Learning to Ride Without a Clock

One of the first things many riders ask when arriving in the Andes is about time.

What time do we leave?

How long will we ride?

When will we arrive?

These questions are natural. They reflect how most of us are used to moving through the world: organised, efficient, planned. Yet on horseback in the Andes, time plays a very different role.

Here, the clock is not the best guide.

When Time Loses Its Authority

At altitude, riding is shaped less by schedules and more by conditions. Terrain, weather, and the wellbeing of the horses determine the rhythm of the day. A short climb, a narrow mountain trail, or a sudden change in weather quietly alters what is appropriate in that moment.

Above 9,000 feet, both horses and riders operate within limits that do not respond well to pressure. Breathing deepens, effort becomes more deliberate, and pace adjusts naturally. Trying to force a fixed plan onto this environment often creates tension—without improving progress.

The Andes have their own tempo, and they do not hurry.

Horses Do Not Follow Schedules

Horses move according to feel, balance, and footing. They slow where care is required and may move with more energy on short climbs, where a slightly quicker rhythm makes the effort easier for them. This can surprise riders who expect a uniform pace throughout the day, but it is simply the horse working efficiently.

Riding well in the mountains means trusting this instinct rather than correcting it. It asks the rider to observe instead of manage, to respond instead of direct.

It is sometimes assumed that riding without a clock means riding slowly. This is not necessarily the case. Peruvian Paso horses are not passive or hesitant movers. Their natural four-beat lateral gait allows them to cover ground efficiently at the walk, often moving faster than other breeds without increasing effort. With long, over-tracking strides, they move forward with balance and continuity rather than speed for its own sake. What changes at altitude is not how much ground is covered, but how attention is applied.

Letting Go of Control

For many guests, the most subtle challenge of riding in the Andes is not the altitude or the terrain, but letting go of control.

The clock offers reassurance. It creates predictability. Yet here, attentiveness replaces scheduling. Lunch may last longer because the horses need rest. A riding day may end earlier because the terrain has already asked enough. On other days, everything flows effortlessly and time seems to disappear altogether.

This flexibility is not disorganisation.It is a form of awareness.

When speed loses importance,

presence takes its place.

A Slower Pace, A Wider View

There is a simple truth about equestrian travel: it is not defined by how much ground is covered. Moving at little more than three miles per hour, the horse quietly resists the modern obsession with speed. The rider is asked—without instruction—to slow the body, and in doing so, the mind follows.

Over time, something shifts. Questions about hours and minutes fade. Attention moves outward to the landscape, and inward to the rhythm of the ride. Days feel full without feeling rushed. Progress is no longer measured in distance, but in presence.

Good riding is not about going slower.

It is about moving with awareness.

Riding Without a Clock

Learning to ride without a clock is not about abandoning structure or discipline. It is about recognising that in the Andes, time is shaped by altitude, terrain, and the horse. When riders allow this shift to happen, the experience becomes calmer, richer, and more honest.

The mountains do not reward control.

They reward attention.

And horses, perhaps more than anything else, teach us when it is time to let go.

For a broader reflection on Andean rhythm beyond the saddle, see Time in the Andes.