Trail Rides - Page One
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forest trails

The Ozark Mountain forests are a mix of red and white oaks, walnut, several hickory species, cedar, and shortleaf pine. In all some 40 tree species are relatively common to our forests. A few, like the Ozark chinquapin oak, grow only in this part of the Ozarks. Most of the trees produce some sort of nut - acorns, walnuts, mockernut, and even a few beech nuts. Each fall these nuts fall to the forest floor forming a food crop for wildlife that lasts much of the winter. Through these hardwood forests run many miles of trails which we ride. Whitetail deer, bobcats, gray and red fox, hawks, owls, songbirds, and several small mammals appear along trails.

cave entrance

It sure does not look like it from the outside, but this is a cave that is large enough to hold 300 horses! The Ozark Mountains are riddled with many caves, springs, creeks, and bizzare limestone and sandstone rock formations which geologists refer to as "karst" land forms. The name comes from a region in Europe that, like the Ozarks, was formed and shaped primarily by millions of years of water errosion. This region of the Ozarks was never glaciated so land forms are mostly the result of water action. When water errodes soil and bedrock out from underneath limestone formations these large caves are formed. You'll see both large and small karst formations on the trails we ride.

my dog Mr. Stubby rides with  me on all trips

Mr. Stubby is one of the best riders I have ever seen. He never falls off, and would have a total fit if I did not take him with me. Like me, he rides all year. Gravel roads are common in the Ozarks. Since few vehicle travel these roads they make wonderful trails. If wildlife viewing is an activity you enjoy go on horseback. Wild animals are much less afraid of humans on horseback than a person walking down a road like this. Like us, animals prefer not having to work too hard to get around. They use these roads frequently to travel their territories. The best time of year to view mammals is during the "leaves off" months of  November through April. Ozark winter months are mild with the exception of a few weeks in mid January through mid February.

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