Pint-to-pints

Pub-stops on your ride
It is really important to have a good rest in the middle of the day's ride. Both you and your horse need a break, and you will both enjoy the afternoon a lot more after it. Most of our rides have a lunch-stop where you can tie up and get water for your horse (though not always in buckets - see photo far right). Most are pubs, but there are a few tea rooms in areas like Dorset and Exmoor.

If you prefer to take a pack-lunch, which leaves you free to stop whenever you feel like a rest, your hosts will make one up for you. It costs about £4 per person, and you pay them direct.
Most pubs will provide water for your horse - but most landlords are not used to equine visitors, so be prepared for some strange buckets!
Most of our rides include a pub-stop like the two shown above, which are both in the North Cotswolds.

Alternatively, you can take a pack lunch from your hosts and have a picnic instead as in the photo on the left!
We visit each lunch-stop when we research a new network to check that horses are welcome. After that, we call in as often as we can when we're doing host visits or checking routes. We try to ensure that the pub-stops are roughly at the half-way point in each ride, although this is not always possible.
When you arrive, you may find that nobody has heard of Bridle Rides - either because there are different staff on at lunch-time who haven't been told, or because there has been a change of landlord since we last visited.

caring for your horse
Some people find that their horses settle more quickly if they are not too close, but you need to be near enough to supervise them properly - and you should never leave them completely unattended.
There is no horse feed and usually no grazing at most pub-stops, but you can usually get a bucket of water on request (though they may not have more than one bucket).
Some riders take a small bag of coarse-mix for their horse. If you do want to feed your horse at lunch time, it should be a snack rather than a proper feed. Some horses enjoy it and it gives them a little bit of extra energy, although you will need to give it as soon as you stop and allow your horse up to an hour to digest the feed before you ride away.

tie-up points
Most of the tie-up points are in pub yards, gardens or car-parks. Proper tie-rings are few and far between - either way, you should still take baler twine with you to tie your horse's lead rope to to ensure that he won't hurt himself or cause too much damage if he suddenly pulls back. Pub car parks vary quite a bit in terms of the space available and proximity to roads and other hazards. There's usually plenty of room, although some pub car-parks can get busy on Bank Holidays and Sunday lunchtimes.

opening hours
We provide as much information about facilities and opening times as we can in the route-notes. However, these are based on the status quo when we last visited, and we're often the last to know if the hours (or even the landlord) have changed - so its always best to phone ahead to check and let them know you are coming with horses, particularly if you need to take a diversion to get there. In touristy areas like Dorset and the Cotswolds, some pubs are open all day, every day - but in remoter areas like the Lincolnshire Wolds and Welsh Borders where there isn't much passing trade, there aren't many pubs per se, and you may find that they either close or don't serve food on Mondays and Tuesdays.
If you ring ahead, some landlords will either keep the tie-up point clear for you or section off part of the car-park.

what to take with you
You'll need a headcollar and lead rope and some string or baler twine to tie up to. We leave a headcollar on under the bridle throughout the ride so that we can easily tie up at any stage.
When you arrive, loosen the girth and run the stirrups up. We prefer not to take the saddle off because the numnah will feel cold and clammy against your horse's back when it goes back on - although you may have to remove the saddle if your horse has any tendency to roll.

pack-lunches
The alternative is to take a picnic lunch, which is about £4 from your overnight host, and stop en route. It is legal to picnic on a bridleway as long as you take any litter away with you - and your horse might enjoy the rest more if you stop where there's some grass for him to pick at.
We are starting to add information about village shops and Post Offices to our route notes, but it is not worth relying on them. You may not pass through many villages on a bridle ride - and if there is a shop, it may not be open at lunch-time.
Not all pub-stops are as horse friendly as this one. This is The Bell at Sapperton in the South Cotswolds, which as a special "horses only" corral!