Horseback Riding Half Moon Cay

[loisswanson]

We have booked this excursion but are having second thought. Neither my husband nor I have ridden (once at a company picnic).

My husband suffers from back problems -- lots of jarring can put him in pain for a week.

As that stop is our first on the Westerdam 4/10 sailing, I don't want to start off the week putting him in pain.

The HAL people say the horses do not trot - simply walk along and that they have children, etc on them and there's no need for concern.

I'd just like to hear from others what it's like. Also, how is it when the horses swim??

Thanks for any help,

Lois

[Without Tessa]

Well, a horse, regardless of how tame and docile often have minds of their own. They could break out in a trot for a multitude of reasons (getting too far from the group, wanting to stay ahead of another horse, startled by a loud noise, etc.). Believe you me, horses do what they want especially with novice riders -- I am not saying this to scare you, but animals are unpredictable and if you want to be 100% sure, I would skip the excursion. If you are not experienced riders, you may find the trot more "bumpy" than others who can adjust to it easily.

Horses swim in different ways. I have been on horses that ease into the water and provide a very smooth ride. I have also been on horses that crash into the water and do a very strange dog-paddle (almost like they were surprised that they would have to swim at all!).

I would be surprised if the excursion offered swimming horses - more likely they will have the horses walk through the surf. But perhaps someone who has been on this tour can provide more accurate info??

[1stMate]

I rode the horses last week and everyone from a 12 yearold girl to a couple of 60+ rode it and the only one to fall off the horse in the water was a 28 year old man. The water ride is short but amazing. In the water You ride on a blanket without strirups, it's probably like riding bareback, not hard on your back, but on your butt. The trail ride is easy. I rode for the first time in over 30 years and had no problem. The horses do trot if you want, otherwise it's just a walking trail ride. Do it early in the day, that way you get off the ship fast. Waiting to disembark is a horrific experience. Badly executed by HAL.


The horses do in fact swim, momentarily. My horse did swim, he was up to his neck in the sea and all four feet left the ground, for less than 20 seconds. But galloping through the water was an experience not to be missed.

[spcl4cs_gal]

Agreed! And if you are at all nervous about the whole thing, you can always have one of the guides hold the lead rein for you thoughout the entire excursion. It is not to be missed. :) I hadn't ridden in a good 20 years before taking this trip and was a bit apprehensive at first but the guides are very knowledgable about the horses and will put you on one that is quite docile if you are at all nervous. Just ask Richard, one of the guides, if you can ride Elvira and you will be fine. ;)

[loisswanson]

When you say "galloping through the water -- is this smooth?

The only time we could book was 1 pm. It's the couple that's coming with us that really wants to do it - they thought it would be fun to do together, but had forgotten about my husband's bad back (he even had surgery a year and a half ago).

We can still cancel prior to going if it's questionable like the first poster said.

If we have nothing booked on the island, what time do you think we can expect to get off the ship. Someone told me you can go early & get assigned numbers to get off -- is that the night before like some cruise lines do or just first thing in the a.m. (like what time?)

You can tell I'm a novice cruiser.

Thanks everyone for the comments.

Lois

[1stMate]

When you say "galloping through the water -- is this smooth?

The only time we could book was 1 pm. It's the couple that's coming with us that really wants to do it - they thought it would be fun to do together, but had forgotten about my husband's bad back (he even had surgery a year and a half ago).

We can still cancel prior to going if it's questionable like the first poster said.

If we have nothing booked on the island, what time do you think we can expect to get off the ship. Someone told me you can go early & get assigned numbers to get off -- is that the night before like some cruise lines do or just first thing in the a.m. (like what time?)

You can tell I'm a novice cruiser.

Thanks everyone for the comments.

Lois

Galloping throught the water is much smoother than galloping on land. It's your butt that bares the burden and your thighs, not your back. If you don;t get to the Island by 10:45 you can forget your clam shell umbrella, even if you paid for one. Unless you book an excursion, it's difficult to get off the ship until 10am.

I am a novice cruiser and my advise is to try everything that interests you and avoid anything that makes you uncomfortable. There's no need for stress on a vacation

[JaniceB]

I just got back from HMC and we rode the horses. We had the first excursion at 8:30. The horses were fresh. The let the horses out of the barn and they run to the ring. It was really neat to see them run. They matched the horse to the rider. They ask if anyone had never ridden a horse. We then rode around the ring for a little while. The horse stayed on the trail. We had a guide in front, one in the middle and one in the rear. My DH and I were in the rear and our 2 DD's were in front of us. The guide was very nice and told us about the guides and the horses. The first part of the ride we went out in the water. You had to make sure you kept your horse away from the rocks on the one side or the current would push them and you into the rock. It was a very short ride. My DH horse named George decided he wanted to lay down and cool off in the water. The guide told him to be firm and George didn't lay down. Lucky for him. Also, do not let the horse get to close to the one in front. George decided to bite my horse Bambi in the rear end. I was lucky that Bambi didn't react to the bite. The trail goes up a hill and back down. You then get off the horse and they give you a different horse for the water portion of the ride. I had a large horse named Fred. He didn't swim, but galloped through the surf. He wanted to be in front and took off. It was kind of scary, but the guide told me to let him go. One thing I will let you know is that the horses still relieve themselves in the water. I did not want to fall off!
We all enjoyed ourselves, it was definetly a highlight of our trip.

