After a leisurely breakfast, we headed out on the trail again, this time just the short loop, which Bruce said was about four miles. This turned out to have some better, more grassy footing than the longer trail yesterday, so we managed to get a couple of trots and canters in. It made a lovely pass near the lake which provided another gorgeous view before turning back up to the campsite. Our brilliant horses started out a bit reluctant, but once we got on a new trail they got a little happier. We were only gone about an hour and a half, and they were back to eating clover in an area surrounded by rocks which we learned they flooded to make a skating rink in the winter. That’s one thing that is so predominant in Maine, the stone walls. A victim of the glacier 20,000 years ago, there are rocks and boulders of all sizes here, and generations of Mainers have collected them and used them to build low stone walls everywhere, apparently partly to clear their fields of rocks and partly to create walls to keep their livestock in. At Bradbury Mountain, they even had what they called a Livestock Pound build in the 18th century, where livestock that had wandered away from their owners were collected, and only released back to their owners when they paid the town a fine. Early taxes, those sneaky folks... Anyway, once again a lovely ride, followed by a nice chat with the neighbors before they left us on our own again. Relaxed for the evening once again in anticipation of our departure tomorrow.
After a leisurely breakfast, we headed out on the trail again, this time just the short loop, which Bruce said was about four miles. This turned out to have some better, more grassy footing than the longer trail yesterday, so we managed to get a couple of trots and canters in. It made a lovely pass near the lake which provided another gorgeous view before turning back up to the campsite. Our brilliant horses started out a bit reluctant, but once we got on a new trail they got a little happier. We were only gone about an hour and a half, and they were back to eating clover in an area surrounded by rocks which we learned they flooded to make a skating rink in the winter. That’s one thing that is so predominant in Maine, the stone walls. A victim of the glacier 20,000 years ago, there are rocks and boulders of all sizes here, and generations of Mainers have collected them and used them to build low stone walls everywhere, apparently partly to clear their fields of rocks and partly to create walls to keep their livestock in. At Bradbury Mountain, they even had what they called a Livestock Pound build in the 18th century, where livestock that had wandered away from their owners were collected, and only released back to their owners when they paid the town a fine. Early taxes, those sneaky folks... Anyway, once again a lovely ride, followed by a nice chat with the neighbors before they left us on our own again. Relaxed for the evening once again in anticipation of our departure tomorrow.
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