The Best Trail Riding Month of the Summer—November



After a record amount of precipitation this year, where we were rained out weekend after weekend, vacation after vacation, we finally had a good month for riding. Usually November is a crummy trail riding month. What a treat it was. Ellen and I even had vacation time that we were able to get out and cross the river.



I was able to put on a lot of miles with Cole. Much of it was with Ranger. He is behaving beautifully with…

In the interest of using my vacation time up before the end of the year, I took another 4-day weekend off with my sister.  We had icy cold weather, very hot weather and weather in between—but what we didn’t have was rain.  We were able to cross the river on all 4 days.  It was great to ride so much.  The horses were good, for the most part.  Cole did get a little funny towards the end of the ride, Sunday, but that is all.  I think he was remembering the day before when his lunch was in his…

Wow, what a storm yesterday evening.  I am sure glad I have an indoor arena to work in when the weather is crummy. 

Cole was uninspired.  I have noticed this happens on very warm days when he has a full winter coat like last night.  Consequently, we changed our plans to a slower ride.  I don’t believe in fighting if I can avoid it.  We perfected Turn on the Haunches in his good direction and improved it quite a bit in his not-quite-as-good direction.  I can’t believe how easy…

It was a lovely weekend here in Ohio.  Friday evening, I rode both my horses in the arena.  Nobody was at the stables, so I didn’t have to share the arena.  Cruiser seemed a little more settled down, and he continues to act normal.  Cole did a perfect turn on the haunches on the first request.  Not bad for never having done it, before.  The other direction didn’t go as well, but that’s how things always are with horses.

Saturday, my niece came out to ride with us.  She rode…

Cruiser in the Arena

I write so much about Cole, I thought it was time to tell everyone my plans with Cruiser over the winter.  First off, he pretty much stays inside in the indoor arena the whole time.  I don’t trust him on ice.  He has always been quick to panic on it, so the smallest amount of ice will keep me away.  Also, he keeps his shoes over the winter for support for his…

My sister and I took Tuesday off to ride, and what a pretty day it was.  The temps were warm and it was sunny.  First, we took Cruise and Ranger out on a 1.5 hour ride with a lot of walking so we could talk and just enjoy the day. 

   When I got back, I took Cole out on the same ride, but as always, when I take Cole out, it is a training ride.  He actually was a little balky at the beginning of the ride, and I had to tap him with the whip to explain that stopping wasn’t an option.  He…

I was riding Cole in the arena the other night, and a really nice boarder at our barn brought her horse in to lounge.  She has a sweet Paint mare, that I have never seen truly misbehave, but her owner is afraid to ride her.  She needs to lounge her a lot before she will ride her, and with her busy work schedule, she usually doesn’t have the time to both lounge and ride.  As we all know, fear isn’t logical, and it certainly isn’t in this case. 

I thought that demonstration of…

What a perfectly pretty November weekend in northeast Ohio.  Of course, you could find me out on the trail with my Morabs.  I love this weather.

 Friday, I took my very last evening trail ride of the year.  The time changed this weekend, and I no longer have the daylight to ride on the trail.  Anyway, Cruiser made it a good one.  He was energetic and silly.  What else would I expect from him on a cool evening…?  I rode Cole in the arena, and he wasn’t too keen on working.  Before the…

I took yesterday off from work because they were forecasting perfect weather—and they were right.

Cole and I went on a 2:37 hour ride. He wasn’t quite as good as last time—he went through a balky stage, tossed in some squeals and spins during the ride, and it took a little more work to settle down his trot towards home. We did canter 4 times for short distances, and that was really nice. He didn’t do the mad gallop that I have gotten in the past, but an actual canter. After…

I took Cruiser on a quick trail ride before sunset, and we didn’t see a soul—not even the headless horseman.  It was a cool and pretty evening.  There are still some leaves on the trees, and they were very vibrant in the dimming light of the evening.  Next weekend, the time changes, and there will be no more trail rides after work.  I sure will miss them.

