Horse Trail Chicks

Autumn in New England is perhaps the best time to trail ride. The days are cooler, the foliage is amazing, and our horses are usually in good fitness. It’s also the time of year when hunters take to the woods, and surely they enjoy it as much as we do. We need to share the wealth of this amazing and all-too-short season with everyone who wants to spend time outdoors and of course, do so safely and respectfully.

I am not a hunter so in preparation to write this post I interviewed a hunter whose wife is a horseback rider. Thank you to Gary Smith of Grand Isle, Vermont for answering my questions.

I believe the vast majority of hunters are responsible people who take great care with their firearms and bows. Most U.S. states and Canadian provinces require hunters to pass a hunter safety course before obtaining a license. You can look up your state or province’s requirements here.

But accidents do happen. When I was a trauma nurse working in rural Pennsylvania I took care of a patient who had a compound bow arrow tip lodged in his skull; his buddy had mistaken him for a deer.

There are basically two ways you might accidentally get shot during hunting season – a hunter might mistake you for game, or s/he might miss the target and a bullet (which can travel up to ½ mile) finds you instead.

In Vermont there is a confusing array of hunting seasons including small game, turkey, fox, black bear, deer archery, deer rifle, and deer muzzleloader, among others. Pretty much from September through December there is one season or another. During this entire time you should be aware that there could be hunters in the woods and consider wearing orange and taking other steps I discuss below.

Deer season is the riskiest time (in New England anyway; I cannot comment on other parts of the country but if you can, please do so below), because it is the most popular season and because a horse looks and moves through the woods more like a deer than a bear or a turkey.

Archery and muzzleloader seasons for deer are safer than rifle season because they are “up close” sports. According to Gary, who is a bow hunter, a compound bow arrow only travels about 40 yards and a muzzle loader bullet only carries about 100 yards. The hunter will probably have a pretty good view of the animal and the ammunition shouldn’t stray too far.

Deer rifle season is the riskiest for several reasons. First, it is the most popular so there are more hunters in the woods. Some might have traveled from out of state so they might not be very familiar with the area. When I lived next to a state forest, even though my land was posted “no hunting,” hunters who did not live in the area would sometimes stray onto my property, thinking they were still on public land. And Gary admits that there are some unethical people who drive along the road looking for deer and if they see something move in the woods, will walk 50 feet from the road and shoot, without knowing the terrain or if there is a trail or house nearby. He recommends staying out of the woods entirely during deer rifle season, which in Vermont is only 16 days long plus one weekend for youth season. Stay on roads, open fields, or better yet, the arena.

If you chose to ride out during any hunting season, here are some tips for reducing your risk of mistakenly ending up in the line of fire:

• Look up the hunting seasons in your area. Every year I print out a list of all the hunting seasons in Vermont and post it on the tack room door. Know if hunting is allowed every day of the week or if certain days are excluded (e.g. Sundays in some states).
• Know the laws in your state. In Vermont, if a piece of property is not posted along the entire perimeter, hunters are legally allowed to enter and hunt there.
• If you are riding on public land, find out if hunting is allowed. If it’s public land managed for game it’s probably best to stay away during hunting season. It’s also possible that horseback riding is prohibited during hunting season.
• If riding on private land, don’t assume no one will be hunting there. The landowner might have given people permission for hunting.
• Stay on established trails and do not bushwack. A bushwacking horse can look like a deer or moose. Responsible hunters avoid hunting near trails or at least face away from trails.
• Avoid riding in the 3 hours after dawn and the 3 hours before dusk when deer – and therefore hunters – are most active. Late morning and early afternoon, when deer typically bed down, is a safer time to ride and you are also less likely to interfere with hunters’ activities. Also, at dawn and dusk the low light makes visibility poor.
• Open areas with good visibility such as fields are obviously safer than the woods.
• Make noise by talking or wearing a bell. Some people say that a hunter might not appreciate your scaring game off, but Gary’s feeling about this is that “we all have to share the woods.”
• Last but very importantly – wear orange and other bright colors – lots of it on both you and your horse. If for some reason you have to dismount, both of you need to be visible. And if all you have is, say, an orange helmet cover or saddle blanket, this might be blocked by trees and not visible to a hunter.
  • Don’t wear camo, tan, or brown. Wear at least one item that is orange such as a vest or helmet cover.
  • For your horse, have an orange saddle blanket, quarter sheet, ear bonnet, leg wraps, tail ribbon, saddle bag, and/or other item.

It’s also important, if you ride during hunting season, that your horse won’t spook at the sound of gunshots. I don’t have room to go into desensitizing your horse here but if your horse might act unpredictably it’s best to not trail ride anywhere that hunting might be occurring.

Personally, I don’t want to give up riding out in autumn. The beauty of the season and the threat of the oncoming winter with its purgatory of riding endless circles in the indoor arena make me want to use every minute to its fullest.  So, other than deer rifle season when I stick to the road or the arena, during the rest of hunting season I am careful about where I go and when, and I don’t care how geeky my horse and I look with all our blaze orange.

My horse’s bonnet is from Ear Me Now Fly Bonnets (extremely affordable and available in 3 sizes and an astonishing variety of colors), and my helmet cover and his quarter sheet are from Sleezy Barb Horsewear (see my review here).

Happy and safe trails!

Monica

Note: Horseback riding is inherently dangerous and riding outdoors during hunting season is even more risky. You must employ independent judgement and use the information herein at your own risk. By accessing this site, you acknowledge and accept these limitations and agree to hold harmless Horse Trail Chicks, Monica Raymond, and Kerrie Garvey, from any liability, damages, injury, or death that result from using this information.