This morning the copious amounts of wine from last night seemed to have been good quality… 2x Brufen and half a litre of milk and I was good to go.

Horse riding for a couple of hours, no better way to make sure that you are not still drunk or hungover.

On arrival I met Dawn, a cheeky mare who had already done the bolt back to the paddock with the others and was trying to hide despite the lead rope and halter she was still wearing.  As Dawn and I sized each other up, the three other riders arrived and within a few minutes we were heading off out the gate and up the hill.

I know my instagram feed is cluttered with landscape photo’s but honestly they do not do the landscape justice.

The Mountains are steep and snow capped, the valleys and gorges narrow and twisty.  The rivers carry crystal clear water that comes from melted snow.  The colours are browns, yellow and rust.  It looks cold and slightly barren, hostile.

Riding the horses through you can see the very start of spring, up close the wild fruit trees have buds just
waiting to burst into flower, the creeks are starting to swell and the wild rose bushes are budding.

In the silence you can hear kites whistling as they soar around on the thermals.  They really don’t have to look to hard for supper there are rabbits everywhere.

The horses are well trained, Dawn liked a little trot, the horse in front did not and preferred a walk.  Either way it didn’t really matter it was just nice to be wondering and exploring.  After a couple of hours of winding through amazing scenery, we make our way back to base.

To be met by the ‘barn cat’ and for the horses a nose bag full of nibbles.  A great couple of hours with backcountrysaddles I’ll be back.  I have it from a reliable local that Back Country Saddles treat their horses well and I couldn’t fault them.