> I'm interested to know what kinds of access to conditioning places most of
> you have??
I don't know if I count as one of the "need not reply" type, but I will
anyway. I have a lease on 800 acres of pasture land that backs up to the
Cleveland National Forrest which extends pretty much for hundreds of
miles. The one draw back being that it is steep!!! (This is an
understatement). It is riddled with canyons that lead to boxes, and
roads that suddenly turn to firebreaks or lead to cliffs. There is no
way to go anywhere that isn't extremely steep. ANd there is no water.
I tend to get kinda whiney cause I hafta ride on the road with
> the schoolbuses and dumptrucks and in the dirt pits with the bull-dozers
> and the motorbikes,
If I want to take and "easy" ride, I will ride down the "driveway" (about
1 mile and 700' of elevation change) to the frontage rode (along the
freeway). I consider riding along the freeway (91 which is a MAJOR
thoroughfare) to be an essential part of the training of all my horses,
and consider schoolbuses, duptrucks, and bull-dozers (of which we have
many as the fire department is constantly out working on the firebreaks)
to be schooling opportunities, and expect all of my horses to be able to
go by them without even flinching.
>From there, I can get into the Santa Ana riverbed (and do some sand work),
Chino Hills State Park (and do some training about going through water as
you have to cross Aliso Creek about 8 times and learn about bicycles as it
is a favorite place for mountain bikers and you will meet about 50 on any
given weekend), or go to the Jack-in-the-Box (continuing up the paved
road, which I consider an essential part of endurance training), ride
through the drive-thru and get a soda.
> and by the river with the mondo-flies and then there
> are the hunters in the fall - well, you get the picture
Or I can ride over to Coal Canyon where there is a private shooting range
and teach the horses about gunfire (where else are they going to learn to
deal with that shotgun (literally) start that they have at Sunland.
:-> But, I'm sure
> most of you have to brave similar problems or more to get in your
> conditioning.
As I said, I don't consider anything a problem (except maybe I would
mondo-flies), but rather schooling opportunities. I will actually go
looking for assorted horse-eating monsters to let them learn that they
have nothing to fear. I will wait for the train at the railroad
crossing, wave to the truckers so they will honk their horns, take them
to parades (where they learn about pavement, crowds, flags, children,
horns, bands,.....you get my point).
>
> Do most of you have one path that you do on a regular basis?
Obviously not.
> Do you have to
> ride on the road? Lots of traffic??
Don't "have to" but I do anyway.
> Do you trailer on the weekends?
Not for training purposes, but I might for a social occasion.
> Do you
> ride around and around and around your pastures to get in mileage??
Never to get in mileage, but I will ride around in the pasture with the
loose horses to teach the horse that I am riding that when it is being
ridden that it is no longer a part of the herd, it must listen to me.
Come to think of it, this is the way they learn to be calm and mannerly
at the start among the milling throng and madness that occurs at most
rides (which has been discussed in the "warm-up" thread). I will use the
horse to round up the other horses but it is not allowed to gallop off
after them if they head for the water trough. I will make it stand among
the herd while the horses at liberty come up and visit, dance and play,
or whatever, and it is required to stand quietly or walk away if I ask it to.
kat
Orange County, Calif.