Why everyone should go on holiday with their horse!

I know it sounds mad! Why on earth would you want to go on holiday with your horse… holidays are meant to be relaxing, late mornings, doing what you want when you want, not having to pick up s**t!

But…How many of us go on holiday, leaving our horses at home in the (what we hope are) capable hands of either relatives, friends or if you keep them at a yard, someone there but then continually keep thinking: are they being fed correctly, are they being checked regularly, are they being rugged if needed, have they still got 4 legs!!! If like me then that is usually a daily worry given my three are not exactly normal in how they go about their daily field business! I mean take this morning for example, i arrive to find the top strand of electric tape hanging and the top gate handle on the floor – since when could horses remove handles from hooks!!!

So for anyone here who has considered taking a break but don’t want to leave their horse at home then read on to find out why I think you should take the horse with you!

1. Mental stability!!! As mentioned above, you know exactly what your horse is getting up to etc as you are with them! Yes you have to get up to feed them in the morning and again at lunch and or evening, BUT you know they are being fed the correct amount etc. I mean, for the first few days i was constantly texting my dad asking how Archie was who was being looked after by him! Not so relaxing!
2. Tourist on horseback! You get to see the area via horseback meaning you get to see more and travel further in a quicker time. We went to the Gower in South Wales and it was such a beautiful area. We rode to the beach, to quaint little villages and up the moors meaning we could see for miles – the view really was breathtaking. Yes you can walk but that’s not as fun as being on a horse and somehow, less magical than standing on the top of a hill looking out the the ocean like your a queen!!
   

   

   
3. The horses get fit…super fit! Yes they are now knackered and are having a well deserved 2 days off however, the miles we covered each day over varying terrain really has done wonders for their fitness. Of the 8 riding days we had, 6 of them were spent out and about and 2 days in the school. When out and about we were in the saddle for 3-4 hours, apart from the 5 hour ride!! Holiday with horses part 2 – never listen to the husband!. Most of this time was spent walking up and down hills, some of which were s**t your pants steep!, the rocks and stones on the trails were also good for the horses as it made them think about where they were stepping and made them pick their feet up, something which they both needed work on before arriving and then when we weren’t walking we were usually cantering and galloping up the moor and on the beach – great cardio work for them.
   

   

1. The humans get super fit! But riding isn’t a sport…the horse does all the work! Tell that to me thighs, back and shoulders and knees – I strangely didn’t have a sore gluteus maximus though! Seriously though, I did actually lose a few pounds over the wee and the only difference was that i was riding more. The terrain meant that i had to keep stable in the saddle – core, the galloping – legs (my god they were burning after the long gallops!), the pulling the beast back when he wanted to be in the lead – arms, back, shoulders. I’m a PE teacher and have pursued various sports in the past including being a gym goer and having a PT and i can honestly say non of the sessions i’ve done with them, even compare to who i felt after a days riding!
2. Ticking things off a bucket list. Now i can’t imagine it’s on every horse riders list of things to do, but beach riding was high up on mine and on most peoples i have spoken to. I have always been jealous of seeing horses being galloped on the beach and through the waves so having the opportunity to do it was literally amazing. As experiences go this is up there with the best yet. I got to ride both horse son the beach and I will admit that my goofy ex racer, Ara, was by far my favourite. He just loved it and wanted to run and run and run and seemed to enjoy splashing about in the waves which is bizarre for a big wimp who won’t even jump a stream.

I’m sure I could think of another few reasons why horse holidays are great but these ones are the ones that spring to mind first.

We stayed near Rhosilli which has a hotel which apparently is in the top 10 in the World for sea views. It is literally on the edge of the cliff and although the hotel/pub is slightly dated, they do in fact have amazing views especially when the sun is setting!

For the first 7 night we stayed in a gorgeous little cottage about a mile from the stables where the horses were kept. Whilst it was very small, it was perfect for us and even made me contemplate my current house and whether I actually need it all! CLick the link under the picture!

For the final two nights we stayed at the stables where they have a number of holiday lets, caravan and camping areas as well as shepherds huts! We stayed in the ‘Bolt Hole’ which was a 2 minute walk door to stable door! Below are a few pics of our humble abode and the horses pad pad.

Pilton Moor Stables is really a great place to stay with our without horses. There are plenty of rides direct from the stables with no need to ride on the roads if you don’t want to. Jo and Martin are so lovely and made us feel really welcome and at home. They have a good school for those that don’t want to hack out, locked tack room and feed store and wonderful big airy stables as well as plenty of turnout should you wish for your horses to stay out and finally the beach within hacking distance…5km and god knows how wide when the tides out or gorgeous pure sand. We will definitely be returning!

So there you have it. Our horsey holiday summed up in over 1000 words!! I find it amazing how I can write so much about random horsey stuff and yet when I was doing my degree I found it difficult to write 500 words on a topic just as random as horse holidays!

I hope you to consider a horse holiday and if you can’t figure out where then the above is a must!

Thanks for reading,

Toodle Pip x