone to do . . . or before I go do what I have to do.


Yes, it shows on a map. Hmm...dusting and cleaning are overrated. Do what brings you joy.


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

I'm in the camp of not recording miles. I enjoy the photos from all over that are posted here, and my contribution is a photo that I think others might like.


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## knightrider (Jun 27, 2014)

whisperbaby22 said:


> my contribution is a photo that I think others might like.


We love your photos, and thank you very much for posting them!


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## younghorsetrainer (5 mo ago)

whisperbaby22 said:


> and my contribution is a photo that I think others might like.





knightrider said:


> We love your photos, and thank you very much for posting them!


??? I don't see any photos. Or did I misunderstand?


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

I just meant the photos I have put up over the years. The photos on this site send you to all kinds of beautiful places that you yourself would never get to. And to know that somebody gets to ride in such areas makes it special. So many of these photos would look great in a coffee table book.


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## younghorsetrainer (5 mo ago)

Oh I see. Thanks for clarifying


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## Harktak (Mar 12, 2021)

Great thread. We ride in southern Alberta, bordering and on Kananaskis country in the foothills and Rocky mountains. We started the year off with lots of riding.


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## Horse & Dog Mom (5 mo ago)

@ HARKTAK: WOW WOW WOW!!!

... Beautiful, but feel free to keep the snow. 😉


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## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

Slave2Ponies said:


> My goals for 2023 are laughable compared to you all. I just want to ride 3x per week at least 2 miles. If I can get my young horse going, I can increase that.
> 
> This week, we're under the atmospheric river again, so no riding. 😞


The wonderful thing about this thread is that it's NOT competitive, so please share your goals and riding stories and pic with us. It doesn't matter what anybody else is doing. Hope momma nature gives you a break so you can get some saddle time soon.



younghorsetrainer said:


> I don't have a smartphone. Just a good old dumbphone with push buttons only to use for calling and texting.


If its easier for you, just record your hours. Or don't worry about it and just share stories and pics.



gottatrot said:


> have you tried mapmyrun?


I wonder if that is the same people that do MapMyRide, which seems to be meant for biking but is what I use as a backup if my gps watch battery dies. I think it can say the miles aloud (but I found a way to turn that off because of course the sudden disembodied voice would scare Phin  ).


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## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

I have gotten the New Year off to a good start as momma nature had sent some warm and dry weather (until today). The whole story is in my journal.

Monday, I started with Hombre:
















and then rode Asad:
































Yesterday, I hauled Hombre down to meet Dodie:






























2023 mileage

1/1hombre6.20 miles1040 ft climb4.7 mph45F6.20 total miles1/1asad8.36 miles1503 ft climb3.6 mph42F14.56 total miles1/2hombre8.58 miles1260 ft climb4.8 mph48F*23.14 total miles*


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## younghorsetrainer (5 mo ago)

That is a pretty harness and cart!! Is that harness from Two Horse Tack? I saw a harness very much like that on there. It had blue pad, red, green, and black.


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## Harktak (Mar 12, 2021)

Horse & Dog Mom said:


> @ HARKTAK: WOW WOW WOW!!!
> 
> ... Beautiful, but feel free to keep the snow. 😉


It keeps critters that slither and other creepy crawlers away. lol We couldn't be more blessed.


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## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

younghorsetrainer said:


> That is a pretty harness and cart!! Is that harness from Two Horse Tack? I saw a harness very much like that on there. It had blue pad, red, green, and black.


The harness was made locally by some Amish craftsmen. Beta tack is becoming super popular as people discover it can be colorful and is a lot easier to care for that traditional leather.


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## younghorsetrainer (5 mo ago)

A couple of days I went out to try to take pictures of some wild otter-like animals in a pond somewhere. About 45 minute ride but I didn't find the otters. But I got some nice pictures....
It isn't often that I take my camera with me on rides but I did a couple of days ago and today... I will post pics from todays ride later in a post of my own. Also, the other day it was raining/ had just rained when I went so that is why the interesting clouds.


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## younghorsetrainer (5 mo ago)




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## Celeste (Jul 3, 2011)

Hello everyone! I was pretty bad for most of last year about posting on this site. I read most of the posts, but didn't get around to saying anything. 

All the pictures are amazing!

I am not going to set a goal. Last year I got up to 650 miles, which amazed me. This year, I am up to 6 miles. Too much flooding to ride right not. But I rode my sweet Princess (well usually sweet) on January 1st and 2nd. 3 miles each day. 

