I am excited to announce that I have accepted an invitation to be an official advisor for the Love Road Wild Horse Sanctuary and Adoption Center. This project is just getting off the ground, but is poised to do a lot of good. I signed on because their mission is as simple as mine - to decrease the number of horses in holding facilities by increasing adoption rates. I believe they have a feasible and well thought out plan. I look forward to working with this group of knowledgeable and passionate advocates to make a difference for wild horses.

You can learn more about this project by visiting http://www.loveroadsanctuary.org/.

​Stay tuned for updates!

Toward the end of September, our journey around Nevada took us through the Owyhee Desert in Elko County, just south of the Idaho and Oregon borders. While most of our route went through remote areas, this felt the most remote. The Owyhee is the type of desert environment where an ocean of sagebrush extends out to the distant horizon, broken up by rolling hills, buttes, and mesas. The vegetation here is mostly sagebrush and bunchgrasses. This arid country is largely uninhabited by humans, with no towns in or around it. A few scattered ranches operate around the edges, but access into the interior of the Owyhee is difficult. The old roads are not well maintained, but they are good enough for horse travel!​ 

​After the rigours of the mountainous Jarbidge area, I was excited to drop down in elevation and do some desert riding. They Owyhee did not disappoint. It appears at first to be flat and desolate, but when you ride through you notice the little nuances of the land. There are lots of interesting rock formations, dramatic canyons, and old ruins scattered throughout. Not surprisingly, we didn't see any people out here. If you are looking for solitude, the Owyhee would be a good place to go!

The Owyhee is home to several Herd Management Areas for wild horses, and we saw plenty as we traveled through. One evening from our campsite we watched nearly a hundred horses come over a hill and head down their well-worn horse trails to a water source. They were a very colorful herd; we saw everything from roans and greys to buckskins and paints. They all looked healthy. We enjoyed watching them make their evening commute to the water hole.

Sage watched the horses coming over the hill too. All was peaceful, until Sage had the audacity to whinny at them. Almost immediately, a magnificent red roan stallion responded to Sage with a terrifying roar. Not a whinny, not a nicker, not a squeal - a roar. Suddenly, the whole herd came charging toward us, closing in on us from several sides. The red roan stallion led the charge, aiming straight for Sage. I ran to defend Sage, who was inside his electric corral. The red roan stallion stopped a few hundred feet away, and began to snort and stomp his hooves. Sage became enraged! He roared back at the stallion, and began tearing around his electric corral, rearing, bucking, and striking out. His whole demeanor changed; Sage seemed to be twice his normal size. I could do nothing to calm him down. The red roan galloped back and forth, screaming and snorting. The rest of his herd anxiously ran along the fringe, but they hung back. Clearly this fight was between the red roan stallion and Sage. 

I can honestly say this was one of the scariest moments during our entire ride. We have been charged by stallions and small bands countless times, but nothing matched the ferocity of this particular stallion. I absolutely believe that if Sage had been able to get out of his corral, this would have been a fight to the death. I could only hope that he didn't run through the electric fence. Scared, but with no other option, I stood my ground between Sage and the red roan, armed only with a plastic bag. I made a flew bluff charges toward the red roan stallion, and to my relief he begrudgingly began to retreat. The rest of his herd withdrew over the hill. The red roan was the last to disappear, but he stopped periodically to face Sage and roar.

The whole confrontation probably only lasted a few minutes, but it felt like an eternity. In the chaos, Ryan snapped these incredible photos. Bella, unfazed, took advantage of the distraction and ate our dinner. It took Sage some time to calm down, but he remained on high alert for the rest of the evening. This was not the last encounter we had with wild horses in the Owyhee, but it was certainly the most intense. It was a stark reminder of how territorial and aggressive wild horses can be, especially wild horses who live in such remote areas.

The Bureau of Land Management is currently in the midst of a wild horse gather in the Owhyee Desert. (You can read their reports HERE.) The horses they have permanently removed are now at the National Palomino Valley Wild Horse and Burro Adoption Center where they are available for adoption. ​​So far they haven't captured the red roan stallion.

