Choosing a horse trek comes down to three things, and the scenery is not in the mix..
How much riding you have done. What the ground underfoot will ask of you. And how many days in a row you will be in the saddle. Get those three right and almost any of these journeys will be the trip of your life. Get them wrong and you will spend a fortnight enduring something you meant to enjoy, usually a long way from a road and 'civilisation'.
This guide is written to help you choose whether a Horse Trek is right for you, and what to consider before choosing one.
Do I need riding experience for a horse trek?
Yes. Multi-day horse treks are not a beginner activity, and anyone telling you otherwise is selling you something you may not enjoy.
There is a real difference between having ridden and being a rider. A week of trail rides on a quiet horse in a familiar paddock is a different skill from controlling a forward-going working horse, on unfamiliar ground, in a group, for six hours, on the fourth consecutive day.
Most of our horse treks require R2 Intermediate as a minimum. Find your level below, then check the level required on the trip page before you book.
R1 · Beginner You have been on a horse a handful of times. You can get a horse walking, steer it and stop it, and you can rise to the trot for a short stretch. Canter is either new to you or something you are still working on. Not suitable for our multi-day horse treks.
R2 · Intermediate You are in control of a socialised horse at walk, trot and canter outside in a natural landscape and you can get on and off without help. You may not ride every week, but you don’t need to think about riding basics. You have ridden in this environment several times in the past year.
R3 · Strong Intermediate You ride regularly now, out in open country rather than in an arena, and six or more hours in the saddle doesn’t worry you. You can rise or sit to the trot, hold a canter without gripping the saddle to stay put, and stay in control on a horse that would rather go faster — over uneven ground, with other horses around you. Recommended experience level for most horse treks.
R4 · Advanced You ride often, you’re fit, and you have an independent seat and quiet hands. You can control a forward-going or spirited horse at every pace, across rough and unpredictable country, and you’re comfortable galloping in company.
Not sure which you are?
- Can you get on and off a horse without help or a mounting block?
- Have you ridden at least six times in the past twelve months?
- Can you hold a rising trot for ten minutes without stopping?
- Are you happy to canter in open country, in a group, on a horse you’ve never sat on before?
Fewer than four, talk to us before you book.
Your declared level is what your handler uses to choose your horse, and a mismatch can’t be fixed three days into the steppe. If you’re between levels, or coming back after time out of the saddle, call us.
What does it mean when they say the horse is “calm”?
The people who choose and care for these horses are among the finest horsemen alive. In Mongolia and Kyrgyzstan, riding is not a hobby, it's how families have moved across their country for generations. When a Mongolian herder describes a horse as calm, he is being completely truthful. He is also grading it against every other horse he has ever ridden, and his baseline may not be the same as yours.
A horse that a herder calls calm will often feel forward, responsive and opinionated to an Australian, European or North American rider used to school horses.
What kind of terrain suits me?
Riders tend to choose a horse trek by looking at photographs. Terrain is the better filter, because terrain is what determines whether the days feel long.
Open country. Wide, uninterrupted distances - steppe, pampas, high summer pasture. It looks like the easy option and it is not. Flat ground offers no reason to stop, so the days run long, the pace lifts to a trot and canter across country, and what tires you is hours and rhythm rather than difficulty. The demand here is endurance and a secure, independent seat at speed.
Mountain country. Steep climbs to high passes, exposed sections with real drops beside you, scree where you dismount and lead your horse on foot, and rivers to be forded on horseback. The distances are shorter and the days are harder. The demand is balance, nerve, and a willingness to trust a sure-footed horse on ground you would not walk down yourself.
High-altitude mountain country. Everything above, with thin air on top. Altitude affects sleep, appetite and recovery, and it makes a moderate day feel considerably harder than the same day at sea level. These trips are built around acclimatisation for good reason.
Riders who dislike heights or riders who dislike long flat hours should not choose the same trip.
How many days in a row will I be riding?
One seven-hour day is a solid stint in the saddle. Six or eight consecutive riding days with no rest day in between is a different proposition entirely, because soreness and fatigue accumulate. Riders who have trained by doing one long ride a week are often surprised on day three, when the muscles they have been quietly compensating with give up.
