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Trail stories (And pictures of course!)

Endurance and Trail Riding
#1

Share your trail stories and pictures, no fun without the pictures right?

I feel like not enough people just go hacking out. The most sane, trusting horses I know are seasoned trail horses. A little time out in on the trails can become a lifetime of successful partnership.

I have ridden all different terrains with my girl, I live in Michigan where we have everything from farm land to mountains to forest area. Where do you trail ride? What special experiences have you had with your special mount while out enjoying the scenery? I wanna hear all of it!

#2

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3ULVgngYR9_OThyRHVuZ1V5SnM/view?usp=sharing

These are the woods by our barn, this particular ride with Lucy was a big stepping stone for her, she was really calm and acted as a leader horse to a much less experienced horse. Usually Luce’ has the luxury of having one of her favorite friends on the trails to put her mind at ease, but this ride she stayed quiet, and didn’t work herself up at all to be the hot-head she normally is. Since this ride, almost all of our rides are calm and comfortable without a fussy hot mess.

#3

The barn I ride at will be cutting a trail around the property soon, but I’ve only been on one trail ride in my life. This was on vacation on the island of Tobago. It was amazing! We rode bareback around a village and down to the beach. The horses even swam in the sea. Unfortunately I was on their youngest horse who was pretty unwilling to go at a trot by herself. She followed the other horses and her guide’s voice with no issues but completely ignored my leg. Then on the way back she stopped to munch on a plant and wouldn’t budge. But all in all it was pretty fun when I DID get her moving.

I would have loved to do it again (on a different horse), but two years later the price doubled.

#4

![]('m in east TN, and I trail ride exclusively. We are fortunate to have tons of amazing trails in our immediate area, mostly around the lakes, as well as being very close to Big South Fork.

[IMG]http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i334/jula4me/rocky%20lake_zpscizkt0zt.jpg)

[IMG]http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i334/jula4me/rocky%20well_zps6jtvrrom.jpg)

[IMG]http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i334/jula4me/jet%20waterfall_zpswfxaaaxr.jpg)

[IMG]http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i334/jula4me/rocky1221d_zpsd2995edf.jpg)

#5

I have a funny trail story. This was years ago with my (now-deceased) QH. The only thing he liked to do was trail ride, and he was very trustworthy at it, so that’s pretty much all we did. At the time I was living in CA and in the summers would trailer up to Tahoe National Forest (about 30 minutes away) to be in the tall pine trees with tons of trails.

We had been out for a couple hours and were headed home on the trail when I saw . . . I kid you not! . . . a man in a spaceman suit with a space bubble on his head. He crossed our path without a word and slipped back into the woods. Horse didn’t care. I sort of scratched my head but kept going along. A couple minutes later, just a bit up the trail, a bunch of military dudes come running out of the forest asking me if I saw a man in a space suit. I said yes and told them which way he went.

When I got back to the staging area, there were some military trucks there. There’s an AFB not too far away and it turns out they were doing a training exercise in tracking (and evading trackers, for the space man). I only wish I had gotten a picture! It is one of those memories that makes me question whether or not it really happened, but it did!

With the same horse I was at another place and my friend brought her mare up for some trail riding. I think it was their first time out on the trail together and my horse was the steady guide to give her horse confidence. The trail we went to could be fairly busy along one main stretch where hikers and mountain bikers go, but once you got to the little side trails you weren’t likely to see anyone. We had a nice quiet ride and were headed back and we were on that main trail. We were coming up and over a little hill and what did we see? Llamas! A group of llama people had put llama backpacks on their llamas and were leading like 20 of them down the trail. Both horses behaved perfectly, thank goodness! But that was the first time I had seen llamas there in years. Subsequently, I did see them a few more times after that.

I have lots of fun trail stories. LOVE trail riding!

#6

I trail ride and camp all over Florida, but have also hauled out of state, as well as international riding holidays. To me, there’s nothing much better than being on a wonderful horse riding in the woods, seeing the beauty of nature.

#7

[QUOTE=Pocket Pony;8499533]
I have a funny trail story. This was years ago with my (now-deceased) QH. The only thing he liked to do was trail ride, and he was very trustworthy at it, so that’s pretty much all we did. At the time I was living in CA and in the summers would trailer up to Tahoe National Forest (about 30 minutes away) to be in the tall pine trees with tons of trails.