Before I dig up a few pictures from the ride, I want to talk about how I track miles. I have a Garmin Instinct watch. I set it each time I ride and then I transfer the miles into an excel spreadsheet. If anyone wants a copy of my spreadsheet, feel free to message me and we can trade info and I will send it to you. I track miles for each month and then they automatically add up. 

This is Princess and my dog Prissy. (Prissy is a horrible name for a dog that rolls in dead stuff and eagerly eats horse turds. My daughter insisted on naming her that.)


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## younghorsetrainer (5 mo ago)

Is Princess the horse in your media? LOL about Prissy 🤣🤣


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## Celeste (Jul 3, 2011)

Yes, Princess is the horse in the picture. Well, her head and neck. I was riding. 
I also have a horse named Dillon. I alternate between them. My husband was supposed to ride Dillon, but he lost interest. 
And Prissy would spend every second with me, but I don't want her on the bed smelling like turds.
Your pictures are fantastic.


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## younghorsetrainer (5 mo ago)

If she is the picture of the horse in the media on your profile, she is stunning beautiful!! I love black horses!!
Thank you so much! I love taking them too.


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## Celeste (Jul 3, 2011)

Yes, she is the horse in my media profile. I had forgotten that it was there.


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## Horse & Dog Mom (5 mo ago)

@ younghorsetrainer: Great pix! I think I can smell the rain in those clouds.

@ celeste: Our dog will eat anything gross she can find and then will generally come to us looking for 'approval' (she's a rescue, so we try to not be too correcting on unimportant things). I can fully understand your not necessarily wanting Prissy in your bed after she's been turd hunting.


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

Younghorsetrainer, what kind of saddle do you have on that nice black horse?


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## younghorsetrainer (5 mo ago)

@Horse & Dog Mom, thank you!! It had just rained and was about to rain again so.. yeah you are right. 
@whisperbaby22, it is an Uruguayan saddle. Much lighter than a western saddle and my old western saddles don't fit right: see this thread for more info, and and so I ride him with that more often. When I carry the camera I ride with a saddle as I don't want to slip around and risk falling with the camera. I usually ride bareback though. And thanks for the comment on Castillo. He is my very favorite silly handsome black horse in the world!!


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## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

The rain stopped, so I got some saddle time. The whole story is in my journal.

Yesterday:
















1-5-23 Hombre







www.youtube.com












Today:

















2023 mileage
...

1/5hombre9.01 miles1886 ft climb5.0 mph52F32.15 total miles1/6hombre5.40 miles1079 ft climb5.3 mph30F*37.55 total miles*


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## Celeste (Jul 3, 2011)

I am enjoying everyone's pictures and stories! I have been grounded due to flooding. My husband and son are going back on their off road vehicles to see just how bad the worst place is. I'll go ride if and when the road is safe. After this weekend, there is another place that I can ride. Believe it or not, we are still in deer season. It lasts forever here.

This is a video that I took last time I was out. It was recorded at high quality, but YouTube seems to default to high quality. You can change it if you want on your end. There doesn't seem to be much I can do from this end. Also, I was humming along happily off key. Sorry. 

Ride in January


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## Celeste (Jul 3, 2011)

Dillon

The video in this link above is actually from last year, in December. My YouTube pictures come out so blurry, that I thought that I would try Vimeo. The only problem that I see is that the free version only lets you post 2 videos a month.


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## Celeste (Jul 3, 2011)

Double post. Sorry.


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## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

Got a couple more rides! The whole story is in my journal.

Yesterday:
























Today:






























2023 mileage
...

1/7hombre8.69 miles1444 ft climb4.4 mph30F46.24 total miles1/8hombre12.06 miles1339 ft climb3.9 mph34F*58.30 total miles*


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## CaliforniaDreaming (May 8, 2011)

I don’t really record my miles much either. I think I might only do it if we haul off property, which I’m fixing to do this spring just as soon as the never-ending rain we’re getting here in SoCal is over (srsly, I thought we were in a desert)

Been too muddy to ride the ranch trails so we’ve been sitting to the gravel and asphalt roads. Only the second time this year so far that I’ve been able to ride because … raaaaaaain.

But Mitch got out for a bit of a stroll which is good because it’s gonna pour buckets tomorrow.


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## Slave2Ponies (May 25, 2013)

@CaliforniaDreaming If you have mud in sunny SoCal we're all doomed!

We're enduring the Pineapple Express here too, but I got the old yellow horse out for 2.5 miles on the road. This will help us endure the next blast of rain. 

