first time and hoping to forfill my dream: on horseback and with my dog

[carolinericky&fred]

hello! I'm Caroline and a few months ago I got sure I wanted to do a long trip with my horse Ricky and my dog Fred .. so I startde thinking and came to the conclusion that I would be safer if I follewed the path of st james towards Santiago... I never had the dream of being a pilgrim, but that were two pieces falling together to be able to realise my dream: see a very nice piece of the world: France/North Spain. So I starded to google for ours and ours and know now pretty much about the different paths and so on; BUT: about getting there on horseback thats really difficult to find information about, very difficult to get in touch with others who did it before. Like fo example a member of this forum: Adri & Waldo ; a duth man and his fresian horse. It would be very much the same; except I m a girl of 32 (also my horse is an fresian horse) and: I would like to take my border collie with me; also something where get no real info about.
So anyone who can give tip or did this before on horseback and/or accompagnied with a dog PLEASE feel free to share your experiences
I would like to start in april from Geraardsbergen (Belgium) , follow the path Reims - Vezelay ;; and further on I m still waiting for good advice; I do know I would like to take the camino del norte in Spain
lokking forward to your responses!
caroline

 

[Tincatinker]

I wish you good luck, Bon chance! If you have tried passage /trekking in your own locality you will be aware that the challenges are finding shelter, (free) grazing and farrier services. These are limited throughout western Europe these days, the motor car rules supreme and most equestrian support services are focused on urban centres where horse ownership is found since the passing of the horse from agricultural usage.

I would advise against attempting your proposed journey without organised and constant support. The journey is of course quite possible but the logistics will be challenging. Fresians are beautiful and robust beasts but three months of constant trekking on poor grazing would be too much. Your horse is also likely to require re-shoeing at least twice because of the amount of Tarmac you will encounter.

Take your horse (and dog) on a 5 day journey from your home and, when you are home again, multiply those challenges 10 fold and more. Your collie, if it sees you as pack-leader, will follow you anywhere. So long as you are confident it will stay to your heel when surprised or shocked or challenged by a French or Spanish yard-dog or a back-firing car or a running cat then you can be confident of its constancy on your trip.

Caroline, I wish you well. I hope someone on this forum can point you to sources of information from those who have tackled such a journey. The only accounts I have found outside this forum are semi-comic autobiographical books short on practical detail.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

There are leash laws in France and Spain. If you plan to let your dog range about as you ride, there may be problems. Everyone in both countries seems to have a dog, and they are very protective of their territory. They are subject to the same leash laws, of course, but occasionally roam free.

 

[Magwood]

I have a horse and, briefly, thought how romantic it would be to ride the camino. That is until I read a book by someone who had done it, together with her sister (also on horseback), and her husband driving a backup horse box. To say the very least, it was logistically challenging! I would not consider it for a moment. There are a good deal of roads to be walked and having a dog alongside would be very dangerous. We also passed several cattle grids, and I don't know how these could be crossed on horseback. There are also many cyclists whizzing by without warning, which could be an issue. And when I walked in April/ May last year there were many stretches of deep wet mud that could cause shoes to be cast. And then there is the rain. It is one thing to decide that you are prepared to put yourself through the discomfort of walking day after day in the rain, but this would make for a very miserable horse and dog (well, mine would be miserable in those conditions!). There are also many steep rocky and stoney descents which would be very slippery in wet conditions.

If you are seriously considering riding the camino on your own horse, I think you should walk it first, so that you can make a considered judgement about the feasibility.

You can find the book I referred to here http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0753510383/?tag=casaivar-21

Sorry to be a kill-joy - it is a lovely idea, but a huge undertaking.