Night Time Trail Rides

[siseley]

midnite rides in the desert air

:)

Here in the high desert of So. Calif., we do a lot of nite riding in summer and fall. Mid day is too hot in summer and after about 8:30 or so is just right. We will head off into the buttes above the house and lope over to the county park to hook up with pals. Then a slow trot to the south and over the Love-Joy’s to the movie sets to see if they are shooting any movies or commercials, then down the creek/wash and through the cottonwoods, to town and the only store for popcicles or Ice Cream Cones!:lol: A short canter later we are back to our set of buttes and up “Lancers Hill” to our pass over the buttes, to the turnouts and stalls. Brush down the “ponies”, and head in for a nitecap or shower and the snuggle sack.:yes:

[clm08]

Trail ride with rising moon

I love riding with a full moon. Last month was warmer than usual, I went out after sunset and saw the moon rising big and reddish. It was only my dogs, my horse and myself, a few days before full moon. After a day at work, that is what your soul needs!

In the past I have also ridden bareback, in fluffly snow, in pitch dark (no moon). Gotta trust your horse in dark nights…

[AlfalfaGirl]

OHHHHH that sounds like fun. There was a bright moon on October 31 when we went camping/riding up at Ebenezer. Should have tried a midnight ride!

[Simbalism]

I haven’t done alot of moonlight rides since last summer. Just a few days ago though, I woke up kind of late(work nights) and by the time I got to the barn it was right around 5pm. By the time I got horse from field, groomed and tacked it was getting dusky. I decided to ride around the farm intead of plugging around the ring. Here is a photo…http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2653/4192426322_5f683ab635.jpg
My mare startled a little from the flash, but was a good girl as always. By the time I headed back to the barn, there was just a tinge of the sun over the tops of the trees in the west.

[system]

I did an endurance ride in moonlight. All went well as long as I was out in the open but once I went in the forests with lots of leaf coverage there was no light. The team putting on the ride had hung a glow stick in the trees but they were so far apart they were not helpful. I was riding by myself and I used my phone to video tape my ride. It was sooo dark I couldn’t see anything. My horse sniffed the ground like a dog and she found our way back to camp. Once I got to camp I taped glow sticks all over her martingale and finished the last 10 miles with great vision. Glow sticks do not disrupt the feel of riding by moonlight but do provide enough light to ensure you don’t take a wrong turn, take a tree branch in the head, or make a bad incline. I always keep some spares in my trailer.