The Horses of Horse Trek Monteverde
Horse Trek Monteverde offers a number of horseback tours in the zone. The horse rides are suitable for any level of experience from short to long rides. A short ride of 2.5 hours is available as well as one day tours such as the All Day Cowboy Ride.
Excellent horses have given Horse Trek a wonderful reputation for quality horseback riding in Costa Rica. Safety and horse care are a priority! Helmets are provided for all riders.
Horse Care
Many people are skeptical about riding horses in Costa Rica due in part to negative press on the subject, not all of it unfounded. The reason to be weary is that some people only see short-term profit and to them a horse is just a means to make money.This practice by some has given a bad reputation to the horse industry of Costa Rica. Now that you have been forewarned this does not mean you should not go for a tour on your vacation!
There are many responsible horseback tour operators in Monteverde, Arenal and Costa Rica. Some of the ways you can decide if a company iscaring properly for it's horses as well as its customers is to ask a lot of questions such as below!
Questions:
- Are the horses regularly wormed and given tick medicine?
- Is there any method of rotating the horses so they are not overworked?
- How is the condition of the tack and are the horses shoed?
- Are you offered horses to your level of experience - does anyone even ask?
In the last few years many companies have improved the condition of the horses and quality of their tours.
The horses used by Horse Trek Monteverde are mainlya mix of Quarter Horse /Paso Fino/Criollo- breeds we find very suitable to the trails of this area. They are a good size and solidly built.
The saddles used in Costa Rica are an adaptation of a western variety. There are lighter than normal western. There is often a good size pommel.