The summer season of trail riding is now in full swing. With most schools closed for the summer, people are looking for places to ride their horses. We have a special event that you, your family and friends might enjoy with their horses. Even if you do not have a horse, but have some experience riding, we can supply horses.
Over the years, I have always enjoyed combining horse vacations with historical locations.
As we begin the new riding season, I want to make a few suggestions about medical emergencies for both horses and for people. I am 100% sure there will be a few e-mails with suggestions or criticisms, but this is an important subject where we can all contribute through experience. Later in this article, I have serious advice for every trail rider, regardless of age or experience.
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Winter is finally over. All of us have been waiting for the weather to break so we can travel to new places with our horses. Just as we think Spring is here, we have a new problem which will affect more people than Covid. The economy has taken a dive. Fuel prices have skyrocketed. Food prices (including shortages) are hitting new highs. Farmers are slapped with unprecedented fertilizer bills, which will hurt you soon on hay and grain costs. That trip you were planning with your horse and friends out west has all but evaporated.
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When I was growing up on our dairy farm in Virginia, Dad would remind us that every February, there was always a week or so of very mild weather. Everyone would be tempted to feel that spring was arriving. However, the worst snowstorms we ever had was the beginning of March. Last year, during early March, I was convinced sub- freezing weather was over and turned the horse stall waterers back on and unwinterized our trailer for an upcoming trip.
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All of us are busy during the month of December, especially in preparation for Christmas, New Years and family visits. Because of this, we may unintentionally neglect our horses. It is easy to neglect our horses quite by accident. Most of the care we give all year can be offset by the new cold weather. Here is why: Many of our horses are pastured all year but when winter and the cold arrives, we begin feeding hay. The hay seemed great when we put it in the barn but a leaky roof or being baled with a high degree of moisture. During the late summer and fall, mold can form that you can not see. All of us seem to look at the price of hay instead of the quality.
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Last week we traveled to Pennsylvania for a trail ride and television show production at Cook Forest Scenic Trail Rides in Clarion. On this ride, we kept the campfire going both night and day.
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One of the most frequent questions asked at various events and trade shows concerns tips on trail riding for the ride itself. In upcoming articles, we will offer suggestions on picking the right location or ride to participate in, but this article will note some common practices we follow.
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For many people, the end of October is considered the traditional end of the trail riding season and the beginning of next season’s planning. To help in your planning, I wrote to the Director of State Parks in each state and asked if they were opening any new trails or had plans to close any riding trails in their parks in the upcoming year.
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As we are in the height of the travel season, I wanted to share two tips that may save you money and make you a lot safer in your travels.
A few days ago when we were riding on the famous Chisholm Cattle Trail in Kansas, I took another rider to town to fill their propane tanks. They wanted to do an ‘exchange’ of tanks.
Every winter, usually in late February, we get a few days of warm weather which reminds us of spring. This year will be no different and we use those days to catch up on outside work or repairs. For me, it is a time to spend some time getting my tack and saddles ready for the new riding season.
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