Where to spend next winter w my horse?

[suz]

It just occurred to me that I may be able to take my mare somewhere we can camp and ride for a few months next year, so am wondering where might be the most fun.
I’d welcome company for some of the time, and can imagine spending a week or three here and a week there for the months of January and February.
Beaches, wooded trails and not too buggy or hot please.

My trailer is a 2+1 so plenty large enough for two horses and is pretty comfy for rough camping.
Anyone here ever plan a trip like this?
I’m in Vermont and thinking the beaches of the mid Atlantic and maybe that forest in eastern Tennessee (south fork?) are a good start.

[jaj]

I’ll be following solely for the vicarious thrill.

[QUOTE=suz;8572863]
It just occurred to me that I may be able to take my mare somewhere we can camp and ride for a few months next year, so am wondering where might be the most fun.
I’d welcome company for some of the time, and can imagine spending a week or three here and a week there for the months of January and February.
Beaches, wooded trails and not too buggy or hot please.

My trailer is a 2+1 so plenty large enough for two horses and is pretty comfy for rough camping.
Anyone here ever plan a trip like this?
I’m in Vermont and thinking the beaches of the mid Atlantic and maybe that forest in eastern Tennessee (south fork?) are a good start.[/QUOTE]

[jaj]

I’ll be following solely for the vicarious thrill.

[QUOTE=suz;8572863]
It just occurred to me that I may be able to take my mare somewhere we can camp and ride for a few months next year, so am wondering where might be the most fun.
I’d welcome company for some of the time, and can imagine spending a week or three here and a week there for the months of January and February.
Beaches, wooded trails and not too buggy or hot please.

My trailer is a 2+1 so plenty large enough for two horses and is pretty comfy for rough camping.
Anyone here ever plan a trip like this?
I’m in Vermont and thinking the beaches of the mid Atlantic and maybe that forest in eastern Tennessee (south fork?) are a good start.[/QUOTE]

[Melissa.Van_Doren]

To get beaches and wooded trails together, look at the lowcountry of South Carolina (Mullet Hall Plantation is a popular spot).

Big South Fork in TN has a wonderful trail system, but the weather can be dicey (lots of rain, snow, sleet, ice) in Jan/Feb.

[beowulf]

Hey Suz, I’m in MA, so make sure you stop by on your way to this undisclosed sunny location and pick me up! Horse & I are good travelers :lol:

SC in Jan/Feb is beautiful - or at least, I think so - not too hot, occasionally rainy but perfect riding weather… I’ve been thinking about doing a month down south next year too but it requires lots of planning ahead and $$.

[Palm_Beach]

The Mid Atlantic can be pretty cold in January and Feb, so maybe go further south. At least further south than VA!

[cutter99]

Eastern TN can get pretty cold for rough camping in the winter. I have a full LQ and don’t think I would want to use that during January/ February.

I would look at SC, GA, FL, and AL as options for that time of year. As someone who moved south to escape the mid-Atlantic winters, I can tell you you do need to go further south.

[Stonewall]

http://blackprong.com/

or if you don’t need 9 dressage arenas, camping spaces are available in the Goethe State Forest adjacent to this.

[AKB]

The Ocala area is wonderful. I went in January for 2 weeks and would have liked to stay longer. We went to Paynes Prairie in Gainesville, San Felasco in Alachua, the trails around the Florida Horse Park, and Black Prong (where we saw our first armadillo). There were lots more parks, but I ran out of time. My favorite park is San Felasco, because I love the rolling hills. Florida parks are usually very horse friendly, with bathrooms, hoses, and lots of room for parking your trailer. Often, there is a $4 admission fee. I probably should have bought an annual park pass. We stayed with friends, but there are lots of places to camp.

[Hampton_Bay]

I would look in north Florida or Ocala area. I lived near Tampa, and our winters were normally in the low 60s for the high, upper 30s to low 40s for the low. We had few bugs in the winter. There are MILES and MILES of state forest in the northern half of the state in which to ride, and beach rides are possible in a few locations throughout the state.

[Foxglove]

Another thought --when I rode the Michigan Shore to Shore Trail Ride last September, I met a few people who are kind of living the trail-riding life on a permanent basis. They go to trail rides or maybe just trails where there is camping-with-horses. They go to places all over the US. Now these people (there were six --three different couples) were doing trail riding in AZ and TX in the winter, then moving around the country to MO, TN, and MI (one couple had done AK, but not with their horses). It seemed to me that they had rather permanent, consistent layover places --pasture turn out for the horses every few weeks at places designed for that around the US --and believe me they were not rough camping --they had huge LQ rigs with special hay racks for storage and extra water capacity. They had generators, too. They did not “live” any one place. They did all communication via the www --no snail mail. But for the most part, they trail rode and lived in horse friendly camp grounds.

