The complications of horses on multi-use trails
The Sunday slump is real, and sometimes hard to get motivated for a ride especially if I am solo. But out I went because the footing was great and the weather mild and you just never know how many of those days you might have. My perseverance paid off as my phone rang while on trail and my buddy B joined me for a lovely jaunt. So instead of doing a 40 minute loop, I was out for 2.5 hours. 😃
We saw lots of traffic over the weekend, particularly sleighs and skiers. I was even intercepted by this pair of skiers from France who were enchanted to share the trails with horses. We are so charming, n’est-ce pas?
When the tracks are dedicated, then it really is only an issue of convenience. But when the tracks are shared ... it becomes another issue. And the problems are further complicated by a network that blends public and private lands, and an insurance company that provides protection to the land owners for accidents happening on their property.
Some private landowners do not want to have multi-use trails. They want to keep them dedicated to horses. Some don't really care, but the insurance company does. And then the city would like to give all of their citizens free access to all the trails, but that would mean you would have uninsured users. And that doesn't work for the private land owners.
How do you police the use of trails that criss-cross property ownership, with different users triggering different responses?
And to add another pickle ... some landowners use their trails with their atv's, skidoos or fatbikes and encounter equestrians that do not understand how they are on a multi-use trail. And then some outlaw users pretend they are landowners when they encounter equestrians so that we leave them alone.
Wow.
The answer of course is to make sure that your horse is prepared for most eventualities. For most of the winter riders the biggest issue is the encounter with sleighs as we share the same trail but of course we only see them 2 out of 12 months. So when sleigh season starts, we have to redo our training. Some riders just avoid the trails in that season, or stick to the narrow trails where only horses can go.
These days we have seen an increase in double teams and lots of bells. Jingalingaling.
Q is pretty good about the sleighs overall, but needs to walk past them while they are stopped. If they jingle a little bit while we pass, it is usually ok. But many horses are not COOL with that at all. The sleigh slides back and forth, the harnessed horses get jittery, the bells jingle, and the ridden horse explodes.
My buddy B with his usually cool-as-a-cucumber TB had a bit of an episode yesterday as we passed the cutest and most well behaved welsh pony pulling a cute tiny sleigh. We had plenty of room to pass, and even when I went first, B's horse would not follow. The poor pony had to stand stock still throughout this process otherwise B's horse would have gone ballistic.
But some sleigh drivers can not hold their horses that long. And when the teams are doubles, it leaves very little room for us to pass. Sometimes we have to throw ourselves in the snow (which this year is no big deal, but some years can be 4-5 feet deep and the horses do.not.want.to.go). So then we double back and repeat at a broader section or intersection.
It all makes for stressful encounters for sleighs and riders, and I know many a sleigh driver that goes out much later in the day to avoid the riders. We are a challenging bunch.
So now there is talk about adding fatbikes and skijoring to the multi-use menu. It is not in the cards for the short term, but eventually it will probably happen. The fatbikes might stick to the x-country tracks (to the dismay of the skiskaters that use that track and appreciate the extensive grooming). And the skijorers might adopt a more open section of our trails that would allow them to move at speed.
At the end of the day, trail etiquette is a constant challenge. Sleighbells are beautiful, and allow us to hear them coming a mile ahead. But they do not provide the drivers the ability to hear their surroundings, or me telling them I am around the corner. Riders still canter off once they have passed me, or when they are ahead of me going up a ravine.
Here is a short video of me encountering a nice couple on their sleigh. They stopped while I passed, and then took off at a trot. Seconds after, a plane flew low over the trees and made quite the commotion. I felt bombarded by stimuli and pleased that Q was more curious than upset.
I try to ensure that I am a good trail user, courteous to other users and not overly demanding of others to stop, slow down or take care of me. But, sometimes, I just feel overwhelmed at how much effort I need to extend to have an easy quiet ride. Good thing that Q does most of the effort.
This is supposed to be a hobby, right?
