We have just completed ½ a year on the road.
We started in Rockingham Ontario, Canada 6 months ago are now in Caldwell Texas, USA.
We have travelled 2242 miles averaging 12 miles per day including rest days. About 20 miles per day on the road.
What a weird wonderful trip it’s been.
It’s more than I could have expected.
The star of the show has been Roxy. Roxy is a registered Morgan mare who was sold to me as gaited. She does have a spiffy fast flat walk, but she also does trot alot, and doesn’t go into a faster gait unless we go really fast and I don’t let her canter. We don’t do this on the trip with the heavy load.
Roxy has been a rockstar and she does her registered name proud: “She Roxs”!!!
What a tough, forward, sane, easy keeping horse. Aside from a cold she got in December, we have had no forced downtime and no injuries! This is while carrying up to 255lbs on a horse that can’t weigh more than 825lbs! We shed about 20 lbs of gear in the last month as it warmed up. We may shed another 5 lbs before Mexico.
For the next 6 months of the trip, we expect to do a lot of 15-20 mile days, interspacing more trotting into the mix. In other words, less time per day with the saddle on her back.
We have seen a lot of unique views and met hundreds of interesting people. I have travelled on hundreds of back roads, even some the locals don’t know about.
About 90% of the travel has been on paved roads. About a third of that on shoulders, the rest right on the asphalt.
My hosts have been spectacular. I have stayed at many horse farms and have learned so much about horses from many experts.
Not all of the journey has been easy. There were many days with their share of stresses and troubles. I can’t tell you the amount of times I’ve been put in danger by people filming me or taking pictures of us while on busy roads.
A truck hit our side bag one day with its mirror at low speed, and just the other day we almost got nailed at high speed.
Riding on busy roads is very taxing. I don’t really recommend it. If you are taking two horse and going on busy roads you are asking to die. When I made the decision in June to take only one horse I realized I would have to take less, way less gear. I don’t regret it at all tho, because I have full control over the one horse. I would never want to go on many of the roads I rode with 2 horses.
Another stress is from what I’ve noticed of the socio-political climate of America. Online and on the road I’ve seen more than my share of immature and ignorant political and social bickering. It saddens me beyond words when I see people on both the left and right acting like children, divided over anything and everything. I see things getting much much worse if we keep on acting as we do, refusing to look at the root causes of the issues, and instead conveniently blaming our “enemy” of choice. I know we can do better than this. We can build and integrate rather than destroy and divide. It’s up to each one of us to be mature enough to do so. It’s up to all of us to resist being played and falling for the easy way out.
We are currently in Caldwell in central Texas, we are beginning to prepare for the second half of the journey. Specifically, entering Mexico.
After discussing the matter with dozens of people, we have decided that when we reach the border, we will rent a truck and trailer to drive us south to an undisclosed location. This will take us away from the volatile northern mexican areas.
We are using extra funds for this expense. To help cover costs, we are putting 3 saddles up for sale. Please share this upcoming saddle post with your friends. They are located in Ontario. Message me for more info. I want these saddles sold by end March.
If you have been thinking of donating to my trip, now is the time.
Finally, I’d like thank all of you for taking the time to look at Maya Pedal and their great work in Guatemala. You can donate to their project here:
https://www.gofundme.com/Maya-Pedal-Horse-Ride-Fundraiser
Chris MacLuckies’ professional career began with a decade-long stint as an organic vegetable grower in Ontario Canada. His career is prolific in breadth and scope. He has farmed organics commercially, volunteered in Guatemala, ran a gardening business, raised and raced sled dogs, tended his livestock, and ridden his horse on a multi-country expedition.
Chris is a certified TEFL ESL English Teacher, author of seven books, freelance content creator, and outdoor travel gear designer.