PREPARING FOR LONG DISTANCE DRIVING ~ By Michael Muir
It all begins with the equine(s). Your horse, pony, donkey or mule must be properly trained, perfectly conditioned and absolutely sound to attempt any part of this journey. It is cruel to attempt long-distance driving with anything less. It takes a minimum of 120 days (four months) to condition your animal(s) for the trek. Make sure your driving companion (and you!) are prepared for the challenge of completing a walk-trot pace averaging five miles an hour for 20-25 miles per day. Then, please remember, no resting on the laurels of that achievement. You will do it again the next day (and the next!) before a days rest. You must also remember the considerable daily nutritional and caloric needs of your high-performance athlete. Learn what it takes to keep your driving friend fit and happy to continue each day before setting out on this journey. Your vehicle and everything you will carry horsedrawn must be an appropriate weight for your animal(s). Do not over-estimate their long-term draft capacity for at least four to six hours of driving each day, over varying terrain. Make certain your vehicle is sound for the demands of the journey and that you carry all appropriate spares and repairs. If you cannot keep up, your support vehicle must be adequate to carry you, your horse(s) and all equipment to the next stop. Practice, and seek the guidance of experienced mentors, to determine the ongoing daily capacity of your driving partner(s). Shoeing, or any alternative of hoof protection considered, must be tested to meet the mileage demands and exceptional wear that long-distance driving entails. The caravan will...Michael Muir Bio
We want to tell you about an unusual man. He is the great-grandson of America’s visionary conservationist, John Muir. In his own right, Michael Muir has enjoyed success in a far-ranging equestrian career that has earned his horses National Grand Championships in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. His racehorses have set track and world records and established multi-million dollar sire careers. He has directed the operations of the largest commercial carriage business in the world. He has represented the United States four times in World and International Championship carriage driving competitions, winning medals and champion honors in Germany, Austria, France and Great Britain. Michael has lived with multiple sclerosis since 1967, when he was fifteen years old. In 2001, Michael led an international team of carriage drivers with disabilities, driving wheelchair accessible carriages more than 3,000 miles from California to the White House, in an epic journey that took over nine months to complete. In 2002, they traveled across northern Europe, in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. In 2003, Michael followed the 1867 path of John Muir’s first great wilderness adventure, the Thousand Mile Walk to the Gulf. After serving as President of United States Driving for the Disabled, Michael founded Access Adventure in 2005, enriching the lives of people with disabilities and other underserved members of our community by providing outdoor recreation, open space access, education and therapy through a working partnership with horses. The organization is staffed entirely by volunteers and the services they provide to hundreds of people are free. In 2009, Michael survived a cancer diagnosis, with two surgeries and radiation...Therapeutic Driving With Access Adventure
Access Adventure enriches the lives of people with disabilities by providing outdoor recreation, open space access, education and therapy through a working partnership with horses. Our horsedrawn carriages and wagons are equipped with solar powered wheelchair lifts that can accommodate up to five hundred pounds, lifting aboard people with living with mobility challenges. Our headquarters are the 2,070 acre Rush Ranch on Grizzly Island Road, two miles south of Fairfield/Suisun. We have expanded our operations into the Napa Valley and we serve people throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Therapeutic Driving offers even profoundly disabled people the opportunity to enjoy outdoor recreation while achieving positive functional outcomes in an environment that is safe, supportive, exciting and fun. Access Adventure provides North America’s premier Therapeutic Driving programs serving hundreds of people each year. Our founder and Director of Therapeutic Horsemanship, Michael Muir is past President of United States Driving for the Disabled, Inc. We have program management, participation and oversight by credentialed therapists and medical professionals, Sharon Commisso and Tineke Jacobsen. The most important thing we do is offer hope and healing to anyone struggling to adapt to living with a significant disability. Access Adventure is approaching a decade of success with participants recovering from traumatic brain injury, people adjusting to life after a spinal cord injury and others with profound disabilities such as multiple sclerosis, polio and blindness. Our experience with innovative adaptations allows these people to enjoy driving sensitive and well-trained horses while experiencing the joy and healing power of nature and life outdoors. Access Adventure works regularly at the Veterans Home of California in Yountville, providing the...Donate
“Everyone needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where Nature can heal body and soul.” ~ John Muir