[loisswanson]

I just got back from HMC and we rode the horses. We had the first excursion at 8:30. The horses were fresh. The let the horses out of the barn and they run to the ring. It was really neat to see them run. They matched the horse to the rider. They ask if anyone had never ridden a horse. We then rode around the ring for a little while. The horse stayed on the trail. We had a guide in front, one in the middle and one in the rear. My DH and I were in the rear and our 2 DD's were in front of us. The guide was very nice and told us about the guides and the horses. The first part of the ride we went out in the water. You had to make sure you kept your horse away from the rocks on the one side or the current would push them and you into the rock. It was a very short ride. My DH horse named George decided he wanted to lay down and cool off in the water. The guide told him to be firm and George didn't lay down. Lucky for him. Also, do not let the horse get to close to the one in front. George decided to bite my horse Bambi in the rear end. I was lucky that Bambi didn't react to the bite. The trail goes up a hill and back down. You then get off the horse and they give you a different horse for the water portion of the ride. I had a large horse named Fred. He didn't swim, but galloped through the surf. He wanted to be in front and took off. It was kind of scary, but the guide told me to let him go. One thing I will let you know is that the horses still relieve themselves in the water. I did not want to fall off!
We all enjoyed ourselves, it was definetly a highlight of our trip.

Janice - thanks for the great description of your ride. Do you feel any portion of the ride kind of jarred your back -- I'm still concerned that with my husband's bad back, it may get out of kilter with the ride and we may be better off just enjoying the beach. I would appreciate your comments.

Thanks,

Lois

[1stMate]

I just got back from HMC and we rode the horses. We had the first excursion at 8:30. The horses were fresh. The let the horses out of the barn and they run to the ring. It was really neat to see them run. They matched the horse to the rider. They ask if anyone had never ridden a horse. We then rode around the ring for a little while. The horse stayed on the trail. We had a guide in front, one in the middle and one in the rear. My DH and I were in the rear and our 2 DD's were in front of us. The guide was very nice and told us about the guides and the horses. The first part of the ride we went out in the water. You had to make sure you kept your horse away from the rocks on the one side or the current would push them and you into the rock. It was a very short ride. My DH horse named George decided he wanted to lay down and cool off in the water. The guide told him to be firm and George didn't lay down. Lucky for him. Also, do not let the horse get to close to the one in front. George decided to bite my horse Bambi in the rear end. I was lucky that Bambi didn't react to the bite. The trail goes up a hill and back down. You then get off the horse and they give you a different horse for the water portion of the ride. I had a large horse named Fred. He didn't swim, but galloped through the surf. He wanted to be in front and took off. It was kind of scary, but the guide told me to let him go. One thing I will let you know is that the horses still relieve themselves in the water. I did not want to fall off!
We all enjoyed ourselves, it was definetly a highlight of our trip.

I rode George on the trail and Don in the water. The guides called him Mr. George, King of the Horses. He had a mind of his own but can be controlled. Damien, one of the guides rode with me at the rear of the line and we would hold back and then trot to catch up.

In the water, Don went the deepest of any of the horses and actually left his feet momentarily. On the way back, we all galloped as best we could, loser bought Red Stripes for everyone. It was like a horse race, a little bumping a little rubbing,(rubbin is racin) and lots of fun.

Don't miss it.

[JaniceB]

Loisswanson,

We did not experience any back pain. We rode on Friday and on Sunday our inner thighs became sore. I think it was from squeezing our legs around the water saddle to keep it from slipping. I don't think we needed such a tight squeeze, but live and learn.

1stMate,
The guide told my husband George was named after George Forman. They are very smart horses. I also heard that there is a baby in the stable. When they brought the horses to the island one of them was pregnant. Riding near the guides definitely has advantages.

[steelcity5044]

Rode in January. Have only rode on a horse once before many years ago. Was a great ride. Guide knew I was nervous and stayed near me the whole trip. Swim was incredible. No one complained of back pain but they are very large horses. My Husband dismounted on his own instead of having a guide help him off and we just today returned from a torn ACL and ligament surgery that will leave him off work for 2-6 weeks mimnimum so be VERY careful getting off your horse in the soft sand and let your guide help you off.

[Scrumpy]

What did you wear when you were riding? There were notes at the HAL excursions site to wear a bathing suit underneath your clothes. What is the purpose of that? Just not getting your underclothes wet? Also, what shoes did you wear? I was thinking of just Teva-type shoes. I didn't want to wear good riding boots in the water, or honestly, waste the space in my luggage bringing them.

Steelcity, you said the horses were large. Do you know what they were? Draft crosses or just large light horses? And, the dismount alone is what caused the injury to your husband's ACL, etc? Yikes! You are so right - gotta be careful in that sand. I always wondered how they made those romantic beach movies where people managed to look sexy walking in the sand... I don't look like that!

Thanks!
Scrumpy

[spcl4cs_gal]

I was told that the horses are retired race horses and between 5 and 7 years of age. They were big sturdy animals that's for sure.

Regarding riding clothes, I wore my bathsuit under my shorts and tank top but took the shorts and top off once we got into the swimming part of the ride. For the trail part I wore running shoes but took these off as well for the swimming.

[JaniceB]

We wore jeans and sneakers with our bathing suits underneath. I did not see anyone with shorts on, but some did have on capri's. Most everyone had sneakers. At the end of the trail ride we took off our jeans, shirts and sneakers and only wore our bathing suits on the trail ride.

[steelcity5044]

We too wore jeans and t-shirts with bathing suits underneath and tennis shoes. Some had on capri pants. Excursion recommends long pants and tennis shoes no sandals. Need bathing suit for swim part in that you are wet up to your waist. We were told that they are retired Jamacian racehorses and are extremely beautiful animals. Yes my Husband tore ACL and cartilege on dismount. Luckily was at end of cruise and not begining.