In a message dated 4/28/2004 8:04:18 AM Pacific Standard Time, heidi@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx writes:
Yeah--just go ride at night a few times, to get your horse used to the notion that you are going to do that, and to build YOUR confidence in what your horse can do in the dark.>>
I think the rider needs the confidence more than the horse. I've ridden one night ride and one ride that went into the night...didn't notice the horse acting any different but i'll tell you dusk was the hardest time for me. Not being able to see the trail really affected my riding and was disorientating. I had to hold the saddle for support. It was like crossing a river but worse. The worse part abut night riding was the creek crossing as I couldn't see the best place to cross...and wasn't even sure if there was water...it looked just like a black hole. You need to hang on, and trust your horse to figure it out. After that ride I could finally call my horse a fully finished trail horse I'd take anywhere.
