Horse riders, walkers, and Conservation Commission members agreed last week that better communication is the key to addressing recent complaints about horse damage to some of Harvard’s trails. Those present said they would work on developing some guidelines for the best use of trails by horse riders.
Disappointed at a low turnout by local horse owners at the June 7 Town Hall meeting, Conservation Commission Vice-Chairwoman Wendy Sisson, filling in for absent Chairman Paul Willard, suggested working on the issue outside the hearing format. She outlined the complaints, saying that horses have been degrading some of the trails in early spring and also causing the paths to become wider.
Sisson suggested setting guidelines about “common-sense things,” such as when and where to ride, similar to those compiled in 2000 by a local orchard and a horse-owners association that is no longer in existence. “We want to talk to horse owners who ride the trails, as well as to barns that board horses for nonresidents who might ride the trails,” Sisson said.
Two horse owners at the meeting, Pam Browning and Ted Van Dusen, both newcomers to town, expressed eagerness to help coordinate a network of horse and horse-farm owners for spreading the word when a section of trail should not have horses on it. Browning suggested that it would be helpful to have the guidelines in the Harvard Trail Guide. Resident Barbara Heim, a compiler of the most recent edition of the guide, referred to the blue-blazed trails in the guide, stating that they are not suitable for horse traffic, because they are narrower, steeper, and wetter. “People on foot have trouble on the blue trails if horses have been on them,” she said.
Resident Steve Rowse, member of a recently formed stewardship committee for conservation land in Harvard, informed the commission that his group will be gathering “human use data” on conservation land parcels and developing active management plans that will include trail improvement. He expressed interest in connecting with the group that will be setting guidelines for riders. “We want to know who wants to use the trails and for what,” he said.
The value of education and courtesy—“more talking over the fence”—was emphasized by resident and horse-farm owner Al Combs, who also volunteered to work on the guidelines. Speaking as a representative of Harvard’s Agricultural Commission, Combs said his commission would be developing a list of equestrian farmers in the area who could be called upon to help the police or fire departments in the event of horse-related emergencies, such as a horse on the loose or a barn fire where horses need to be rescued. Combs suggested that this list could be used in a networking effort. He added that he had talked to Willard about the matter, and they agreed that the trails suitable for riding should be identified in an addendum to “stick in the back of the trail guide.”
Encouraged by the atmosphere of cooperation and willingness to help from those present, Sisson set a goal of completing the new guidelines by next February, before the time when frost comes out of the ground and the trails are most sensitive to damage. “It is a privilege to use the trails,” she concluded. “They belong to everyone.”
