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Horseback riding advice needed

Christy

Angel Diva
I used to ride--dressage mostly; I had a horse unti I was 26. I'm 41 now and ride only once a year. I'm still perfectly comfortable at all gaits. I'm thinking of signing up for an equestrian vacation--it would be 6 days of riding, up to 6 hours per day. Even when I rode I'm not sure I ever rode 6 hours, and I really have no idea if this is feasible for someone whose butt isn't used to the saddle. Any thoughts?
 

NewEnglandSkier

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Is there any way you could sign up for weekly lessons a couple months prior to your trip? I used to have a horse when I was a junior and ride every day etc. But now I don't really ride anymore on a regular basis. Even though I'm active in other sports-- I know the first few days I ride after not having ridden for a long time I'm very sore (different muscles and all). Last year I did a summer ranch vacation in June and I decided to ride weekly starting in April to prepare for the trip. I didn't want to be so sore that I'd be limited to only doing shorter rides. It worked out really well-- by the time the trip came around I didn't get sore at all.
 

Christy

Angel Diva
How many hours a day did you spend in the saddle? That is encouraging. I could take some lessons, that's not a bad idea. I do ride a friend's horse once a year or so, and surprisingly am not sore afterwords. But it's really my butt I'm thinking of--6 hours a day! I can't remember if riding is like cycling, where you need to do it regularly to toughen up your butt.
 

NewEnglandSkier

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
My trip I spent between 4-7 hrs/day riding (one day was a 30 mile ride).
For me my butt is always fine, it's my legs that get sore if i don't work up to it!

Or if you didn't want to do lessons, is your friend's horse nearby? Maybe you could do a couple rides on it ahead of the trip . . . .
 

Christy

Angel Diva
I'm so glad to hear that! Maybe I am thinking too much about cycling and have forgotten that butts aren't really an issue while riding horses. I definitely could hit up my friend. She's got a quarter horse/mustang that's VERY round (not fat, just super stocky) so it would be good practice!
 

Christy

Angel Diva
I just heard back from someone who leads the tours and she was very encouraging too--she said few of their clients ride daily and everyone gets somewhat sore, but that it sounds like I'll be fine. The website says the tour leader has the option to kick you off the tour if you can't keep up so I was worried.
 

Christy

Angel Diva
It's this one, in Andalucia. You ride on Moorish trails and over Roman roads! To the highest village in Spain!
https://www.ridingtours.com/horseback-riding/spain-coastal.cfm

I wasn't looking to go that far or spend that much--this is just a sort of bonus vacation--but I cannot stop thinking about it. It's really quite reasonably priced for that kind of trip (it's on sale!). I keep thinking, well, maybe this company gets terrible reviews, maybe the weather is bad in October, maybe it's not that scenic a region, maybe it's too hard to get to, but the more I look into it, the more I say WOW it looks amazing. I love that I know zero about the region, except I've always wanted to see the Alhambra, and that would be easy to get to after. And as my husband pointed out, when did I ever regret money spent on any trip? I think it would mean no Beaver Creek World Cup trip this year but I can live with that.
 

VAis4Lovers

Diva in Training
Wow! That looks like a great trip! I currently have 2 horses and have ridden continiously for the last 15 years and think that 6 hours in the saddle in one day would make my tush a little sore (but worth it!). I would second the recommendation of maybe taking a couple lessons leading up to the trip just to get your 'horse legs' ready and maybe looking into one of those 'seat saver' type cushions for the saddle seat.
Like this:
https://www.cashelcompany.com/productdetails.aspx?C=7&SC=26&ProductID=9672

Have fun!:D
 

Christy

Angel Diva
They mentioned they had seat savers--I didn't exactly know what those are but now I do! Thanks!

Yeah, they said by day 3 everyone's hurting a bit, because most people that ride don't ride that much per day.
 

Delawhere

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I used to do a trip like this every summer when I was younger. I didn't have a horse so I couldn't ride every day but I managed to ride at least once a week for several months leading up to the trip. I had no problems until the last trip,when I didn't ride much before the trip. I didn't have a problem with a sore butt, my hamstrings were sore. I am not at all flexible.

Then again, this was western riding, it is probably much different with an english saddle.

The trip sounds great. I can't wait to hear how you liked it!

Marti
 

Christy

Angel Diva
I'm buying the apparel I need and I can tell it's been a while since I was in the riding world--breeches have cell phone pockets now! I thought that was funny.
 

Windee

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Christy, when do you leave for Spain?
I envy you this trip - always have wanted to do this, but in MT., or Idaho, perhaps, into the mtns.
Do you have your carry-on luggage or are you going to check it all?
 

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