newsletterapr09

Hock: Financial condition of all horse owners.
Stall: What your rig does at rush hour in an unfamiliar city on the way to a big horse show.
A Bit: What you have left in your pocket after you've been to your favorite tack shop.
Fence: Decorative structure built to provide your horse with something to chew on.
Horse Auction: What you think of having after your horse bucks you off.
Pinto: Green coat pattern found on freshly washed light colored horses left unattended for 2 minutes.
Well Mannered: Hasn't stepped on, bitten, or kicked anyone for a week.
Rasp: Abrasive metal tool used to remove excess skin from ones knuckles.
Lunging: Popular training method in which a horse exercises their owner by spinning them in circles until dizzy.
Gallop: Customary gait a horse chooses when returning back to the barn.
Nicely Started: Lunges, but not enough health insurance to even think about riding him.
Colic: Gastrointestinal result of eating at horse fair food stands.
Colt: What your mare gives you when you want a filly.
Easy to Load: Only takes 3 hours, 4 men, a 50lb bag of oats, and a tractor with loader.
Easy to Catch: In a 10x10 stall.
Easy Rider: Rides good in a trailer; not to be confused with "ride-able".
Endurance Ride: End result when your horse spooks and runs away with you.
Hives: What you get when receive the vet bill for your 6 horses, 3 dogs, 4 cats, and 1 donkey.
Hobbles: Walking gait of a horse owner after their foot has been stepped on by their horse.
Feed: Expensive substance used to manufacture manure.
Dog House: What you are in when you spend too much money on grooming supplies and pretty halters.
Light Cribber: We can't afford to build anymore fencing or box stalls for this buzz saw on four legs.
Three Gaited Horse: A horse that. 1) trips, 2)stumbles, 3) falls.

Two wonderful trail projects are being developed as you read this. Each project is at a different stage of development, but both are the result of supportive cooperation between volunteers and the responsible government land manager agency. Neither project would exist without this cooperation. Both projects were initiated by volunteer suggestions and supporting action. The Dry Creek Trail System is the larger of the two projects. It will provide 25 miles of shared trails to be enjoyed by equestrians, mountain bicyclists, and hikers. The Garland Mountain Horse & Hike Trails will provide 12 miles of trails shared by equestrians and hikers. Both trail systems will provide multiple loops so users may travel short or long distances as they desire.

Dry Creek Trail System: The Dry Creek Trail System is located in northwest Georgia about six miles south of Villanow, Georgia. It is on National Forest land managed by the US Forest Service-Conasauga Ranger District. The area is wooded and bisected by the East Armuchee Creek. A large parking lot with toilets already exists at the location. The parking lot was designed and built for equestrian convenience, with 26 large diagonal parking spaces. Camping on the parking lot is not allowed. Currently there are no formal Forest Service campsites in the area, but a few primitive camping spaces are frequently used by equestrians, hunters, and other outdoor enthusiasts. A private equestrian camping facility is now being developed on private land adjacent to the Dry Creek Trail System and it has easy access to the Pinhoti and Dry Creek system trails.

The potential user benefits of the Dry Creek Trail System are huge. The system itself offers the large parking lot and toilets, 25 miles of trail designed into several linked loops, stream water for equines, and lovely scenery. All of this is enhanced because the regional Pinhoti Trail goes through the area and is connected to the Dry Creek trails. The Pinhoti Trail offers 32 miles of end-to-end trail on National Forest land from the Dry Creek area all the way to just west of Dalton. This is a combination of 57 miles of trail. Another large USFS-Pinhoti parking lot, the Snake Creek Gap lot on GA 136, is about midway between Dry Creek and Dalton. This is an excellent opportunity for healthful outdoor exercise and enjoyment by mountain bikers, hikers, and equestrians.

The 25 miles of trail at Dry Creek have been designed and flagged with ribbon by volunteers, then walked and evaluated by various US Forest Service personnel. Currently the trails are being marked with paint blazes and more accurate Global Positioning System (GPS) data are being obtained for the federal information system. A federal Recreational Trails Program (RTP) grant has been approved for use by the Forest Service towards constructing some of the trails. Completion of a few administrative and on-site actions is required before Dry Creek trail construction actually begins. I am unaware of any USFS schedule for start of construction, but my personal estimate is that construction will begin by May 2009.

Garland Mountain Horse & Hike Trails: The Garland Mountain Horse & Hike Trails (GMHHT) system is located in the northwest corner of Cherokee County. Approximately 12 miles of trails will be situated on 532 acres of green space land owned by Cherokee County. The land is heavily forested, mainly with hardwood trees, and is quite hilly with a small stream flowing through a valley that lies in the middle of the property. The Cherokee County Saddle Club (CCSC), not affiliated with Cherokee County government, has a partnership agreement with the County to actually build and maintain the trail system. The Cherokee Recreation and Parks Agency (CRPA) is the County organization with overall responsibility for the project. CRPA has a federal RTP grant that will provide funds to purchase a trail machine for use on the project. The grant will also fund construction of a parking lot, associated toilets, replacement of a small bridge, and trail signage. County and federal grant funds will pay for the major cost items, and volunteer labor arranged by a CCSC project team will perform the work necessary to build and maintain the trail system. County personnel will build the parking lot, bridge replacement, and toilets. A close cooperative relationship exists between the CCSC project team and County personnel, especially the CRPA project manager.

Brush removal began a year ago on trails to be developed in the first phase of construction. Actual trail tread construction has also begun, using a combination of machinery and manual labor. The plan is to have the parking lot, toilets, bridge replacement, and about 5.5 miles of trail completed and open to the public by early spring, 2009. This schedule assumes that the trail machine will be available perhaps one day each week, and sufficient volunteer help is forthcoming on regular trail workdays.

A generous donation by a CCSC member paid for several hand tools necessary for trail work. Dr. Ken Humber of Humberland Guest Ranch has donated use of his mini-excavator and his skilled operator time. A welcome grant by the Georgia Endurance Riders Association (GERA) is used to pay for some of the fuel used by the trail equipment and other miscellaneous expenses associated with trail construction. By the end of 2008, volunteers had donated over 1,200 hours of their time to help provide the Garland Mountain trails for all of us, our children, and grandchildren. Garland Mountain trail workdays are regularly scheduled on the second Saturday of every month, and also on the fourth Tuesday of most months. Volunteers are requested to pre-register with Cindy Young at Cdingodog1@aol.com or (770) 517-9550.

In summary, dedicated individual volunteers can make a difference. Both of these projects grew from volunteer ideas that were then supported with cooperative actions. Both projects offer excellent opportunities to benefit the public. Both projects also require long-term volunteer commitments to maintain the trails in good condition. I sincerely hope to see many of you out on these trails, both as a user and as a volunteer.

Submitted by: Katrina Adams