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[RC] erosion & muddy trails - Ridecamp GuestPlease Reply to: Nicole z_arabs@xxxxxxxxx or ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ========================================== 1) Whether this is an issue depends a lot on the soil types. I've worked in areas where horses could go through and make a muddy mess like this and in two weeks, you'd never know anything had gone on there. I think in addition to soil types -- which I agree is a major factor -- you also need to consider the weather. In a lot of areas in CA it only rains once in a while and is bone dry the rest of the time. That combo, especially with clay soil, can make the ground dry up into "rock formations" in the shape of whatever the ground looked like when wet. If that's the case, going through and making a muddy mess during/after a rain can lead to the trails being sharp and dangerous after they dry up. On the other hand, in the hills near us the rain itself causes huge ruts down the middle of the trails. This last winter I decided to take it on myself to go out on those trails in the days post-rain to try to ride the ruts flatter while the ground was still soft. In the past those ruts have been so deep and hard that they were very dangerous after drying and stayed that way until the next rain. This year they seem to be much less extreme (at least the new ones, some of the older larger ones are far too established for mere horses to fix). ~Nicole ============================================================ When you ask a Quarter horse for something he says - Sure - and when you ask an Arab for something he says - Why? - ~ Heidi Smith ridecamp.net information: http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/ ============================================================
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