My grandparents, my Dad's parents, were ranchers. They had a house in town and a large ranch a ways out of town. Over the years, they raised cattle (both dairy and beef) and sheep. The house in town was on several acres so they sometimes had sheep there, as well as hogs. The sheep that came to the house in town were usually bum lambs that had to be hand fed. Back before my grandfather bought his first tractor, horses provided the power to pull the wagons and other equipment as needed. Once he bought his tractors, he kept the horses for several years. When I was a child they would sometimes hook up the horses to the wagons and take whoever was there visiting for wagon rides around the countryside. It was particularly fun in the winter. He had a wagon on sleigh runners; we would throw a bunch of haybales on to sit on, bring a bunch of warm blankets to wrap up in and stay warm, and then ride around the backroads all over the county. It was a lot of fun, fond memories.
A while back, Brombeere learned of an outfit, a farm here in the state, that ran a side business of providing sleigh rides to whoever wanted to go. So we made a reservation and went with Himbeere and his friend. It was a lot of fun.
We got there a little early. When that happens they invite you to visit the barn and see the horses that are not currently out pulling wagons. So we did.
After a while the wagon we were going to ride on got back from the ride that had gone out earlier in the day. They typically had two wagons out at any given time, depending on how many groups were coming on that day. So we got to see the horses and wagon we would be riding on.
The wagon unloaded and then pulled into the barn so they could care for the horses, give them a rest and drink, check them out and make sure they were okay to go out again on the next ride. That also gave them a chance to check the wagon and make sure it was also okay to go out again. Then, after several minutes, they let everyone get in the wagon and they headed out.
After a short trip across an open field, we entered some woods, where the rest of the ride would be. The lady driving the wagon was very friendly, very helpful; she even offered to take a few pictures so we could have our whole group in a couple of shots.
They had a system of trails all around through the woods. It was very quiet, a very peaceful ride.
The wagon was quite comfortable, considering it was a wagon.
We had come prepared with warm coats and blankets for the ladies. It was actually a very nice day for the ride. In the woods there was pretty much no wind and it wasn't a really cold day anyway. We had actually been a little worried that there might not be enough snow a few days leading up to the ride.
But it had snowed there at the farm a couple of days before we were there and the trails were in great shape. It was a good ride.
Part way through the ride we stopped at a fire pit they had out in the trees. If we'd wanted to, we could have brought some food and had a cook out over the fire.
But we still stopped at the fire pit and just sat and visited there in the woods.
Even though we had elected not to cook anything, the lady still built up the fire. They kept it going all day so that any group that wanted to could enjoy it. We had decided before hand to go into town after the ride and eat at one of the restaurants in town.
It also gave the horses the opportunity to take a rest.
They had a nice set up there in the woods. We decided this would be a fun thing to do again and, next time we would definitely bring some lunch to cook over the fire, even if it was just marshmallows to roast. It would be fun. Especially since they provide the fire and all the stuff needed to cook and all we would need to bring was the food.
It was a very fun way to spend the afternoon. The whole ride, including the stop at the fire pit, took almost an hour. Nobody froze, nobody fell out of the wagon, and nobody got bit by a horse. It was a very fun time. We left definitely wanting to do it again.