We had been out for a couple hours and were headed home on the trail when I saw . . . I kid you not! . . . a man in a spaceman suit with a space bubble on his head. He crossed our path without a word and slipped back into the woods. Horse didn’t care. I sort of scratched my head but kept going along. A couple minutes later, just a bit up the trail, a bunch of military dudes come running out of the forest asking me if I saw a man in a space suit. I said yes and told them which way he went.

When I got back to the staging area, there were some military trucks there. There’s an AFB not too far away and it turns out they were doing a training exercise in tracking (and evading trackers, for the space man). I only wish I had gotten a picture! It is one of those memories that makes me question whether or not it really happened, but it did![/QUOTE]

Haha! I have never had anything remotely that exciting happen on the trails! Wildlife here is short stocked, we only see deer, squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, the occasional coyote, and thats about it. On our last trail ride up to the abandoned racetrack around here before it was demolished, we came across some huge bucks that would have been a heck of a trophy for a hunter. They had to be a couple hundred feet away from us but you could still hear them and their doe’s pounding on the ground as they ran away. The horses looked off in their direction but weren’t bother by them. They are pretty used to the occasional deer. But thats about as interesting as it has gotten for us. lol Our adventure stories more entail really bad@$$ stretches of cantering trails or fields where we could let our ex-racehorses stretch out

#8

One of my favorite trail stories came from my years managing a dude ranch, and especially for people who think ALL dude horses are mistreated, sour, hard-sided SOBs:
The reason I hired on to manage this place was because they had an exceptional training program designed to instill a sense of responsibility in the horse herd, by respecting them and treating them well in every situation. After about 5 years, they had a herd of horses who were exceptional: would make the “correct” decision even when a dude was pulling and kicking and giving them the “wrong” signals. These horses knew their job and had the confidence to keep their riders safe. Also, the dudes received special training before proceeding to trail riding. Anyway:

A family of return guests was riding on an advanced ride in the mountains. Wrangler came to a flat area with a slight rise, followed proper procedure for proceeding to lope, and family began loping their horses up the trail, single-file: Wrangler, 11-year-old boy (who had taken lessons for years and was indeed advanced), mom, dad, 2nd wrangler (me). Unbeknownst to us, the 11-year-old was vastly dehydrated and perhaps also suffering from sunstroke? Not sure. Anyway, as we loped along, he literally passed out. Fainted on horseback at a lope. His horse, a 21-yr-old QH named Remington, felt it happen, instantly threw his shoulders to the left under his little rider to catch him and threw up his head so the little boy slumped over his neck instead of falling off, and stepped off to the side of the trail as his parents’ horses loped on by. Of course we all came to an immediate stop, 11-yr-old came to right quick, and we got him off properly and settled, rehydrated and evacuated to make sure he was okay, which he was. But it was mostly due to that big-hearted, intelligent horse who knew just what to do when the chips were down! Happy to say this is just one of many stories about that remarkable herd, but it’s one of my favorites.

(Sad post script: the ranch sold to an elite rich people club who promptly went bankrupt, and then went through 3 owners in a handful of years, and the horse program is no longer even a shadow of what it used to be.)

#9

That is amazing!!! My mare will stop immediately if she thinks her rider is going to fall off, and I know other horses who do the same, but just… wow!! Thats a good horse.

#10

Here’s another funny story. My friend and I were riding at Leatherwood Mtns on the Daniel Boone trail. (Great place to go!). We had been riding for several hours and my mare did that shake all over thing. Well a few minutes later we were still just walking along pleasantly and I noticed my horse was very VERY light in the bridle. She had shaken her bridle off when she did the shake all over thing. So I was riding bridleless on the trail. Great mare that is no longer with us! Sorry no pictures.

#11

Ah thats okay, pictures are just a bonus. Its the story that counts. Thats good… I trained my mare pretty early to ride with a neckrope in case something like that ever happened. So many great horses! Where are all the bad trail horses in these stories? I know they are out there I know a few lol

#12

katyb, the pic with the waterfall is gorgeous!

#13

[QUOTE=Gestalt;8500344]
katyb, the pic with the waterfall is gorgeous![/QUOTE]

Agreed - one of my favorite trail rides ever, but the trail has been closed due to some property disputes. I was lucky to ride there several times first. It’s on the edge of Big South Fork, near Timber Ridge Horse Campground.

