Self defense on the trail

just make sure you are comfortable actually USING whatever you carry.

We had a dog come into work (i work in a small animal er) the other day who had been accidentally pepper sprayed (along with his owner) when the owner tried to spray an aggressive dog and didn't have the nozzle pointed the right way and sprayed himself/his dog instead. :(

Personally, I am not sure I am coordinated enough to handle the reins/turning the horse and pepper spray in a bad situation, so I carry a long crop with me. Don't need it for my horse, but its sure come in handy for swatting nippy dogs. I would think (hope!) a lash across the eyes of an attacking human would be equally effective.

And when nothing bad is happening, it makes a great fly-flicker and tree-branch-mover.

This was definitely a great little video I found it helpful!

It won't seem to work for me. Can someone post it on here?

A horse not afraid of gun fire and a state(MN) where we can carry concealed firearms helps..awareness is first and foremost..Having a PLAN and thinking all the "what ifs" through help prepare you for action if it is ever needed

Sugarplum, you have to have Windows Media Player on your computer, I think. That's what it loads up in for me. If I knew how to save the file on my computer, I would put it on youtube.

Here is the original website though. You can find a link to the video in the upper left.
HorseThink

I got it! Turns out it doesn't work on my gramma's computer but it does on mine!

There is an area on the trail I ride that unfortunately seems to be a spot where people must hang out at night and leave trash around. There also is an old deserted metal building at the site and it is somewhat deep in the wooded area of the park. I have actually seen vultures fly out of the building. Yesterday a tent was set up and it really gave us the creeps not knowing who it belonged to why anyone would want to camp there. Thanks for posting this video. It is sad to think that that kind of danger is out there. We are thinking of avoiding that part of the trail from now on.

Great video with some helpful tips. It is a good idea to be aware of the dangers of meeting others on the trail. I hope I do not open a can of worms, but when it is just two of us riding a lot of times we do carry a gun with us. We have checked with the local forest service to make sure this was legal. Where we ride it is legal for us to carry a weapon as long as it is not concealed. My personal opinion is that just the sight of someone carrying a weapon may be enough of a deterrent to leave them alone. I hope I never have to find out!

If you carry a gun that is concealed, you need to get a concealed weapons carry permit.

This is true in Georgia. Apparently it varies from place to place.