W., J., and I went ziplining and horseback riding during a Boy Scout campout last weekend.
I spent the weeks before the campout worrying about the 275 pound weight limit on the ziplines, but then I found out that the owner regularly rides the ziplines at 350 pounds, so the margin was pretty big.
Horseback riding — trail riding — was very relaxing. My horse was named Fiona, and she was a draft horse, which meant she was strong enough to carry me. She was really sweaty when I got on her, though. I found out that Steve A., another dad, rode her right before me. He’s not a small guy, so that explains all the sweat.
Fiona kept wanting to move off to the sides of the trails to eat, but she took direction so well that all it took from me was a finger flick on the right or left side of the reigns to keep her on the trail. At one point, J.’s horse wanted to roll around in the dirt, and he had to jump off at one point when the horse tried to kneel.
While the ride was relaxing, getting off the horse wasn’t so easy. It wasn’t my knees or thighs that locked up, though. It was my hips. I’m simply not that flexible any more. I had to have one person on my right help me swing my right leg back over the horse, while another person helped me on the left so I wouldn’t tumble and get hurt.
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I had to stick with J.’s patrol of 6 scouts, and we were separate from W., who went with the older scouts.