Becky, I'm glad you did as well as you did at the ride. It's a shame about Harley's soreness but it's good that you found an equine chiropractor to treat him there at the race, and even better that he lives close by and can come adjust him again when needed.
I rode on Sunday and can relate to the rocks, heat and ticks because my ride was pretty much the same. We rode a trail in the Wilderness part of the Forest that we'd affectionately named The Kamikaze Trail because it's always been very challenging, but it's worth it because it's so beautiful. We were a little concerned that there may be downed trees because of some of the recent storms but decided to try it anyways and see.
It started off well, they had cut the downed trees off of it and everything was fine, although a bit overgrown. But you pretty much had to keep one hand up in front of your face all the time to keep the limbs from hitting you. It was especially overgrown when we got to the place where the trail went up the side of a big hill and through a rock shelter and out the other side. It was almost like riding in a green tunnel while the horses were going over big rocks and logs. I had to more or less lay on Bob's neck and tuck my feet up on his rump and just hang on because every time I raised my head I got hit in the face with a limb. After that, the trail was fine again for a ways but then it's like they quit cutting the downed trees and there were some BIG ones. We had come so far and really didn't want to go back the way we came so we just sucked it up and went on. Thankfully I had thought to bring my pocket saw and we ended up using it quite a bit on some of the smaller stuff but some of it we just had to get around the best way we could, whether it meant going up the side of the hill or not.
We made it to the other trail without incident, but there were some close shaves in a place or two. The whole ride took about 5 and a half hours and that included rest breaks and tree cutting. It was really hot and humid so we didn't push the horses much out of a walk for very long at a time. They seemed to be handling the heat well and we let them stop to drink at every stream we crossed. I wished I had the video camera with me on some the hairier sections, but then I'd probably be dead so I guess it's a good thing I didn't. I don't think we'll be riding this trail again until they get it cleared. If they ever do. :-(
I did take one picture. The Big Leaf Magnolia trees were blooming and the blooms are just HUGE. I posted a picture of the leaves last year, but I'll repost it again for reference...
