Riding the Matthew Lourey State Trail.
Last week we knew there was a large snowstorm going to come through central Minnesota and with just an afternoon left of beautiful weather we loaded up two our horses from Sells Lake Ranch and hit the highway. We headed east towards the Minnesota/Wisconsin boarder to ride the trails at the Tamarack Horse Camp but as we got part way down the road that would bring us to Tamarack to soon realized that that trail system was closed! What now we asked?
We know that all time spent with our horses is a good training experience for them so we thought, do we just call it a successful trailering and head back to the ranch? Luckily we backed down the gravel road to a parking lot where we were able to make the connection to the Matthew Lourey State Trail! We backed the horses out of the trailer and began tacking them up. As we entered onto the trail to head east with the horses towards Wisconsin but it soon turned to frozen water on the trail so we tried the trail to the west.
Entering the Matthew Lourey trail started out with a deeper clean sand was perfect for the younger horses to find their feet. Within just a few hundred feet the footing turned to good stiff soil with plenty of traction for our young horses. The trail was nice and wide and our two horses could comfortably be ridden side by side. It was nice to come across a few branches for the horses to step over, and the hills were excellent. It was up and down winding trails through various species of trees. We even found a few nice over looks that allowed us to view the forest down in the deep ravines.
It sure is peaceful being out in nature with a couple of young horses. The horses took everything in stride and before we decided to turn back we stopped and allowed them to rest for a while. In our training program we always swant to be certain that our horses are never over ridden. After mounting up we began to travel back to towards the parking area where we had a lunch packed. After dismounting and tying our horses to the trailer to settle for a while, we enjoyed our lunch on the back of the Ranches flatbed truck, sitting there just soaking in as much sunshine before the blizzard came in!
After loading the horses back into the trailer and making the drive back to Sells Lake Ranch we came to one conclusion. Minnesota is so beautiful! If you ever get a chance to ride the Matthew Lourey State Trail in the St Croix State Park, be sure to take advantage of all of its beauty. We were proud of how our young horses behaved throughout the entire experience. From loading, tacking, standing tied, and riding down the trail. The training and positive experiences outside of the arenas really pay off for the horses and riders in our programs.
Would you like a guided experience like this one with you and your horse? Do you have wonderful horses but lack the confidence required to get out on the trail? Take advantage of our horse and rider assessment and let us help you gain the confidence it takes to ride outside. Contact levi@sellslake.com today.
