Tag Archives: Fox Trotter

Training

Working With the Count

This week I brought Count, a nine year-old registered Missouri Fox Trotter gelding, to my place for some tune-up training prior to putting him up for sale on the Horses For Sale page on this site.

I first became acquainted with Count almost two years ago, when a friend brought him from Missouri to join his herd of Fox Trotters here in Utah. My friend regularly rotates horses in and out of his herd, as he puts together a crew of elite trail horses for his annual moose hunt in Alaska. It takes a special kind of horse to handle the rigors of that hunt well.  I was privileged to go on the moose hunts in 2018 and 2019. Count was with us as both a saddle and pack horse during the 2018 hunt.

After that hunt, however, Count has been at pasture running free over my friend’s mountainside with his herd of up to 15 other horses. He is being rotated out of the herd, as my friend prefers a taller horse for his Alaska trips. A taller horse seems to do better trudging through the Alaskan tundra and undergrowth.

Count is a registered Missouri Fox Trotter. He is nine years old this year, 2020 (I will verify that and provide the registration number once I have his papers in hand). Count stands 15-1 hands (measured). He has a nice, stout build and is a very strong horse for his size. He has excellent hooves, and large cannon bones, which are indicative of his ability to carry a heavy load. Count has one minor detraction from his otherwise excellent conformation. His front right hoof turns slightly out. It does not affect his soundness, but it would detract from his score if he were shown as a MFT halter class horse.  However, Count is a trail horse, and a good one!  He is brown with two white stockings in the rear and one in front, with a white blaze face. He is beautiful!

I took Count out yesterday for his first ride in well over a year. In some ways it went about as expected, but in other ways I was a little surprised.

As I mentioned, Count has been running free on a mountainside with up to 15 other horses for about a year and a half now, so when I put him in a trailer and hauled him off to a small pasture with three horses that were strange to him, understandably he was quite anxious and feeling a bit insecure. With all that going on, I was very pleased when he came to me in the pasture for help in his insecurity. He is friendly and likes people.

The first thing I learned was that Count loads easily into the trailer, but has not been taught to back out. He only knows how to come out forward. I will teach him to back out of the trailer. A good trail horse should know how to do both.

This morning he was calm and stood to allow me to approach and halter him. That’s when I started to be very pleased with him.

I discovered that Count has excellent halter manners. He follows exactly the way I like a horse to follow, just a bit behind my right shoulder with no tension on the lead rope. As I have explained before, show halter training has the horse’s head next to your right shoulder (for right-handers). That doesn’t work well when you are leading a horse on the trail. On the trail, you want a horse to follow behind you without stepping on your heels. I like their muzzle to be right behind my right shoulder. Count follows exactly right there. Not only that, but he stops when I stop. If I stop and take two steps backward, he will do the same. Perfect!

Despite his anxiety at being without his herd in unfamiliar surroundings, he did nothing that worried me. Once tied to the trailer, where I brush and saddle, he moved around a couple times without taking me into consideration and bumped me aside, but we started taking care of that immediately by applying pressure with a knuckle or elbow in his ribs or hind quarters when he moved toward me. He responded by paying more attention to where I was with regard to his body position before moving. I will teach him that he may not move his hind quarters toward me on the ground unless asked to do so. Count allowed me to handle and clean all four hooves without issue.

Before mounting up, I did a little ground work with him to become acquainted with him and what he knows and to get him a little more into the mindset of paying attention to me, rather than worrying about where his herd might be hiding. As we worked, I discovered that he is familiar with many of the cues I use to train with. I also learned that he is a quick learner and that getting him to pay attention was not difficult. We started working on using the lead rope to cue him to back away from me. He picked it right up. We will continue to work on that and other body movement cues.

After a short session on the ground I saddled up and stepped up into the saddle. At first he wanted to move around while I tried to mount, but, again, once I got his attention focused on me, he stood still while I mounted. We made some rounds around the arena to get further acquainted, while I learned what he knows and doesn’t know. I discovered that he has been taught to side-pass and to move his hind quarters on cue. He didn’t seem to understand my cue to move his fore quarters, though. We’ll work on that. He was trained to back up to a different cue than I normally use, but once I figured that out, I found he backs up easily.

