I'm always having to ride alone. Either the schedules don't mesh, or the other person weenies out. So I ride alone 98% of the time. I don't use a helmet - I've seen lots of crashes, but haven't seen one where a helmet would have made a difference. I even knew one lady who had to have facial reconstruction - in spite of her helmet. As far as having a good horse - well I just did x-rays on a man who had a really good horse who just happened to fall. That collar bone was sure enough

I ride with a bright orange hunting vest on. If I fall off, it won't be hard to find me. It's light weight and has lots of pockets that Velcro shut. I always carry a carrott or two, for when we take a break. And I picked up a nice wool "bottle bag" at a Rendezvous, for my water bottle. It fits in a pocket or ties to the saddle horn. That too is light weight but sturdy. I'd like to know who I could contact about the trail riding self defense class. That would be a great one for

Congrats on the excellent DEXA scan. Keep up the good work. Calcium + vit. D, weight bearing exercise, limit caffiene (it prevents calcium obsorption) are all great ways to help bones. Since stress is hard on bones too, I feel as if horseback riding is also a great bone builder. I feel such peace when I ride; either alone or in a group. I'll take it any way I can get it. If I had to wait for someone to ride with, I'd only be able to ride twice in the last 2 months. Balloney! I'll take

I've found a nice web site. www.vermontel.com and www.pscomputerconsulting.com/nwhc/nwhc.htm If you could find someone in your community that drives or has driven - old-timers are great for good tips. That would be helpful. I used the following key words, when looking up carriages: horse drawn carriage. There are a lot of driving clubs in the U.S. You can use those as key words also. Good luck! I like driving almost as much as I like riding.

 

I ride a lone often. Unfortunately, I don't have any trails, so ride along the roads. I do carry a little zip pouch with the following: Cell phone, whistle/compass combined (I'm teaching my horse to come to the whistle), one shoe lace (synthetic), sharp pocket knife, vet wrap, one bandana, small first aid kit (w/ bandaides - large sized, ibuprofine, betadine wipes), hoof pick. I also have the emergency blanket that is just a silver sheet to wrap up in that is folded to a 3" x 2"