 Your guide is Ivan Quinquis, who breeds and raises Mérens horses, a local breed. Deeply involved in the local pastoral community, he has been participating in the transhumance (bringing horses to spend the summer months in complete freedom in the high mountain pastures) for over 20 years and is eager to share his passion for these mountains. This is why part of the calendar of horseriding treks is linked to local festivals and traditions, equine competitions and other events concerning pastoralism in Ariège.  During these events it’s possible to stay at Cavalus in order to participate in the festivities. Contact us for details.
The particularities of Cavalus: These aren’t endurance courses ; the day is not measured by the number of kilometres traveled but by the number of hours on horseback and how high up the mountain we’ve climbed.
As the Cavalus farm is situated at 1000 m the classic circuits range between 500m and 150m with between 4 and 5 hours of riding per days. We mainly ride at a walk or trot as the trails we folllow and the vegetation don’t allow for frequent cantering or galloping.
Each rider has a pair of saddle bags and a charvin but for trips of 3 days or more the baggage is transported by vehicle.
 About the equipment : the mountain trails sometimes oblige us to get down out of the saddle and walk, the reins being detachable so that the rider can walk far in from of his or her horse. To avoid slippage on paving stones and asphalt, the metal horseshoes are replaced by resin soles fixed to the hooves by Ivan.
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