I'm doing a twofer in this installment, because I think it's difficult to talk about the saddle without the pad and vice-versa. Obviously both are crucial on a long ride because of the sheer amount of time spent in the saddle. An ill-fitting saddle or a poor quality pad will end a long ride quicker than anything else, and long riders should ensure their horse(s) comfort comes first from the moment they hit the trail until the moment they reach the end of the trail. It's important to know though -- there is no such thing as the perfect saddle or the perfect pad, especially on a long ride. They will all have their shortcomings eventually. Your goal is to find the right product for you and your horse that minimizes the problems of long distance riding.
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Our saddle is a Cheyenne Frontier Trail Saddle from Tucker Saddlery. I chose this saddle, in part, because it is the same saddle used by Bernice Ende, the famous Lady Long Rider who has racked up more than 20,000 miles in her saddle. I cannot think of better proof of a saddle's quality than that! And indeed, on our journey of more than 1,100 miles, this saddle proved to be worth every penny. 

The White Pine Range is one of my favorite ranges in Nevada. It's located in southern White Pine County, in eastern Nevada. It runs about 50 miles in length, north-south between Highway 50 and Highway 6. I purposely added time to our most recent ride, just so I could ride the entire length of this spectacular range.

There's a lot of history in this range. It's home to several ghost towns, the most famous of which is Hamilton, which at one time boasted a population of 10,000 people! Not much remains today except the remnants of scattered outbuildings, cabins, and mines throughout the range. The Hamilton-Pioche Stage Road runs through the area too, which was teeming with stage coaches when Hamilton was booming. There's even a legend of buried treasure somewhere in the White Pine Range!

This is a really diverse range so it's a lot of fun to ride. It features rocky ridges, rolling hills, and epic views of the valley floor. The high point is Currant Mountain, a dramatic limestone peak rising to 11,513 feet. Vegetation includes limber pine, juniper, and even Great Basin Bristlecone Pine! There's a lot of water in this area too, with year-round springs and creeks. When I rode through here on my 2013 ride in the spring, the wildflowers were out of control! On my recent ride, we saw elk, deer, and wild horses. (This is where we had our heartbreaking encounter with the young wild horse we named Oscar.) I've read the range is also home to Bighorn Sheep, but alas, I never saw any. 

Some of the trails are tough, but they're worth it. Like most of the ranges we explored during the ride, we didn't see a lot of people in here, only a few hunters out scouting. One of the things I love about public land is that you can just pick a spot and camp. There are some great places in this range to set up camp and then head out and hike or ride. Watch out for the cows though - we had a big bull wander into our camp one evening! If you do need something a little less primitive, there is an actual campground on the southern end of the range. As always, I recommend the Nevada Road & Recreation Atlas from Benchmark Maps to get a feel for the area before you go.

Hoof protection might be one of the most important things to consider for a long ride. Riding in Nevada is especially tough on the hoof, as the terrain can be incredible challenging. It's amazing how much the footing can change mile to mile -- from decomposed granite to boulders to gravel to dirt to pavement. We saw it all on our recent ride, and that's why I was very careful to make sure Sage's hooves were protected.

I have nothing against traditional metal horse shoes, but Sage has been barefoot his whole life. Instead of shoes, we use boots on tough trails. There are many companies that make hoof boots. I've tried several of them, but ultimately used Easyboots from EasyCare Inc. for my 2013 and 2016 rides. 

There are a lot advantages to hoof boots. They're removable. You just put them and take them off each day. They're relatively custom fit, as they come in different sizes. If you send your horse's hoof measurements and photos of each hoof to EasyCare they will recommend which style of boot is best for your horse. Sage wears the Easyboot Epics, which have a semi-aggressive tread - perfect for extreme trail conditions. For our recent ride,  I recycled some of my old boots from our 2013 ride and purchased several sets of new boots. Nevada's terrain did not disappoint and the boots were certainly put to the test. Sage wore the boots every single day of our 1,100+ mile ride, in sand, dirt, rocks, mud, snow, water, and more. 