If you have never ridden on back-to-back days, that is the thing to train for.
It is also worth checking whether a trek is a genuine point-to-point crossing or a series of day rides from a base. Both are excellent. Only one of them means every camp is somewhere you rode to and there is no vehicle waiting if you have had enough.
Where should I ride?
A rough guide to how our horse treks differ in character. Duration, grading and the finer details change from season to season, so treat this as a way to narrow the field and check the individual trip page for what a particular departure actually involves.
Mongolia is the great open-country ride: the Khan Khentii, the birthplace of Genghis Khan, and country that has been crossed on horseback for eight centuries. Long days, big distances, forward-going native horses, and low altitude. Choose it if the appeal is space, endurance and riding somewhere the horse is still the practical way to travel.
Kyrgyzstan is mountain riding in the Tian Shan: high passes, alpine pasture, nights in yurts with the families who summer there, and the shores of Song Kol. Shorter distances, steeper ground, exposure and altitude. Choose it if you want the horse to take you somewhere you could not otherwise reach.
Chilean Patagonia puts you in Torres del Paine with a gaucho, riding under granite towers across wind-scoured plains, staying on working estancias. Choose it if you want the horse culture as much as the country, and a shorter ride that does not demand a month away.
Argentine Patagonia - Tierra del Fuego and the Mitre Peninsula - is the remote one: pampas, dense forest and rugged coastline at the bottom of the continent, with wild horses, shipwrecks and very few people. Choose it for solitude.
Nepal’s Dolpo is the most demanding: a Himalayan ride on old salt-trader trails to Phoksundo Lake, over a high pass, camping throughout. Choose it if you are a confident rider who also wants genuine altitude and a region very few travellers see.
How do I get saddle fit before I travel?
Start four to six weeks out at the absolute minimum, and earlier if you have had a long break.
If you can ride, ride — and build towards ten unbroken minutes of rising trot and ten of canter in a session, some of it out of the saddle. Riding fitness fades much faster than riding skill does, which is why capable riders who have not ridden in years still struggle. The skill comes back in an afternoon. The fitness does not.
If you cannot get to a horse, work on the things riding actually uses: hip flexors, lower back, hamstrings, inner thighs and core. Pilates, yoga and strength work all help. Add two or three aerobic sessions a week. Stretch daily rather than occasionally.
Rhythm, balance and posture matter far more than strength or speed. A rider who sits well is doing less work than a rider who grips.
What to ask before you book — any operator, anywhere
A short list that will tell you a great deal about how a trek is run.
What riding level do you require, and how do you check it?
An operator that cannot answer this has not thought about who ends up in the group with you. Your safety on a trek depends partly on the competence of the riders around you.
What helmet standard do you require?
Bicycle helmets are designed for a different kind of impact and are not a substitute. Ask which certification standard is accepted, whether helmets are provided or you bring your own, and whether wearing one is compulsory.
Is there a rider weight limit?
There should be, and it should be set for the horses rather than the riders. These are compact, hard-working animals carrying a rider and gear over long days. An operator without a limit is not managing horse welfare.
How many handlers travel with the group?
The ratio tells you how much help is available when a horse or a rider needs it.
What happens if I can’t continue?
Ask this plainly and listen carefully to the answer. On some treks a support vehicle travels alongside and you can ride in it. On others, there is no road, and the answer involves a horse, a handler and several hours. Both are legitimate. Only one of them suits every traveller.
Does my travel insurance cover horse riding?
Ask your insurer, not your operator. Many standard policies exclude horse riding as an activity, and some exclude it specifically if you are not wearing a certified helmet.
So how do I actually decide?
- Establish your riding level first, honestly and as of today. That determines which trips are open to you at all — and it is the one variable you can still change, with enough time and enough saddle hours before you travel.
- Then choose terrain: open country or mountain, and whether altitude appeals or worries you.
- Then check the consecutive riding days against the training you are realistically prepared to do.
- Only then look at the photographs. Every one of these journeys is beautiful. Which of them you will still be enjoying on the fifth morning is decided by the first three questions.
- If you are unsure where you sit, tell us what you have ridden, how recently, and how often. We would far rather have that conversation now than at a trailhead.