End of the season ...

[goodhors]

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In mecosta county this year you can get up to 5 doe tags a day until they are gone! have over half a million tags this year!

WAY TO GO!!

 

[Horsiezz]

Our boarding barn is located right on an organizations public bridle trails. They go through public hunting areas, but we still do trail riding during hunting seasons. Theres also a bowmens club right behind our pasture(they make sure not to shoot towards us though),where they own a large amount of land that they allowed the bridle trails to go through. A few times a month they close off the trail and put up signs,stating that they are using this area for target practice. Sometimes we go out on the trails and they already have the targets set up for the next day,and man,those horses do NOT like giant black bears,TARGETS OR NOT! Now my horse isnt scared of the REAL deer that are sometimes only feet away from us,but she is scared to death of those fake little target deer!
BUT ANYWAYS, We just wear bright orange vests and make a lot of noise, and whenever we see a hunter we warn other trail riders,and we warn the hunters too of our presence. We haven't ever had any incidents,plus the hunters all know they are public bridle trails,since theres signs on pretty much every other tree along the trails. So far,so good I guess! We dont let them hunters scare us outta the woods!
By the way, I think you would have to pretty drunk,senile,or out of your mind to mistake a horse for a deer.... dont you think? Well,maybe not. But they need to learn to look and verify before they shoot. Use some common sense people!

 

[goodhors]

By the way, I think you would have to pretty drunk,senile,or out of your mind to mistake a horse for a deer.... dont you think? Well,maybe not. But they need to learn to look and verify before they shoot. Use some common sense people!

Well that description covers a LOT of the deer hunters I know! Riding the trails is not worth dying over!

They shoot and sometimes it is too bad, got pastured livestock, people, homes. Could be ignorance, 'buck fever' and often drunk too.

Many of what us southerners call trails are dirt 2-track roads thru the woods in the Up-North areas of Michigan. You DO NOT confront a whacko with a gun!! The farmer whose POSTED land is being trespassed on, is told NOT to confront them, take a picture with vehicle liscense number. Call the Sheriff or DNR to come take care of the problem. Even wearing blaze orange, horses with bells on, you are just not safe riding in the woods with hunters. Down further south here, we usually don't even ride the roads during deer season!

Again, better safe than sorry, not worth getting shot over. Guns are ONLY on for 2 weeks, then back to bows and musket season.

 

[PonyGal]

I have one more show in October. Just a local one.......

 

[ducks4you]

It's horrible by my house! at the end of my road is a hunt club, owns a ton of acres there. During the summer they give us permission to ride the horses on the trails, and when they come up for the summer their kids come down and see all the animals at our house, really nice people! BUT... hunting season comes around and it sounds like a war down there! nothing but gun shot after gun shot all weekend! we keep all the animals together in the pen that is farthest from them and closest to the house! and we just don't ride on either trails or road! :/

Dang! That throws ALL of your end-of-season training down the drain!!!

 

[michickenwrangler]

Izzie and I took first at the Tin Cup Springs 25. We still have one more ride to go!

She's still going like a bat out of h--l and even at the end I was holding her back so she could slow down and get her heart rate down.

Saw lots of small game hunters

Horsiezz, LOTS of hunters don't know the difference between a deer and a horse. I have been shot at before and will not go out during rifle season and even during bow I use bells, I sing, wear blaze orange and stick to the roads instead of trails.

 

[ducks4you]

SSOOO jealous!! All I'm doing for training right now is keeping everbody calm.
**ducks4you takes a note: Must execute a PLAN to get another Arab...before I get too old to ride!!!!!**

 

[michickenwrangler]

SSOOO jealous!! All I'm doing for training right now is keeping everbody calm.
**ducks4you takes a note: Must execute a PLAN to get another Arab...before I get too old to ride!!!!!**

One of the endurance riders in Marquette, MI has a 15 yr old seasoned endurance horse for sale. She's asking $1200 for him.