French Way by Horse

[Kevin Atkinson]

Hi, myself and the wife are booked on a tour for completing the French Way on horseback starting 11th June 2019. Has anyone got any tips and advise from previous trips and can anyway advise if the Spanish horses with western saddle are trained in western style or similar to UK riding.
Thanks Kevin

 

[Robo]

Well that should be interesting. Is this a new business/venture?
The only Pilgrims I have seen on horses were on the way up to O Cebreiro, which is a long established alternative way of 'getting up the hill'.

 

[Kevin Atkinson]

Not at all - we booked it with a tour company based in Santiago and there are plenty of tour companies on the internet. Only doing the last 154km starting from O Cebreiro and 6 days on horse to the final destination. We are both in our 50's and new to horse riding so should be quiet a challenge for us and hopefully make our spiritual adventure more memorable.

 

[RedRuby]

I ride horses, but haven't on the Camino. I do remember seeing some riders out of O' Cebreiro and thought the horses looked in great form and very fit. The saddles weren't Western style with the pommel and wide stirrup bar, more similar to an English style - no pommel and a slimmer stirrup bar. You will need a sticky backside. The riding is over uneven ground up and down hills, in addition to wide open spaces for a good canter and fast gallop. My advice wear a riding helmet, riding boots and jodhpurs if possible. Not particularly practical pack wise on Camino though. The seams of jeans or other pants can really bruise and rub the inside of your legs on long distances. As you are new to riding horses, get some long distance riding in before you go if you can, horses have a ton of power and it could be a world of hurt for both you and the horse. Have fun and stay in the saddle.

 

[oursonpolaire]

I've only met one horse-back pilgrim, a Spanish army officer, and that was years ago. On the more obscure caminos, I've several times seen Spanish riders in the neighbourhood, and their saddles seemed to be English-style and were very slim. The riders wore jodhpurs and only occasionally helmets (my equestrian friends are big on the helmets so you might want to check with the tour company if you are expected to bring your own).

 

[Kevin Atkinson]

I ride horses, but haven't on the Camino. I do remember seeing some riders out of O' Cebreiro and thought the horses looked in great form and very fit. The saddles weren't Western style with the pommel and wide stirrup bar, more similar to an English style - no pommel and a slimmer stirrup bar. You will need a sticky backside. The riding is over uneven ground up and down hills, in addition to wide open spaces for a good canter and fast gallop. My advice wear a riding helmet, riding boots and jodhpurs if possible. Not particularly practical pack wise on Camino though. The seams of jeans or other pants can really bruise and rub the inside of your legs on long distances. As you are new to riding horses, get some long distance riding in before you go if you can, horses have a ton of power and it could be a world of hurt for both you and the horse. Have fun and stay in the saddle.

Thanks for the info and tips. We have been taking lessons, completed a couple of 2 hr hacks and have a full day ride booked before we start the Camino so looking forward to having a week in the saddle. For sure we will be taking all our own riding kit, including helmets and jodhpurs etc. Enjoying the horse riding experience, learning new skills and looking forward to meeting new friends along the way.

 

[Roland49]

We are both in our 50's and new to horse riding so should be quiet a challenge for us and hopefully make our spiritual adventure more memorable.

As a long-term horse-rider I really recommend to you as many hours on horsebacks as you can afford in time and money until your journey on the Camino. Take your own riding-gloves with you.

Enjoy your ride and stay in the saddle.

Buen Camino!
Roland

 

[André Walker]

Hi, myself and the wife are booked on a tour for completing the French Way on horseback starting 11th June 2019. Has anyone got any tips and advise from previous trips and can anyway advise if the Spanish horses with western saddle are trained in western style or similar to UK riding.
Thanks Kevin

I really admire you guys. I don't know which is harder: doing the Camino walking or on horseback. Personally, if I'm going to have blisters, I prefer to have them as far away from my head as possible.

So I wish you all the luck (and no blisters).

 

[andywild]

I hear the trickiest part of taking a horse is trying to get it on to the top bunk in albergues.. apparently enticing it with sugar cubes is the usual method.

 

[Pelegrin]

I used to ride occasionally in horse rental places in Spain and always had English style saddles, never Western or Spanish style.
I wore mountain old boots with worn flat sole to prevent being hanging of the stirrups in case of fall and mountain pants.