Portugal Horse Riding Holidays

Portugal, and especially the Algarve, is a favourite vacation destination for UK holidaymakers, popular with young people, families and older visitors. Portugal is also popular with European people because of its relative proximity and its beautiful beaches, it is also within the EU and has the Euro as its currency and this attracts Europeans from outside the country to holiday there.

Portugal is located on the western end of the Iberian peninsula and faces outwards into the Atlantic, the border starts at the bottom of the peninsula and goes almost as far north as the Spanish city of Vigo, the capital is Lisbon, which is a city of over half a million people. The whole country has a population of over 10 million.

There are a number of ways to get to Portugal. By car you can drive in from any number of major or minor roads from Spain, or you can your car on a ferry and get there that way. Portugal also has over 30 airports, the major one being in the capital. Portugal also includes the islands of Madeira and Porto Santo Island, two islands that are to the south west of the southern tip of Portugal. Although they are closer to Africa they are in fact an autonomous region of Portugal, Portuguese is spoken on the island and like the mainland the currency is the Euro. Tourism is particularly important to Madeira, it makes up around 20% of the economy, most visitors come from within the European Union.

Portugal has its own horse breed, the Lusitano. Until the 1960s the Lusitano, along with the Spanish Andalusian, was considered one and the same horse breed but since then the two breeds have been considered distinct in Europe. In the United States of America the horses are registered together. The Portuguese horse is considered a particularly brave horse that remains calm under pressure; the Portuguese still use them to fight bulls.

The horse is also known for its muscular rear legs, it was often used in the past as a military ride and continues to be used today in show jumping and dressage. An interesting feature of some Lusitanos is that some of the horses go grey with age. The horse was also used in Portugal as a workhorse and for pulling carriages. Grey is the most common colour for the breed. Despite its strength the horse is a light horse breed; one that weighs under 1,500lbs.

There are many exciting areas of Portugal you can visit for horse riding, the Góis town area, close to the Ceira River is known for its beautiful countryside, or you could of course visit the Algarve, where there are horse riding centres close to Lagos. Choosing this area means you are guaranteed to be close to good accomodation facilities, and the beach! The other advantage of horse riding in the Algarve is you get to visit the protected Monchique national park, one of the most unspoilt pieces of countryside in Portugal.