I then rode Cole in the arena.  I had the place all to myself.  We worked on a little of this and a little of that. I…

We had a nice, horse weekend.  The river wasn’t crossable, but our younger niece came out, and she made it fun for us.  I started out riding Cole in the arena.  He had a lackluster day.  I then let my niece take him down the hill to the river.  He was pretty good for her, and she is getting used to his bouncy walk down hills.  When we got to the bottom, we let her trot on the flat part a bunch of times.  Cole has a normal trail trot, and she was posting is beautifully.  (She can’t manage his…

Last night was farrier night.  my sister and I come out to the barn after work.  Sometimes, the farrier gets there before us because he does another horse at our stables.  When he finishes, he starts Cruise and Ranger.  He waits for me to do Cole so I could help with holding him.

When I got there, my sister was talking to him and there were no horses in the crossties.  I was surprised and wondered what was going on.  My sister said that they started Cole, and he was so bad…

There was only a little daylight after work and the river was too high to cross, again.  I rode Cruiser up and down the hill three times.  He was quite energetic, and even did some gaiting up the hill.  (Cruiser has standard gaits, but he also does a stepping pace when he is excited.  He can get quite fast.  He must have gotten it from his Morgan side, as there are gaited Morgans.)  When we got back to the barn, it started to rain, lightly.  Perfect timing.  It rained the rest of the…

Steady Trotting Home

The trails by our barn do not form any sort of loop. Basically, we ride out to our desired distance, turn around and come back. There are a few tiny loops, but they join the main trail, so the horses get that definite feeling that they are headed home. 

Most horses will travel faster on the way home than on the way out—that is a given. Horses like to be home where their friends are. This doesn’t happen if we are riding Cruiser and Ranger…

Yes, another rained out long weekend for my sister and me…

Thursday, the river was too high.  We rode Cruiser and Ranger up and down the hill 3 times.  I worked with Cole in the arena, and we had fun.  My sister rode him for a little bit, and it was nice because then I could watch him.  He is quite a sight.  I then led him down to the river as a reward.

Friday, the river was still way to high to cross.  This time, we rode Cruiser and Ranger in the arena, too,…

I have finally gotten around to writing an introduction to myself.  I am an avid trail rider (which is the same thing as hacking.)  I live over here in the US in Cleveland, OH.  It is a pretty good-sized urban area, and we are lucky enough to have a terrific trail system running right through it.  We share the trails with lots of different users, so our horses have to be very tolerant.  We also ride close to the roads, so they have to be good with traffic, too.

I have 2…

It was a lovely night for riding, yesterday.  My boyfriend got in the saddle before I got there—I got caught in traffic.  I saddled up Cruiser, and away we went to meet his buddy Starry.  Cruiser knew the game, and as usual, I had to keep slowing him down.  We met them about 20 minutes later, and I talked my boyfriend into turning around and continuing with us until the next river crossing.  it was such a pretty night, that it didn’t take much coaxing.  Even his horse didn’t mind turning…

A long weekend for us, at least this year, means rain.

   The weather was great on Thursday.  My sister and I planned to go on our favorite ride with Cole and Ranger up to the show ring.10 minutes down the trail, we had to turn around.  The electric company was trimming the trees under the wires by the trail.  To make matters worse, the trail that we would take to get away from them goes out to the street by a bridge—and there were construction workers repairing it.  They were…

On Monday afternoon, I saw what the weather forecast looked like, I wasn’t too busy at work, so I decided to take yesterday off.  What a great decision.  The weather was perfect for trail riding. 

   My sister works second shift and usually rides in the mornings.  I took Cruiser with her and Ranger for a short ride.  She was really happy to have the company.

   When we got back, she went to work and I saddled up Cole.  We were going to go on our second long solo ride.  Unlike…

Finally!  A sunny weekend!  I rode on trail, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  It was awesome.

Friday was just a quick trail ride on Cruiser before sunset.  I then rode Cole in the arena.  I am so glad I am going to start feeding on Friday evenings next month.  We are supposed to feed at 8:00, and the feeder fed at 6:45.  It is just hay, so I let Cole eat while I cleaned our stalls.  When I was done, I took him in the arena.  Wow, was he crabby.  He kept trying to go to the gate,…