#14

I returned last week from 2 weeks of trail riding in the Ocala/Gainesville Florida parks. There are so many parks down there that are completely horse friendly, including mounting blocks, good parking, and nice restrooms. My friend and I went on the Black Prong Trail in the Goethe State Forest. Suddenly, our generally bomb proof horses gave a simultaneous spook a few feet to the right. An armadillo scampered out of the way. None of us had ever seen an armadillo before. He was cute. I tried to get out my cell phone and take his picture, but he was gone into the underbrush in a few seconds.

Northern Florida is a wonderful place to bring horses for a trail vacation.

#15

[QUOTE=GrandLiena;8499891]
Haha! I have never had anything remotely that exciting happen on the trails! Wildlife here is short stocked, we only see deer, squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, the occasional coyote, and thats about it. [/QUOTE]

I’ve seen coyotes on the trails many times - one time a baby was sitting in the middle of the trail. I yelled at it to scoot and it looked at me and just laid down on the ground! Well, I didn’t feel it was smart to go bothering a baby coyote, what with the potential of a mom around, so we turned and went the other way. Another time on that same trail we came across a bear - it just sauntered across the trail in front of us and went about its bear business.

That same horse friend and I had another trail adventure whereby I went to her neck of the woods and we went up and down a mountain for a couple hours - it was a big loop. At the end we had to go through a gate to get back to the staging area. And there was a bull. A big bull. The biggest bull I’ve ever seen. He was just laying there eating some grass and chilling out but I thought long and hard about how to proceed. There were no cows nearby so nothing that I thought would be a challenge to him by crossing his path, but it did make me pause for a long moment! (The only other way back was to turn around and make the return trek back the way we came versus a short 15-minute ride back to the trailer if we went past the bull.)

#16

Posting photos is a pain for me. When we were riding in French Creek in SD we had to pass uncomfortably close to bison. I think there were 3 or 4, right near the trailhead. I didn’t want to be first or last.

Both times we were out there we rode to Mount Rushmore. Both times my gelding jigged nearly the whole way back. Three+ hours. There is your naughty horse story.

There was the time a group of us was on a very narrow winding trail through the thick woods. I said something jokingly about loping. Not five minutes later we ran into ground bees, and loping commenced. We ran into bees two more times. It was a bad year for them, ugh.

I’ve seen bear, followed one last year because it didn’t want to leave the trail. Deer are everywhere, squirrels, chipmunks, grouse, turkeys, cranes, skunks…my new mare was very untrusting of otters in a pond, yet unphased by a snapping turtle.

I only trail ride right now, and take lessons. We are fortunate to have quite a few places to ride within an hour or so, and even more to choose from if you want to drive farther and camp. I’m treasurer for a club that maintains a local trail in our county forest.

On Saturday we braved the wind and cold and rode at a friend’s. Farm fields, woods, some sidewalk riding to town, down a trail with snowmobiles (did have one unpleasant run-in) to a coffee shop.

I adopted a 6 year old mare in May so just putting miles on her and taking lessons. I might bring her to Wildcat this year. It’s hilly. Oh, there’s a story…a friend lost her horse there, long story, for a month! It was found a month later when other friends went back and on one of their rides a fisherman told them there was a horse in the woods. There she was, bridle still on, saddle on underneath the horse (that’s how it was when it was last seen). It was an Aussie and both stirrup fenders were missing. Crazy.

#17

My friend encountered a moose in the woods near here. The moose turned and took off up the trail. Her horse arched his neck and took off in a power trot after him.

There are trails on the side of a ski hill about 20 miles from me. Recently they installed zip lines for the summer season. You want to make your horse bombproof, ride under people zipping through the air 30’ overhead.

One summer morning, we went for an early trail ride. I kept hearing a noise above and behind me. Sounded familiar, but couldn’t place it.

Looked back to see not one, not two, but seven hot air ballons bearing down on us. We had forgotten about the hot air balloon festival that was going on, a mere 1.5 miles away.

Our horses were NOT impressed. We had a wild ride across the field as people in the balloons were dropping lower to see us and shouting hello.

I was ready to get a 22 and put a few holes in the balloons…just kidding.

#18

[QUOTE=Lady Counselor;8500968]
My friend encountered a moose in the woods near here. The moose turned and took off up the trail. Her horse arched his neck and took off in a power trot after him.

