Ridecamp: Re: [RC] riding out

I used to do a fair amount of road riding, mainly because it was that or stay 
in the arena.  I was out in the country aways, but we still had traffic.  The 
biggest problem was that if you are riding on a road, people probably live on 
it, and many of them have dogs who think it is their god-given right to bark 
at and chase any horse that gets within 100 feet of THEIR property.  That and 
SOME drivers are just plain rude.  I had a spooky Arabian mare, and tried to 
stay as far off the actual road as I could, but there are lots of places you 
have to ride on a narrow shoulder or directly on the roadway.  Now that I 
have a trailer, I almost NEVER go out on the roads.  Too much hassle, too 
much chance of a disaster.  

That said, I think that every horse should learn to go down the road, and it 
IS a part of my early training, I just haven't had a young horse in about 3 
years.  I would never ride on busy roads where there is a steady stream of 
traffic unless I could get at least 20 feet off the roadway.  Sometimes you 
just don't have a choice.  Truthfully, I was never afraid, even when I should 
have been.  If I were afraid while I was riding in ANY area, I wouldn't do 
it, because that transmits to the horse, and makes the whole situation spin 
out of control at the least disturbance.  jeri

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