My husband and I have always wanted to go horse back riding and we figured that Mexico would be the perfect place. We booked this excursion through our apple rep through our hotel, and we were looking forward to this excursion. When we arrived to the ranch we were escorted back to the stable area where all the horses were kept, we had a pretty large group with a lot of children and were told that we were going to be divided into two groups, and the group with children were going to go first. It took them over a hour to get the first group out, and then when it was time for our group to go we were told to divide into three groups: non experienced riders, some experience and expert riders. Of course the majority of the riders were inexperienced and have never been on a course before including myself and my husband. Since they have given all the children the horses for non experienced riders we were left with the leftover dangerous horses. It took them awhile to get everyone on the horses, and some people had to switch horses because the first horse they were given was trying to throw them off. My husband was given a horse and they immediately took him off of it, because his horse wasn't getting a long with him. I was the last person to be put on a horse and I think they gave me the worst horse since my horse was led by one of the tour guides. We finally headed through what they call the jungle, which was more like a a bunch of weeds on hard pavement, one of the tour guides kept yelling to stay in a straight line but the horses had a mind of their own and didn't stay in line. The ride down to the beach was pleasant and relaxing, but as soon as we got to the beach the horses started going to crazy and a few people were thrown of their horses. My husband's horse started to gallop and nearly knocked my husband off.
Once we got to the beach they picked the well behaved horses to take people through the water. When I got on the horse to go into the water another horse came up behind it and scared my horse and nearly knocked me off, so I jumped off and was done and went back to relax before we had to head back to the ranch.
Our preparation for heading back to the ranch was a disaster as the workers of the ranch were trying to get people back on their horses, the horses were fighting with each other and were scaring a lot of the people. A few of the girls were scared and said they didn't want to ride back and Nina one of the tour guides took an attitude with them and told them they weren't going to get their money back. I was put on a different horse back to the ranch led by one of the tour guides, I didn't make it very far as my horse started to go crazy and threw me off, I landed on the sand and my entire right side and back is sore and stiff. This happened 4 days ago and I'm still feeling the effects. My husband's horse started to lose control and luckily the photographer on site was able to stop my husband's horse and he was able to get off safely. Luckily my husband and I were picked up by one of the workers on an atv who took us back to the ranch. On our way back to the ranch we saw several people who abandoned their horses and were walking back. One girl thrown of her horse on the concrete pavement and ended up with a concussion and was sent to the hospital. This place doesn't care about the safety of their patrons and should not be able to operate the way they do. If they didn't have enough horses for beginner riders then they should have either told us to come back or refunded our money.

First and foremost - it was great and a highlight of the trip

I have read the negative reviews and although the people that wrote them have a right to their opinion - it seems to me that they may not have experience around horses because of comments about the horses appearance and behavior. Horses on a merry go round don't bite or kick and look really pretty. Horses in the pasture and on the trail act like brothers and sisters on a long car ride or who are waiting in line to get the first ice cream. They pick at each other.

I took my 8 year old daughter to ride on the beach and swim with the horses... It has been a life long dream. We found the staff was very friendly but blunt and VERY realistic about the fact that you are "RIDING A STRANGE HORSE... so don't ruin your vacation with a broken arm" I have horses at home, I have ridden all my life and I took a "beginner" horse!!!! You want to enjoy your time - not have your ride turn into a battle as horses do. The horses were on all riding levels - and remember they ARE horses... they don't speak english or spanish for that matter... they pick at each other, they jockey for position and they may roll in the sand (as we were warned) If you are afraid of horses DON'T GO. If you have ridden a little and understand horse behavior you will be absolutely fine. The saddles are hard... bring a towel for you butt and if you are signing up for the run on the beach... IT IS A FULL OUT RUN... so know what you are doing and prepare for a few saddle burns. We didn't encounter bugs in March but some reviews warn to wear long pants, so if you do, have a suit under them for the swim. You go all the way in the water bareback.
Bring Tennis shoes or sandals that have back straps... we rode in flip flops not a good idea. (bad planning)

Swimming in the ocean was great. I have done it in the lakes of MN but this was even better. The horses groan as the water pressure on their bellies makes them do this... nothing to worry about.

Another review claimed the horses collapsed on the beach from exhaustion. My horse was on it's first ride of the day, the sand is cool and it feels good to them to lay down as he and others did. He was not in any danger of a 30 min walk to the beach without water... How did anyone make it across the USA without an air-conditioned trailer behind their covered wagon?

Nina and Ray were wonderful. The other cowboys were always going up and down the line making sure everyone was doing OK but they are also around horses all the time and know that a little nip and kick are typical and won't escalate as long as the rider doesn't freak and has a basic understanding of this. YES... Nina did JOKE about keeping negative comments to yourself. Have a little sense of humor people.

