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Lif posted: >>>I've got nothing against trail bikers, just keep 'em off foot
trails. And keep hikers and equestrians off of speed trails. Simple enough.
Yeah, double the number of trails, but is a horse's (or human's) life worth
it? <<<

Are assuming then, that every area across the US has enough of BOTH types of
trails, that each group can have their own areas of use??? Because I can
tell you, that sure is not gonna happen.

I had some awesome trails to ride and condition on in So. Ca. They were fire
roads all over the San Gabriel mountains. Some of the best mountain trails
to condition horses on. They are wide dirt trails/roads, that are also used
for fire access. Meaning wide enough for a fire truck to go up and down if
needed. They were also great for the mountain bikers to use. So close to
metro Los Angels, that most could be on their bikes after work, and get in a
good ride. By your statement, the horses should have been kept off of them,
eh? Because indeed, they were "speed" trails for the bikes to come down.
Being often National Forest, we could not just go built a trail for horse
use, and the mountains were often to rugged to do so anyway.

Horses are big animals, that have brains of their own, and often a high
flight response. While the horse going off the trail was indeed, a tragedy,
it could have just as much spooked at a deer that bounced on the trail in
front of it and spun around and gone over the edge. My horse tripped during
this years Tevis, and went over the edge of the CA loop, and had I not
yanked his head around hard,back towards the trail as I bailed off, he might
not have been able to scramble back on to the trail. Should horses be benned
from this trail as they "could trip" and fall off over the edge? Accidents
happen!

It is simple to state the words "double the number of trails", but I'd guess
you have never been involved in getting trails put in on National Forest
land. Who is gonna maintain these trails? That would be the first question
forestry would probably ask. Because they can't maintain the ones they have,
and sure won't be ready and willing to go out and build news ones.

If horses are looked at as accidents waiting to happen, from spooking, it is
much easier for many to just boot them off the trail.

Again, we need to work TOGETHER to keep the trails we have!!!!!!! Not get
attitudes that we can not share them.

Jonni


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