Fun in the red zone despite equine influenza

October 19, 2007 12:00am

FIRSTLY, forget the notion, apparently believed by some, that you can get the flu from a horse.

Secondly, there are plenty of healthy but bored horses not being ridden because people who pay to enjoy the occasional ride are staying away from stables in droves.

Lynne Croft and Ian Rudd, who keep 18 riding horses on a property fronting the shallow Lake Weyba, near Noosa, are battling.

None of their horses are ill. Car tyres are sprayed with disinfectant upon entering the property. Their business, Clip Clop Horse Treks, is not roaming as far as before the outbreak, but the Department of Primary Industries has allowed horses to access the lake.

For anyone who gets pleasure riding where tawny frogmouths and corellas look down from tall eucalypts, then a two-hour Clip Clop outing fits the bill.

The author joined three Noosa tourists – from Sydney, England and Holland – for a stress-easing amble around the margins of a national park.
In case customers are claiming greater riding skill than they have, Rudd previews each ride with a run-through of the basics.

Halfway through, we tether six horses in the shade, tuck in to fresh damper and syrup, and feed crumbs to fish in the clear Horseman's Creek.
The ride's finale is what we're anticipating. Single file, the horses walk through the shallows of Lake Weyba – a Gubbi Gubbi tribal name for stingray. Rudd has also seen sand sharks and wobbegongs basking in the warm shallows.

On Croft's direction, we give the horses their heads. The water is close to 20cm deep and our mounts lift their legs high has they canter, splashing water everywhere. Riders get drenched. Supplied rubber boots squelch, but it's a warm day and the run is pure fun.

Horse flu restrictions, however, are severely affecting the business, Croft said.

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