Horse riding can be a truly memorable way to spend your holiday. It’s a great chance to see some impressive landscapes, learn some new skills, and spend some time together as a family. Taking a horse is a great way to see the outdoors as you’ve never seen it before.
The first question you have to ask yourself, however, is just what sort of riding holiday you want to go on? Here are some of the options worth thinking about:
Riding Holidays
These holidays tend not to involve too much planning and don’t need much in the way of specialist packing. You simply head out to some scenic spot in California, Mexico, Spain or South Africa, go out on short rides during the day, then enjoy the fabulous food and wine that are available during the day.
Horseback Safari
Horseback safari is a once in a lifetime experience. Nothing can quite top the wonder of watching a towering herd of giraffe, or getting close to grazing elephants while on horseback. If you’re going as a family, it’s easy enough to find horseback safaris through areas with no dangerous game, so that they’re suitable for all kinds of rider. However, for more experienced riders you can go out to places where you might see buffalo, or even lions.
At the end of the day you’ll return to luxurious safari lodges or tents if you feel like living the high life, or just to a bush camp with a long drop loo and a bucket shower if you feel like the simple life.
Ranch Holiday
Now this is more like it. If you’re going to be riding on horseback for your holidays, you might as well play cowboy. These holidays normally take place in some truly stunning parts of the world, you can choose a guest ranch, where you can simply enjoy the fantastic mountain vistas, or if you fancy something a bit more authentic, you can go to a working ranch and get the chance to be a real cowboy. Although I’d advise you don’t bring out your John Wayne impression, all the same.
Riding Expedition
This is a proper piece of exploration. Riding expeditions can involve a bit of hardship, but the payoff is an experience that you will never forget. You’ll need to spend a bit longer thinking about the clothes and equipment you need to pack for these trips, which will usually involve a fair amount of camping outdoors with limited toilet facilities. However, you’ll also get to see some absolutely breathtaking views, and get to see the countryside from an entirely new perspective.
April 20th, 2012
Tushar Mathur 


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