Friday, June 19, 2009

Blazing (Dusty) Trails

It's not easy blazing trails. You get all the cobwebs. You have to turn around and shout "nettles!" and "roots!" and "hole!" and "low branch!" It's tiring. If I don't shout "roots!" then Paint Girl's Other Half's horse might stumble as we always joke that she's not so surefooted. We're always looking out for each other.

Speaking of Paint Girl's OH, he was cracking me up on our late afternoon ride yesterday! He wanted to blaze new trails and trot and ride up a lot of steep hills. But it wasn't until the way home that he made his mare take the lead. Until then, he was a backseat rider, shouting out which way to turn on the trail.

My Boy stepped out well in the lead. His ears were perked, he walked briskly. I like how between the three of us, all the horses are comfortable in the front, the middle, or the back. We try to mix it up a lot.

The temperature was perfect for a ride, low 70's. And it was a near perfect ride. There were only two issues, for me. On a few of the trails, we exited the woods with a swarm of mosquitoes following us. I know those pesky bugs were attracted to the sweet smell of horse sweat. Luckily, knowing bugs are especially an issue of irritation for my horse, last summer I bought a travel-sized water sprayer and filled it with fly spray, storing it in my saddle bag. It creates a nice mist and I coated my horse's underbelly, legs, and neck with it twice on the trail.

Issue number two was that when we were riding along the road under the power lines, we saw two ladies and around 9 dogs approaching us. No kidding. I didn't have time to take a picture. Maybe Paint Girl got one. I could clearly see the dogs were mostly big Rottweilers. Let me start by saying I am only slightly biased against breeds like Pit Bulls and Rottweilers. I had a Rottweiler mix turn on me when I was around eight years old (I escaped with just a little scrape on my ear) but I happen to have good friends that have a Rottweiler that I have been dog sitting for many years and as you can see, he has only tried to maul, er- I mean, kiss me, once.

It became evident as we rode closer to this pack that one of the women had around 5 Rotts on leashes, and two running loose. The other woman had two dogs on leashes, I think lab/shepherd mixes. The loose Rotts were curious and approached the horses warily yet with curiosity. As they got near I got a little nervous. My Boy just looked at them with perked ears, our horses are used to dogs. But I didn't know what these dogs would do. Would they start barking? Get too close? Get aggressive? You never know with strange dogs. Well, they got too close. One kept going up behind Fritzy's hind legs. I didn't see her kick out at the dog, but Paint Girl did. The woman kept calling her dogs in a sing-song voice, over and over, and neither of them listened to her at all, in fact one of them started to follow us as we continued down the road. The poor woman was rather helpless as she was still holding 5 other dogs and couldn't exactly come get the ones that weren't listening.

What bothered me about this scenario was that we did not know these dogs, or if they knew horses. I was not concerned if the horses kicked one of their dogs. If dogs are not on a leash and get in our horse's space and they feel threatened, I don't fault the horse for kicking them. What worried me was the fear one of the dogs might get aggressive with a horse, and then another one might jump in. A few years ago two Rottweilers got loose in town and doubled up and attacked a variety of other dogs before they were caught. And on the beach a few years ago, a woman riding a rental horse had a guy's Pit Bull run out and grab a hold of her leg and literally pull her off the horse. I would be concerned of any dog/s that approached the horses too comfortably, but will admit my worry would be more if it was a breed like a Rott versus a Golden Retriever. You never know if that "pack mentality" that dogs have might kick in. I also think if one is walking or riding on shared trails/roads with dogs tagging along, they should always have good control of their dogs. Which means if they aren't responsive to verbal cues, then they should be kept on a leash.

All ended well and we turned for home, My Boy falling behind as we crossed the creek and headed towards the trail head.

Wait for me!

The horses all got a hose down and My Boy rolled all over in the dirt then leapt and striked out like a young colt after I put him in his pasture to a fresh flake of hay. His sarcoid is still healing, but it appears it is still trying to spread, so as soon as it looks well enough to handle another form of treatment, the veterinarian will be called out.

I have a pretty busy weekend ahead, hopefully including hosting a garage sale, some bike riding, and spending some time with my papa on Father's Day!

30 comments:

  1. Couldn't agree with you more about loose dogs - I tend to chase (on horseback) the ones that get too close and that usually makes them a bit more cautious!

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  2. I can't wait untill I can trail ride!!!!

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  3. Nice ride! great idea about fly spray in the saddlebag. Loose dogs and useless owners are one of my pet trail peeves,

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  4. Some dog owners are so irresponsible. It would serve the dog well to have a swift kick to show them horses are nothing to play with. But the fault lies w/the owner. Yall's trails are gorgeous! I love your boy's ear shots. Too cute.

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  5. I totally agree with you about the loose dogs. I had a pair of German Shepherds chase me on my horse when I was a teenager. Luckily they didn't try and bite my horse or anything but we were out of control for probably a quarter of a mile. Good thing is was a long straight road. After that whenever I saw a loose dog I would turn my horse to face them and chase them if needed until they went away. Glad you were able to get away from the dogs without incident.

