Shadows

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Annual Trail Rides : 33/200

Well we got our groove back. While we had some nice accompanied rides with fellow boarders earlier this week, it was really our fast solo ride today that did the ticket. It was cold, but I was dressed for success. And Q gave me some great steady rocking horse cantalopes on the buckle. Yeah Q!

The challenge of bright sunny days is that it often brings cold with it, and today did not disappoint with a "feel like -18C". But with the protection of the woods, and all of my layers and heated boots, I was only cold for a brief instant during our warm-up. Once the trotting and cantering started I was fine.

I was back in the barn within 45 minutes despite my little sidebar chat with some cross-country skiers that I spooked as they paused at one of our intersections. They exclaimed "we didn't hear you coming" as I came out a side trail, and I told them it was my secret pleasure to spook skiers. When I explained to them the irony (because most horses are spooked by skiers), they were stunned. They honestly had no idea and kept pointing to my sleepy horse chilling on the buckle as an example that horses are not scared by skiers (Q really enjoys these "union breaks"). Turns out one of the skiers has family that owns some of the private land we ride on. It was a good PR opportunity and we all had a good laugh.



The sunshine did make for some beautiful shadows which will be the topic of my next post as I address the issues of managing a multi-use recreational trail on municipal and private land. Trail access is such a challenge, and COVID times bring on some unusual behaviours.



Q has a fascinating habit with his radar ears. He flicks those things at me non stop. Left ear, right ear, both ears, repeat. But his pace is as steady as a metronome (and I leave him completely alone if he stays the course and pace) so in this sequence, we were mid-trot when I decided to grab some video. So, at -18C, I pulled off one glove, opened my pocket, unlocked my phone, turned on the camera app, turned on the video, pressed start, took a 30 second clip for your pleasure, stopped recording, closed the phone, reinserted in my pocket, zipped up my pocket and put back on my glove while Q was on autopilot and didn’t skip a beat. But he flicked those ears at me the entire time. ❤️ 








Comments

  1. DomFebruary 19, 2021 at 2:34 PM

    33 rides! I'm impressed. Lucy and I are just shy of 30, and now with the ice storm we're on indefinite hiatus. Boo!! I laughed at the irony of the skiers spooking at the horse. Do you guys have any rules about not crossing the ski tracks? Apparently our association does, but they didn't post them until after I'd already criss crossed the ski tracks a few times, not knowing that it was a thing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nat DFebruary 19, 2021 at 2:45 PM

      It has been a fantastic season for riding! Probably one of the best ever! Ice ... boo!

      We cross the ski tracks at multiple spots, and on most rides I cross them 6 times. The tracks are maintained by the city and have sliding grooves on the right and skating tracks on the left. We absolutely must never ever ride on the ski tracks. (but every once in a while a rider or sleigh driver does, and then we get blasted by the city)

      We have been able to get along quite well with all of the special users (especially in the winter) that have their own trails. The skidoos, the atvs, the skiers and the snowshoers all have their own trails that criss-cross our own. The best is to have a good horse that can manage all the variety and do as much public relations as possible. Holding on to our horse trails is a big issue, especially if we think they "belong" to us.

      And that will be the topic of my next post! ;-)
      Trail access, an issue that is topical all over the world.

      Thank you for reading! And commenting! Love your blog!

      Delete

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