Adventure Travel on Horseback

Home
>
Outdoors
>
Adventure Travel on Horseback

Adventure Travel on Horseback

When you think of "adventure travel," what crosses your mind?

Hiking?
White water rafting?
Scuba diving?
Something as sedentary as a cruise ship or land rover safari?

Those ideas lose their "adventure" status when you compare them to galloping on a horse in Africa with a zebra and wildebeest racing along side you, or quietly observing the elephant and giraffe.

How can a traveler visit the remote parts of the world's most beautiful and interesting places while.....

Practicing a fascinating sport
Avoiding polluting
Keeping in harmony with history and nature
Being free to explore exotic locations
Making friends in remote places, and Sharing the experience with a willing animal?

Have you ever considered the tremendous advantages of adventure travel on horseback? A horse can take you to beautiful and remote places which are difficult to reach in any other way. At the same time, you can practice a challenging sport which has been a favorite of mankind for millennia.

Destinations like Africa, Asia, Europe and South America offer a wonderful variety of adventure tours on horseback. Though comparatively little known to Americans, the British and particularly the French have highly developed the riding tour concept in many parts of the world. In many locations in the United States rights-of-way for horses have been lost, but many still exist in other countries.

Horses and horseback riding are deeply woven into the culture and history of most cultures from Argentina to Ireland. This is how our ancestors traveled and for those with a sense of history there is no more appropriate way to go. If you arrive in a foreign place on horseback, you will most likely be enthusiastically greeted by locals with waves and smiles which greatly facilitate meaningful contacts. Those who arrive by bus, on foot or on a bicycle are usually ignored. Horses are a great introduction and ice breaker almost anywhere.

If you seek a wilderness adventure, then horses are the way to go unless you want to walk and carry your equipment. Riding tours can take you from inn to inn, castle to castle, palace to palace or from one comfortable camp to another. Costs are very reasonably compared to biking or bus trips.

Horseback riding adventures vary widely in the skill and experience required to handle them safely. Most of these tours move out at all paces and include some good gallops so that one can cover 15 to 35 miles in a day. Beginners need several days of instruction before attempting even an easy trip, but those who are reasonably fit, not too overweight and have open minds can catch on very quickly. A week of intensive riding with good instruction can easily prepare most people for the less demanding adventures.

One of the enormous advantages of travel on horseback is that you are sharing the adventure with a willing animal who is also interested in the sights and sounds and who loves a brisk gallop on a beach or open plain as much as you do. A day in the saddle is also great exercise and riding is an excellent way to keep fit while having fun. It is far more interesting and satisfying than sitting confined in a bus or land rover all day which really isn't adventure travel at all. Another dividend is the keen appetite you develop after a day in the saddle for the delicious food you will be served.

On an African ride, a good horse can outdistance an irate Cape buffalo or elephant and keep you safe. Comfortable camps are set up for you each night, the food is excellent and the service superb. Or try a horseback tour visiting the castles of the Loire Valley and ride into the courtyards on your horse like a knight of old. You can gallop along forest tracks where the French aristocracy once chased the wild stag. There is a broad spectrum of possibilities available for horseback riding vacations.

If it appeals to you to travel in harmony with nature without using polluting, noisy machines or an unresponsive bicycle, then you should look into horseback riding tours.

Bayard Fox has been riding for 70 years on six continents and has ridden enough miles to circle the globe several times. He is owner and founder of Equitours Worldwide Horseback Riding Vacations. He and his wife also own the Bitterroot Dude Ranch where they raise and train Arabian horses. Bayard has been leading and organizing riding tours for 35 years.

Copyright 2005 Bayard Fox and Equitours, Ltd.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 2.5 License.

In The News:

Gunmen release 27 teenage boys who were kidnapped from boarding school in Nigeria
Sat, 27 Feb 2021 09:29:00 +0000
Pupils kidnapped from a boarding school in Nigeria alongside members of their family and teachers have been released, an official has confirmed.

After US airstrikes in Syria, Biden warns Iran of consequences for supporting militia groups
Sat, 27 Feb 2021 09:46:00 +0000
American airstrikes in Syria show that Iran can expect consequences for supporting militia groups threatening US interests and personnel, Joe Biden has warned.

Myanmar's UN ambassador fired after making salute in support of anti-coup protests
Sat, 27 Feb 2021 14:37:00 +0000
Myanmar's ambassador to the UN has been fired a day after making a three-fingered salute in support of anti-coup protests - as he called on nations to use "any means necessary" to reverse the military takeover.

Auckland faces seven-day lockdown after COVID case detected
Sat, 27 Feb 2021 11:27:00 +0000
New Zealand's prime minister has announced the country's biggest city, Auckland, will go into a seven-day lockdown after a COVID-19 case was detected.

'They killed so many': 24 hours of mass executions and unspeakable violence, as told by witnesses
Sat, 27 Feb 2021 00:16:00 +0000
Axum is a historical city - an ancient site of pilgrimage in the Ethiopian region of Tigray.

tikatoshop.it

Erfahrungen mit Pallhuber Wein
Agen Bola SBOBET Terpercaya

Travel in comfort and at your leisure with CT Airlink Limousine & Car Service for top quality private transportation and exceptional customer service. We operate Sedans, SUVs & Vans for CT Car Services to covering all Connecticut airports including Car Service from CT to Newark Airport , Mohegan Casino Uncasville CT, Foxwoods Casino Mashantucket CT, Manhattan Cruise Terminal NYC, Brooklyn Cruise Terminal NYC and Bayonne Cruise Terminal NJ. CT Airlink hire licensed and friendly chauffeurs who have in-depth knowledge of the Areas.