Overall I love Easyboots. There is no question that they have protected Sage's hooves on both of our rides. With so many other things to worry about on the trail, it's nice to not have to worry about chipping of the hoof wall, stone bruises, punctures, or any other hoof ailment. People we met on the trail were often shocked we weren't using traditional horse shoes! But they were very intrigued when I showed them the Easyboots.

Despite the name, these boots are not easy to put on - but I suppose that's a good thing since you want them to stay on once you do get them on. They're especially hard to put on when it's below freezing. We lost a few boots early on in the ride, which was a result of me not putting them on properly. We also broke some boots during the ride: snapped cables in extremely rocky terrain, broken buckles, and torn gaiters. We actually wore through the toes of some of the boots! But they're meant to take a beating. Better the boot than your horse's hoof! Easyboots come with repair kits. Snapped cables, broken buckles, even torn gaiters can be repaired, which is great. ​

Easyboots aren't cheap, especially if you need as many I did for our long ride. Because of the investment, I went to great lengths to not lose them! I had to turn around a few times to retrieve boots that had fallen off. Several times Sage stepped into boggy areas and the suction would pull off a boot -- I went elbow deep in the muck to pull them out! Mud was always a problem to ride in. Even with the good traction on the Easyboots, Sage was slipping and sliding. 

​But I really credit the Easyboots for getting us through tough country with no problems. If you're interested in trying them out, you can use EasyCare's dealer search online (http://www.easycareinc.com/Search/Dealer.aspx) to find a rep near you. But I also recommend trying other boots from other companies to find the right product for your horse.

One of the places I was most excited to ride through on our recent journey is truly one of the most remote places in the continental U.S. Located in Elko County, in the northeast corner of Nevada, just south of the Idaho border, you'll find spectacular views, rugged terrain, and complete solitude. 

This out-of-the-way area is home to the Jarbidge Wilderness - 113,00+ acres of pristine public land. (Areas that are designated as "wilderness" by Congress are protected from development. They are closed to mechanized recreation, which means you can't use a car, atv, or bicycle in wilderness areas. They are, however, open to hikers and horses!) The Jarbidge Wilderness features dozens of mountain peaks, eight of which are over 10,000 ft. It's also an unusually wet area for Nevada, with two lakes, many rivers, creeks, and streams. Lush meadows and trees abound, including Subalpine Fir, Whitebark Pine, and Quaking Aspens. I'm told the wildflowers in Jarbidge are amazing in the spring. We rode through in September, which was still beautiful with all the fall colors starting to emerge.

For my ride, I chose a nearly 20-mile pack trail that runs north-south through the wilderness area. I can honestly say it was some of the most thrilling riding I have ever done in my life! The pack trail is extremely technical, with non-stop obstacles and lots of elevation change. In many places the narrow trail wound high up along the sides of the mountains. I kept telling myself not to look down and I hoped Sage wouldn't either! The pack trail was fairly easy to follow. There are very few signs, but in some confusing spots people have erected rock cairns to help guide travelers. I only lost the trail once, but luckily was able to get back on track with my GPS.

It seemed as though every turn of the trail revealed a new, stunning landscape. I couldn't stop taking pictures! This is certainly not the terrain most people think of when they think of Nevada. One of the most wonderful experiences I had riding through this area was seeing all the elk. We encountered several bull elk and more than a dozen cow elk throughout the day. They are magnificent animals to see up close. And hearing them bugle? It gives you goose bumps! Incredibly, we spent a whole day riding through the wilderness area, but we didn't see a single other person. I felt like we had the whole place to ourselves.  

After a very tough day of riding in the Jarbidge Wilderness, we rode through the town of Jarbidge itself. This quaint community is home to approx. 180 people. It has one hotel, one bar, one diner, one gas station, a community center/museum, and... that's about it! We had a blast riding through town. Several residents came to talk to us and one lady told me it had been a long time since someone rode a horse through town!