ANECDOTE | EDUCATION | ANIMAL ADVOCACY
A Welfare Guide for Horse Riding on Holiday
How can we ensure that horses are willing participants?
I’ve loved horses for as long as I can remember, and have always wanted to interact with them in a non-harmful way. I’m also a passionate traveler, and have ridden horses in many different countries, including the UK, France, Austria, India and Vanuatu. But not all of my experiences riding while traveling have been positive.
A couple of times when I was younger — and before I learned how to vet riding centres while on holiday — I’d ridden horses who were mistreated and overworked. They spent their days carrying tourist after tourist with poorly fitted saddles and bridles, living in conditions that threatened their welfare. This was not the sort of relationship I wanted to have with any horse; nor did I want to support any riding centre that treated horses in this way.
Several years ago, while traveling through South America, I wanted to find somewhere to ride where horses were treated kindly. After some online research I found Caballos De Luz, an organic farm and horse ranch that offers long riding treks in the Sierras de Rocha in Uruguay while also promoting positive human-horse relationships.
After traveling the three hours from Montevideo by bus, I was picked up from Rocha township by Lucie, one half of the couple who owns Caballos De Luz. Lucie was originally from Austria, where she worked with horses for years before becoming a horse tour guide in Costa Rica and Peru. After traveling to Uruguay she fell in love with the Sierras, where she built her home and soon met and married her husband, Santiago.
The ethos of Caballos De Luz
Lucie and Santiago’s shared passion for sustainable living, vegetarianism and ethical horse training guides the ethos of Caballos De Luz. I felt a kinship with Lucie as soon as I learned that she had also been horse crazy from a young age. Both of us had competed in dressage and showjumping before shifting to what is known as “natural horsemanship”, which encompasses gentle methods of training that focus on building partnerships between humans and horses based on mutual trust, respect and understanding.
By following “natural” training principles, both Lucie and I wanted our horses to be willing participants in riding and training activities, and to have many opportunities for rest, enrichment, reward and freedom in their daily lives, as well as plenty of socialisation with other horses.
Riding in the Sierras de Rocha
Caballos De Luz allows horses to live more natural lives with its acres of lush pastures, access to fresh water sources and plenty of time for horsey play and relaxation among the herd. The Sierras are a stunning and tranquil backdrop of verdant hills and rocky outcrops, with the farm comprising several large paddocks and small wooden structures — including Lucie and Santiago’s home, a large yurt (my accommodation for the week) and the open-to-the-air tack shed, which housed numerous Western-style saddles and saddle cloths, and a couple of friendly grey cats.
My horse for the week — Boleto de Amor (Ticket of Love) — was a chestnut Criollo whose stocky build and kind temperament were similar to those of Chester, my Quarter Horse, back home in Australia.
Boleto was a willing and reliable partner on our daily adventures. With Lucie in the lead, we walked, trotted and cantered across the Sierras, navigated rocky inclines and traversed streams and rivers in the brilliant sunshine. We passed by other small farms and free ranging horses, and the odd farmer also on horseback who would wave and smile as we rode by.
In the evenings, we would feed and hose down the horses, then turn them out into the pastures, where they galloped back to join the herd, whinnying to one another. When the horses had the day off, I’d help Lucie collect vegetables from the garden, go swimming in a deep, clear waterhole shaded by palm trees and other lush vegetation, and sit in the pastures watching the horses graze upon the lush buffet of grasses the Sierras provided.
How to find riding centres that promote good equine welfare
I was lucky to find Caballos De Luz, adding to the other positive experiences I’ve had riding on holiday. I do believe that it’s possible to ride horses in ways that are mutually enjoyable, and that there are riding centres that cater to visitors who care about their horses’ welfare.
Here are my tips for finding riding centres that promote good equine welfare:
- Websites can tell you a lot about a riding centre’s approach to horse welfare. Can you find a description of the centre’s ethos? Do they show pictures of the horses that would indicate good welfare? Do they offer different types of rides for different levels of experience? This would indicate that horses are appropriately matched to riders, and that the centre is focused on safety and cares about its horses.
- Trip Advisor is always a great source of information about riding centres, and you can use past reviews to help you make a decision about whether or not you should book a ride with them.
- Sometimes websites might not accurately represent reality. This means you need to be prepared to make an assessment once you arrive. Here are a few things you can look out for:
- Condition: Unless you’ve spent a lot of time with horses, you might not know what a horse in good condition should look like. Some breeds of horses are naturally thinner than others (e.g. Arabian, Marwari and Thoroughbred horses), while others are naturally heavier (e.g. Warmbloods, Clydesdales and other draft horses). You can use the Henneke scale to assess condition.
- Environment: Are there visible puddles of old urine (indicated by the smell of ammonia) or fetid piles of manure? Are horses standing in their own waste? Check if the horses have access to adequate food and water, and evidence of either good pasture or supplementary feeds such as hay or pellets.
- Tack: Take a look at the horses’ tack (saddles, bridles, saddle cloths etc). Does it fit well, or is it too large/too small? Are there any signs that the tack is rubbing, such as saddle sores on the horses’ backs, or cuts on their lips?
- Hooves: Are the horses’ hooves neatly trimmed or shod, or do they have long, overgrown and cracked feet?
If these issues are present, it might be a good idea to cancel your ride. This will send a message to the operator of the centre, and should hopefully encourage them to take better care of their horses.
Ultimately, I view riding as a great privilege that horses extend to us. We should do our best to recognise that privilege and extend care and compassion to these amazing animals in all our interactions.
If you’d like to read more of my writing about horses, natural horsemanship and the ethics of riding and training, you can check out my website, which includes links to my academic articles on the subject.
_______________
Dr. Nikki Savvides is an Australian author whose writing focuses on animal advocacy and environmentalism. She’s passionate about improving the welfare and conservation of different animal species, and has studied captive elephants in Thailand for over a decade. Nikki holds a PhD in Cultural Studies focused on the ethical potential of volunteer tourism.
You can stay up-to-date on Nikki’s research, creative projects, and current animal advocacy projects by:
- Joining her Facebook community
- Following her on Medium
- Signing up for her free email newsletter