We saw lots of traffic over the weekend, particularly sleighs and skiers. I was even intercepted by this pair of skiers from France who were enchanted to share the trails with horses. We are so charming, n’est-ce pas?
When the tracks are dedicated, then it really is only an issue of convenience. But when the tracks are shared ... it becomes another issue. And the problems are further complicated by a network that blends public and private lands, and an insurance company that provides protection to the land owners for accidents happening on their property.
Some private landowners do not want to have multi-use trails. They want to keep them dedicated to horses. Some don't really care, but the insurance company does. And then the city would like to give all of their citizens free access to all the trails, but that would mean you would have uninsured users. And that doesn't work for the private land owners.
How do you police the use of trails that criss-cross property ownership, with different users triggering different responses?
And to add another pickle ... some landowners use their trails with their atv's, skidoos or fatbikes and encounter equestrians that do not understand how they are on a multi-use trail. And then some outlaw users pretend they are landowners when they encounter equestrians so that we leave them alone.
Wow.
The answer of course is to make sure that your horse is prepared for most eventualities. For most of the winter riders the biggest issue is the encounter with sleighs as we share the same trail but of course we only see them 2 out of 12 months. So when sleigh season starts, we have to redo our training. Some riders just avoid the trails in that season, or stick to the narrow trails where only horses can go.
These days we have seen an increase in double teams and lots of bells. Jingalingaling.
Q is pretty good about the sleighs overall, but needs to walk past them while they are stopped. If they jingle a little bit while we pass, it is usually ok. But many horses are not COOL with that at all. The sleigh slides back and forth, the harnessed horses get jittery, the bells jingle, and the ridden horse explodes.
My buddy B with his usually cool-as-a-cucumber TB had a bit of an episode yesterday as we passed the cutest and most well behaved welsh pony pulling a cute tiny sleigh. We had plenty of room to pass, and even when I went first, B's horse would not follow. The poor pony had to stand stock still throughout this process otherwise B's horse would have gone ballistic.
But some sleigh drivers can not hold their horses that long. And when the teams are doubles, it leaves very little room for us to pass. Sometimes we have to throw ourselves in the snow (which this year is no big deal, but some years can be 4-5 feet deep and the horses do.not.want.to.go). So then we double back and repeat at a broader section or intersection.
It all makes for stressful encounters for sleighs and riders, and I know many a sleigh driver that goes out much later in the day to avoid the riders. We are a challenging bunch.
So now there is talk about adding fatbikes and skijoring to the multi-use menu. It is not in the cards for the short term, but eventually it will probably happen. The fatbikes might stick to the x-country tracks (to the dismay of the skiskaters that use that track and appreciate the extensive grooming). And the skijorers might adopt a more open section of our trails that would allow them to move at speed.
At the end of the day, trail etiquette is a constant challenge. Sleighbells are beautiful, and allow us to hear them coming a mile ahead. But they do not provide the drivers the ability to hear their surroundings, or me telling them I am around the corner. Riders still canter off once they have passed me, or when they are ahead of me going up a ravine.
Here is a short video of me encountering a nice couple on their sleigh. They stopped while I passed, and then took off at a trot. Seconds after, a plane flew low over the trees and made quite the commotion. I felt bombarded by stimuli and pleased that Q was more curious than upset.
I try to ensure that I am a good trail user, courteous to other users and not overly demanding of others to stop, slow down or take care of me. But, sometimes, I just feel overwhelmed at how much effort I need to extend to have an easy quiet ride. Good thing that Q does most of the effort.
This is supposed to be a hobby, right?
This was emotionally hard for me to read. "overwhelmed at how much effort I need to extend to have an easy quiet ride" - Why is this our lives? *sigh*
ReplyDeleteI can imagine how difficult it can be. I think that Carmen would be very upset by the bells until she could see that they were attached to horses. Then she'd be fine. I think. I still envy you your trail system though.
ReplyDelete