We live well out in the countryside and our
trails are quite remote from civilization. Cell phones do not work in most
places, so I don't bother to carry one. HOWEVER, I never ride without
either calling my husband or leaving a note on the kitchen table (the family
communications center.) I note departure time and the route. We have
landmark names for every section of trail that connects to another section, so I
indicate which section I started on, to another section, to another, etc. until
I indicate the route back to the house. That way he will know about how
long it should have taken, and if I am not at home by the time he is home from
work, he knows where to start looking for me. He's a good tracker, so he
can tell which way I was moving and whether the tracks were recent or not.
I call him when I have arrived home, so he knows that, too. It gives us
both a great sense of security and shows we care enough to be watchful of each
other's safety.
The only reason I will ride alone is to teach a young horse to focus on
me and not another horse. For safety reasons, I will go out with 2
or 3 other riders but ride away from them for a while and come back to
them. I'm not scared to ride alone (at least not with a good shot
of vodka in me) but I just don't feel it's a very safe thing to
do. If something happens and I'm laying in the middle of the trail
unresponsive, someone would have to "come upon" me. My horses tend
to stay with me (which is a good thing) instead of running off to the barn or
trailer or somewhere else. Problem with that is no one would know I was
in trouble until they found me which could be hours or not at all. My
husband REALLY does not want me to ride alone for those reasons. If I do
go out alone I call to check in at certain times so he knows I'm okay.
