December 1, 2018

There’s nothing like an easy carefree hack around the farm to lower the blood pressure, and ease the mind.

I usually pop in my Bluetooth and pick out a podcast, or several, and roll along smelling the air and watching nature.

I enjoy the gentle roll of my pony’s gate and companionship of my dog, trolling along behind us.

Lately I’ve been lucky enough to have the fabulous Neville, the chillest blonde pony around, to be one of my equine companions to take out on these therapy sessions.

He has a nice smooth walk and trot and his canter is like butter. He is happy to stop and stand when I ask so we can leisurely admire the world around us and watch a chipmunk or squirrel do their thing.

And never to be forgotten is my heart horse, Simon. Anytime I start to think I might like another horse as much as him, I hop on this jokester and any question melts away instantly. His back is home.

I usually ride out to the road and grab the mail while I am out on these rides. This always makes me smirk. There has been more than one obstacle competition we have done where Simon refused to go near the mailbox. Yet he will stand on the road, with the neighbors horses just a few yards away whinnying greetings at him while I slowly open, collect, and flip through the mail before closing it and riding back onto the farm from the road.

There is one big hill behind our house to ride up. It’s long and has a spectacular view from the top.

There is a second hill across the way along a corn field that wraps up to the woods. It’s a really lovely farm to hack around. With all the fields and hills and a section of woods as well.

I love a good trail ride, but those involve trailering out and suck up quite a bit of time. They are not always practical. Where a farm hack I can keep short if I need to, or longer if I have the time.

I also enjoy a road hack and I am lucky to have several dirt roads I can loop around. Those rides tend to be more quick paced and riding at full attention. Although the roads are not busy with traffic, there is some traffic and the occasional dog or pony eating structure. One loop even has an assortment of sheep, cows and goats very closely lining the edges of the road for several miles of the ride. So keeping attentive is important.

So when it’s just a piece of mind I need a farm hack is grand.