I was skeptical to go horse back riding in Mexico. Usually on trail rides the horses are pokey, and you may as well ride a merry-go-round. I read some of the below reviews and understand that you could think these horses look thin. They actually looked better than I even expected them to be. But... remember, Mexico has little grass land and chemically enhanced high protein horse feed is probably pretty hard to find. Horses are able to handle many different climates. I felt these horses were well taken care of. They were not pushed or over worked and all have stalls for the end of the day. The pictures I have posted show the horses from behind... there are no hips sticking out, and showing a little rib means the horse is just right. Some of the older horses will look more thin and sway back but that is normal too.

My horses are out day and night in the MN winter and in -25F to 90F+ in the summer. They take shelter when needed but even I am surprised that they are so used to their conditions that they don't seem to go under the loafing shed very often.

Enjoy the pool upon your return to the ranch and they even have cold drinks and a snack of rice, beans and cheese tortillas waiting for your.

NO CREDIT CARDS for pictures or trinkets and we tipped for all the help and fun.

We found the trip to be good value and a beautiful ride and a highlight of the trip. THANKS LOMA BONITA!

We just got back on the 7th of January-

I'm not an animal rights activist, but I can tell you the condition of these horses is deplorable. These animals are given no shelter from the heat, no water over the 2 hour tour (none can be seen at the stalls either), are obviously hungry and get no snacks AND they are not conditioned for interaction with people. These horses run up on each other and bite and kick with people on them, do not respond to commands, try to sluff you off, and the horse I was on required constant supervision by the guides. It was just terrible- I was petrified the entire time. When the guide did try to correct the horse... Her ears laid back flat for the rest of the ride- scary! I have to ask why they would include this horse on a tour if they know she's that testy? It wasn't just the horse I was on either- two of my friends were with me and although they didn't have as bad of an experience as I did their horses were biting and kicking as well.

Also the woman guide is absolutely rude and nasty. She actually asked us at the end of the tour to keep our experience to ourselves if we had a bad time and let people find out for themselves if they like it- how tacky!

I RARELY if EVER complain about anything, so for this tour to have got me this steamed, I assure you... It was that bad.

Save your money and go to Xcartet- that was an incredible day!

I have ridden horses for years so of course on my honeymoon I thought it would be awesome to ride down to the beach! I was a little concerned when we first arrived at the ranch (definitely a ranch...not a posh stable for pampered show horses) but after going over our safety information with the guide I was really looking forward to it. I had only ever ridden English (hunter/jumpers) and I've only ridden Western a handful of times but I found it easy to convert! My husband had never ridden before so I was a little concerned about him but he did great! The horses were not malnourished as I read in a previous review...as I said before, they're not as plump and muscled as a show horse but I certainly didn't see any ribs sticking out. Some of these horses are a little long in the tooth too so it's not unusual to see some bony hips and swaybacks!!! I will agree that this is probably not a great ride for someone apprehensive or easily scared of horses acting like horses. These are NOT bomb proof plugs...you DO need to know how to take control of your horse. The first thing I did when I got on Mr. Cool (awesome name by the way) was to go over some simple commands to make sure I knew what I was doing and also to get him in the mode of listening to my commands BEFORE we got on the trail. I read in some reviews that people were frustrated about their horse nipping or kicking at another horse or stopping to eat or being a jerk sometimes...guess what? That's what horses do! I owned my own horse a few years back and went to many shows and on many trail rides and I can tell you that that's a horse being a horse...they're not all perfect...they ALL have quirks. The horses DO like to roll too. One woman's horse rolled with her on it when we were all saddling up in the corral. She was fine though and was a trooper and got right back one but this caused another rider to hyperventilate and ask to get off immediately. She wound up accompanying us but only on the condition that the guide lead here the whole way.

I would recommend that you bring a change of clothes if possible and a towel, especially if you're considering swimming with the horses. The other thing I would recommend; WEAR LONG PANTS and running shoes or boots. I knew we would just be walking pretty much so I thought it would be good to wear shorts because of the heat. I incurred literally 100 mosquito bites (I went in October too...not even in the summer). They sell bug spray at the gift shop but it's EXPENSIVE and from what those who bought it said, it doesn't work at all anyway. Save yourself 3 days worth of itching and a ton of attractive bug bites on your legs and wear jeans. You'll be hotter but much happier in the end!!! Wear shoes and boots of course as it is VERY UNSAFE to ride in shoes that can flop right off your feet.

All in all we had a good time. The guide, Fernando, was awesome and the other guides were very helpful too. Be sure to bring a few singles to tip though (we made the mistake of coming up short in that department). The snack they serve when you get back, although a simple snack of beans, rice and a fried quesadilla, is DELICIOUS and really hits the spot:)