Horseback riding

[Evelyne]

I read that we can do horseback riding at Fort Wilderness campground. Anyone experienced it? Any advice? Thanks

 

[pjpoppins]

You may have better luck at the camping forum

 

[tseitel]

We've done it twice. The horses are VERY tame, and just follow the lead horse in a line. If you have any experience on horses, I hate to say it's almost a boring ride. That being said, my kids love it, and it is nice and peaceful along the woods trail. We've seen deer both times. It's nice to get away from the crowds at the parks I think it lasted about 45 minutes. But you must get there early for forms, instructions and such. Kids have to wear a helmet,& I believe there were no photos while riding, but they took some pic with my camera of us at the end. Also no bags allowed, they had lockers

 

[JennyDrake]

It is a good "first' horse experience for kids and adults.

 

[Mary2e]

The horses are very tame and it's really just a trail ride, not real horseback riding. You will go through the cabin and camping area of FW. I did it once or twice and enjoyed it.

 

[tsme]

My DD and I did it. It was a lot of fun. The horses are tame. Everyone has to wear the dorky helmets. There are lockers to put your stuff in. I put my phone on vibrate and stuck it in my pocket & took a couple of pics of my DD on her horse before we took off. A important reminder though, as tame as these horses are, they are still animals with minds of their own. My daughter & her horse were right behind me. You are suppose to keep your horse a certain distance from the horse in front of you. Her horse came closer than he was suppose to & bit my horse's butt! This made my horse jump & kick out a little, understandably so, & I almost fell, mostly because I was relaxed and not expecting a jolt. Scared me, but then everyone laughed when they realized what happened. When it was all said in done, we had fun and would do it again.

 

[Jennasis]

My DD and I did it. It was a lot of fun. The horses are tame. Everyone has to wear the dorky helmets. There are lockers to put your stuff in. I put my phone on vibrate and stuck it in my pocket & took a couple of pics of my DD on her horse before we took off. A important reminder though, as tame as these horses are, they are still animals with minds of their own. My daughter & her horse were right behind me. You are suppose to keep your horse a certain distance from the horse in front of you. Her horse came closer than he was suppose to & bit my horse's butt! This made my horse jump & kick out a little, understandably so, & I almost fell, mostly because I was relaxed and not expecting a jolt. Scared me, but then everyone laughed when they realized what happened. When it was all said in done, we had fun and would do it again.

Exactly why everyone should wear those "dorky" helmets. ;-) (I like to think my own personal helmet is more kick butt, rather than dorky LOL...for what I paid for it anway heheh)

 

[djc9699]

We did this once. My daughter was 9 and LOVED it. The boys (teenagers) did it for her and enjoyed it. Something different from the bustle of the parks. It was quite peaceful. If you are going to do this in the summer, try to get the earliest time you can as it gets quite hot later in the morning and it lasts about 45 minutes.

 

[Felipe4]

Everyone has to wear the dorky helmets.

Better safe than having a cracked skull. On horse forums I'm a part of there is a never ending debate. I personally will not ride without one, and if it's not required, I don't trust the place.

Are they all SEI/ASTM approved helmets at FW?

 

[Zimbing]

Yes I did it quite a few years ago with my family. Having riden horses as a child, I found it very boring - I was pretty much right at the end of the line, behind someone who was giving their life history to one of the guides and consequently I got stuck going slower than a plod.

If you have never riden a horse before, it would be ok though I think, a tame introduction.

 

[JaxDad]

It has been a few years, but when we did it they had pony rides for smaller children and horse rides for larger children and adults. Unfortunately my son fell somewhere in between (too old/big for the ponies, but not old/big enough for the horses). You may want to call or look on the camping forum as a PP suggested just to confirm what they have now and what restrictions apply.