Horseback Apple Picking
Posted by Bill on Nov 05 2008 at 05:28 pm | Tagged as: General
One of my favorite things to do in the fall is to pick apples. Growing up, my family and I picked apples at an orchard and then made applesauce, pies, apple brown bettys and more. With limited success, I’ve been trying to make that continue that tradition but frankly there aren’t many orchards in east Tennessee for some reason. So one of our plans is to plant apple trees in the pasture. The horses will love it and once the trees grow tall enough we’ll actually be able to keep some of those apples for the humans here on the farm.
Now if I had 100 acres, I think I’d have a big orchard. And how awesome would it be to pick those apples on horseback? If I ever get that chance, I will make sure a camera is at the ready. I can see it now…one for me, two for you, one for me, two for you (where you is whatever horse is under saddle 
).
By the way, our horses LOVE apples. We’ve fed them enough that I wouldn’t be surprised to see some apples trees growing somewhere in the pasture. The big downside to feeding apples to horses, though, is that afterward your gloves smell yummy. Too yummy, if you know what I mean.
I had the opportunity to live in southern Brazil for a few months to teach and on the weekends the other volunteers and I would visit the farm to ride horses. We rode through the eucalyptus forests, bison herds, mountain trails and to local rodeos. We picked sweet and sour oranges, lemons, and limes from horseback. We watched sunsets and sunrises and tried to herd cattle and sheep on horseback. It’s been a year and a half, but I still dream about those moments on horseback. I so hope to have a horse some day! I know I won’t have those exact rides in Nebraska, but the horses would be just enough to remember!
I love your posts and read them right when I get the email saying there’s a new post! I enjoy reading about your trials and tribulations along the way and how you’re becoming such “horse people!”
Jodi that sounds wonderful! Thanks for the comment.
Have you ever picked apples in the Fall? How wonderful it is to be out there with family and friends spending time together. At my old barn, we had an apple tree and the horses just loved it! But you do have to watch out for worms
. Have a lovely fall!
I used to ride past an orchard all the time way back in the 80’s. One afternoon the woman who owned it came out and practically ran up to us to give my horse and I some apples. It seemed that they had just developed a way to winter the apples over to spring. It was March or April and it was truly the best apple in the world. This was way before apples were available year round in the stores.
I picked apples from my horse’s back when we lived in California - there were old apple orchards all over that we rode through. When TS and I turned onto a certain trail he knew we were headed for the apple trees and I could barely control him. He’d stand still underneath while I stuffed my backpack and saddle bags and when the apples would fall to the ground he’d gobble them up. On other rides we’d be trotting down and old road and he’d just veer over to an apple tree and stop dead. He wouldn’t go on until we had our fill. Thanks for sparking the sweet memory.
I uploaded a picture of my horse and his old pasture buddy eating from an apple tree. Had to be careful they didn’t get too many at a time!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-xmg0En7_o
Such a great idea
Our apple trees didn’t produce last Spring because of late frosts and hail storms in May and June
My mare is a funny gal and quite particular about her snacks. She refuses to eat an apple unless I slice them in individual wedges for her.
Lisa
New Mexico
We are East Tennessians also, and in our town many neighbors have apple trees which we are free to pick from. I have to try the apple pickin off my new horse… Sounds like fun…