Nature on a Horse

I was lucky to be able to experience nature on a horse when I was a teenager. My family had horses and we lived near a park (Oak Openings Preserve) that offered miles and miles of horse trails. My friends and siblings and I used to ride there frequently. When we weren’t talking or racing down some of the straight stretches of trail, I used to just give my horse his reins and just look around.

It’s amazing what I noticed!

When I hike a trail, I am constantly watching where I’m going and paying close attention to the actual trail so that I don’t fall or trip. I don’t always notice my surroundings.

On the back of a horse, I really don’t worry about the trail all that much. Our horses were great trail horses and they knew how to keep themselves (and their riders) out of harm’s way so I had a chance to really be part of the natural environment. In fact, you could say that I had almost a birds-eye view from atop the horse.

Did you know that you can get closer to a deer on a horse than you can on foot? I was shocked the first time I was within about 10 feet of a doe and two fawns. They were so well hidden that I wouldn’t have noticed them had I been looking from any vantage point other than the back of horse.

And, did you know that when the wind whistles through the woods as it is snowing, that it seems as if a person can hear the snow float to the ground? Not the wind, but the snowflakes themselves?

Finally, did you know that a stand a pines offers a strong enough scent to cover up the smells associated with horses?

Not everyone has a chance to enjoy nature from the back of a horse. If you get a chance to do so, take advantage of it. Not being responsible for your own movement forward frees up the mind and senses to experience nature from new heights.

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