We did it! My new horse friend and I went trail riding. It might be difficult for the casual reader to understand my exuberance. But I so seldom get to ride, especially not on actual trails in a new place, nor with a new-found fellow horse enthusiast, so I’m thrilled. My husband agreed to watch the kids, including the seven month old baby who is not used to being away from mama for any amount of time…so I went!
My friend JoAnn suggested that we go over to a little roadside park called Hacklebarney Woods County Park. It is a quiet little place with a place to park a few trailers, hitching rails for the horses, and a web of wandering trails through dense forest. I had been there only one other time, on a different horse, and so I was looking forward to going there again.
I decided to take my buckskin mare, Penny. We bought Penny and her baby almost two years ago, in October, and I have never ridden her on trails, nor has she ever loaded in a slant-load trailer where she had to back out before. So the challenge of trying something new with her made the ride even more fun. She did great with traveling and loading and unloading in JoAnn’s trailer, and she didn’t try to fight with JoAnn’s mare, though she did lay her ears back just once while we were riding. Penny did well on the trails, but her lack of conditioning was evident the farther we went. The poor girl got tired and wanted to stop and rest several times.
JoAnn rode a pretty bay mare with white stockings, and she looked like she loved the trail. She was a mountain horse, having been ridden in the mountains of Montana for four years before JoAnn got her. So she was built thick with muscle and handled the upturns and downturns of the trails like a pro.
We rode for a couple of hours, and never did have to cross mud or water. The trails were mildly steep in places, and usually as narrow as a deer trail. Penny wanted to leave the trail several times, thinking she knew a better route. But I think she was looking to get back home, rather than wind around through the forest senselessly (to her!) I did discover that she is very calm and unflappable with trail obstacles or things that look suspicious. She just minded her business and didn’t spook at anything, so that’s a plus to note down in her long list of assets.
She was awfully keen on snatching a mouthful of grass whenever she could, which I would mark down as on the negative side!
I love spending hours on horseback. As we rode, we talked about our childhoods, our families, how we got started with horses, and shared our stories with each other. While we knew that the horses were a common thread between us, it was fun to discover that we had much more in common than horses. We talked about everything from religion to our careers. The time just flew, and soon the sun was sinking behind the trees and it was time to turn towards home.
On the drive home, we listed a few more trail systems we’d like to try out. Hacklebarney was a good starting point, and I was glad to know that JoAnn has already been to several other trails around southwest Iowa, because I’m unfamiliar with most of them and have never gotten my nerve up to go. We made plans to ride again soon, and I’m counting the days until our next trail ride.
Fall is a perfect time to get out and enjoy the great outdoors, and what better way to do that than from the back of a horse?
