Backcountry Saddle Expeditions

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Backcountry Saddle Expeditions

The Hidden Valley is as special as it sounds. Come and explore it with Debs and her Appaloosa horses. The treks leave once daily at either 10.00am or 1.30pm.
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Backcountry Saddle Expeditions operates all year round with quiet, well mannered Appaloosa horses. They are equipped with western saddles which offer comfort and security, especially for children or beginner riders. The western saddle is designed to be sat in for long periods of time, and helps minimize discomfort. (You are required to arrive 30 minutes prior to the departure time.) The Winter rid

e departs at 11.00am only (May-September). Please check with Debs the daily departure time. Rates:
Adults and Children 10 and over: $150.00

Children (Under 10 years MINIMUM AGE 5 years): $125.00
NB: All children under 10 must be accompanied by an adult. All people requiring to be led for either safety or who are aged 5/6 years an extra: $25.00

Bookings are essential. Minimum of 2 people required. "Bespoke Ride" options are available. Please talk to Debs about different options. The trek route winds through the stunning Hidden Valley in Earnscleugh near Alexandra and Clyde. The area is steeped with gold mining history and as we wind through the valley and up into the high country farm plateaus, Debs shares facts about the interesting flora and fauna of a truly beautiful part of Central Otago.

07/04/2024

Loving our beautiful autumn days 🤠🐴

21/03/2024

A little rest at the viewpoint for the horses whilst Champagne and a Platter were being enjoyed 🍾🥂
Talk to Debs about doing a “Bespoke” ride and having both her and her horses to yourself 🤠❤️🐴

06/11/2023

Digger School at Backcountry Saddles 🤣🐴😂🐴

24/08/2023

Still got that purple cast on people 💜

23/08/2023

I’ve been a bit quiet lately but soooo good to get back on a horse with my “gate opening and shutting” ladies 😉

So lovely to have Rosie, Ash, Stacey, Ivy and Pernille (my Norwegian cowgirl) to ride out with me after 5 weeks with my leg up 🙄🤠🐴

18/06/2023

Went up to check if we had sun above the fog 🌞
But by the time we got there it had gone ❄️

Still amazingly beautiful out there 🤠

17/06/2023

Fogbows in the sometimes “Hidden” Valley ❤️
Very mysterious and mystical and then stunningly beautiful blue skies WOW 🤩

12/05/2023

Snow in May never stays… but it looks pretty while it’s there ❄️❄️❄️

18/04/2023

OMG 😱
The Autumn Colours are amazing at the moment 😍
Love this time of the year 🥰

08/04/2023

The Appaloosa is a horse breed associated historically with the Nez Perce (Niimipu) Tribe. The name may originate from “a Palouse,” which referred to the region where the horses were bred. It is likely that these horses originally came from a variety of Spanish horses—so-called spotted horses—that were traded into the Northwest by the mid to late eighteenth century. The horses were then bred by the Nez Perce.

The Appaloosa is also known as the Nez Perce Horse. The first documented reports of horses in Oregon are in the journals of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, who noted spotted horses similar to the Appaloosa among the Nez Perce Tribe.

The Nez Perce valued the Appaloosa for its intelligent temperament, sure-footedness, endurance, and speed. They required their horses to negotiate the treacherous trails from their winter quarters in the Wallowa Valley of eastern Oregon through the Rocky Mountains to the summer encampments on the Plains. The horses were fast enough to catch a bison and paso fino—that is, smooth-gaited—enough to allow a hunter to fire with accuracy from a full gallop.

The original Nez Perce Appaloosa nearly died out after the Nez Perce War in 1876, when the U.S. military confiscated the Tribe’s herds. A few of the breed survived into the twentieth century, however, and in the 1930s horsemen in eastern Oregon worked to revive it. As a modern horse breed, the Appaloosa is distinctive for its mottled skin, visible sclera (the white outer layer of the eye), and vertical-striped hooves.

The Appaloosa is one of the most distinctive and valued American horse breeds in the world. The Nez Perce Tribe and other horse ranchers in the region are continuing to develop the desirable traits that were bred into the original breed in the nineteenth century.

By David Lewis (Takelma, Chinook,
Molalla, Santiam Kalapuya)

Photo via Holdyourhorsies

05/04/2023

It totally depended on what direction you were looking at today 😉

Blue skies one way and grey and rainy the other 🤠😊

08/03/2023

The ”wild west” at Backcountry Saddle Expeditions 🥰🤠🐴

11/02/2023

The long and the short of is… we’ve got too much grass 😂🤣

31/01/2023

Expecting thunderstorms and had a few distant claps but after 32 degrees consecutively for quite a few days we really need the rain 🙏

Glad my horses are barefoot in times like this… no unexpected sparks out there on the hill 😳

20/01/2023

Love it 😂

17/01/2023

My baby boy Cole did his last family ride for a while 😢

He was joined by his partner, auntie, cousin and soon to be relatives 🥰

He’s off to Kiel in the north of Germany which seems like a very long way away from our little old New Zealand 🤔

Going to miss this beautiful man but wish him all the best in his travels 🥰

Might have to keep that passport current from now on 😉

17/12/2022

This is why I’m in the Hidden Valley… We have unicorns 🦄 and I’m trying to keep it a secret 🤫
I even have very special unicorn riders who are having special birthdays.
Happy 10th unicorn birthday Ruby for tomorrow 🦄 🎂

29/11/2022

Team Otago Girls High School… I always push a few boundaries but it’s sooooo amazing the difference between when we start and when we finish.

These girls catch, groom, saddle, practice steering in the arena and then get out onto Earnscleugh Station for a ride in the hills 🤠🐴

Address

153 Fraser Dam Road
Earnscleugh
9391

Telephone

640275443815

Website

http://www.backcountrysaddles.co.nz/

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Videos

It totally depended on what direction you were looking at today 😉 Blue skies one way and grey and rainy the other 🤠😊

Expecting thunderstorms and had a few distant claps but after 32 degrees consecutively for quite a few days we really need the rain 🙏 Glad my horses are barefoot in times like this… no unexpected sparks out there on the hill 😳

My babies totally up for the days workload… NOT 😜

I nearly made it back before the storm hit. It was a wall of white encroaching on us… Armageddon 😳

Nevada doing his best to be as big as Gerry. He might need to do a few more weights than this to catch up 😉 Gerry agrees 🤣😂

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Our Story

Back Country Saddles operates all year round with our quiet, well mannered Appaloosa horses. They are equipped with western saddles which offer comfort and security, especially for children or beginner riders. The western saddle is designed to be sat in for long periods of time, and helps minimise discomfort.

Our treks leave twice daily at 10.00am and 1.30pm.

Rates:

Adults: $100.00