Having tried the new river walk on foot we decided to give it a go on horses this morning. I took Scarlett and Clive took Leo. It is often difficult for horses to do a route they are not familiar with, so we took them up into the mountains first, to cover some familiar ground , finishing off on the new part along the river. To be honest, most of the route once we got high into the mountains was totally new to Scarlett, but she took it all in her stride. It was a very warm sunny morning for late December, and with their thick winter coats they were getting quite sweaty so we took a few opportunities to let them stop and eat grass to cool off. (there is also a restaurant half way round, ideal for a beer and tapas!) .
arriving at the restaurant for a well earned rest, drink and tapas
The ride including beer stop took about 2 1/2 hours, 14 kilometres in total, a nice length for spring and autumn and with a longer stop for something to eat it could easily be a 3 hour ride. (there are some nice spots for picnics too 🙂 )A lot of the river part of the route is in the shade so would be good for the summer too. We were very proud of how the horses accepted being asked to take lots of new twists and turns, especially as some of the ground was a bit soft under foot, with some narrow paths and low branches to contend with. The beauty of this new river trail is that it also opens up lots of new options for different shorter rides too, linking trails we already do. We will now have to try some of the other horses 🙂 .