Once I knew Count was not going to do anything unsafe with me on his back, we left the grounds for a short trail ride to get further acquainted. This ride was without spurs, though I have ridden him with spurs in the past. Count immediately showed me his smooth fox trot gait.  He needs a little tune-up to teach him to stay in-gait, but I found that even when he is out-of-gait he is quite comfortable to ride. His tends to be diagonal, which is consistent with his breed. He showed he has a flat-walk, a fox trot, a run-walk, and a nice canter. The fox trot is his nicest gait and he moves right along in it, but, as is normal for a horse that hasn’t had any discipline for awhile, he tends to cross through it and not stay in it reliably for long distances. Still, as I said, he’s pretty smooth even when he gets trotty.

I was quite surprised, and found it humorous, that even after his Alaska ordeal in 2018, he was hyper-sensitive to just about everything around him. I guess that is a result of having been running free on a mountainside with 15 other horses around.  At first, Count kept himself moving straight down the middle of the road in my training route, so he could keep his eyes on everything on both sides! Signs and fence posts and mailboxes had him prancing around them! I just chuckled and we kept going. He’ll get over that quickly. Things like dogs, birds, and deer didn’t seem to bother him at all.

By the time we were on the way back toward the stable, he was much better and was moving along quite confidently, although he still became cautious when we came across things he wasn’t familiar with, like caution barricades and cones in a construction area. A little coaxing got him past these things without much concern on my part.

The last part of our ride was through the edge of a neighborhood on our way back to the stable. I use this area to acquaint horses with things such as decorative fences with dogs barking behind them, lines and steel lids in the road surface, fire hydrants, and vehicles passing close by. With a speed limit of 25 mph, it is a safe place to do this. Needless to say, Count went through this area wide-eyed and with a lot of urging from me. But he made it through obediently, without any slipping on the pavement. I was pleased. I expect that was the first time he had ever seen a neighborhood, much less been ridden through one!

So, I was very pleased with the level of training Count seems to have received in the past, but I was surprised at his anxiety on our training ride. Once I get a few more miles on him, I’m sure that anxiety will go away. He’s going to be a very nice trail partner for somebody.

I’ll ride him again today with approximately the same routine and over approximately the same route and see how he improves. I think I’ll wear spurs today and see if that improves his response to certain cues and helps him learn them a little quicker.

Tomorrow, I plan to take him on a nice trail ride with Jon Tanner, down into the desert near Price, Utah, in the San Rafael Swell area.

Stay tuned for more on Count….and I’ll try to get more photos posted as well.

UPDATE:  Count sold to Nicole Call before I even got his advertisement up! She got a great horse! Hopefully, we’ll get to ride together sometime.

 

Tack and Gear, Training

Another Step Forward with J Golden…

I’ve had my new horse, J, out a couple times over the past week, for both pleasure and training.

Last week, my wife and I took Lizzy and J out to Santaquin, Utah for a short ride. Due to inclement weather, the ride turned out shorter than expected, but it was still a nice ride. Both Lizzy and J performed to expectations and the ride put some more miles on J, which is what he really needs right now.

The area we went to is also frequented by shooters for a target range. There were several families out enjoying their firearms when we arrived, so J and Lizzy got a little exposure to the sounds of gunfire while we saddled up. Shortly after we arrived, though, the wind came up and it rained for a short spell, driving all the shooters back to the shelter of their homes. Once the rain let up, Linda and I headed up the trail.

During that ride, J showed me that he has that smooth running walk the Tennessee Walker is known for, but I had a hard time keeping him in it on the rough terrain we were riding in. We were going either up or down all the time, which is not optimum for working on gaits. What he needed was some mileage on a long straight, level trail, where we could fine-tune his gait and teach him what we were looking for.

So, this morning I had some time.  I headed out to do a little work with J.

Today’s training goal was to transition J from the D-ring snaffle bit to a bosal hackamore. I like to do most of my horse training in a bosal, because I feel like I am able to teach them to be more sensitive to bridle and rein cues without working on their mouth. Once I get a horse to the point at which I am comfortable with their neck reining and responsiveness to bridle cues with the bosal, I transition them to a curb bit. I may ride the horse in a bosal for a year before going to the solid bit.

A couple days ago, I tied my 5/8″ rawhide braided bosal over a wooden form, to set its shape. This morning I tied my new 5/8″ horse hair mecate to it and adjusted it to my liking. When I put it on J’s head this morning, he couldn’t quite figure it out for a few minutes, but adjusted to it quickly.

