Any Equestrian lovers here?

[LisaBatt]

This might be a dangerous thing to admit on this web site, but before skiing ...this was my first love!! ( I know it's more a girl thing) Been riding this summer more than in the past, but not too many places for trail rides where I live. Looking for suggestions/recommendations from any of you who might also enjoy horseback riding. I noticed some places while driving up to Hunter and Belleyare this past spring, but I'm not sure if they are any good. And just in case some one was going to mention Rocking Horse ranch, did that lot's of times throughout the years. Just looking for something different. Thanks!

 

[skibum1321]

A bit off-topic, but I just need to say how much I hate when horseback riders let their horses shit on the trails and don't pick up after them. That is my one big pet peeve when I am mountain biking at a place that allows horses. It seems like no owners pick up after their horses and the trails are covered in horse shit.
[/end rant]

 

[ctenidae]

The mounted cops in Boston do the same thing. For some reason, my dog things it's the tastiest thing ever. I give road apples a wide berth

 

[highpeaksdrifter]

A bit off-topic, but I just need to say how much I hate when horseback riders let their horses shit on the trails and don't pick up after them. That is my one big pet peeve when I am mountain biking at a place that allows horses. It seems like no owners pick up after their horses and the trails are covered in horse shit.
[/end rant]

I like to take my dog for a walk on the trails at Saratoga State Park. There are signs evrywhere to pick up after your dog, which of course I do. Yet it's ok for 3 or 4 people to go buy with their horses and leave mounds of shit behind then just ride away and leave it there. I don't get the double standard.

 

[Charlie Schuessler]

Horses are WONDERFUL!

First of all being a biased horse owner, and married to an Equestrian Athlete, I have determined that most privately owned and recreational active HORSES are better than most PEOPLE! Treat them with respect and space! Out on the trail they may spook easy and throw thier rider faster than you can think, making for big problems…

Horse droppings are usually nothing more than grain, grass & hay, which makes great fertilizer... and their are no ordinances to pick up horse mess on horse back riding trails which may happen to be used by hikers, walkers and bicyclists...share the space...

 

[Marc]

First of all being a biased horse owner, and married to an Equestrian Athlete, I have determined that most privately owned and recreational active HORSES are better than most PEOPLE! Treat them with respect and space! Out on the trail they may spook easy and throw thier rider faster than you can think, making for big problems…

Horse droppings are usually nothing more than grain, grass & hay, which makes great fertilizer... and their are no ordinances to pick up horse mess on horse back riding trails which may happen to be used by hikers, walkers and bicyclists...share the space...

Well, Charlie. It's all of that processed by bacteria, which smells no less pleasant than plenty of other types of feces I can think of. Not as bad as some, but it isn't any rose bush or anything.

It just sucks when you get it in the lugs of your front wheel, have no where to wash it off, and then have to put the thing in your car and ride home with the smell and the mess.



My sister has been riding for a long time, and showing hunt seat ever since I can remember. She has a National Show Horse and just bought a second one. Good luck to my bro in law. She teaches and trains now. I think she's going to some big show in October in Kentucky. Which means I get cat duty. Woopie.

Probably explains why I'm not a big fan of equestrian activities... being dragged to horse show after horse show and then being bored to tears for several hours at a time all these years.

I do admit though as I got a little older, I didn't mind all the other girls in those stretchy riding pants.

 

[ALLSKIING]

My wife has been riding since a kid..Looks like my 7 year old is also into it. We usually go to this every year.

http://www.hamptonclassic.com/peconic/Hampton/me.get?WEB.websections.show&PEC1117_2262

 

[JimG.]

Looking for suggestions/recommendations from any of you who might also enjoy horseback riding. I noticed some places while driving up to Hunter and Belleyare this past spring, but I'm not sure if they are any good. And just in case some one was going to mention Rocking Horse ranch, did that lot's of times throughout the years. Just looking for something different. Thanks!

Lisa, Silver Springs Ranch is off 23A on the way to Hunter. I rode there a few times but wasn't too impressed with their trial system. There is another stable on the way to Windham off of route 32, but the name escapes me at the moment. There is a nice trial system at that stable and it's next to state trails which are also available to horsemen. You can go out on an all day ride there and just scratch the surface of the trail options.

It's been 10 years since I rode, but I'll try to research and find the name for you.

 

[Charlie Schuessler]

... being dragged to horse show after horse show and then being bored to tears for several hours at a time all these years..

I'm kept busy between events by doing all the chores, keeping the horse & rider comfortable, ready and clean... when I take a break, I can usually be found reading a bicycle or ski magazine in a comfy spot...

