Alert! Must-know guidelines for horse trekking in electrical storms.

Had a busy “outdoorsy” weekend though the spring storms are starting once again and putting a bit of a damper on activities. Was out and about the local area and saw a lot of different dogs than all the Pugs I’ve been talking about lately.  Even saw a dog called a Chiweenie, which I’m told, is a new kind of “designer dog” that is cross between a Chihauhau and and wiener dog. Dachshund I think, though it could also have been a Weimeraner they were speaking about. Will have to update my dog breed encyclopedia as it sure does not have any designer dogs in it!

I need all the help I can get when identifying different dog breeds as was proven just the other day. I showed a new friend one of my fave figurines; an elegant woman with an adoring dog by her side. I mentioned how much I loved Afghan Hounds. I got a puzzled look and a question. Wasn’t the adoring dog a Russian Borzoi? Oh dear, oh dear! Checked the dog breed book and sure enough she was right!

There are so many wonderful dogs aren’t there? Some of my favorites besides the Afghan Hound, are the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Irish Setter, Springer Spaniel, Sheltie (Shetland Sheepdog), Airedale Terrier, and the Bernese Mountain Dog. Go to dog shows every chance I get!

Attending equestrian competitions is also up there on my list of fave pastimes as is trekking. Could not find any competitions so was glad to get out to do some more horse trekking at the local equestrian centre. Had a mount called Tex. He was a million dollar beauty, a huge spirited two-year old Arabian, ready to run like the wind. Wondered if he’d even give me enough time to saddle up… ;-)

All went very well for the first couple of hours until a storm rolled in… dark storm clouds, lots of rain and a full-blown electrical storm. Egads! I had prepared for this eventuality (weather report gave it a 40% chance) so I did not get absolutely drenched as might have been the case. Slickers kept the main downpour off me but all-in-all it was prety mucky going. Kind of treacherous on the hillsides with the new grass… quite slippery. Tex kept his footing though and we got back okay… soggy, mucky, but fine.

As I trekked along, looking forward to getting back to comfort, I kept in mind all the safety rules about electrical storms. The heel-together crouch that can be a lifesaver came instantly to mind. Many years ago a dear uncle set me straight on paying attention to electrical storms (with respect to golfing) and I have applied his gems of wisdom to all other outings such as hiking, biking and of course horse trekking ever since. Storms can come up so suddenly and one must be prepared for them as much as possible.

Did you know that more horse riders are killed in local thunderstorms than in hurricanes or tornados? 

With the growing popularity of horse trekking, I thought you’d be interested in and really appreciate a really great article about how to protect yourself in an electrical storm when horseback riding. It gives excellent guidelines about how to protect yourself and your horse when heading to the hills on a trek… and the must-know heel together crouch that could save your life in a storm. We were given kind permission to post it on our pet website at MillionDollarPetPix.com so check it out there before you go out horse trekking again.

Safe and happy trekking!