I spent about twenty minutes riding J around the pasture, getting him accustomed to the bosal and teaching him basic signals, which he quickly interpolated from his earlier training in the snaffle bit. I worked on flexing his neck both directions, pressure-release method, to teach him how to relieve the pressure on his nose by giving to the pressure. He already stops to my verbal and seat cue, so the ever important “whoa” command was a piece of cake.

We had to work on his directional signals a bit, though. After a few figure-eights with a few sharp bumps on the nose, he began to understand that he needed to lead with his head, rather than turning while looking off in the other direction. I feel this is more effectively taught with a bosal than with a snaffle bit, since the snaffle tries to pull through the mouth when plow-reined. The bosal is used to bump the horse on the nose, teaching him to look away from the pressure and toward the direction of intended travel. Very quickly the horse begins to respond to light pressure on the nose, rather than waiting for the bump.

On J, I decided to try something I have read about, but hadn’t yet tried. I bought a 5/8″ 6-strand horse hair (mane hair) 24′ mecate to use with my rawhide bosal (Click here to link to similar mecates on Amazon.com). I have read the prickly feel of the horse hair mecate is more effective than a smooth rope for training the horse to neck rein. As the trainer plow reins with one side, he lays the opposite rein against the horse’s neck. It feels the prickly mecate on its neck and more easily associates that touch with the turn in the other direction.  The transition from the bosal/mecate to a bit and smooth leather reins is then a simple matter.

Once the horse handles with light cues on the reins under all conditions, and I no longer need to “bump” the bosal, I feel like the horse is ready to transition to the curb bit. Again, I do not train for shows and am not a reining expert. I ride trails and do pack trips. I train for all-around good, reliable trail horses.

After a few minutes of getting-acquainted-with-the-bosal time, I decided J was ready for a ride outside our arena and pasture. I was looking forward to getting him outside and onto some long, straight roads to see what we could do with his gait.

I was pleased to find that J was easy to handle riding away from his herd and our home base. He did so with no argument and kept his mind on what was ahead of him. He decided that he preferred to step-out in his natural gait, which I have been told is a “stepping-pace,” so I let him have his head. The stepping-pace is not an unpleasant gait, however, with more speed it evolves into a full pace, which is very uncomfortable for a rider. I have been hoping I might be able to work with him and find that smooth running walk in him the Tennessee Walker is famous for. Regardless, the reason I bought him was to get a horse whose walk could keep up with Lizzy’s on the trail. J definitely has that box checked.

As we got onto a long paved road with little traffic, I used the reins and spurs to be able to get J coaxed into a good running walk. It was a little slow, but it was definitely a running walk. When he wanted to go faster, he slipped into the pace, so I kept his head in, flexed at the poll, to check his speed. When I did this he slowed and got back into the running walk. I let him hold that for a bit, then slowed to a flat walk for a while. We kept speeding up and slowing down without allowing him to get into his pace. Before long, he was speeding up his running walk. I found that a light touch with the spurs, while keeping him flexed at the poll, collected him just enough to produce a good running walk with good comfortable speed. I was feeling pretty good about things.

We rode around some low hills for a while, working on things like crossing logs and looking for witches and spooks. I also worked on J’s canter. He simply does not know how to do it with weight on his back. I finally got him to canter up a hill, but he didn’t like it. He prefers to gait. I’m ok with that, since I will be using him for trail riding and pack trips, however, I have always felt a well-rounded horse should perform well at a canter.  We’ll continue to work on that.

After a little over an hour, we headed back toward home. I was quite pleased when J settled into a nice running walk and, since we were headed toward home, even picked up his speed a bit. I was able to keep him dialed-in to his running walk, rather than slipping into his pace, by light cues on the reins and a touch or two with the spurs. I estimate we were moving along very smoothly at about 8-10 mph.

That will match up very well with Lizzy’s Fox Trot.

Back at the pasture, J had a very nice light sweat on him. We finished up with a good brushing and hoof cleaning, before I turned him back out with his pasture buddies. After a good roll in the dust, he was off with his friends.

I like this fellow more every time I ride him.

P.S.

I felt Lizzy’s baby move today! Looking forward to a beautiful spotted Fox Trotter foal sometime about late September.

 

 

Western Horsemanship

Just sitting here watching the snow fall…

It’s just January 12th and already I’m starting to feel the “cabin fever” setting in.

We’ve had somewhere around two feet or more of snow fall in the past three weeks or so here in Salem, Utah. It seems like every time we have a day or two with decent weather, something comes up to keep me from heading out for a horse ride. So, for the past several days I’ve had a nearly overwhelming desire to get into the saddle and just ride.

