#WeLoveHorses

If you’ve ever dreamt of galloping through the dunes of an Arabian desert, a ride at Al Jiyad Stables is the perfect, short-getaway for you.

Set in a quintessentially Arabian backdrop of golden rolling dunes, Al Jiyad Stables offers an experience you will not forget. At about a thirty-minute drive from Dubai, you can escape the city into a tranquil setting in the beautiful Al Qudra desert. Whether it is a canter across the dunes on a beautiful arabian horse or a camel ride you are looking for, you will have the opportunity to see some unique Emirati wildlife at close range. The Al Marmum conservation area is home to the arabian oryx, gazelles and desert foxes amongst other animals and the best view is on horseback.

Witnessing the sight of beautiful gray Barb horses galloping forward at a full charge, while hearing nothing but the thundering of their hooves and a “single” gunshot is a scene that seems only imaginable in movies. Ridden by horsemen in traditional white attire, clouds of red dust form in their wake. The movements of horse and rider is so precise if you closed your eyes you wouldn’t be able to tell that the single gunshot occurs as a result of all riders firing their arms at the end of their thunderous charge.

As we move in and out of COVID-19 lock down measures, maintaining our fitness has become a universal concern, and horse riders are very fit people! Having strong muscles is an important part of equestrian fitness. But what makes it especially complex is training your brain and eyes as well as balance and body control whilst on a moving horse. If you don't get this experience regularly, you will not be in the best possible shape for riding. For many of us, horse riding is not only our love, but our primary fitness regime. For those not fortunate enough to keep their horses on their own property, during these lock down times, access to local stables or yards is a challenge. So, how to keep up your riding physique during these difficult times?

In Western India, visitors can step back to a time of princes and palaces. Intricate Moghul architecture and towering fortresses, sparse desert landscapes, trumpeting elephants, the flash of vibrant saris and colourful turbans, the tinkling of distant temple bells - these are a few of the timeless sights that greet visitors to the Indian state of Rajasthan. And the horses! Rajasthan is also home to one of the rarest of all equines – the Marwari Horse.

Are you completely tired of the modern-day pressures of never ending emails, phone calls, meetings, traffic, crowds, noise, crowded commuter transport, polluted city air, - the continuous noise and stress of urban life and ‘to do’ lists that never get finished?

It’s time for a break! It’s time to regress back in time to the quintessential British countryside where – in one place at least – traditional English estate living continues as it has throughout time, when life was – shall we say, a bit more refined.

“The single most important thing to remember is: never dismount! The wild animals do not distinguish between you and your horse; they just see the horse, recognizable to them as another herd animal, and therefore not a threat.”

This is part of the briefing guests receive before setting out on an Offbeat Horseback Safari deep within the Kenyan African bush. That’s right – as in a safari – on horseback – together in nature with lions, elephants, leopards, hyena, buffalo – and the most dangerous and territorial of all African animals – the hippo.