Weekends are for trail riding, especially when the summertime temperatures soar into the 90s. The last few days have been more humid than usual by California standards and so instead of working in the arena on Friday, a handful of us decided to go out on a morning trail ride.
Knight is a fan of trail riding, and as soon as I used the mounting block to climb into the saddle, he knew a trail was on and did a turn on the haunches to make a beeline to his trail pal/girlfriend who was waiting in the background.
This pretty gray mare is Knight’s girlfriend. They like being ridden at the same time in lessons and cruising around the arena together on a long-rein warmup and cool down walk around the perimeter of the barn property after our lessons.
Yay for shade! The first part of the trail is fairly shaded. We do come across the occasional mountain biker, or dog walker, or bird watcher, but this day the trail was pretty quiet. My guess is the heat drove people into the air conditioned homes or the beach.
There are several clusters of cacti out on the trail which paired with the ubiquitous dust makes everything seem authentically Old West. A few years ago when I was on Catalina Island with a school program a naturalist told us that foxes like to build their dens beneath this type of cactus because it keeps predators out. Very clever.
Party at the Water Trough!
The highlight of Knight’s trail ride is always the water trough that is about ten minutes into our ride. He normally plays in the water, swishing it around and drinking it with such zest that his nostrils will be submerged. On this day he actually dunked his head deep and then flipped it up into the air reminding me of an elephant showering itself with its trunk.
The skies were blue and much of the flora that had been green in the spring due to our wonderful winter rains have now turned golden.
This landscape with the mountain backdrop is our view as we head home to the barn. I was on trail with three other riders and their horses, but Knight has decided he enjoys being the lead horse, so that’s why I don’t really have pictures of our group.
Back at the Barn
Knight thinks the best part about getting a bath is waiting for an available hose and getting to graze on the small patches of grass that form near the water source. (Look at those dapples!)
And a proper shower to wrap up a great way to spend a morning is always in order. Knight is the easiest horse I’ve owned to bathe. I credit his racetrack career/upbringing. It’s so great to be able to hose off his face and he doesn’t care. He loves to drink from the hose and really doesn’t mind baths at all. I think he likes them.
Your Turn: How do you and your horse cope with the temps on these terribly hot summer days? Do you hit the trail or take a break from saddle time?
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I'm Susan and this is my horse Knight. We have been a blogging team since 2015 and we're glad you're here. Tally ho!
Why you don’t do this every weekend is beyond me. But I can’t believe how hot it gets there. if it reaches 28C (82F) here, everyone is complaining bitterly.
Hey, Sherri! We probably go on trail about once a week or every other week. But weekends can be tricky because the park where I board gets a little crazy in the summer with bounce houses, 4 person bicycles that look like carts, and obviously all the mountain bikers. Also, I don’t ride on trail alone. So the conditions have to be right to hit the trail. Not too crazy busy in the park to get out on trail and a riding buddy available to go out with me.
Bounce houses?
If I didn’t ride alone, I’d never ride at all. I do try to stay safe and I always carry my cell phone on me. And, of course, my horses are foxhunters so riding cross country is what they do.
I spend very little time in the ring except for during deer fly season. They make riding on the trails very unpleasant and it’s marginally better in open fields. I’m lucky enough to have a dressage ring at the barn so while the flies keep us close to home Zelda and Freedom have to work tehre.
I have a couple of good loops right off property me where I can ride 4-6 miles at conditioning paces . . . . or just take a long walk and enjoy the scenery. There are some longer rides that I take advantage of when I don’t have time constraints. If I trailer I can reach quite a few nice trail systems. I get a lot of schooling done on the trails. We do lots of transitions, both within paces and between them. Wider trails are great for lateral work and the big fields are good for circles and bending.
Where I am the two big hazards are unleashed dogs and mountain bikers. There is a huge uproar here because the land next to the barn is a nature conservancy and they are trying to enforce leashes. People are outraged! However, having been attacked by a dog last year, I support the leash laws whole heartedly. It’s a shame because most of the people I meet have well behaved dogs. But the ones that are not well behaved are downright dangerous. The bikers are mostly just ignorant and have no idea that riding up behind a horse is risky for both of us.