I do admit though as I got a little older, I didn't mind all the other girls in those stretchy riding pants.

...it's not a bad reason to go to a horse show and the gal:guy ratio is something like 33:1...

 

[LisaBatt]

A bit of testostrone flying around earlier regarding horse "droppings"....

Ok you guys who hate the rude people who don't clean up after their "horses", I totally agree, but it's the same with folks who don't clean up after their dogs as well. I am also a proud owner of a beloved golden retriever and two cats, and if my son gets his way a german shepperd puppy soon. Things got so bad at my older daughters soccer tournements in CT, MA, R.I, PA , and many other states we travelled to, that dogs were /are banned from many of these places. It was sad for us as a family, because my dog loved being with us, and we were crushed that we couldn't bring her with us. So please don't just blame the "Horse lovers". I so agree with Charlie, most horses are kinder, and nicer than some people I know as well!!! Ok I just had to get my two cents in !!!!

 

[thaller1]

they have horse bags right? that would be a good way to clean up.. and yes people should definitely clean up after their dogs!!

Back to the subject at hand though..I love horseback riding... rode all the time when I was a kid ..my Grandparents had horses....now the horses are gone and I would love to ride..but hate trail riding in a line with a bunch of other people I don't know and a horse that would rather be ANYWHERE else...

are there any stables in New England that offer the "freeride' Equivalent to horse back riding?

 

[JimG.]

Re: droppings

What happened to America? In a society where I see alot of folks fling garbage out of their cars with impunity, who decided that pet poop was a national scourge? I think it's ridiculous to have to pick up dog poop and it's one of the main reasons I don't have pets anymore. That's totally degrading and I refuse to do it!

OK, time for the old man story: when I was a kid, there was dog poop where ever it got pooped out. It didn't attack us or kill us, and our parents taught us to step over it and not try to eat it or throw it at each other. It was never a problem. And folks with pets let them poop on THEIR OWN PROPERTY, not the next door neighbor's.

Bottom line is this: as a society, we've become so inconsiderate, rude, stupid and inattentive that we need laws to protect us from poop. Do the terms "dumbing down" and "hell in a handbasket" ring any bells?

 

[thaller1]

Re: droppings

What happened to America? In a society where I see alot of folks fling garbage out of their cars with impunity, who decided that pet poop was a national scourge? I think it's ridiculous to have to pick up dog poop and it's one of the main reasons I don't have pets anymore. That's totally degrading and I refuse to do it!

OK, time for the old man story: when I was a kid, there was dog poop where ever it got pooped out. It didn't attack us or kill us, and our parents taught us to step over it and not try to eat it or throw it at each other. It was never a problem. And folks with pets let them poop on THEIR OWN PROPERTY, not the next door neighbor's.

Bottom line is this: as a society, we've become so inconsiderate, rude, stupid and inattentive that we need laws to protect us from poop. Do the terms "dumbing down" and "hell in a handbasket" ring any bells?

You are sooooooooooo right! It's ridiculous how rude people are today. there's nothing I hate more than seeing someone throw a cigarette butt out the window or any other trash... I'm torn about picking up after pets on a walking path for people though... it's just common courtesy...

sigh..

 

[JimG.]

I'm torn about picking up after pets on a walking path for people though... it's just common courtesy...

sigh..

People shouldn't walk their pets on public walking paths to start with. Public walking paths are for people, not pets. At the very least, don't bring your pet there to go to the bathroom...do that on your own property, then go to the walking path.

And I agree, if an accident happens on the walking path and Fido poops, pick it up. We shouldn't need laws and signs for stuff like that.

 

[Marc]

Re: droppings

What happened to America? In a society where I see alot of folks fling garbage out of their cars with impunity, who decided that pet poop was a national scourge? I think it's ridiculous to have to pick up dog poop and it's one of the main reasons I don't have pets anymore. That's totally degrading and I refuse to do it!

OK, time for the old man story: when I was a kid, there was dog poop where ever it got pooped out. It didn't attack us or kill us, and our parents taught us to step over it and not try to eat it or throw it at each other. It was never a problem. And folks with pets let them poop on THEIR OWN PROPERTY, not the next door neighbor's.

Bottom line is this: as a society, we've become so inconsiderate, rude, stupid and inattentive that we need laws to protect us from poop. Do the terms "dumbing down" and "hell in a handbasket" ring any bells?

I'm assuming you're commenting on society at large and not directing this towards skibum and me?

I'm not sure where it came from if you are. I could care less if someone's dog or horse or ferret takes a dump on public property, I just don't want to ride through it and get it stuck in my tires.

Hell, this is coming from the guy that lives on a working dairy farm a hundred fifty feet from a liquid manure lagoon.