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  6. I'm a dog lover, and trainer, and even I get irritated with people who have loose dogs on trails. It's so irresponsible and selfish. Even if your dog is well-behaved and under voice command, it doesn't mean that it won't decide chasing a horse is a better reward than listening to its owner. And it really ticks me off because it gives dogs a bad rep with horse people.

    Once, Maverick and I got chased by a pit bull on the beach for almost the distance of a city block while the woman just weakly called her dog! Finally, I chased the dog back and told her that, by law, dogs have to be leashed on the beach, and she called me a "pit bull hater" -- lady, I own a pit bull! Ugh!

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  7. Oh lose dogs with stupid owners, they drive me nuts! I walk my dog (the one who doesn't like strangers or other dogs) every night around 10pm. I do it so there's nobody out to bother him. Sometimes there are people in the neighborhood doing stuff in their garages and they have their dogs running lose out there. They have been known to try and attack us (defending their territory and all) and come after us. Stupid little ones especially. The owners keep calling the little runts and won't come and get them. ? I then tell them that my dog will eat their dog (because he will and it's not pretty) but they just go on in their cutsie voices. Stupid dog owners.

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  8. Pony Girl,

    I agree with all of the above. Especially loose dogs and useless owners!

    We have two small dachshunds and walk them every night. There have been some occasions where stray dogs have been a problem, so I am going to buy some...

    Pepper spray!

    You can carry it in your saddle bag. And if threatened, use it on the owners of the dogs too, accidentally, of course.

    Garlic Man

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  9. {Trailboss}~ One of the women actually commented that it would be good if one of the dogs got kicked, to show it to stay away from the horses. I said maybe, but the dog could also get killed.

    {Garlic Man}~ Great minds think a like! Paint Girl and I said after this incident that we need to get some pepper spray, for dogs, bears, weirdos.... ;)

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  10. When we are out and strange dogs come upon us, John just turns Zora around to face them, and then lets her sort of charge at them -- not full force, but at a fast trot. The dogs usually bolt away from us. But it is scary when there are dogs intent on being under the horses legs...there is not much you can do, since you are up in the saddle, and if the horse gets aggravated....well. But that is what makes trail riding so neat -- you never know what you are going to come across...

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  11. I agree with you and everyone else whose commented. I don't like to trail ride where one of the barns I go to is, cause they're public trails and people go out there with four wheelers and loose dogs. The other week one of my friends got two pitbull dogs that were loose from their house, so she kept them in the tack room and called the owner's phone number that was on their collar. When the owner came and got the dogs,one of the pitbulls just ran right up to one of the horses and tried biting him at his neck! It was shocking, the owner was great thou and got onto his dog (also apologized), no one got hurt either. I love dogs, but I'm not a huge fan of trail riding anymore. I've delt with kids that won't slow down on thier scooters/4 wheelers, and loose dogs barking, I hate it. And it's even worse when your friend falls off and there's a loose horse.

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  12. The dog thing made me so mad. The way they had no control over those dogs. I actually did mention that you should never run away from a dog, you are supposed to charge it, I almost turned Brandy around and did that, just to get them off Fritzy's heels. But knowing how Fritzy is, she'd take care of them if she had too.
    But other than the dog situation, it was a very good ride. Loved the new trails! Can't wait for next weeks ride!

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  13. Ooh...people make me SO mad with their mentality about dogs! Dumb people should not be able to own animals. That might sound harsh, but it's how I feel. So many people are so nonchalant, which means either disrespectful or dangerous, sometimes both! Making half-hearted attempts to "control" their dogs, rather than actually acting appropriately or how 'bout thinking ahead and avoiding the problem in the first place?! I take my crazies for a walk just about every night...on leashes. There's one neighborhood dog that I go out of my way to avoid, we walk the opposite way of his house. Every once in awhile though he'll come running up, bounding all around, being aggressive...he totally freaks Cabela out. Finally, one day, I yelled at his owner to come get him and made it clear I wasn't enjoying his company. Since then, we haven't really had any other encounters. Although, I still see her walking him on our road (which cars FLY down) without a leash. I guess she only "slightly" gets it. And don't even get me started on the neighbor with the three dogs that have no social interaction and bark all night. But they are SO CUTE as puppies, right?! Maybe we should get two! Then we should breed them! Then we can make money AND have another cute puppy. UGH. Glad you didn't have a major problem, but annoying nonetheless!! I probably would have blown a gasket. ;)

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  14. Sounds like a great ride, except for the dog issue. We also had dogs chase us while riding the fields in Oregon this weekend. Fortunately they responded to us yelling at them to go home. You just never know. I like the pepper spray idea, as long as there is no wind, it could end up in your or your horses eyes! Yikes!

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  15. Echoing everything said so far about the dog issue, I have to add a story of mine. Years ago a St. Bernard size mutt started giving me and both of my horses hassles every time we went out on the trail through the golf course. Once the owner told me to "watch out" but never tried to contain this dog. I turned my horses to face the dog and told the owner they might kick it (I knew they wouldn't) but he didn't seem to care. I started carrying with me an empty Fleet's enema bottle filled with water and some ammonia. Prepared for the next hassle, I waited until the wind was in the right direction and let fly with the solution toward the dog. I connected somewhere on his back, and he ran across the golf course to his owner, who petted him and looked at his hand in surprise. The dog never came at us again, so I think he decided horses are too much like skunks!

