I don't have real horse trails to ride on for daily rides - I ride around
farm land or in a dirt pit (large area where the construction dump trucks
fill up) - there are some great trails in dirt pits but I always have to
watch out for the dump trucks.
I get the same treatment on the roads as Samm and Tommy talked about -
drivers have no CLUE that I am on a LIVE (really live in the case of an
Arab :->) animal that will *react* to stimuli - I am not riding a
motorcycle or some inanimate object. I recently stopped riding down a local
backroad because of one incident in particular where dogs come barking off
of unfenced property on my right (I was NOTon their land), horse moves to
left slightly so I'm now in the road (where there is not and has not been
any traffic for about 20 minutes), and car comes careening around the
corner (too fast to begin with) and comes very close to having a chestnut
Arab in his lap. I'm not real sure what happened after that - I hear
brakes, felt shoes slipping, and remembered thinking "this is it - I'm
going to die on a country road because of an idiot". The horse stayed
upright and I stayed on and the car never stopped - only slowed down enough
to swerve around us. That is the first time I *really* came close to
meeting my maker on horseback and decided that the sport was not worth
gettng killed over, literally :-<. I now do lots of ring work and trailer
more and do what I can within those limitations - I would give my right arm
to have access to the kinds of trails I hear about in some places out
west!!
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I have packed a cell phone for over a year when I ride. It is a motorola
phone that I clip to me belt or put in my fannypack everytime I ride. I
don't want it on the horse if I get separated from him - it's lightweight,
small, and the first time I need it, it will be worth every penny I paid
for it. Highly recommend riding with one.
Tina Hicks, hickst@puzzler.nichols.com
Andy 2/3 CD, CGC (you threw it - you go get it!)
7 cats, one rotund QH, and one husband