11 Oct 2022
I arrived at 8:45 for an all day ride through the Tuscan mountains. The ride was to being at 9 am but we didn’t not leave until after 10am. The horses looked old and malnourished along with its tack. The two girls were friends from Germany and didn’t really make you feel welcome at all. When the other riders arrived they were all speaking German and were not very inclusive. Once we finally got going I was on a horse named Ollie, she seemed to hate the bit that was used and was constantly pulling her head in discomfort. As we were riding I noticed the horse in front of me was bleeding so they checked her and thank goodness took her back to the stables. Come to find out the horse was hurt a few days earlier but they decided to use her anyway, it doesn’t seem like they checked her before going out. Once we were out and riding there was complete silence unless I engaged the guide, I realize she’s young but she could have been more personable. Once we sat down for lunch another girl arrived who was very pleasant and actually made the whole trip worthwhile. The countryside was gorgeous with beautiful old towns and forests, but I would not recommend this experience on a whole. I would highly recommend they vet their guides a little better and make sure they can engage with the guests, tell them about the area, and answer any questions the rider may have. I have been in the Customer Service business my whole life, I have ridden horses my whole life, and I was a guide in my younger days. The only thing that saved this experience for me was the countryside and the young girl at lunch who was very personable. I hope the owners of the stable will take this into consideration and upgrade all of their tack, feed their horses better and maybe give them some vitamins as it seems they are used quite frequently during high season and are possibly malnourished and over worked.