Trail riding and items to take with you

About 9 years ago I was a professional horseback riding instructor. I taught basic English and Western riding but my favorite was taking my students out on 4-5 hour trail rides. There I could teach them how to negotiate a steep hill, deal with "spooky" trees or rocks and how to relax with their horse..

I found it odd that the most asked question was not "what type of saddle should they ride or should my horse be shod or not but what should they bring along to eat! I recommended bringing along a frozen bottle of water, a small breakfast snack or packaged food that did not need any preparation.

​That photo of the Cinnamon Pecan Bread looks delicious doesn't it? That's my favorite but I like the banana nut too.

So besides eating on trail, my students would have a blast. I enjoyed instructing from horseback as I hated walking with them in the arena. They learned that riding a horse downhill is done by making a trail that looks like a switchback and not going down the hill in a straight line. The switchback is easier on the horse and prevents a serious fall of both horse and rider.

We would both (I taught students one-on-one) see lots of wildlife and I was followed on more than one occasion by coyotes. Yep I took a camera with me and got some fantastic photos on those trips.

I no longer teach riding but occasionally get the chance to go out trail riding with a friend.