Riding side saddle

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The horse reared on its hindlegs in protest of my hand on the brakes. I eased him down and forced a sideways shuffle to curb his appetite for destruction. We caught up with the others and I was pleased to see things were seemingly a bit more under control.

We were on the last day of a gruelling 2 day horsetrek to Cotapaxhi volcano. Riding up to 5000ft the winds from the ice capped volcano had been chilling. The terrain was spectacular but rough going and prickled cactus had claimed the better part of my shins.

To conserve energy at altitude and over the distance the horses preferred to trot which made it an uncomfortable 8 hours a day in the saddle for an unaccustomed bottom. Too much for some people, they had called it quits and had headed back in a jeep.

That had left me, a gutsy Scottish lad and the gaucho to bring in 7 horses. It was the Scot´s first time on a horse and he was doing remarkably well. Some of the horses were placid and could be let loose to find their way home, but others were more aggressive and a flight risk and needed some handling. I had been given the onerous responsibilty of trying to lead a wild one but had been forced to let him go when we encountered a railway and river crossing at full gallop.

As we hurtled along, It was incredible to watch the gaucho manage 2 of the craziest horses as well as his own.

As we thundered into the ranch, my saddle was hanging sideways and an attempt to right it was met once again with display of my ability to manage a horse on two legs. Giddyup.

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Photos

Holding on for dear life
Me and the Scottish laddie

Incredible horsemanship
Managing three horses at full gallop with his hands and directing the others with a whistle

Pinto and I
Best friends until he tried to tip me off...twice

Where we stayed
amongst the alpacas

Clickety clack
along the train tracks