Great!  As soon as the neighbor across the street with the cute log house and 3-stall barn runs out of equity to borrow against, which should be . . . .ummm. . . . Tuesday! 

 Great, I'll start packing!!!!! LOL.

i love log cabin houses. I live in one now. It use to be an old hunting lodge that my father-in-law bought and made into a small house.  

Oustanding!  I'll call her and tell her I know of another totally inappropriate, ridculously expensive horse she needs to buy for her kid.  That should  move the process along. 

 LOL. That's too funny.  Sounds like a plan.

Even though there are plenty of horses at the stable where I keep Briahna, most people work during the week and aren't there during the daytime, so I ride her in the 100 acre park next to the stable.  The gate from the stable leads directly to the park without crossing any roads and they have even put up a pole fence between the horse trail and the playground area so the little kids stay a safe distance from the horses when we start off.

On the weekends I usually ride with two to five other ladies and we cross Trabuco to get to the trail system across the street that leads up to Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park.  It takes less than an hour to get to the entrance of the park, but it is still closed for rehab due to the 2007 fire:

http://www.ocparks.com/whitingranch/

They say it may reopen the park in phases, starting this summer.

I ALWAYS carry a cell phone on my person, not on my horse and have the telephone numbers of the stable, the animal control department and the OC Sherrif's Department programmed on my phone.  That way if I become separated from my horse I can call the stable and have someone find her and catch her to tie her up until I get back.  I have had to call the animal control dept because of people letting their dogs run loose and refusing to keep them under control, where they harass the horses.  Last resort is the OC Sherrif's Dept for any other calls relating to the people on the trail system that may be breaking the law.

Bev and Briahna

I try not to do anything 'horsey' alone anymore...all though there are times when I have the barn to myself...and with an hour drive, I can't just turn around and come back at a more convenient time...I usually work from the ground on those days... If I do ride, I go down to the road (which has lots of 'riding space), which is safer than staying at the barn, simply because there are people driving by...if something were to happen at the barn itself I may not be noticed for hours... I know things can happen when you work from the ground too, though, so I even try to take my 'ground work' away from the barn, and to places people would notice if something went wrong... When I was a kid...I was ALWAYS alone and on the trails...didn't really care!!! Not anymore, and I'm not even 30!!Haha 

 Oh and I ALWAYS have my cell phone on me too...

 I don't think I've ever trail rode alone.  I'm not against it, just always have a friend that's eager to come along!  I would worry about it too.  I think the precautions listed in the other post should all be followed.  Especially letting someone know where you are going and about when you'll return.  It's great to carry a cell phone, but if you're knocked out who's going to call 911?  Also, most cell phones do not "map" on a 911 screen- so be very mindful of where you are.  There's nothing more frustrating to a dispatcher than knowing you need help, but not knowing where to send it.  

Could you post a sign at your barn asking if anyone else wants to ride?  Maybe there's another person in the same situation.  Otherwise, I would talk to your barn owner about your idea making it perfectly clear no one would hold her responsible.  If all else fails, start small and increase your distance as yours and your horse's confidence builds.

Good luck! 

Pip, your cell phone remark just reminded me that I found the neatest use for mine just a few days ago.  

If you are on with Verizon, just download and subscribe to VZ Navigator($9.99/month plus the $5/month internet access sub if you don't already have it).  Once you've done that (and you can do a 1-month trial for just $2.99, which is fully functional, if you just want it for, say, the summer or a vacation or special riding event), you not only have a GPS in your cell phone which will who you a map AND speak the directions to your destination at you even with the phone closed up and in your pocket, but you also unlock your GPS coordinates for someone to find you!  Your location can be available to the outside world at your discretion from never to a four-hour window to always. 

Now, I'm not entirely sure, but I'm thinking it's possible to unlock your position without actually having the software.  That's something I'd have to look into.  It's a separate process from the download.

The clinician I lessoned with yesterday was totally awed by the program, downloaded the program immediately and was giddily getting set up for her next judging assignment which will be  in a completely unfamiliar venue.  The program not only gives you a map and spoken directions, it will find you hotels, restaurants, and even movies with the theater locations and times of shows.  It can be set up with phone numbers to call in advance of your arrival so you only need to push a button to "call home" (or wherever) if evil befalls you.   We all agreed this was a real boon to riders who either do long trails alone (or with company equally poor at directions) or who travel to lessons and shows at far-flung locations.  It's not going to replace my Garmin or On Star for regular navigation in my vehicles, but on the ground or on horseback it's a terrific tool.

I haven't checked the other cell providers, but I'd bet that at least ATT has a similar set-up. 

