#Trail Ride

[skycowboys]

Went for a lil trail ride today and brought my dog Pippa :) She did so well heeling, even with snow cyclists on the trail <3 (Don't worry she got to run around for a bunch as well). Kin loved having her along. I can't take her on the trails too often anymore since a lot of people get really nervous about off-leash dogs, so he's missed having a trail buddy.

[mitzi-moo]

My favourite views are between those brown fluffy ears 🏞️

[ahedderick]

Bear with us

Yesterday evening my daughter, home from college for the weekend, decided to take Hero out for a quick ride. A while later I heard my husband get a call. His voice raised. "a BEAR?!" . . . ""Well, get back to the barn!"

um-what?

When she returned she told us that Lady, running a little ahead of the horse as she usually does, startled two black bears. She instantly deployed guarddog.exe, and barked furiously at them. K noticed that Lady's barking seemed a lot more than usual for a squirrel, and halted Hero to look around carefully. On of the bears had climbed a tree to get away from Lady (50ish lb, 22kg, WAY more bark than bite). The other ran off. K and Hero froze in place, and the bear decided to come back down the tree. Once it hit the ground, Lady got guarddog.exe confused with herdinginstinct.exe, and started chivvying the bear TOWARD K and Hero. There they stood, in the path of a running black bear, with a screaming hellhound right behind.

Hero, whose exploits have included the Plastic Bag Panic of 2018 and the Frog Freak-out of 2021, was nonchalant and unbothered by the bear. (K much more bothered). The bear turned sharply to get the hell away from everyone, and K was able to disengage Lady from pursuit. They returned home very quickly. Thank heavens Nutmeg wasn't with them.

It is always some damned thing around here.

[barnlarn]

Remember, the instant you talk up your horse, they'll prove you a massive liar.

[griffinequestrian]

Made it to the second equestrian park in the new neighborhood. It’s still pretty swampy after Helene.

[bluespider008]

Went out for a ride 🤠

[awkward-parabuteo]

Rainy ride 🍂🌦

[onlyhappyvibes]

1979 Honda xr 500

[drewis469]

So He’ll froze over today! 2025 DRZ4S.

[skycowboys]

A peaceful, breezy, late summer day. Until a bug flew up Kin's nose 😂

[katiepontone]

[mitzi-moo]

Fresh air

[ahedderick]

Horse/honse

So, a question from @quite-quirksome about Hero got me thinking about Hero's conformation (body structure) and coloring.

He is, I say kindly, a great example of buying for temperament, not beauty. Number 1: that is a blocky head. If you looked at a show quality Tennessee Walker, it would have a finer, more tapered muzzle. Number 2: a lot of people hate bald (white) faces. Snips, star, blazes etc are considered attractive; bald not-so-much. Excessive white on the face is also linked to deafness (like white cats) and blue eyes. Which brings me to:

Number 3: pink skin, like Hero has underneath the white fur, is prone to sunburn and skin cancer, just like humans. His skin under the gray fur is a dark gray.

See that? It was smaller when we bought him. Three vets looked at it and said not to worry about it unless it grew. When it grew, a vet removed it and biopsied it. Yep, it was cancer. The spot of the excision healed up beautifully, and it has not recurred. However, he gets a careful skin check from time to time! He has plenty of shade to stand in during sunny months, and he does use that.

Number 4: his legs are stocky and thick compared to the breed standard. The next photo, from a TN walker sale site, shows the typical graceful leg. And head. (OMG - that horse is for SALE! Wouldn't he make a marvelous pal for Hero?? Oh, jeez.)

Despite all that, however, Hero is the perfect horse! Because what we wanted was a safe, gentle fellow for fun riding, not a show horse. He excelled at safe and gentle when K was but a 65-pound, 12-yr-old beginner rider. He is 21, now, and showing his age a bit. Still has plenty of pep, though, and should be rideable for a lightweight rider for years to come.

[orionpolanosnox]

Reminder: Always take your phone with you when you go out on the trail and if you're alone, tell someone where you're going and when to expect you back!

And always wear a helmet!

Shit happens and it has nothing to do with you being a good or bad rider.

We have a couple at our stable who never wear helmets even though the man really hurt himself 3 years ago. He had a bad concussion and still doesn't wear a helmet to this day.

Don't be stupid like them!

Wear a helmet and tell people were you are going!

Wearing a helmet is cool!

[griffinequestrian]

We saw a real life ZEBRA on our hack this week! Wild!