Reaching them can be a challenge, but if you are really interested in finding them and talking to someone about that type of trail riding lifestyle, I can give you a way of contacting at least two of them through the MTRA. They won’t give you the member’s contact information, but will pass along yours and ask the member to contact you.

I think with the right person, the right horse, and the right set up --that life might be fun for a few years --but not sure I’d want to do it forever.

Foxglove

[Frog_Pond]

[QUOTE=Stonewall;8573209]
camping spaces are available in the Goethe State Forest adjacent to this.[/QUOTE]
Goethe is what I dream about when I’m chipping manure out of icy paddocks in the winter. Big endurance area. Great winter weather, not a bug-fest, nice footing. Report back, please, when you do this!

[AKB]

I hear that there is a park in Jacksonville, FL where you can ride on the beach. We never made it over there because I only had 2 weeks before I had to go back home to Virginia. My friend who lives in Ocala said there are many other really nice parks that we didn’t have time to explore in our 2 week visit. The ones we saw were terrific. Florida seems to realize that horse owners will happily spend their vacation money in Florida when the trails and parks are good. People were really nice, and the trails were in such good shape.

[CVPeg]

Following as well - for long term ideas.

[suz]

Peg wouldnt it be super fun to go together?!
Who wants to join us --we can plan an east coast road trip for January and February 2017!

So it seems that i would be better off getting my mare and me to Florida first and work our way back north as the weather improves—ok i’m on it!

[suz]

[QUOTE=Foxglove;8573628]
Another thought --when I rode the Michigan Shore to Shore Trail Ride last September, I met a few people who are kind of living the trail-riding life on a permanent basis. They go to trail rides or maybe just trails where there is camping-with-horses. They go to places all over the US. Now these people (there were six --three different couples) were doing trail riding in AZ and TX in the winter, then moving around the country to MO, TN, and MI (one couple had done AK, but not with their horses). It seemed to me that they had rather permanent, consistent layover places --pasture turn out for the horses every few weeks at places designed for that around the US --and believe me they were not rough camping --they had huge LQ rigs with special hay racks for storage and extra water capacity. They had generators, too. They did not “live” any one place. They did all communication via the www --no snail mail. But for the most part, they trail rode and lived in horse friendly camp grounds.

Reaching them can be a challenge, but if you are really interested in finding them and talking to someone about that type of trail riding lifestyle, I can give you a way of contacting at least two of them through the MTRA. They won’t give you the member’s contact information, but will pass along yours and ask the member to contact you.

I think with the right person, the right horse, and the right set up --that life might be fun for a few years --but not sure I’d want to do it forever.

Foxglove[/QUOTE]

I think it was on a trailer forum i first read about this—and know at least two trail riders here in Vermont who leave in the fall and come back in the spring—one goes to Tennesse and the other iirc goes or went to the southwest.
I would LOVE to do this with a buddy, by myself doesnt sound as much fun tbh.

[CVPeg]

It’s something I’d like to pursue/on my bucket list, but as you know, not sure where I’ll be even 2 months from now! Would also mean I’d really more than likely need a different horse - would have to find another placement or retirement for my guy - he may do well trail riding eventually, but needs constant hay and is a real hay burner - I can imagine maybe a sleeping bag on a hay truck pulling the horse! LOL (The rigs mentioned above sound intriguing…)

But I am flailing at wondering where I’ll be/be moving to based on sale of house and/or land, and/or job/funds.

However I - and all members of my immediate family - are burdened w/ wanderlust. :winkgrin: Would love to travel cross country to begin with (have done one trip 20 years ago along Rte 66/I-40; would love to travel the Pacific Coast, and the Northwest - but anywhere really;) - and with a horse? Yeah!

And…by your proposed date - (actually by July 18) - should finally be done w/ my now occasional med treatments…

[enjoytheride]

We met a retired couple at an ACTHA ride that had a home base in Florida or South Carolina during the winter and for the entire spring/summer/fall they travelled across the country with their two horses trail riding. They’d been pretty much everywhere in the country on horseback. They had pens for when there weren’t stalls but lots of horse campgrounds have stalls, hook ups for your LQ and even showers/toilets/laundromat for the people.

[mountainhorse]

I vote the Carolinas too. Biltmore estates trails in Asheville, the beach coast in SC (restricted now to certain areas), all the hunt trails in the midstate, and make your way down to FL from there.