What to bring?

We advise the following:

Jods/breeches for 6 days riding, min 2 pairs jods

Riding Hat (to current safety standards) and gloves

Socks, undies, toiletries as per usual to include sunscreen, midge repellant and a few plasters for any blisters!!! A torch can be of use, headtorches are best!

A choice of tops to encompass both foul weather and fair.... this ride will venture onto the fells, so any mountaineering equipment would be advised, thermal top(s) in case of poor weather, T-shirts or suntops (use sunscreen if you do!) may be useful, the weather in the Lakes cannot be pre-determined and we have had occasional wet spells!!!!

A fleece and/or a sweatshirt or two...

Good waterproofs - we have found over years of off-road riding that the long trail coats do work even if they make a shorter person (like myself!) resemble a dalek! We have coat rolls for the backs of the saddle, we can take them with us daily.

Footwear!!!! Please do not wear flat soled plastic riding boots, if you have to get off and lead your horse you will spend most of your time on your derriere, ideally an off road/all terrrain riding boot with half chaps although a good walking boot with half chaps works well for me. You must have a distinct heel for safety reasons. A good long boot ie some of the Mountain Horse or Ariat ranges amongst others where there is a good sole to provide grip would also be adequate. You must be comfortable!

Evening wear ie casual clothes to relax / have dinner in, whatever you would usually bring.

Other useful odds to bring include a camera (in a plastic waterproof bag!), a torch, some folk bring their laptops to download photos onto (in main luggage), a good book to relax with, spare cash to buy... whatever... a beer, ice cream... etc. and a sleeping bag - if you have one and/or space to bring it - for the High Wallabarrow night!!

If you possess any high visability clothing please bring and wear it although we do supply tabards automatically.

back to the guide

Luggage and saddle bags

Luggage is transferred daily. We have a luggage limit of 25kg. All bags should be clearly labelled.

We provide you with saddle bags for your lunch, camera, waterproofs (not that you’ll need them in the wonderful Lake District weather HAHA!!) and any spare clothing to have on the ride with you daily, we do NOT permit any large cameras or bulky hard objects to be carried on your personne.

back to the guide

Saddlery and equipment

All the horses saddles are their own, we do not change them, they are labelled. The equipment is specific to the horse and should thus ensure it fits and is comfortable. If you assist with tacking up or untacking we ask that you always ensure all numnahs are smoothly positioned under the saddle (pull them to ensure they are flat) and understand that the Free'n'Easy saddles do not require the girths to be done up too tight, we do not over tighten any girths anyway... just tight enough! Ensure numnahs are well clear of withers and pull the Free’n’Easy saddle pads flat under the saddles, do not assume they are flat. Please take great care with all our gear, not loosing anything which may be vital to your riding the next day eg some of our breastgirths have a strap attatching them to the saddle or girth, ensure that this remains clipped onto the breastgirth not dangling loosely from the saddle as it will then get lost. Equally our saddlebags have an elastic breastgirth which can be easy to loose. Check tack daily, we do too but the more the better, and if you have tacked up any horse including your own please ask a member of staff to check it before any client mounts up.

Please do check girths after a few minutes riding as they can then require adjustment. Stirrup leathers are matching so when adjusting them please count the holes rather than feeling the saddle is straight... it won’t be. If you have any queries about any asect of our tack, our horses health or anything else, please ask!!!!

back to the guide

 (c) 2004-2010 Cumbrian Heavy Horses

Call +44 1229 777764 or mail annie@cumbrianheavyhorses.com - open all year 7 days a week!