This part of Tennessee, the Big South Fork, is a destination for trail riders. It is called "The Trail Riding Capital of the Southeast" and is, in fact, the best riding east of the Mississippi! The Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area includes 125,000 acres with hundreds of miles of trails. The local terrain is referred to as "rolling" and some of it is ....well...more rolling than others! Some of it is, in fact, STEEP. There are many scenic overlooks where you can tie up at hitching rails and enjoy the view but first you have to get up that high! It is not a place for fat, lazy horses or out-of-shape riders. Many visitors come from places like Florida where it's hard to condition a horse for hills when there aren't any. The best thing is to start slow, with rides on some of the easier, more level trails and build up to those that are more challenging. The National Park Service has rated the trails from "easy" to "moderate" to "difficult" so you can anticipate what to expect and plan accordingly. The trails go on seemingly forever and the natural tendency is to try "just one more trail." Too many riders bite off more than they can chew and go too far too soon, ending up with exhausted horses or horses with saddle sores or girth galls. Or the riders themselves suffer sore, chafed knees or will have developed a blister ....you know where!
Nothing is worse than being out of commission soon after the start of your riding vacation. There are many wonderful local attractions so pace yourself and plan a "down day" to explore the area!
For information about horse properties in the Big South Fork Tennessee area, www.trailridersrealestate.com
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