Longing to slide into the stirrups on an equi-adventure? Answer these questions to help you pick the horse trip of your dreams.

By Laurel Kallenbach for Experience Life

1. What type of rider are you? Most outfitters distinguish between beginner, intermediate and advanced trips so that you’ll be riding with peers of similar ­abilities. Family trips welcome all abilities. To brush up your skills, try guest ranches, whose instructors help you practice on the trail.
2. Do you want to gallop around the globe? Choose from Highland ponies in Scotland, Arabians in Morocco or Tennessee Walking Horses in the Appalachians. Consider all types of terrain — mountains, savannahs, beaches — and don’t limit yourself to summer. Think snow riding or driving a horse-drawn sleigh.
3. What do you want to do when you’re not in the saddle? Some people want to ride all day. Others prefer blending horse adventures with fishing, cooking classes, wine tasting, cultural sight-seeing, hiking or kayaking.
4. Where will you rest your head? Sleep under the stars like a cowboy, travel from inn to inn on horseback, or pick a home base such as a ranch house or wilderness lodge and make day trips from there.
5. What’s your budget? Prices for equi-adventures range from less than $100 to thousands, depending on where you go, length of stay and accommodations (the cheapest options are half-day rides during a vacation). Keep in mind that most packages do not include airfare to your destination, or additional expenses such as on-your-own meals, gratuities or optional activities.

Laurel Kallenbach lives and writes in Boulder, Colo.

Experience Life magazine is an award-winning health and fitness publication that aims to empower people to live their best, most authentic lives, and challenges the conventions of hype, gimmicks and superficiality in favor of a discerning, whole-person perspective. Visit www.experiencelifemag.com to learn more, to subscribe, and to sign up for the Experience Lifenewsletter.

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