No riding for the black horse but I'll get him out for games.


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## egrogan (Jun 1, 2011)

Yesterday afternoon, we got out for a short ride around the field and a small climb up and down the hill through the woods behind the house.
























(^^Photo courtesy of my husband looking out his office window upstairs in the house while we rode by! )
It's brutally cold today, temps in the single digits (7*F so far), so not sure I will get out again today despite the fact that we have beautiful blue skies ahead of more snow coming tomorrow.

*Total 2023 miles: 8.4*


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## gunslinger (Sep 17, 2011)

I got my first ride of the new year, and rode 14 miles on Fancy. It's been a month since Miss Lacy had her eye removed and she's doing great. I have the farrier coming out next week and plan on my first one eyed horse ride shortly after that.

It's wet here. Above average rain fall 5 years in a row, and 6 inches in December.......already got 2 inches this new year. Mud, can I say more?


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## boatagor (Jun 27, 2017)

We only went about a half a mile up the trail, turned around, and I led him back down because it was a steep hill with lots of mud and I'm a chicken. But Georgie and I got on the trails today! We rode with my friend and her gaited pony, so there was a bit of trotting to keep up, but he didn't feel rushy at all. We did some turns and other things when we got back, so total mileage was about 1.5. I added him to my Garmin running watch as a piece of "gear" and turn on the GPS while riding to track the mileage.


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## egrogan (Jun 1, 2011)

@boatagor , is this Georgie's first "group" trail ride? I'm still chuckling at the idea of the option to input as gear 🤣


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## boatagor (Jun 27, 2017)

egrogan said:


> @boatagor , is this Georgie's first "group" trail ride? I'm still chuckling at the idea of the option to input as gear 🤣


Well we took him down the driveway with their new Halflinger but not on the trail, so technically yes. The seller exclusively rode in groups, between 2 and 5 I guess. She actually didn't ever ride him alone and I find him easier alone because he wants to stick close to the other horses and not listen to me.

I have my dog in the Garmin too 😂


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## charrorider (Sep 23, 2012)

I thought I had posted this already, but don't see it anywhere. So forgive me if you see this post twice. 
In the last 70+ days, Chance had worked twice, once on the 30th of Sept and once on the 1st of Nov. I was ready for an exciting (and quick) first two miles, at the minimum, before he settled down to a good trail partner. As I was tacking him up, I told him, "Chance, I know about your desert ancestry and all that. But you're 11 years old now. You're a mature horse. You need to start acting like you been there, done that." Holy, Alibaba!!! Five minutes into the ride and he settled down!! Did this horse understand what I told him? I couldn't believe it. I don't mind his antics at the start of every ride. I can ride them out and I know he'll settle down. Not a big deal. But this was entirely unexpected. Well, it's nice to dream he understood what I told him. But I'm not holding my breath. We rode 7.6 miles (12.3 km) in two hours and 25 mins, which isn't bad in this Ozark terrain.


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## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

I have taken advantage of the nice weather and got a bunch of saddle time. The whole story is in my journal.

Hombre:





















Flash:
















Asad:
















Amish:
















Gracelyn:
















2023 mileage
...

1/9flash3.63 miles154 ft climb4.4 mph28F61.93 total miles1/9amish4.84 miles781 ft climb4.1 mph26F66.77 total miles1/10flash2.06 miles220 ft climb4.1 mph28F68.83 total miles1/10hombre2.45 miles443 ft climb4.1 mph30F71.28 total miles1/10asad7.34 miles1496 ft climb3.6 mph28F78.62 total miles1/11flash3.37 miles486 ft climb4.4 mph30F81.99 total miles1/11hombre7.28 miles961 ft climb6.0 mph33F89.27 total miles1/11gracelyn3.04 miles538 ft climb3.3 mph36F*92.31 total miles*


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## younghorsetrainer (5 mo ago)

I bet that the dogs get plenty of exercise too! lol


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## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

younghorsetrainer said:


> I bet that the dogs get plenty of exercise too! lol


Yes! And we all know that tired dogs are good dogs.


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## CaliforniaDreaming (May 8, 2011)

Well, despite the very determined efforts of several weather deities, Mitch and I haven’t been washed out to sea yet. And for once in a very very very very very long time, I turned Equilab on yesterday to track our whole mile of road plodding for the funsies.










More of an update in my journal. But we haven’t got time to celebrate (or dry out very much) because another storm’s a comin’ so it’s time to batten down the hatches.


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