What age for first trail ride alone?( people...not horse )

I was just curious as to what age was your first trail ride alone? And were was it to? How long?

And for any parents......at what age would you allow your child/ren to ride out alone?



I went on my first ride to the beach alone when I was 13. Was a great ride too...untill we got bogged in mud up to Boos stomach. But got out alive ....just stinking of this mud. Had a 1/2 hour or so ride back to the paddock........covered in mud, hehe.......

So not really too far, also was a public beach....so if I got in any real trouble I doubt help would be to far away.

My first trail ride alone was when I was 14. But I didnt own a horse until I was 14 so im not sure if it counts! Lol! It wasnt long and mum knew exactly where I was going. It was into a reserve.

Well im 43 and to be honest I would never go trail riding alone as at my age I see disaster before it happens. I ride with a buddy so if one as a bad fall we can get help for each other.As a mum I would not want a kid going alone but at your age I would have gone anyway.Always think safety first even if that does sound boring

I would ride to the neighbors and back (about 2 miles one way) when I was about 8-9. I helped with cleaning and doing chores and I had a nice pony that would get me there and back. Most of the riding was on my parents land so and the road was really quiet... I never had any problems

I'm 21 and have been thinking of going out on a trail alone. I always carry my cell phone and I always tell my fiance where I'm going and what time i'll be back, but I just get nervous about being in the woods all alone.

I honestly don't remember when my first trail ride alone was. I was pretty young. I know that some people will probably think that my Dad was very irresponsible but I just have to share this story.

Every summer since 1990, we have had between 500 and 1200 head of yearling cattle kept on pasture for a feedlot. We are responsible for doctoring, counting, and making sure that they don't get out of the pastures. They arrive in the spring by trucks to a central corral area and then we separate them and drive them with horses and dogs to the pasture that they need to go to. Some of the pastures are more than 5 miles away from the corral. It was one of the first years, I was maybe 7. My dad separated about 75 head and told me to get my dogs. It had been raining all day and my hat was hanging down around my ears. He said to take these cattle to the Kellen place (which was about a mile and a half away from the corral). I took my 2 dogs and led the way down the dirt road to the pasture with the dogs bringing the cattle behind me. Went all the way down and all the way back by myself. He just had to go back later and close the gate. It could have been a disaster except he made sure that I always had the best horses and dogs that could do the job by themselves and all I had to do was point the way.

I always go trail riding by myself because that is when I have my "me" time with my horses. There have been several close calls and many times when I had to walk several miles back to the house but fortunately, I have never been seriously hurt when I was by myself.

Honestly, I don't like to go out alone. I have done it once and won't do it again. There are too many things that could go wrong. Not saying its a dangerous thing, but there is a greater risk for accidents when you're by yourself. I always go with at least one other person. It's a great time to chat and just relax. If I want alone time with me and my horse, I just ride to the bottom of our pasture, or ride in our arena. I wouldn't go alone at all. But its all personal preference.

I was about eleven or twelve the first time I rode completely alone... I rode about a two miles to a friends house and back... my uncle and grandmother both know where I was and what time I was expected back.

Now, though, I ride alone all the time and never have a time limit, nor does anyone in my family ever know exactly where I'm going because I have trails all over that I can get on and double back and end up on another road opposite of the way I was going, lol.

I'd really rather ride alone a lot of the time than with friends, because if I'm alone then I can go where I want without worrying about my friends not being able to go, because my mare is in better shape then their horses and can go up steeper mountain trails and stuff.

I was 13 and it was on my OTTB, I had my cell phone on me and it was about an hour and thirty minutes hehe. It was near a public road and an (more or less) inclosed pasture that people could ride their bikes and go jogging on so I saw a few people. Dad said he didn't follow me but I know I saw his car in the parkeing lot where all the bikers parked hehe. He wont admit it though

I honestly don't remember... probably somewhere between 10 and 12... it's just the way we were raised. We did things alone all the time without ever thinking about it. Except for swimming. -- no come to think of it, we even went swimming alone, but we always had to tell that we were going. Like Smrobs, we were raised on a need-to-do basis. If I would have always had to have a buddy, I wouldn't have been able to do very much of anything, whether work or play. Just wasn't the time available for partnering-up. Of course, with that type of upbringing, the responsibility level is usually much higher and taught much sooner.

I think that the decision to allow children/teens to do things alone depends HUGELY on their ability, maturity and trust level (and their own desire). Just looking at my two sons I can see the difference in the tasks I trust each of them to do alone at what age. My now 17yrold I would have let drive my truck at 11 down the road; my current 11yrold? Well, I worry about him driving from my lap down a long driveway. In this case, it's mostly skill level that is the contributing factor.

As for adults, we all have our own comfort zones. I truly cherish the times I have alone in the bush, with or without a horse. But not everyone gets re-juiced that way.