 

[JimG.]

I'm assuming you're commenting on society at large and not directing this towards skibum and me?

Correct...that's why I wrote "America" and "society"; where did you see "Marc" and "skibum"?

I'll leave that and say sorry, I'm in a bad mood at work today. Anyway, I agree I wouldn't want horse droppings on my tires, but what are you going to do? In many cases, the places where you ride are shared areas and many started out as horse riding areas.

I used to trail ride on my mountain bike alot (gave it up because I was destroying my shoulders) and the place I went to the most was a shared biking/horse riding area. I learned to look ahead (a good skill regardless) and avoid the poop. If I ran thru some, I just hosed it off. I just can't see a rider dismounting their horse to pick up horse droppings. Plus, they'd need to carry a 30 gallon garbage bag to keep it in! A little impractical.

There was always alot of tension between equestrians and MTB riders. A few conflicts almost led to bikes being banned. One of the worst cases was when some bikers chainsawed all of the rider's jumps because they were too high to get over on an MTB. Stupid.

 

[bvibert]

People shouldn't walk their pets on public walking paths to start with. Public walking paths are for people, not pets. At the very least, don't bring your pet there to go to the bathroom...do that on your own property, then go to the walking path.

And I agree, if an accident happens on the walking path and Fido poops, pick it up. We shouldn't need laws and signs for stuff like that.

So you're saying that we shouldn't be able to go enjoy a nice walking path with our dog, who is part of our family, because she's not human? I don't agree with that. We don't take the dog there to poop, as a matter of fact we always make her go before we leave the house. It doesn't matter though because she almost always 'goes' while on a walk. I don't know if it's the walking action, or the excitement, or what. We ALWAYS pick up after her though, and I'm very annoyed by folks that don't pick up their dogs droppings.

As for the horse poo on multi-use trails, I find that pretty annoying as well. I've always managed to avoid the patties though, so it's not such a big deal.

 

[Marc]

Correct...that's why I wrote "America" and "society"; where did you see "Marc" and "skibum"?

I'll leave that and say sorry, I'm in a bad mood at work today. Anyway, I agree I wouldn't want horse droppings on my tires, but what are you going to do? In many cases, the places where you ride are shared areas and many started out as horse riding areas.

I used to trail ride on my mountain bike alot (gave it up because I was destroying my shoulders) and the place I went to the most was a shared biking/horse riding area. I learned to look ahead (a good skill regardless) and avoid the poop. If I ran thru some, I just hosed it off. I just can't see a rider dismounting their horse to pick up horse droppings. Plus, they'd need to carry a 30 gallon garbage bag to keep it in! A little impractical.

There was always alot of tension between equestrians and MTB riders. A few conflicts almost led to bikes being banned. One of the worst cases was when some bikers chainsawed all of the rider's jumps because they were too high to get over on an MTB. Stupid.

Well... being that "Marc" and "skbum" are part of the American society, last I checked, I thought our comments either inspired your comments about the public in general being more extreme in their feelings than us, or you were directing your angst towards both skibum and me, and the general public. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

I wasn't trying to start a debate about the societal attitudes and practices regarding pet poop, I was merely expressing my annoyance with having to ride through horse poop. I didn't realize that would set off so many fireworks.

At any rate, the whole equestrian/MTB thing either happened before I got into the sport in the late 90's, or was just never a problem around here. My friends and I are courteous to all trail users, hikers, dog walkers, equestrians, and any other means of transportatio we see.

It wouldn't hurt my feelings though if the riders at least stopped to kick the poop off the trail.



I'm actually kind of amused we're having a thread turn totally into a discussion about poop. I think we're setting precedent.

 

[skibum1321]

I'm actually kind of amused we're having a thread turn totally into a discussion about poop. I think we're setting precedent.

We really couldn't have a thread about poop without you here, Marc .

In regards to the horse poo, maybe not pick it up but at least don't leave it in the middle of the trail. There is definitely still some animosity between hikers/bikers/horseback riders around here. The chain usually goes a little something like this:
Hikers hate bikers because they think they destroy the trails (ie The Middlesex Fells) and
Bikers hate horseback riders because the horses poop on the trails and tear them up worse than any bike ever could.

What it comes down to are that there is a minority in every group that gives each group a bad name and the activists pick on that group as a result.

 

[bvibert]

The chain usually goes a little something like this:
Hikers hate bikers because they think they destroy the trails (ie The Middlesex Fells) and
Bikers hate horseback riders because the horses poop on the trails and tear them up worse than any bike ever could.

What it comes down to are that there is a minority in every group that gives each group a bad name and the activists pick on that group as a result.

Well said.