Holidays on Horseback - The scenery is stunning in every direction on this blue-sky day in the Kananaskis region of the Canadian Rockies. But my focus is dead ahead as I concentrate on staying balanced in the saddle while my horse tiptoes through the rocks on the skinny ridge of the mountainside. I feel around in my bag for my camera, daring to take it out for a few shots. At that moment I am aware that Dewy, our guide, is loving every minute. Under that ten-gallon hat and behind the bushy moustache is an ear-to-ear grin as each day he takes his clients another smidgen beyond their comfort zone to give them a solid adventure.

Our group of 17 horses and riders had taken shelter from the brutal midday sun beneath a massive overhang created thousands of years ago when water roared through the valley, and our chosen lunch spot was also home to several rattlesnakes.

When Tracey Klettl is on the back of a horse on a beautiful woodland trail, her mind is always clearer and she feels so much more at peace. “I always hope that people feel that same peace that I do,” says Klettl, co-owner of Painted Warriors Ranch, located in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies about an hour-and-a-half northwest of Calgary, Alberta. Painted Warriors creates authentic outdoor experiences from an Indigenous perspective, based on Klettl’s Cree and Mohawk heritage and on the Ojibway heritage of Klettl’s partner and business co-owner Tim Mearns. Guests learn a variety of skills, from riding to natural navigation, medicinal plant identification, and backcountry basics.

Holidays on Horseback - In India one can view the countryside through the heart-shaped ears of the Marwari horse. In Mongolia a small, strong Mongol horse will carry you through the desert lands. And the short, hardy Icelandic horse will smoothly tölt you along the rugged trails of Iceland.