 This is something that cell phone companies are working on.  Not everyone of them have GPS and even then they are not always that accurate- sometimes just giving the location of the closest tower.  I am a 911 dispatcher and have received many cell phone calls that the technology couldn't map even though they were calling in our city.  So knowing your approximate location is always advisable.  I can't wait until every phone, every time maps!  But it has improved greatly- we don't get calls for the next state anymore!

Trail riding alone can be dangerous.  But not trail riding at all isn't really an option for all of us.  I trail ride alone most of the time because I don't have much choice (except to not ride at all)  Do what you can to be safe, let someone know where you're going, know your horse, wear a helmet etc.  You're little voice is right but you can't let it run your life!

Hi everyone, newbie here - was just scrolling thru the topics and saw this one and was drawn in because I too, ride mostly alone and I'm glad I'm not the only one!  Not that I'm glad y'all ride alone, but that there are folks I can relate to about this!  I mostly ride alone because it's usually go alone, or don't go.  My husband used to ride with me, but over the years has gotten to where he stays home more and more often.  That's ok, like another poster here, it's good therapy sometimes to get out by myself on a pony, but sometimes I really do wish for more company!  I always let my husband know where I'm going, I never know how long I'm gonna be, but I do always have my cell phone charged up and with me, whether it's at the arena or out on the trails.  I am fully aware that it may not be the safest thing to go wandering down trails for hours by myself, but I trust my riding ability and my ponies, the rest I leave up to God!

I trail ride alone, but at home. I don't have a cell phone, but Lila and I know were we are and so do my parents. I think that if you use your brain you will be fine.

Grace and Lila:

I trail ride alone, but at home. I don't have a cell phone, but Lila and I know were we are and so do my parents. I think that if you use your brain you will be fine.

Grace, it's not about knowing where you are.  It's about the unexpected happening.  

I had another wake-up call last night.  I had run the horses in for night feeding around suppertime and walked the pastures to check on grass growth.  I do it all the time and have for the past 11 years without incident.  I was on my way to the field farthest from the barn to open the gate when a small bear--the one my Idiot Neighbors have been allowing to feast on their garbage--crossed the pasture not 100 feet ahead of me.  We both stopped and looked at each other, then continued on our ways.  He was fine.  My heart was in my throat.  He went through the fence next to another pasture gate and on up into the woods.  Phew!

So, I opened the back field, then headed to the next gate to close off the top one, and guess who was waiting there for me?  Yup.  And me without my cell!  Fortunately he's very young and was on his way home to the garbage-strewing neighbor's house, so he just stood up and sniffed at me, and I opted to leave the gate alone and take a more cicuitous route over a few fences to get back to the barn.  But what if he hadn't been so young?  What if he'd been the beast that tore the siding off my chicken coop and ignored us when we tried to run him off with the tractor?  Cliff knew where I was--I was right there at home!--and so did I, but a bear attack would have left me with no options, too far from the house for anyone to hear me yell even if someone had been outside and not indoors with the A/C blocking the sound.  

What if I'd been on my horse so I couldn't have taken the overland route?  What if the horse had been startled enough to rear and toss me? 

Less than 1000 feet from home I could have been dead where I stood.  I always have my cell in my pocket, but I was making dinner and left it sitting on the counter.  Duh.  

You may not think there's anything out there that can hurt you, but give it time.  Something will come up to make that cell phone an absolute necessity.

JMFriedman:

You may not think there's anything out there that can hurt you, but give it time.  Something will come up to make that cell phone an absolute necessity

Ahh, but then you get into the whole situation of "how possible is it to be prepared for EVERYTHING that COULD go wrong?" You simply can't predict that you will run into a bear, or snake or the boogeyman. Everything is in God's hands and you can't be ready for all of it.

Yes, it's smart to take a cell phone if you have one,but like you forgot yours while out on your own property, it's easily lost or destroyed in a fall or to have a lapse in signal, or if you are knocked out. Then what? So if it comforts you to have one, go ahead, but don't make it your only lifeline.  I think letting people know where you plan to go, when you will be back, etc is a good idea, They can start looking for you if you haven't returned. . You can't be prepared for everything and worrying about all the possiblities is overwhelming. But, sometimes the cell phone can be too much of a distraction. If you take calls on the trail you are more apt to not pay attention to your horse and the things around you, so it could well be a hindrance.

Going for a ride without a cell phone is fine. Try to be smart, but remember you can't prevent all accidents and worrying about them seems to bring them on faster and defeat the purpose of a nice, relaxing ride in the woods. Remember, people survived without cell phones for a long time and people that DO carry them still get hurt and lost.

 I'm not saying to be careless or that cell phones don't have a place as a tool for safety, just that counting on it to be a lifeline is foolish. You can be just as safe or vulnerable with a phone as without.