Recreational Horse Trails in Rural and Wildland Areas: Design, Construction, and Maintenance

AmericanTrails.org

By Dr. Gene Wood

American Trails Magazine editor, Stuart Macdonald, reviews Dr. Wood's equestrian trail book.

All trails interests can learn from equestrian trail book.

The author states that the purpose of the book is to guide land managers and equestrian trail users in design, construction, and maintenance of horse trails in a manner that harmonizes with the surrounding ecosystem and landscape values. The three goals for trails are to be safe for users, ecologically sound, and economically sustainable.

This theme of creating sustainable trails that are sensitive to the environment and habitats through which they pass runs throughout the book. In the opening chapter the author acknowledges that "Among nonmotorized uses of trails, recreational horse use if the most frequently criticized for ecosystem damage." His goal is for trail planners and activists to become proficient in natural ecosystem components and processes. To this end the first chapter is not about trail planning, or design, but about soils, watersheds, and habitats...

Read more here:
https://www.americantrails.org/resources/recreational-horse-trails-in-rural-and-wildland-areas-design-construction-and-maintenance