Driving

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Boinky

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Ok so i've been trotting my mini's for 4 miles a day (I've been doing 3 a day but thinking about doing 4... so it takes quite a while). unfortunatly it's all road work since I dont' have a track or anything and want some really fit show driving horses. Anyways my grandparents live 2 miles away so i've been driving there giving the horses a break to much on their very lush lawn while i'm visiting with them then driving home (sometimes no breaks depending on how much of a hurry i am in). I love to drive but i think i like ring work better. Anyways I'm finding it's rather boring just trotting along and seeing the same scenary horse after horse. Even if i went the other directions on the roads i'm sure it would be the same deal. How do you all break up the monotony? I am going to look around for a walkman or something but any other good idea's?
 
Check into local state forestry trails, and also the beach. Great places that provide lots of beautiful scenic routes, always something new to see...just make sure the trails are compatible for driving trails, as opposed to riding trails.

Oh, and when you visit these places...YOU MUST POST PICS of all your fun!
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Hope this helps.
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unforuntaly nothing I know of unless i'm willing to drive at least 2 hours ect. The carriage trails in Acadia Ntl park are gorgeous. I've done those riding big horses but it's like 2-3 hours away. most of the trails here in Maine are not at all compatible for driving
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good idea though maybe i can find SOMETHING different though. Even having someone to drive with would be a whole lot more interesting!
 
EDITED TO ADD: Oops, after re-reading your post, I see you meant how to break up the "same 'ol - same 'ol" of the trail route you already take???

A walkman can provide fun, but make sure you keep the volume in your ears at a safe level where you can still hear any "up and comings" around you, like approaching dogs or cars, etc. We use a radio/cd player strapped to the basket where it's at arms length, and can still hear well around us.

Other than that, nothing much more to do to change things up of a "regular route". Except maybe stop and visit with however many new folks you might can meet along the route.
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Hope this helps.
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unforuntaly nothing I know of unless i'm willing to drive at least 2 hours ect. The carriage trails in Acadia Ntl park are gorgeous. I've done those riding big horses but it's like 2-3 hours away. most of the trails here in Maine are not at all compatible for driving
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good idea though maybe i can find SOMETHING different though. Even having someone to drive with would be a whole lot more interesting!

Sure wish you lived here in Florida!
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I would LOVE a "regular" trail buddy!
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Hubby tries, and gives it his all, heaven knows.
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But, with life's altering issues from when he broke his neck a few years ago, sometimes his "go-ability" keeps him limited. His heart is always there for it, but his boby smarts him different sometimes.
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unforuntaly nothing I know of unless i'm willing to drive at least 2 hours ect. The carriage trails in Acadia Ntl park are gorgeous. I've done those riding big horses but it's like 2-3 hours away. most of the trails here in Maine are not at all compatible for driving
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good idea though maybe i can find SOMETHING different though. Even having someone to drive with would be a whole lot more interesting!

Do you have a local club that offers group outings with your horses?
 
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I agree with SWA 100% but also know how it is when you're stuck with road-driving the same old places. I'm stuck within a single 1/2 mile radius!
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Do you KNOW how boring that is to drive day after day? :DOH! What I do to break it up is ask the horse to be working the entire time. We leg yield from one side of the sidewalk to the other, do obstacle work around trees and mailboxes, I'm always working on quality of gait and switching from slow/fast/fastest to shortened/working/lengthened and insisting on good transitions and contact. Anything to keep both the horse's mind and my own working. It's still boring but at least it feels less like being on a treadmill with the same old scenery and more like a good workout.

I've even gotten permission from neighbors with good lawns, lots of trees without brush under them or other good obstacles to drive on their properties. So every few feet we duck down someone's driveway, do something, then trot out again, adding both distance and interest to the drive.

Leia
 
lol well i can honestly say my boys are learning to go over the SCAREY bridge. usually things don't bother them at all. I can take them in a trailer/obstacle class and never have them bat an eye at anything... but this bridge bothers ALL horses. it's a river with a Dam maybe 150 feet away and fast moving rapids and water under it. quite loud ect. it's probably about 25' up off the water (so steep banks straight down to the river) and the bridge is a single lane open bridge with nothing but cables as "guard rails" LOL I admit it's always scared ME.. i used to have nightmares until i was about 20 about this stupid bridge (not sure why because i never had a bad incident with it..lol). I ride the horses over it but i'm always nervous if one spooks i'm going over the side! lol anyhow i've always done it but it IS a very scarey bridge. the boys really didn't want to go over it but i've been making them so if nothing else good come from all this trotting at least they are getting used to SOMETHING scarey! lol
 
How about books on CD? (Using the same precautions as Tanya suggested) You could get quite a bit of "reading" done. Most libraries have them, although they often have waiting lists on the good ones.
 
Could you set up any traffic cones along the drive and use them for serpentines , or set them in off set pairs and drive them like gates?

Amy
 
ohh books on CD..that's a good idea.. i've never done them before but might be interesting! I just bought some cheap mini speakers for Walkmans ect on Ebay so i wont have to wear headphone (i was also scared of the idea of wearing headphones while driving since i wouldnt' be able to hear cars approaching). We'll have to see how it works. The road i'm using is a very quiet road it does have cars but i might have maybe 3 pass me on my drive and typically they are reasonable drivers ....so it's quiet and maybe with the speakers it wont be quite as "dangerous". I'll have to see if i can get any.. infact i think my mom sent me some romance novel ones..just don't know where i put them! lol
 
I hear ya :DOH! ! I only have one horse to work but our street is very short and connects to two busy streets, so it is up then down then up then down again for my three mile hack...I sorta do like Leia does and drive into my yard and run through some obstacles then back out to the street. Sometimes we have the occasional dog to make things interesting, LOL... I don't drive him everyday, since I am a strong believer in cross training. I may drive one day, jump through grids the next, long line the next, then drive again and so on.

Courtney
 
well... I don't know about you, but bringing a friend along always makes it fun. It also cuts your work load in half. I have two minis and I take and drive the one that I've been working closely on showing and my neighbor drives the other. We've got several different routes we can take so the scenery is a little different each time.

Laura
 
might see if your parents want to go for a ride . around here Ive been waiting till I could take them out garage saleing! the area I live in has 50 mi of road and 2/3 of it is quiet lanes. I can mostly skirt around the buisy streets. It also has 20 mi of dirt fire roads that can be drivin on. DR.
 
My parents live in Albuquerque NM so them driving with me is out of the question..LOL I'm not married so no hubby to drive with either. Just me n' the dogs! My dad probably would if he still lived around here. Basically i'm on my own. Sometimes the kid up the road goes with me but right now she's in school during the day when i work them. *sigh*. Yardsaleling is a great idea but i doubt there will be many around here on my driving routes either.. sheesh I just need to move somewhere where i'm closer to everything!!!
 
Is there any barns that does driving in your area maybe you could get into doing CDE's they are a lot of fun
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Is there a mini horse club in your area...maybe you could hang up signs in the local tack shops and grain stores saying your looking for other mini people who drive there horses and would they want to get together with you for a drive.
 
LOL dont' i wish! They used to have a HDT at Snowfields (3.5 hours away) but last i knew they stopped doing it a couple years ago. I think the next closest might Conneticut or someplace not sure. I wish though!

Also not many Mini horse people around here either *sigh* i'm just bumming. I actually thought about borrowing my friends little car DVD player and hooking it up to a battery in my cart so i could watch movies! LOL (pretty bad huh! lol) but i'm not sure if that would work it has to be a pretty smooth ride or it makes the DVD skip..LOL
 

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