Trail riding is my passion. While many of my riding partners look forward to some down time in the winter, my mule Beau and I are an exception. In Montana winter often arrives in October and can stretch through March, or as late as April. Last year we logged over 1,000 miles in that time frame and Beau was off due to injury for the month of February and on limitations for the month of March. During the colder months, we are occasionally joined by others but mostly head out alone. I love what winter has to offer: breaking fresh trails, hoar frost on the trees, quiet time and discovering wildlife. Wildlife is so much easier to spot and track when there is fresh snow on the ground.
You gain a new perspective on how prevalent the wildlife population is when you can readily see their tracks. It makes me smile when I locate tracks that tell a story. You can see where a fox sprang in the air and simply pounced on a mouse or vole, or where a rabbit was being pursued by a coyote. When I see
elk tracks I feel like a schoolgirl as they are my favorite to watch. I once saw four bull elk jump a fence in unison. It was one of the most beautiful images I have ever witnessed. Their grace took my breath away.
I start preparing for winter riding long before the first snow. I log a lot of miles checking the trails and grounds I plan to ride, looking for hazards that could be hidden when covered with snow. For me, that means riding trails, county roads, fields and fence lines. While I ride fence lines to check for needed repairs, more importantly, I am looking for wire remnants from previous repairs. I can’t stress this enough as I have picked up countless pieces of wire over the years. I twist the found wire around the existing fence as I have no desire to pack barbed wire on my mule. I know where the badger holes, creek crossings, and the salvaged fenceposts are kept, where the rolled up barbed wire is located and any other hazards on our land and other ranches on which I ride. I ride a lot of county roads in the winter time. The footing is good, but in many places, I have to ride on the side of the road so I scour that for hazards as well. It actually gives us a job which I thoroughly enjoy.
Winter riding is slower riding for a number of reasons. Moving through snow is more work and the cold drains away calories at a much faster pace than in the warmer months for both humans and equines! My goal is for Beau to have a dry back when I remove his saddle and pad. I base my day’s pace on the weather condition always warming him up slowly, inserting occasional short trot/lope transitions, while limiting most of my ride to a walk. Our winter trails include a lot of hills, that are carefully picked based on the condition of the footing. I have found that going “off-trail” often times provides better footing, but again you have to know
, you have to know the ground and what is under the snow. In the winter months, I rarely go over 10 mph averaging 3.2 mph throughout the day. That is one of the benefits of using a GPS device. You can track your fastest and average speed. In the winter, I still take care to ensure that my mule stays hydrated and is allowed to consume calories on the trail, especially when our rides exceed four hours. I will often stop and allow him to graze, and when water is not available, offer snow for hydration.
14 / Sport and Trail Magazine
Hoar Frost
Story and Photos by Robin Morris