05/09/2026
Tales of the Trails - Hartman Edition
On Saturday, April 25th we went on our first trail ride of the season to knock the dust off before our first camping trip. This was Diesels first trail ride since his injury last August and I was very unsure how it would go. The ride went great. We went straight out of the trail head and headed for the bridge and water crossing right away, then rode the pines and headed back, crossed the water and bridge, and then we took the little bit longer trail back. On the way back we saw another horse on the trail that was talking back and forth with Diesel 🤦♀️. Then we got to a section where there was a line of trees, and on the backside of the trees a turkey flew up! Both horses did the little spook where they stay entirely underneath you, but just acknowledge that something scary happened. After that we saw a flock of turkeys crossing the field (pic of the boys watching the turkeys), and then saw a group of horses riding out across the field. We entered the wooded area again, and a short distance later there was a deer standing less than 10 yards into the trees off of the side of the trail. Diesel had a stare off with it, and it finally decided to run away. All this to say that in this last part of our ride the horses were a little bit on alert, but I couldn't blame them.
We were about to enter the clearing where the power lines run through and I said "heads up, there might be more turkeys in this section". We realized that both horses could hear something, but we weren't sure what. We cautiously entered the clearing and paused. We both said "I can hear something", and then we realized a horse in the woods across the clearing. I remember saying "I don't think there is a trail there". Then we realized that this is a loose horse running through the woods. It spotted us, came into the clearing, and headed straight for us. We dismounted and grabbed the horse (who was wearing a halter). Then its owner entered the clearing over on the other trail. We yelled to her that we had her horse, and she ran over to us. Angie had a spare rope halter/lead rope combo in her saddle bag so we offered it so she could lead her horse. Turns out, the horse had broken its lung line at the trail head and took off. The owner was really shook up and we assured her everything would be okay and we would help her get back to the trail head safely.
Lessons from this experience:
1. Always have a lead rope with you because you never know if you will need it for yourself or others.
2. Your horses are almost never wrong. It's okay to listen to their instincts and take a pause. They knew the horse was coming long before us.
3. Always carry your phone on your person even at the trailer. This lady took off after her horse but couldn't communicate with her friend at the trail head because she left her phone at the trailer.
4. It wouldn't hurt to familiarize yourself with the trail map if it's your first time there because you never know when your horse might try to get a head start without you.
I really think that the universe puts me in situations to help others out, and I was glad that we could help this lady in her time of need. If I was in that situation I know I would be very panicked, so I wanted to make sure that she knew that everything was okay, and that we would help her get back to the trailer safely.
Happy trail season everyone! 🐴🤠
