Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Sunday

Seriously, some of those horse trailers are nicer than my apartment!

We went on a trail ride on Sunday. It felt good to be out and my horse was a good boy. Except I discovered he likes tuna fish.

Don't worry, I didn't feed him any. After all, he's a vegetarian. But he tried to eat my sandwich.

Not sure why he'd eat tuna fish but turned down applesauce mixed with grain and apple-flavored paste wormer. Really, I think the later would be more appealing than tuna, to a horse?

I prefer the sunny, open trails over the shady, damp, wooded trails- they are too buggy for my horse, although pretty with all of light filtering down on the ferns.

I told Paint Girl that after she sees the movie Twilight, she won't be able to ride in these woods again without thinking of Edward and Bella and vampires. She said, oh great.

I took a little video of the last leg of the ride as we head for home. I love the clippity-clop of My Boy's shoes on the pavement. I hope you don't get dizzy from the bobbing of My Boy's head! By the way, my horse was so good, he didn't need to follow the mares on the little trail alongside the road.


A horse ran up to the fence on our right, so I quickly turned off the video so I could be sure My Boy didn't startle. Then I snapped a picture for you since he was such a pretty Paint. I think they call this a medicine hat marking? It's unique.

We had a little issue at the end of the ride.

Paint Girl wrote about our trouble in this post. The old saying "what can go wrong will go wrong" applies here. A few things I learned from this experience. First, always bring extra food and beverages. I ate the sandwich on the trail, so all I had was a smashed protein bar at the bottom of my saddle bag- from last September. It had wintered in the horse trailer. But when you are hot and hungry, you eat what is available.

Second, bring water for the horses. We were only an additional hour and a half later than our original departure point, but that could have easily become 3 hours or more. Even though we were only a ten minute drive from home and were not on a major road trip, if you can't haul your horses home, you are up a creek without a paddle (bad cliche since we didn't have any water.....)

Lastly, always do a thorough check of all equipment before venturing out. We checked our tack, and the horse trailer tires....but we didn't think to check the truck tires (or valve stems, more specifically) as they have been fine and the truck has been driven recently. Sometimes I guess you just don't know something needs fixed until it is broken!

Overall, we were proud of how good our horses were considering it'd been months since we'd hit the trails!



23 comments:

  1. That's good advice about being prepared for trouble with food and water for all concerned. I'm also a fan of those roll-on roll-off gadgets for the trailer so that you can change a trailer flat without unloading or unhitching and no jack required - wouldn't have helped with the truck tire, though! My daughter was able to change a flat on our 4-horse gooseneck because she had one of those. Another tip I try to remember is to check the pressure on your spare tires.

    Looks like a beautiful day for a trail ride!

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  2. loved the clippity-clop video!

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  3. I too love the sound of hooves on the pavement. So soothing. Looks like a great ride. That spot where you stayed on the road and sis and her OH went on the trail reminds me so much of a spot at Wrangler's campground at Kentucky lake.

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  4. Thanks for sharing your great ride. I can't wait to get out on the trails.

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  5. Fun, fun day! The video clip was cool...fun to see these horsies that I've been admiring in action on the trail! P.S. Caspian always wants my snack too! I think he's a bigger piggy than my dogs! ;)

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  6. I read you on those sunny trails!! Lovely trail, and how wonderful to be able to share the experience with your family!

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  7. good advice. Looks like you had a good time ,"my Boy "seems at home on the trails.

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  8. It's always good to learn from experience. You would love the horse trails near my house. We had a lemonade stand the other day, and tons of horses and riders stopped by to visit. I love your blog!

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  9. I really like the picture of the paint horse. I love their color and markings.

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  10. the clippity-clop was very soothing. looked like a lovely day except for that blasted tire!

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  11. Trail-riding... never done it. Well, not like this. I guess mustering is a bit like trail riding, except it's kinda less scripted, a bit faster, and there are cows involved!!!!

    We take our meal out and set it in a pre-arranged spot for smoko (in the paddock or at the yards, depending on the job) for a picnic after a few hours work. It's kinda nice - stopping the action to actually appreciate what is around you. And we cater pretty well (no smashed up protein bars!)

    Methinks you'd like it PG!!!
    :-)
    BB

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  12. So that is what you were doing as you were riding down the road! As I was talking to you, I couldn't read your lips! I just thought you were taking pictures!
    I always have water for long hauls, will now remember to bring it on short hauls! I don't like to fill up the water tank every week, so when we go on our short rides, we can fill up the tupperware jugs I have. That would be enough for what we need it for. And a cooler in the tackroom, with ice, cold drinks and food!
    Like you said, sometimes you don't know something is broke until it breaks!

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  13. It certainly looks like all the horses did really well.

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  14. Happy Trails, nothing like a good trail ride that goes well, to clear your head. Glad the boy did well.

    Some good advice in that post too !

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  15. That is good advice, but no amount of planning and checking can prepare you for everything. Glad it was only an hour and a half.

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  16. I'm glad you all had a great ride!! The scenery is beautiful where you live!!! I know you don't like all of the tree's but non the less they are pretty!!

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  17. The clippity clop is so special! I love that sound, although I am always a little nervous when on a road--you never know when some speeder will come rudely zooming by. But that clippity clop is one of the best noises ever! As good as the ocean!

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  18. Wow, what a great ride you had and the video was neat, I too love the sound of horses hooves on pavement.
    Paint horse along the way was very pretty!
    so many things to think about before starting out on a ride! So far I haven't ventured any farther than Gilly can go, neighbor with the horse trailer, has a lame horse so no trail riding for us, I stick close to home.
    ~Jane and Gilly~

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  19. {Colleen}~ That particular road we were on is a dead end, with very little traffic. It would make me nervous to ride on a regular road! When I was leasing My Boy we had to ride alongside the road for a few blocks to access trails, and I would dismount and lead My Boy.

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  20. that is funny about the tuna fish...jessie always looks up from eating when i feed daddy cat (stinky wet cat food) since i feed them at the same time. i even have asked her if she would like some? i think she would eat it! silly ponies. my computer wouldn't play sounds so i couldn't hear...looks like you all had a nice ride til the end!

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  21. Sounds like fun, love the clip clop on the video!

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  22. I wish I were there riding with you all, but leave out the flat tire part, okay? Your clip clop was magic to my ears....oh I miss that sound so much! sniff sniff

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  23. I had already read about your ride over at Paint Girl's blog, but I also enjoyed seeing your pics and video, especially. All the horses looked calm and happy to be out on the trails. So, was there a reason you rode the road and they rode the trail in that video?

    You'l love the trails out here. Lots of wide-open spaces and a few trees for a bit o shade. :)

    ~Lisa

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I love hearing from my readers!! I truly enjoy all of your feedback, advice, helpful tips, and stories. You all make me laugh and I learn so much from you, too. I will try to post replies to your comments as often as I can.

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