# Our Trail Ride in Ethiopia



## Nomadic Days (Nov 12, 2017)

The week-long trail ride in Ethiopia we completed this January was was the adventure of a life time: horse handlers who run as fast as galloping horses, forests full of cute monkeys and fields packed with fleas.

We've got to see traditional clay huts, donkeys and horses gathering by the streams to drink water. No electricity, no cell phones. The way it was 3000 years ago. Even though I’m always trying to get off the beaten path, I have never thought it was possible to get that far off it. 

And we often had good laugh: like when you need a whip for your horse, you just take a stick out of smb's fence. 

Sometimes we had to be inventive: One day we've got horses that didn`t want to move. But still, we figured out a perfect solution. A horse handler brought a big heavy leather whip with him, just the sound of it made my horse run for dear life. My partner’s horse was neither afraid of the sound of the whip, nor of being beaten with it. However, it didn´t like to fall behind my horse and galloped easily when my horse started running. Taking all that into consideration, my partner took the whip from the handler and whipped it through the air like a propeller of a helicopter. Hearing the sound of that, my horse started running and his horse eagerly followed.

And here are some pictures of our horses:




















You may find more pictures here


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

What a wonderful opportunity! And terrific pictures!

That way of life gives new meaning to "off the grid" .


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## Horsef (May 1, 2014)

Lovely, thank you for sharing


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## Horsef (May 1, 2014)

Looking at the rope bridles and bits (!), my mare really is a prima donna. “I want the other bridle, it’s softer” - I guess that’s what the head-shake means. We truly are spoiled, and our horses and other animals too.

Thank you again for taking the time to write this, it was fascinating.


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## JoBlueQuarter (Jan 20, 2017)

I just read through your posts on your blog, @Nomadic Days. It's really cool!


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## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

What an amazing experience! Thanks for sharing.


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