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Post by Sunshine on Jul 7, 2008 8:04:25 GMT -5
do any of you do trail riding by horseback, and if you do what kind of horse do you ride?
i t seems round here anyway that not near asmany people ride horses as used too.
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Post by Earl8656 on Jul 7, 2008 20:01:20 GMT -5
used to ride a quarter horse....that was a while ago...nowadays it costs way too much to keep one...worse than putting gas in your car. I talked to a gentleman Saturday who has about 20 that he owns and boards...he is getting his hay from Montana...and he pays about $33 for a four foot square bale, it is pretty alfalfa; but, it ain't that pretty.
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Post by BvrRtrvr on Jul 7, 2008 20:14:00 GMT -5
Earl, I Hear that. And the cost of hay/grain probably will Not go down, at least for some time. My daughter's father-in-law used to trail ride. One of his horses got some kind of water born infection on the trail, and died 2 days later. He also had to quit riding. Putting roof trusses on a new barn. Freak accident. Fell of the top of the wall. Broke both legs. One of the last times that I visited, he told me that he really misses the riding.
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Post by Earl8656 on Jul 7, 2008 20:33:50 GMT -5
he said the cost of shipping was twice the cost of the hay. I know its hard for some to get it out of their system. I only rode because I enjoyed the mountain views. Now I get the same view ginseng hunting.....of course I can't hunt in the park
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Post by scansy on Jul 9, 2008 7:38:41 GMT -5
What park is that Earl?
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Post by Earl8656 on Jul 9, 2008 15:41:59 GMT -5
Shenandoah National Park
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Post by scansy on Jul 9, 2008 17:30:14 GMT -5
Is that for all national parks - no hunting? That's a complete waste if it is.
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Post by Earl8656 on Jul 9, 2008 21:23:55 GMT -5
as far as I know Scansy, thats the way it is.....Yellowstone, etc. The biggest wate in my humble opinion is the lack of timber cutting...when the trees mature, they should be harvested, rather than going to waste. As far as I know the only things that can be harvested in the national parks is something edible...mushrooms, berries, nuts, etc.
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Post by scansy on Jul 10, 2008 8:30:53 GMT -5
I agree about the trees too. Controlled harvest would be great. Here in PA, we have a family camp up in the mountains - an area that used to be a big deer hunting area - guys coming from all over the state. But that was mostly before my time - when the forests were recovering from heavy timbering. Now, the forests are mature - I can see hundreds of yards up the mountain under the trees. A lot of guys who still go up there want them to close doe hunting or at least really cut back on doe hunting so there will be more deer again. The problem isn't the doe hunting - the problem is the lack of cover and food. Controlled logging would be great for those areas- each year go in and take out small percentages of the wood - leaving the mast crop maybe - and the cover / food would return quickly. Deer populations would go up too. And the money from cutting in these state forests (or the Allegheny National Forest) could be put to good use I'm sure. But I do find it very disappointing that our national parks are closed to hunting (and I assume trapping). That was probably pushed through by some "environmentalist" group. That can cause more damage than anything.
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Post by Earl8656 on Jul 11, 2008 6:40:19 GMT -5
No, I think the "park" system was put in place back in the 20's, it was designed to be a sanctuary, and refuge. This was long before "environmentalist" groups; but, they would surely challenge it, if someone would ever try to change it. President Hoover built a cabin at the upper end of the Rapidan River(which I trap a lot on, down lower), it is about 5 miles by road to the top, where Big Meadows is. It is no problem to go up to Big Meadows and see hundreds of deer in the evening, and bears also. Big Meadows is on the Skyline Drive.
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Post by scansy on Jul 12, 2008 7:19:02 GMT -5
Not too far from here is Valley Forge National Park. There are so many deer, the forest is barren up to about 6 feet (as high as a deer can reach if standing on it's back feet). Anytime they try to arrange any kind controlled hunt, the morons come out to protest. You can see these deer along the PA turnpike at all times of the day trying to find anything to eat. Flying by at 70 mph, can't slow down cause of the traffic all around you, hoping a deer don't jump out. They are the scrawniest, sickliest looking deer you will ever see.
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Post by BvrRtrvr on Jul 12, 2008 11:01:04 GMT -5
About an hour southwest of here, the state tried to have a controlled hunt (by sportsmen) on a protected area. Overpopulation was significant. Bunny Huggers got it shut down. About 6 weeks later State employess (WildLife Dept.) came in on the QT & killed quite a few. Very few people knew about it until after the fact. One of the hunters showed me some pix of the deer. Some were partial necropsies. The external tumors were bad enough, but seeing the internal problems and parasites was downright NASTY! The herd seems to be in much better shape now.
