In this article I’m going to be telling you why Mongolia needs to be on your horsey to-do list in your lifetime. Before you kick the bucket, you need to go horse riding in Mongolia. We are going to be giving you information, travel tips and where you can book your riding trips. And of course how you can tackle this mega adventure solo as a woman.
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What I’m going to be sharing in this article comes from our World Travel Guide For Equestrians. If you are like me and you like paperbacks, then go and grab yourself a copy on Amazon or get an ebook version completely free. If you haven’t already joined our Equestrian Adventuresses Facebook group I would check it out. We have a lot of women that have travelled and been horse riding in Mongolia. Go and join the group. You can share all the different experiences you’ve had or peep on other people’s experiences. And stare at the photos and videos (which I know I love to do).
Horse Welfare is Priority
A quick disclaimer: I just want to say that when you’re going to book horse riding adventures in any country, you’re going to want to do your research. Make sure that horse welfare comes first. You’ve probably heard some horror stories. For example that horses are skinny in another country or whatever it is. All the stables that we include in our travel guide book definitely have healthy and happy horses.
However, if you want to be 100% guaranteed that those horse’s welfare is priority, we actually have a verification badge. Which means EQA Founder Krystal Kelly has personally visited that country and seen those horses with her own eyes. Just look for the little blue verification badge. Unfortunately, she physically cannot visit every single horse stables in the world. There are thousands and thousands of them in every single country.
However, we do have 180 different countries with horse riding in our catalog. Even though Krystal can’t verify each and every one of them, just because they don’t have the verification badge doesn’t mean that they aren’t any good. It just means she hasn’t had a chance to actually go there and visit it with her own eyes …yet. This is where the Facebook group might come in handy. You can ask questions from other ladies who have already been there and visited the stables.
Land of Wide Open Spaces
Mongolia is a fascinating country that Krystal has had the pleasure of visiting a few times. The horse culture in Mongolia is basically unlike anywhere else in the world. So if you love wide-open spaces and no fences anywhere, Mongolia is definitely the place for you!
I will say, if you’re a vegetarian or vegan you’re going to have a little bit of a hard time. It’s not impossible, but it’s going to be tricky for you. You might want to coordinate something beforehand because they eat a lot of meat. Especially a lot of mutton and a lot of goats.
Mongolia is a harsh country, so the horses live basically wild. They are loose, no fences. Mongolians are a very nomadic culture and people. They live in gers which are basically tents or kind of like teepees but for Mongolians. They travel and roam around with the grazing of the herds. So the horses are very used to being out and surviving against harsh climates and extreme winters, extreme heat of the desert and also very little food.
Because the steppes can be scarce sometimes. It’s a vast, rugged steppe landscape. There are also mountains, there’s the Gobi Desert, beautiful lakes and rivers, and of course they have the one city in Mongolia which is the capital city of Ulaanbaatar.
Home of Genghis Khan and His Horses
Mongolia is also home to the world largest equestrian statue. It is a statue of Genghis Khan. Krystal was there in 2014, and she said it was quite a view standing on top of the horse’s head looking at the mighty Genghis Khan atop his steed. The statue stands at a whopping 131 feet tall (40m). According to legend, this is where Genghis Khan found a “golden whip”.
The thing about Mongolian horses is that they are incredible. They are like little machines! The nomads cherish these horses, which is why Mongolian horses are forbidden to leave the country of Mongolia. So, there is no importing or exporting horses into or out of Mongolia. If you want to ride Mongolian horses, you have to do it in Mongolia.
Mongolian horses can be quite small, they’re actually ponies. They’re barely 14 hands. Not super big, but they are mighty. They are little machines and they have engines on them! They’re very experienced trail horses and you basically just have to sit there, they know what they’re doing.
When To Go
The best time to visit is June through to October. This is the best time to go horse riding in Mongolia. You want to catch it in the summertime because in the winter time it’s pretty cold. it can get down to – 40 degrees Celsius which is very, very cold. Which means you might not want to go in the wintertime.
The great thing about horse riding in Mongolia is you can expect to spend long hours in the saddle just traversing all kinds of different, beautiful landscapes and terrain. Again, without any fences, so it is a truly pristine place nature-wise. If you want to be without cell phone signal and you want to connect with nature, Mongolia is where you need to go.
Traveling Solo? We’ve Got You Covered
If you are a first-time solo lady traveler and you’re interested in learning how you can feel more safe and confident, I would check out our online courses. There is an online course that teaches you about travelling safely as a woman. Another course helps you to develop a sticky butt, so that way you know you won’t fall off. You’ll be able to ride any horse around the world and you can be very confident in your riding ability.
If you’re looking for actual places to go horse riding in Mongolia and or other options of places to ride around the world then I would suggest our Horse Riding In Every Country catalogue. This book is like a phone book directory, it lists over 400 different stables in over 180 different countries.
Fancy to go horse riding in Mongolia? Read about how one woman traveled to meet the reindeer herders, while another went to live with the famous eagle hunters!
If you’re curious to know how people get through Mongolia’s longest and toughest horse race, find out what they pack to survive.
I love riding whenever I am on holiday. The Cavago app lets me book amazing horseback adventures wherever I go in the world. The process is so simple that it takes barely any time to make the booking.