I find myself getting on Youtube and searching for trail rides and pack trips in places I’d like to go. Found one this evening from Miller Ranch in Scottsdale, Arizona that advertises their trail rides through Monument Valley in Arizona, on the Navajo Reservation. I’ve always wanted to do some riding at a number of sites on the “Rez” in Arizona. I need to get my foster brother, Harrison Gorman, to guide me through some of those places.

Lizzy
Jimbo

Last week I sold my paint, Reno, so I’m now down to two horses. Hopefully, my Fox Trotter mare, Lizzy is in foal (I’ll get her checked in another month or so) and will give me a new little spotted Fox Trotter foal in September, so I’ll have to start taking it easy on her starting about July. While I love my little mustang, Jimbo, he’s just not the trail partner I want for Lizzy.  Although Jimbo is a great horse and I won’t sell him, I’m wanting another Fox Trotter to pair up with Lizzy.

So, I’ve been keeping my eyes open for a good buy on a Fox Trotter gelding.

Found one in the local classifieds that has me interested. He’s a grade 10 year-old (by the owner’s guess) gelding that has a gait. The owner believes he’s a Fox Trotter, due to his build and conformation, but he was purchased at auction so he doesn’t know the breeding. He was told the horse was a 4 year-old Tennessee Walker. He was pretty poor at the time of the purchase, so I assume he was a “rescue” sort of horse that went to auction. The owner intended to put some training on the horse and sell him at a profit. Turns out the owner just didn’t have the time, so he’s got him up for sale. The owner told me he’s had a saddle on the horse, but hasn’t yet tried to ride him, doesn’t know whether he’s saddle-broke.

I went out and took a look at this fellow. The owner’s father got him into a halter and led him out for me. I could see the horse needs work right off the bat, because we had to corner him in the corral to get the halter on him. Once the halter was on, though, he behaved himself very well, just maybe a little skittish.

He is a well-put-together gelding, although still a little light – could use another hundred pounds or so. I could feel his spine back in the loin area, and he could use some muscle in his chest and back. His conformation looks much like a Fox Trotter, although the folks at the auction told them it was a Walker. He has the typical short back, deep chest, and nicely sloped shoulder and rump, of the Fox Trotter. He has straight legs and good hooves (although they need a good trimming). He’s a very nice looking dappled palomino with blond mane and tail.

I watched him on a longe line for a few minutes and he, indeed, has a gait that looks like a fox trot, although he wouldn’t stay in it long before getting quite lateral and pacey in a trot. He has a nice, smooth canter. So, whether he’s got more Walker or Fox Trotter in him I can’t say for sure, but he’s got the gait. I think I could train him to clean it up and produce a very nice fox trot.

He let me raise his front left hoof without problem, but didn’t like me lifting his left rear. Still, he didn’t try to kick me or anything. He let me saddle him, although he didn’t like me tightening the cinch. Still, no cow-kicks or aggressiveness. I tried putting a foot in the stirrup and putting some weight in it, to see if he’d let me mount. He didn’t like that and reared and jumped forward. So, I assess that he’s not saddle broke and has only been handled on the ground.

Other than that I liked him. So, it’s down to whether I really want another horse right now and whether I have the gumption and time to break and train another horse. The gelding didn’t display any aggressive nature and was actually quite calm. I think I could probably get him broke to ride without getting dumped. That’s important to me nowadays, as I approach my 58th birthday this month.

As I’ve said before, I have to take my time and really evaluate a horse before I buy. I tend to bond with my animals, especially dogs and horses, and I’m not much of a horse trader. I tend to think of them as friends and trail partners, so when I buy one, I usually keep him – warts and all. There are few bad habits a horse could have that would cause me to sell it, unless it was dangerous or just plain mean. At the same time, I try to buy horses that have no conformation, health, or behavior issues, because I know horses with those kinds of issues won’t be able to do what I want them to do. If I think I can train them out of a bad habit, or if they just don’t have any decent training, I’m generally ok with that; I like to train my own horses. However, it’s been awhile since I actually broke one. I don’t bounce like I used to, so this is something to think about with this guy.

While I think this fellow is somewhat younger than the 10 years the owner puts him at, I’m still looking at a grade horse, possibly 10 years old, whose breeding is unknown, that has no training, and is not even saddle broke. In my book that puts him in the $500 – to – free price range. The owner listed him at more than twice that.

We’ll see what happens.

