Checklist Rules Education FAQ Maps

Rules for Riders

Riders may arrive anytime between 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, but must be prepared to exit the Preserve by 6:00 PM. Feel free to ask the staff or volunteer trail monitors for assistance in planning your ride according to how much time you have.
No stallions are permitted on the Preserve: Many stallions are unruly around mares that could be in estrus. People and horses are at risk of getting hurt, no matter how skilled the horse handler is, and this restriction has everyone's safety in mind.
Pets may not accompany horses and riders. Only service animals are allowed on the Preserve. Please do not leave animals in your vehicle or trailer in the parking area.
Youth riders (16 and under) are required to wear helmets.
Please only bring hay or alfalfa pellets to reduce the spread of non-native seed into the preserve.
Remove manure from around trailers and haul home.
Riders must be in control of their horse at all times.
Riders should not ride double except for an adult/child combination. (Adults are 21 years or older)
Trail monitors will ride the trails to ensure the safety and adherence of rules by everyone.
Please notify the trail monitor or a trust employee as quickly as possible if you lose your horse.
Please come prepared for various weather conditions; rain gear, sun screen, bug spray etc. (If you have an allergy to bees, please be prepared and bring your EPI-pen and notify someone of where it is located.)
Please practice "leave no trace" ethics and pack out all trash.
Please leave artifacts of the Preserve undisturbed for future riders/visitors to enjoy. Although artifacts and features may be studied and appreciated in isolation from one another, it is their context--their spatial and temporal relationship to one another, to geological features in the ground, and to other sites across the landscape--that provides the most meaningful information about the past and gives the objects and sites their greatest scientific value. This includes antler sheds and obsidian. (Antler sheds are sold at our gift shop, and like the other merchandise, all proceeds go to help the Trust's programs.)
No camping or fires will be allowed without a permit.
No smoking on the Preserve except inside your own personal vehicle.
The Trust reserves the right to refuse access to any rider for any reason at any time.
All participants ride and observe at their own risk. According to the New Mexico Equine Liability Act:

There are inherent risks to participants and observers involved in all activities with equine animals due to the propensity of an equine animal to kick, bite, shy, buck, stumble, bolt, rear, trample, be unpredictable or collide with other animals, objects or persons. Warning: New Mexico state law provides that no person, corporation or partnership is liable for personal injuries to or for the death of a rider (or other participant) that may occur as a result of the behavior of equine animals while engaged in any equine activities, and that the rider (or other participant) agrees to engage in the equine activity at his own risk.