There are trails on the side of a ski hill about 20 miles from me. Recently they installed zip lines for the summer season. You want to make your horse bombproof, ride under people zipping through the air 30’ overhead.

One summer morning, we went for an early trail ride. I kept hearing a noise above and behind me. Sounded familiar, but couldn’t place it.

Looked back to see not one, not two, but seven hot air ballons bearing down on us. We had forgotten about the hot air balloon festival that was going on, a mere 1.5 miles away.

Our horses were NOT impressed. We had a wild ride across the field as people in the balloons were dropping lower to see us and shouting hello.

I was ready to get a 22 and put a few holes in the balloons…just kidding.[/QUOTE]

Haha! I’ll keep that zip-line bit in mind!

I understand the air balloon thing, I live in the metropolitan area of Detroit, so we have busy busy streets with lots of cars, but there are lots of woods everywhere too. We generally Have to take a short stretch of main road and some side streets to get to the woods. The horses have to put up with people honking, the revving of engines… the occasional person who is trying to be good about horses on the road and stops, of course making the horses more anxious than if they would have just passed. (We canter past those people.) So they are pretty darn bomb proof as far as spooking goes. But heaven forbid we come across some caution tape or construction cones.

You know… There is a place about an hour away from us, they are a Bison ranch and they do horseback riding, and they offer trail rides going through the Bison fields. I’m sure these ones being raised captive and with horses going in and out all the time they don’t really mind though. Wild Bison I can see being a big problem.

I wonder if horses run faster than bulls? I don’t want to find out either way. lol

We lost a horse at a metro park once, thank god some kind fellow working at the other park down the road was able to catch her and get a hold of us. That particular horse was very distrusting of anyone but her owner, so we were pretty amazed when the guy said she just walked right up to him.

My poor mare, if she ever got loose, the poor thing wouldn’t know what to do without me. :lol: Anytime I’ve fallen off she starts spooking and flaring at the nose and doesn’t dare move until I come up and grab her. And occasionally I’ll ride her just down the road to the local gas station to get some pumpkin seeds to share, and I’ll tie her up on the fence there. The entire time I’m in the building you can hear her Winnie-ing away. You’d have to be deaf not to know I rode my horse there. Then the minute I come out she shuts right up and gives me all ears. She does the same thing when I tie her up in the barn away from other horses. I’ll go in the tack room for two seconds and she thinks shes going to get eaten. But as long as I’m there, she is brave as can be. I love that mare!!! :slight_smile: I could never re-home her.

#19

Great stories. I have encountered a hot air balloon in the past when I was riding out in a large pasture at the barn where I used to board. My horse didn’t even flinch even though it was just skimming over some trees at the edge of the pasture and right over top of us. I have encountered a large group of mountain bikers while riding in the mountains(around 30+ bikers). The same ride we encountered a boy scout troop complete with huge back backs on. My horse was cool, with bikers and hikers, but a few of the other horses were not impressed. One of the state parks where I ride shoots off cannons and both of my horses(TB mares) have encountered this with only a small spook. One of the parks where we ride has a large lake and the trails wind along the edge in several places. You encounter many types of water craft from motor boats, water skiers, jet skis.

#20

The day ![](y mare and I encountered the guy with the 40 foot long Mylar dragon kite out in the national recreation area I thought she was going to faint dead away, that is if she didn’t exit stage left at high speed leaving me behind altogether. He had it making circles and loops and it snapped and crackled. No wonder I have grey hair.
I always trail ride at one of the outfits in SonoMarin when I go to visit family and ride in the coastal foothills, this was with Horsin’ Around at Bodega Bay on Judge [IMG]https://scontent-dfw1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xtp1/v/t1.0-9/12193697_1090762080957152_7555164361465919577_n.jpg?oh=46459a3ab6d724a10094978388852f89&oe=57347603)
[IMG]https://scontent-dfw1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xlt1/v/t1.0-9/11249836_1090762120957148_5679575805217333528_n.jpg?oh=9402a540e2baf423edc51c5aa80454b9&oe=57326E60)
We went down to the estuary way down there [IMG]https://scontent-dfw1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xal1/v/t1.0-9/10931243_1090761947623832_2880428414493590932_n.jpg?oh=2910ba6581a1f8838e7120a114878f65&oe=5726F5F1)
Nice ride, very pretty.

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