 

Western Trails

Red Mountain Trail, St. George, Utah

After a great day of riding into the southern part of Zion National Park, near Hurricane, Utah, I spent the following day, Saturday, with Jon Tanner, Michael George, Craig Sorensen, and a number of members of the Missouri Fox Trotting Horse Breed Association riding Red Mountain Trail, just northwest of St. George, Utah.

Parking area at Red Mountain Trail head
Parking area at Red Mountain Trail head

This trailhead is located just north of mile marker 15 on Highway 18. There is a very nice parking area with a restroom, which was built by the local Back Country Horsemen Association a few years ago, with the cooperation of the Bureau of Land Management. The parking lot was built to accommodate horse trailers and allows even large trailers room to park and maneuver in the lot. There is no running water and no electrical service, so you’ll need to consider that if you’re hauling horses from any distance to this trailhead. There are no parking fees, but I’m not sure if overnight camping is allowed. You’d have to check that with the local BLM office.

Once we got everyone together, we had about 31 riders, most mounted on Fox Trotters. There were at least two other groups, smaller than ours, starting on the trails at about the same time. There are several trails and plenty of room for all and we never bumped into any of the other groups while on the ride. The Red Mountain Trail makes a loop of about 6.7 miles, starting at one end of the parking area and ending at the other, so you can pick which direction you want to go. There are steel gates at either entrance, built to allow hikers, bicyclers, and horses, but not ATVs. As this area is actually outside the Snow Canyon State Park, dogs are allowed on the trails off-leash.

2015-02-21 10.41.48We headed out the south end of the parking area and got just outside the gate and waited while we gathered our forces. Once we got started, the group quickly separated into several smaller groups, all traveling the same direction. With a group of gaited horses, such as Fox Trotters, there are those who travel quite a bit faster than others, so those who wished to slow down a bit, and stay out of the dust trail, hung back a bit.

The terrain, for the most part, consists of very fine sandstone dust, juniper trees, manzanita, and sage. There are several parts of the trail that are pretty rocky, and a couple places that might present a challenge to the uninitiated rider,  but I would consider the trail to be in the category of fairly easy overall. Many of our horses, including mine, were barefoot and handled it very well.

About half-way through the trail loop, one suddenly comes upon the northern rim of Snow Canyon, which drops away about 1,400 feet in sheer cliffs from the trail. There are no walking paths and no guardrails, so one has to pay attention to things when going up to the edge for a look or for photos.

Snow Canyon, St George, Utah
Snow Canyon, St George, Utah

What one sees here is breathtaking and cannot be adequately captured on my little iphone 6 camera. I did my best, but this is a sight one must take a look at in person to really experience it.

We broke there for lunch and sat around enjoying stories from some of the more experienced riders in the group, which was enjoyable all in itself. This area is primitive, so don’t expect any picnic tables or trash cans.

After a restful half-hour or so, we mounted up and headed out to finish the loop. The entire ride took under 3 hours, covered 6.7 miles, and was quite easy on the horses and riders. On the way out, there are at least two trails that diverge from the main, so one must pay attention to make sure he/she is tracking where they want to go. The trail markers were not entirely clear as to which way was back to the parking area. Having someone along who actually knows the trail is nice, but not absolutely necessary, as one would have to try pretty hard to get lost. Just keep tracking east and eventually you’ll hit the power lines and Highway 18. Then just look around and you will be able to find your way back to the parking area, since the area is almost clear of trees for at least a hundred yards from the highway.

2015-02-21 12.04.25This was a short ride and would make a good “filler” ride for some extra time during a weekend trip to the area. There are a number of other similar trails in the area, so one could actually fill up a weekend, and more, hitting them in turn. Each trail around the Snow Canyon area holds its own particular spectacular views and adventures.

 

Enjoy the photo gallery.

Western Trails

Coal Pits Wash Trail, Hurricane, Utah

Several weeks ago, I was invited by Jon Tanner to fill a slot in his trailer for a ride down to the Saint George area of southern Utah for a couple days. He was going down to meet members of the local Missouri Fox Trotting Horse Breed Association for a couple days of riding. After he twisted my arm a while, I agreed (that’s exactly how it happened, right Jon?).

Jon picked up me and my horse, Ranger, Friday morning at 6:30am and we headed south. We arrived at the designated meeting site, the Washington County Equestrian Center at Hurricane, Utah at about 10:30am. I was surprised to see that about 30 riders showed up. I had no idea there would be that many. Due to the large size of the group, and that some wanted to see one area while others wanted to see another, the group split for the day’s ride.

