Liz over at In Omnia Paratus (I should probably find out what that means one of these days) posted some fun questions to keep us chugging on the keyboards in the horse blog world. I’ll play!

1. Most equestrians quote fall as their favorite season to ride. Are you one of those that does? Or maybe not; what is your favorite season to ride, if so?

Fall is short here. Most of September and some of October are devoted to hunting seasons so riding is backburnered, though I hope to develop HW into the kind of backcountry horse we can take into the wilderness for bow season. (Mounted archery sounds super cool, too…not that you have to do that with a living target.) In summary, I don’t have a favorite season to ride in, but I do enjoy the cool, crisp respite from summer blaze days.

2. Do you clip your horse in the fall? Or maybe you wait a little longer?

I clip my horse never. He’s a mustang living in the mountains and he needs his coat to stay warm more than I need him to perform at a certain level during the cold months. Plus I love his shaggy fuzz.

3. Have any costume riding events in October on/near/around Halloween? What will your horse be dressed as? What about yourself? What would you dress as if money/time were absolutely no issue?

No plans to dress up. If money and time weren’t an issue and we had a good reason to get costumed, I’d think of something food-related because food is the mustang’s spirit animal (and one of my great loves as well). Maybe we could be an oreo or black-and-white cookie.

4. Is your horse afraid of any autumn colors? Or maybe has a certain quirk that appears only in the autumn?

No color issues, but he’s not a fan of flashlights being waved in his direction and fall is when we have to start using artificial light for evening chores again. Sorry about the headlamp in the eyes, dude.

5. Pumpkin spice. It’s everywhere right now. Find any natural pumpkin [squash] spice-esque recipes for your horse?

Nope. I do always buy the Trader Joe’s pumpkin dog biscuits though, and I’m sure the horses would eat them if given the chance.

6. We’re getting to the end of the calendar year, any final few “big-bang” shows to look forward to?

I don’t show currently, and if I did, I’d avoid any that could be characterized as a “big-bang”! But I am eyeing a Pie Ride in November that would be our first group trail ride and a toe dip in the world of endurance riding, which I’m really interested in. And, obviously, PIE.

7. Winter is coming. What are you doing to winterize your trailer/rig/car?

Not much. Oil change on the truck and such. Will need to start storing the trailer under cover when the snow comes, and make sure we are carrying chains when we tow.

8. Do you have any autumn traditions you/your horse follow?

We’re new to each other and I’m recently returning to horse ownership, so maybe we’ll develop traditions in the future. We will be taking our holiday photos as soon as there’s some picturesque white stuff on the ground, which here can happen in autumn. 😐

9. October in many places marks the beginning of deer hunting season. Does this affect your riding at all? Do you wear blaze orange or modify your schedule to accommodate the season?

See 1. above. Luckily in the west hunters are more spread out and less prone to shoot at something they haven’t positively identified as a target species, in my experience. I hear about much fewer hunting accidents here in Oregon than I did when I lived in New England. Still, better safe than sorry. I have an orange saddle pad, my beta headstall is blaze orange, and I have some bells I attach to my saddle. I will also wear orange on my person, and the dogs get in on the orange and bells too.

10. What are you most looking forward to goal-wise as the final months of the calendar year approach?

Year-end goals are not competition-related here, but as I mentioned in my last post, we need to solve our winter water situation and improve conditions in the run-in shed, and I’d really love to get a 10-mile (or more) trail ride done somewhere and trailer to a few more lessons before the snow flies!

Thanks for the inspiration, Liz, and happy fall to riders and horses near and far. May we all have enough warmish days left to carry us through the winter ahead!