I am giving this guided horseback ride a poor rating because of what happened during the ride and, just as importantly, how the situation was handled afterward.
At the beginning of the ride, my horse got too close to my son's horse, and his horse tried to nip at mine. I made sure to stay back and mentioned to Brad that his horse seemed territorial. Brad agreed and said that the horse could be territorial.
As the ride continued, Brad fell back, leaving me in front and my son behind me. We rode that way for approximately 20-30 minutes. Later, Brad moved back to the front and held onto my son's horse so I could get in front of my son, with my son following behind me. We rode in that formation for at least another 30-45 minutes without any problems. My son's horse was approximately 5-6 feet behind me, and I was riding on the opposite side of the trail.
Then, without warning, my son's horse took off, charged toward me, and bit my leg. The bite tore my jeans all the way down to my ankle. Brad asked if I was okay, and I told him I was, but that it hurt very badly.
My biggest concern is this: if you know a horse can be territorial and aggressive toward another horse, why would you put an inexperienced rider on that horse? I am extremely thankful that it was me who was bitten and not my son.
What has upset me just as much as the incident itself is what happened afterward. Brad never called to check on me, never followed up to see how I was doing, and never offered any type of refund or compensation. I would have expected at the very least a phone call to check on my condition and acknowledge what happened.
This incident ruined the rest of my vacation that week. The lack of concern afterward made the situation even worse. His actions after the incident are a major reason for my poor rating. It left me feeling that the money was more important than the safety and well-being of his customers.
I hope this review helps other riders understand what happened so they can make an informed decision about whether this is the right horseback riding experience for them. read more
