Horse Trekking. A New Layer of Adventure Travel

Who knew you could combine your love for horses and travel? Of course we have heard of dude ranches where city folk get their first dose of being around a horse in a contrived “Let’s go round up ‘em doggies, and then eat beans around a campfire” kind of way. Not appealing to those of us that actually have a horse. Ok, back when I was a teenager I had a horse I did. Well some people do know how to travel by horse. And now, so do I.

There are travel options for the horsey type that range from ranch style riding in Argentina, to African safari on horseback. We actually met a woman that runs one of these safari companies herself. Neither of these options or the space in between would be suitable for the city dweller that has never looked a horse in the eye; some riding experience is imperative. You really don’t want to fall off in the crocodile infested river for example. Nor do you want to get on a horse day two, after the long day one, if you don’t have recent riding time. Muscle memory from your childhood is one thing, the right calluses in the right places is another. 

It may be possible in a few areas of the USA to get on a horse and ride for days, without running into a freeway or a fence. But not many. USA has a no-trespassing mentality that just is not conducive. In Europe however, bridle paths and droving routes that have been used for centuries are protected. I have written about hiking in England before where the tracks are protected whether on private property or not. There is an etiquette about doing so, closing gates and leashing dogs around sheep, that everyone obeys to avoid problems. In Spain, the routes are cañadas; routes where animals have been driven for centuries, and in many cases still are. I could not tell you how many times have we run across the goat herder moving his 400 charges through the trails where we walk. So, multiple day horse trekking is possible in Spain. 

There are outfitters that will provide the horses, have the route planned, provide the hotel or farm accommodation, have arranged stabling for the the horses overnight, arrange meals, for us and the horses, move your gear day to day etc. That’s not the route we took. We went the do-it-yourself route. It was a lot of work and took many days with a lot of helpers, but added to the feeling of accomplishment.

First we had to find a legal route. We researched hiking tracks and then had to see if it is all passable by horse. Some bridges are not appropriate for horses, for example. Usually no big deal, the horses just forge the river. But in Spring, the weather was unpredictable so we did not want to count on forging a river and needed to plan around it. The narrowness of some sections may be fine for hikers, but not so for the horse. And cattle guards are always a problem if there is not a way around (neither cows nor horses can cross them). All these things needed to be sussed out. We also need to find water sources for the horses. These are either running creeks, or water troughs and springs that have existed on these animal driving routes forever. Further, just because the path is legal does not mean someone has not put up a fence. Or corralled a herd of something. Since this potential is an always changing situation, we needed to check out our route pretty near the time when we wanted to trek. So a horse trek involves a lot of shorter rides and hiking over many days. 

We needed to find a place to keep the horses for every night, and a place for ourselves. We could approach people and pay for horse lodging at homes or commercial venues. For our trek, we are using an old bull fighting ring, and staying at the hotel across the street. Feed for the horses, and potentially water needs to be brought to each place the horses will be bedded down. Either trips before we start, or if you are lucky and have a sag wagon for support, someone else brings the hay. Non-horse-riding husbands are great resources. 

Our ride is planned to be about 27 km each way. One overnight and back. We tried to find a circular route without luck, so it will be an out and back. By now one of us has hiked to and fro multiple times. 

We have the bull ring secured (the man who owns the stallion making it home will have it moved for a night), and hotel reservations. We have a support party that will bring the horse feed, and our overnight bags (this is really going to be a posh horse trek). I am more excited than I have been for a travel day in a long time.

We meet to tack up the horses first thing in the morning, take “before” pictures and set off by 9:35 (goal 9:30, not too bad). Anyone who looks closely may notice, we did not have the same horses the whole time. Yep, within the first hour we had a lame horse. So this poor guy was ridden home (a bit hard for a lame horse), a spare tacked up and we resumed our trek, just an hour later. Nice to have friends with many horses. Only issue was the spare does not play nice with other horses, the reason he was sidelined in the first place. I should introduce the horses: Morengo (same as the lone ranger’s mount) was the little gray that was swapped out. My mount is the regal Pura Raza Espanola, Acebuche (ass-a-boo-che). I was a good foot taller than the other gals; a fact that becomes important as we step carefully between cork oak trees. Breeze, is the black Arabian, and Deseado is the bay spare. 

Our 27 km trek starts just outside Jimena de la Frontera, one of Andalucia’s white villages. The first couple hours  begin pretty steeply to get us on top of a mountain ridge. From there we traverse the ridge for most of the day, our path often 4wd roads used by hunting parties and farmers. We saw a few skinny cows, one sweet old bull and goats. With sections of rarely used trails difficult to discern along creeks and through forest and wildflowers. Finally we spy the white village below us and  descend into another white village, El Colmenar.

First day, about 9.5 hours on horseback with a lunch break. We arrived at the quaint mountain hotel dusty and tired, the horses more so; and hungry and thirsty, the horses more so. After the horses were taken care of, we headed to the bar. Cathy, one of us trekkers who did most of the prep hiking, had invited just about everyone who had helped her plan, plus more. So there was quite a diverse group of revelers to greet us. Me, being not a full time horse person these days, was keen for a shower. I like the smell of horses, I just don’t like it on me. Dinner at the hotel went into the wee hours.

Next morning, first thing a quick check on the horses; one of which is really well tangled in his hay net. Then a trip to a local cafe for some coffee (everyone else in there was drinking hard liquor before starting the work day. I kid you not). A hearty hotel breakfast, and a stash of lunch in the saddle bags, and we are off.  

I should have mentioned what we carried, or rather the horses carried. Water for ourselves, food for ourselves, an apple or carrot treat for the mounts, and a small emergency kit including wire cutters and bailing twine. This twine is the most important tool. It is just for tying the horses: the length of twine circles a tree, and then the horses lead rope tied to that. Otherwise, we would not have enough rope, the trees can be big. It also prevents the horses breaking anything difficult to fix like their halters. The twine is like a circuit breaker; it breaks before the halter or lead rope. Just in case, we also have an extra halter and lead rope. One of these horses can be aggressive, we already covered that, and has been known to get out of his halter to go after other horses. The twine is also used for securing fences, especially any that we cut (reason for the wire cutters). If push comes to shove and someone has fenced where we know is a legal throughway, we will cut it. This is not America. 

The way up we were heading north west, which is inland. Spectacular scenery was all around us. But on the return, the sea, Gibraltar and Morocco’s Atlas mountains beyond are in our view. We catch glimpses of the Atlantic and Mediterranean. In our 360 views are mountain ranges and rock formations with romantic Spanish names I cannot ever remember. Lets just call it beautiful.

The trip home was a little faster, like return trips of every kind, everywhere. The horses have a sense they are going home and know the way. They are tired enough not to give any obstacle any thought. Water, mud, rocks, steep sections and narrow exposed portions, no issues. Breeze is a young horse and would give water and mud a wide berth if she could; she can’t, so there is a power of wills she will eventually lose. There was one fallen tree across our path on a very steep decent. The other two riders  could duck under, but I had to dismount (tallest rider, tallest horse). 

No mishaps to report. Seven and a half hours after setting off this morning Jimena de la Frontera comes into view and we are home to the finca where these horses live. Another shower is in my near future. It was just a taste of horse trekking, just an overnight, but it sure was fun. Too bad this is a mode of travel Mark is not interested in; I could do a lot more. Patagonia, that African safari, sans the crocodile river, all sound really fun.