We at last have some warmer weather and I decided it was perfect to take Biasini for a hack in the forest. I think it is good for Biasini’s mental health and for mine to get out of the arena and go for a trail ride once a week if possible. I did not know if we would be having black flies or not. These are small little terrors that love to give you a nasty bite. So I put on Biasini’s ear protectors and took my trusty fly swoosher. This is like a small stick with 12 inches of black horse tail attached. It is very useful for swooshing away any flies that are bothering Biasini. We set off to the west of the barn and through the pine forest until we came out to the York Regional Forest. Just before we joined the forest trail I saw a lovely patch of Trilliums. These are the official flower of Ontario and they are found in the forests in early spring. As I am too advanced in years to just hop off my horse and take a close up photo with my phone and then hop back on I took some photos from atop Biasini.
Biasini was not too patient with my photo taking and wanted to get on up the trail.
We have had a few storms over the winter and many trees came down. The York Region Conservation sends in forestry workers to cut down any trees that are damaged, dangerous or fallen across the trails. One of the workers had a sense of humor and had cut a smiley face into the cut end of a big tree.
On the way back to the barn we passed through another lovely patch of Trilliums.
Although the forest is still very bare with little to no undergrowth and leaves only just starting to appear on the trees the fresh spring green is so vibrant and the Trilliums are a favorite with me. And……there were no flies!!
HorseAddict 
Wonderful photos, and walk, and the Trilliums… almost like I took a stroll there myself, lovely post. 🙂
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Thank you! So glad you enjoyed it Nicole.
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A perfect day out. I would say 🙂
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The trails you have access to make me swoon, no matter the time of year. They are gorgeous!
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Thanks for commenting. We are very lucky at the barn to have about 35 acres that belong to the barn property and through those trails we can get to the regional conservation area. If I was there in the winter I would go out in the snow on the trails as well.
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Reblogged this on Dream Big, Dream Often.
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Thanks Danny!
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You are welcome!
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What a wonderful walk in the wood, Anne! The trilliums are beautiful, and abundant, too!
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This is the best time of year for them!
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Lovely to see yours first! Ours are just about to come in to bloom. Here in central Ontario, we’re a couple gardening zones behind beautiful B.C. 🙂
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I’m actually in south Ontario, just commuter distance north of Toronto. I grew up in BC but left several decades ago. To be honest I don’t think they have Trilliums out there. Enjoy yours when they bloom!
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This sounds such a lovely outing. I love Baisini’s ear protectors, even if I did assume they were ear muffs at first… 🙂 xxx
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Interestingly enough in dressage we are not permitted to put any sound canceling things in or on the ears. Jumpers have little soft balls they can put into the ears and then put the fly protectors on top of the ears. I dressage we can wear the protectors in competition but at the tack check after the test it must be taken off so the steward can check we don’t have the ear plug balls in the ears. The different disciplines have different rules.
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What a lovely ride.
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It was. Nice to have the break from training work.
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Sometimes it’s great to have ‘me’ time.
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❤ so pretty!!! How fun it would be to ride through there together!
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It’s great to have a horse that will calmly go through the forest trails. You do lots of hacking out so you understand the benefits to both horse and human. I really value it as my special time with Biasini.
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So many benefits to both. I value it as well. I bet B feels the same way!
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He does. He completely relaxes and lowers his head down like a western trail horse!
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I just love that
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I just love that!
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Yay for no flies! The smiley face is a fun surprise. What a lovely ride.
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The flies will have their day soon enough. I enjoyed the smiley face too.
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I always enjoy coming along on your hacks with Biasini! The forest seems so peaceful and I love the Trillium flowers. Thank you for sharing Anne and please give Biasini a big pat from us all 🤗💖 xxx
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When i was bringing him in today from the paddock I gave him several pats on his neck just behind his ears and told him those pats were from the Whippet Human. He gave me a look at that moment. I think he understands! Glad you enjoyed the post. Thanks for your lovely comment.
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Love the Trilliums. What a wonderful place to ride, Anne.
You get a first hand view as nature awakens from winter.
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It is wonderful and I am so lucky to have a horse that is happy to go out on the trails on his own like a Western trail horse. Many upper level dressage horses get nervous on trails without another horse. I think it is so important to get them out going up and down the hills and picking their way over tree roots and the odd fallen branch and while doing it we are, as you put it so well, getting a first hand view of nature! 😃
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So beautiful! We have been getting perfect weather for hacking out too! It’s such a relief after a long winter. Interesting that you get Trilliums too…I always think of them as a “Great Lakes” flower because they only grow within a certain amount of miles from Lake Superior (and Lake Michigan). We have them all over the woods at the property where we plan to build a house in the next few years, so we unofficially named the future farm “Trillium Hill”. One of my favorite wild-flowers, for sure. 🙂
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We are close to lake Ontario here so the Trilliums are indeed Great Lakes flowers. It sounds wonderful that you will have a farm with these lovlies growing and what a good name for it!
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Oh!! Of course!! I was thinking you were in Vancouver!!
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Nope i’m over here in the east. I grew up in Vancouver, then moved to England and then came to Ontario just north of Toronto.
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Sounds like a wonderful day! I took my mother up to the blue ridge parkway yesterday and had a very nice ride. Unfortunately, the rhododendrons are not blooming yet. Have to go back!
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I love the azaleas and rhodos! They struggle in the Ontario climate however . I hope you will go back to see them in bloom. Today it is pouring rain here so I’m glad i went yesterday. Have a good week Jo Ann.
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Yes, we went yesterday because the rest of the week looks like rain. We have to have rain and sun for the growth of God’s beautiful flowers we get to experience!
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Awww thank you for sharing this ride 🙂 The forestry worker’s humor made me smile a whole lot… if everyone took a second to do silly things like this once in a while, what a much more fun world this would be, wouldn’t it? Then again, if everyone did this kind of things, we probably wouldn’t notice it anymore… Hehehe
Give Biasini a nice pet for me 🙂 And tell him he totally rocks the ear protectors… I had to pay close attention to even notice he was wearing them!!
Big muuuuuuuuahhh! to you two!!
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Thank you! I’m so glad you liked our walk and got a smile from the smiley face. I will give Biasini a big muuuuuahh from you. He’ll like that!🐴
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🙂
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It’s good to see a sense of humour in unexpected places – and it’s heaven when there are no flies!
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Well, if I had a horse and a forest near by, this is where I’d be most days!
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When I finally decide to retire from the competition and training regime it is what I will be doing as well.
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