Jon and I followed Janet Carver to the Coal Pits Wash trailhead, located about 8 miles and a bit east of Hurricane on Highway 9. The parking area is a wide spot on the north side of the road just before the highway turns a bit north. I don’t recall seeing a road sign announcing the location, so you just have to look for it. The parking area will hold several trucks and 4-horse trailers and there is room for a turn-around, if necessary.

Parking at the trailhead
Parking at the trailhead

The trailhead is easy to see. There is a gate that marks the trail. Once through the gate (make sure you close it after passing through) the trail is easy to follow. It tracks generally northward. Just a short distance up the trail, you will cross into Zion National Park. Although there are only trail markers where different trails intersect, it’s not terribly difficult to see where others have gone before. In some areas, where the trails my diverge or where the rocky ground sort of hides the trail, you will find rocks stacked to mark the trail. Also, this trail is open to horse,  bicycle, and foot traffic, so be aware of other travelers and be courteous to all.

Heading north from the trailhead
Heading north from the trailhead

The trail heads north into a broad canyon where the traveling is fairly easy. The trail has a slow, steady climb, crosses through the creek several times, but more often stays up on the bench on the east side of the creek. It is a good idea to water your horses in the creek, as once you start your climb up out of the wash, there is likely to be little water on the trail.

There are several deep cuts in the bench, from erosion, that one must either go around or cross through. Which you choose to do is up to you and your horse; a couple of the cuts were pretty steep and narrow. In fact, coming back we simply jumped a couple of them, rather than taking the long way around. This is an area in which an inexperienced rider and/or horse can get themselves into trouble, so don’t bite off more than you can chew, so to speak.

Climbing the Coggins Trail
Climbing the Coggins Trail

On up the trail about two miles, you will come to the intersection of the Coggins Trail. This trail leads up a steep switch-back that climbs very quickly up out of Coal Pits Wash and up through a saddle. This trail, while not particularly challenging for the average horse, may be quite intimidating for the uninitiated rider. The climb is steep and the slope falls steeply away from the narrow trail. As you climb higher on the hillside, you will find some pretty spectacular views of the area you have just passed through. If you will click on the photo below and enlarge it, you will see a string of riders from our group about three-quarters of the way up the hillside.

The climb up out of Coal Pits Wash on the Coggins Trail.
The climb up out of Coal Pits Wash on the Coggins Trail.

The trail then goes over a saddle into some fairly level and easy-riding areas that track generally east-by-northeast through juniper and pinon trees toward beautiful red and white cliffs. At this point you are above the wash and will find little water, other than the occasional puddle left over from recent rains.

2015-02-20 14.52.53At this point we tracked generally toward the cliffs, following a well-marked trail – marked by traffic, rather than signs – until we felt we had gone far enough and turned around. We found2015-02-20 15.17.34

a small, sort of mini-slot canyon off to one side of the trail that we followed up a ways. It added interest to the ride, but was just a short diversion that required either a return trip the same way we entered, or a little bushwhacking to make our own way over the ridge back to the trail. We chose the bushwacking.

2015-02-20 15.23.04Also, along the way up on top, keep your eyes open for petrified wood, such as the log laying across the trail in the photo to the left. I’m told there are dinosaur tracks somewhere in the area, but we didn’t take the time to look for them. I’m sure you could get more information as to where they are located from park rangers (we didn’t see any rangers during our ride).

We followed the same path out that we followed in, however one has to pay attention, as there are several trails that diverge from the main trail. As mentioned, there are trail markers at points were marked trails diverge from the main, however, sometimes it is difficult to determine where the trails actually diverge. At one point we missed a turn and went several hundred yards on the wrong trail before we realized we didn’t recognize the terrain. We simply went back to the last marker and found the trails diverged on a large, flat rock and we simply missed the trail. Once we recognized our mistake it was easy to see the small stack of rocks that marked the trail we wanted.

2015-02-20 16.29.21Although we traveled out on the same trail we followed in, the views were as spectacular as before. Each direction offers its own views and perspectives and there is nothing lost in following the same trail out.

Our ride took about four hours and covered around seven miles. It was an excellent way to spend a nice February afternoon. By the way, the temperatures were in the high-sixties, with clear blue skies for us. In the summertime you can expect temperatures above 100 degrees. Wintertime is the time to see this area by horseback.

Enjoy the photo gallery.