Lensman and Gunsmoke - Trail Riding

Trail riding is a great way to keep your horse's mind fresh and body strong. But don't make the mistake of thinking that means it's easy. It's as difficult and demanding a mastery of your horse as any other equestrian discipline.

It can be even harder when you're taking an arena horse out into this strange environment. Gunsmoke was a show horse who reached the highest levels - but he had a year as a commercial trail horse in New Hampshire. Lensman's exposure to the trail was more limited.

But now Gunsmoke and Lensman are a great team, switching leads on trails and across water. The pictures below combine a number of trail rides in our area into one big virtual trail ride.

	We're heading down to the local trails with Mike and Kaptain following.
	Sue and Gunsmoke follow a narrow and winding path beside barbed wire. It's important to be careful in this situation, because if the horse spooks, he could be caught in the wire and injured.
	Sue and Gunsmoke catch the light from the opening over the stream after walking around a large and knobby log.
	Crossing water near the local pond from the sandbar between the pond and Salmon Brook, with Chris Soverow in the lead.
	Mark leads across the sandbar with Lensman. This is Lensman's first time across the sandbar and it took a lot of patience and compassion to help him face his fear of water on both sides.
	After a water crossing past the sandbar, Lensman eyes the deeper water and the waterfall, but he's not going to be asked to go there.
	Lensman doesn't mind the water anymore - he'll stand and be mesmerized by the movement of the water.
	Sue and Gunsmoke recross the stream to the pond side...
	... and then climb the moderately steep bank.
	After Mark leads across the stream, Sue and Chris follow up the gravelly and rocky shore.
	Sue leads the winding "floodplain" trail.
	This moderately steep hill is a great hindquarters workout for Lensman.
	Sue and I follow Chris and Tiki along the border of a recently plowed field.
	This narrow corridor between the corn isn't really unnerving to the horses, but they like the smell of the leaves and wouldn't mind snacking on them.
	Gunsmoke looking handsome against the reflections in a more southern section of Salmon Brook.
	Not really an English garden - it just looks like one.
	Sue and Gunsmoke, Judy Whitty on Chip and George Whitty on Cody make a deeper water crossing into McLean Game Refuge.
	McLean's horse trail has some sections that wind through the pines bringing a lovely smell.
	Sue, Judy and George make their way along a field north of Salmon Brook Park.
	Mark takes a pause at the field below Horse Central.
	There's always one last road crossing before making it home.