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  16. I am always the last one in the pack when I trail ride with my horse buddies! I don't mind being last! It's kinda nice back there!

    I'm sorry about those dogs bothering you. My horse Lilly will actually try and bite a dog that gets too near her on the trail. She always misses though...maybe she misses on purpose. Just today she gave Bill's daughter's dog a warning kick that he was too close! She's not a hateful animal--she just doesn't like certain dogs close to her. If a bunch of dogs on the trail got too close, it could get ugly! I'd hate for her to feel frightened, and I'd also hate to see a dog get hurt! You are right: if a dog isn't capable of voice command, he should be on a leash! It's really very simple!
    I love your trail ride pictures. Your landscape is so different from mine that seeing your blog is kind of like taking a little vacation!

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  17. I'm a dog person, too, and trainer...too bad there is so many stupid people owning dogs in the world. One great trick I learned many years ago is to pretend you are throwing something at the dog. You'd be surprised at how many dogs think they are going to get nailed by a rock, or run off to chase the ball...

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  18. lol! Ewwww! That dog's tongue is up your nose, PG! lol! Ewwww!

    I love all your photos, but several of your trail ones gave me vertigo. Were you really riding on the trail at that angle, or were you just experimenting? gah! :D

    Darn dogs! I read another gal's blog recently where she was out by herself and a cattle dog came bounding out from someone's yard and started running under and around her horse's legs. Her horse finally had enough and started bucking....bucked her right off onto some hard ground and rocks. She was injured badly and is now suing the owners of that dog for the costs of her medical bills.

    Last summer we were letterboxing and hiking and came around the bend in a trail and there was this large mutt dog that ran at us and lunged and started growling! It was me and my 3 kids. My daughter was terrified...I was, too.
    The people finally showed up a couple minutes later...felt like forever....while I was kicking dirt at the dog trying to keep it away from us. I yelled at the people to get there dog under control and reminded them of the park's ;eash laws...and they just rolled their eyes at me and the other person LAUGHED!
    Grrrr!
    I was fuming mad!

    All loose dogs can be very scary.

    ~Lisa

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  19. {Lisa}~ Actually we were riding on a lot of ridges and hills and slopes, so even though I typically take pictures at weird angles, I think most of these were true to real this time! ;)

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  20. I agree about the dogs, leashed or verbal leases, but they definitely need to be controlled. For everyone's sake. So glad you had a great ride. Cool - dust, and not mud. I am so glad that trailriding season is here. Happy!!

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  21. what a great ride!

    Glad the dogs did not do what they could have done, we have been in a similar situation, and you just want the people to get control of there off lease dogs!

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  22. Have you tried ATLAST! Fly Spray? It is 100% organic and cedar oil based! ATLAST! an alternative to the chemicals that actually works! GO to www.atlastflyspray.com for more info!

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  23. Looks like a fun ride, but too bad there were loose dogs. What area to you ride in?

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  24. {DJ}~ We ride on a tree farm, there are also mountain bikers and walkers. I think these ladies with the dogs must have lived nearby.

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  25. You have such great trails to ride!

    I'm not too worried about Rotti's usually. They are good dogs who get a bad rap because of the 'macho' type of people that have been attracted to them. But they are a type of herding breed originally and that instinct can kick in (the dog where I board is a Rotti, I've seen that instinct kick in.)
    However no matter what the breed; a large, uncontrolled group like that would make me nervous. As you said that "pack mentality".

    Great idea to bring along a small fly spray bottle!

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  26. So I am playing abit of catch up here LOL!! I sure wish Fritzy would have kicked that dog!!! That is sooo dangerous! And owners like that should be slapped! I am glad you guys didn't have any bad problems with the dogs!! Great place to be riding, looks fantastic!! *Jealous* :~)

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  27. Ditto the dogs! Mine too are used to dogs, but you never know when your going to run into a dog that isnt used to a horse and acts out in fear and aggression. It can end up in a bad situation like you spelled out. I hate irresponsible dog (pet) owners! looks like you had a great ride! I never thought of keeping fly spray with us when we ride...duh! I'll be using your idea next time for sure!

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  28. LOoks like a great place to ride. Glad you had a good time. Ergh... dogs! Strike that. Ergh - Dog Owners! Get a clue! Had a dog run up to my horse a few weeks ago. The owner said "He's okay around horses". Well, that's just fine and dandy but what if MY horse isn't okay around him? And the scenarios your described are very real.

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  29. {Tammy}~ SO true, just because a dog is okay around horses, doesn't mean a horse is okay around dogs!

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  30. Looked like a fun ride (except for the couple of issues). You've been busy and what great weather you've been having!! Finally quit raining here yesterday. Hope to get our alfalfa cut this week.

    Dang that sarcoid thing...I feel for you. Knocking on wood that I won't have to experience it.

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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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