Hunting Season Riding

I went for a trail ride last Saturday, but it had to be shorter than I'd like due to hunting season.  The neighbors on one side of the barn hunt grouse on their trails in the fall, making those trails off limits right now.  Bow hunting season for deer has opened as well, and we weren't sure if the deer hunters nearby were bow or rifle hunters.  Either way, we didn't want holes poked through us or our noble steeds.

I have thought about getting blaze orange stuff to put on Rocky, because he is so dark and potentially "deer like." Although, if you follow one of the first three rules of hunter safety, you always have to be sure of your target and what is behind it.  How many people follow that, I don't know, but based on the number of hunting accidents every year I'd rather be safe than sorry.  If you are a trail rider, do you put blaze orange on yourself or your horse during hunting seasons?  Do you have another method of ensuring nearby people can see you/your horse/dog and identify you as "non game"?  I should get a bell to put on Bear when we are out, although he does a great job of sticking close to me.

 See? We were going for a canter, and Bear flew after us.  My mom and I were riding with one of the other boarders at our barn, and I think she got worried about Bear running with us because she yelled out "Dog!" I forgot to tell her that Rocky is not bothered by Bear at all, in fact, seems to enjoy running with him.

This is us before Bear joined in the run, and while the picture is a little blurrier than I'd like, I think it turned out pretty well. I had wanted a picture of Rocky and I cantering, so I made my mom sit on Tapper and take pictures of us.  We only cantered past twice, but the first picture was not very good.  Rocky had his nose out about as far as he could, and generally looked like a moose about to tip over. Not exactly my graceful, collected horse, which reminds me that we should really work on vertical flexing at the poll some more. And collection.  That's the joy of horses though, there is always something more to learn, refine, and enjoy.  Happy trails!

On a side note, I wanted to show you all this sculpture that my mom gave me. It's called "Waitin' on the Boss" and is one of my favorite gifts that I've ever received.  If you love it as much as I do, you can buy it (or other horse sculptures similar to it) from here.  The dog looks so much like Bear, and the way the horse is calmly waiting with one hind leg cocked is something I have seen Rocky do many times.