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Post by Sunshine on Jul 13, 2008 14:23:58 GMT -5
only problem with a controlled harvest i have is that they need to do the harvesting after the young have been weaned,imo.
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Post by BvrRtrvr on Jul 13, 2008 22:07:50 GMT -5
It was.
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Post by Earl8656 on Jul 14, 2008 7:06:04 GMT -5
A controled harvest is a necessity at times; but, wouldn't it be better to open some of these areas to hunting? I know that some would question safety issues, but that could also be avoided. It could be open to bowhunting only. A friend of mine just took his family up to Big Meadows for a mini-camping trip. While he was cooking, a 10 point buck, along with 4 smaller bucks bedded down within 5 yards of where he was cooking. There are way too many deer up there, and the herd will surely soon suffer, which will mean that it will be transfered down to our lower country deer.
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Post by billmeyerhoff on Jul 21, 2008 9:23:17 GMT -5
The Adirondack State Park which encompasses both private and public land is designated as "Forever Wild". Logging is allowed within the Park on private property but not on state owned lands. Hunting, fishing, and trapping as well as other outdoor pursuits are allowed and vehicle use on public land is only in designated areas.
The problem with old growth forest is that very little light reach's the forest floor, thereby becoming an almost sterile environment. Nature has her own way of rejuvenating these forests and that is being stymied by man when he extinguishes forest fires. To be truly "Forever Wild" any action by man that opposes natures forces should not be allowed. This of course would not included the taking of game and fish which is in harmony with the natural world.
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Post by Sunshine on Jul 21, 2008 17:12:43 GMT -5
i know of at least one hunt in WV , a nuisance deal at an airport, where the deer were shot in may.
too early imo, because of the fawns.
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Post by BvrRtrvr on Jul 22, 2008 1:01:58 GMT -5
Maybe they figured they would get a "2 for 1". You know that DFW there. Just 'cause they have a degree they know it ALL. I did some work with the CO near that city on the river just north of you, Sunshine. Real Great Guy. Was getting ready to retire in the not so distant future. What he had to say about the new breed of Co's coming into the dept.....nah, you would delete his quotes about 'em. To say that they were not the sportsman's friend is putting it mildly. Let's try this "their attitude towards the sportsmen is ". BR
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Post by Earl8656 on Jul 22, 2008 19:38:42 GMT -5
most young rangers have that attitude about everything that goes on in the "Park". LOL, it seems a lot of them couldn't make it in regular law enforcement.
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Post by Sunshine on Jul 25, 2008 8:31:18 GMT -5
Maybe they figured they would get a "2 for 1". You know that DFW there. Just 'cause they have a degree they know it ALL. I did some work with the CO near that city on the river just north of you, Sunshine. Real Great Guy. Was getting ready to retire in the not so distant future. What he had to say about the new breed of Co's coming into the dept.....nah, you would delete his quotes about 'em. To say that they were not the sportsman's friend is putting it mildly. Let's try this "their attitude towards the sportsmen is ". BR i ran intot one of those assholes ;last fall when i tried to get a trapping permit last fall. he refused to give us one. guess what? we got one , just had to go higher up than him.
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Post by BvrRtrvr on Jul 25, 2008 19:38:28 GMT -5
Something I learned a long time ago-"Never ask a question, the answer to which, might be something you don't want to hear". I think that you just found your 'go to guy' for next time.
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Post by Sunshine on Jul 26, 2008 16:29:55 GMT -5
we'll see.
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Post by cattrax on Jul 26, 2008 17:02:27 GMT -5
I used to ride a quarter of the horse too but Im big enough now to ride the whole thing!
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Post by Sunshine on Jul 27, 2008 13:31:48 GMT -5
youre corny.
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Post by BvrRtrvr on Jul 27, 2008 17:57:41 GMT -5
Cattrax, I used to train horses a number of years ago. One of 'em, I swear, was quarter horse....and 3/4 snake!
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Post by Sunshine on Jul 28, 2008 7:20:01 GMT -5
did you shoot it?
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Post by BvrRtrvr on Jul 28, 2008 22:29:58 GMT -5
No, but the person it got sold to did! Long story. I didn't sell it to him, but the previous owner did.
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Post by coonripper on Jul 28, 2008 22:36:10 GMT -5
My daughter and I ride in a circle in the round pen, thats about it. She rides a Morgan and i ride a mustang
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Post by Sunshine on Jul 29, 2008 9:30:07 GMT -5
the same mustang thats the escape artist? ;D
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Post by Earl8656 on Jul 29, 2008 20:22:30 GMT -5
thats the one I figured...u should know!
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