Horseback riding after 50+ years?

What country is it, and how good is the medical care there? Odds are you would most likely be fine, but there is always that chance that you won't. When approaching something like this, you should always look at both sides of the equation and consider the worse case scenario. Are you fine with the options available to you in the worse case scenario? If so, then ride the horses. Personally, it would be a hard pass for me. Then again, I have a lot of experience in third world countries and have seen what can happen in the worse case scenario.

So there I was, Mexico, on a beach, hadn't been on a horse in 8 years. But, it's like riding a bike, right? And I was young and dumb - spring break, baby! My horse was named Blanco - that wasn't the horse's name - it was simply the name the guide told the english speaking American who so far had not impressed him with her 3 semesters of Spanish. I put my foot into the stir-up and the whole saddle slipped. I said, "Pardon, esto no es..." while I pantomimed loose. He said, "it's good, it's good, go." Not to disappoint the crowd of sweet Canadians who were also along for the ride, I climbed aboard Blanco and began an hour of nervously shifting my weight back and forth to keep the saddle centered. Oh how glorious it was to ride a horse on the beach, through the dunes, very fun. Up and to this point 9/10 - well worth the pesos. Then... we stopped. Blanco said, in English, bitch please, let me help you off (yes, he did, just believe me.) I stood into the stir-up to dismount, the saddle quickly proved how not tight it was. Blanco took off while dragging me, my big foot caught in the stir-up. This was not part of the agreement and I quickly new it was going to cost me more than originally agreed upon. For starters - I was wearing my airport jeans (a last minute decision that proved to be fortuitous) - how was I going from January in Mexico back to the frozen tundra of home wearing a skirt. One simply does not disembark a plane in the frozen tundra wearing a skirt. You have to think ahead to having to scrape your windshield! That is not a skirt task. Yet, there I went in circles with a horse "named" Blanco ruining my airport pants - but my skin was grateful. Soon a sweet Canadian gentleman grabbed Blanco's reins and we stopped. I stood up in my dirty airport pants, thanked Canadian man for my life by hugging him tightly must to the chagrin of his wife and to the amusement of his teenaged son. I glared at the guide and gave the international sign for I told you so - which in my youth looked a lot like the middle finger.

Blanco was a VERY tame horse. The horses were all quite trained to just go on the ride. We only rode for an hour so not long enough to hurt from riding. I would absolutely do it again - and shared my story because it has become legend in our house and circle of friends. White horses come along in packages as little trinkets from my friends with "humor." But please, do speak up loudly and until there is a change until you feel comfortable with the safety of the horse.

I wouldn't have thought twice about it... and I am 50!! Go for it.

Horseback riding is wonderfully theraputic.  Why not go?  You know how to make your horse go fwd, turn left and right and come to a gentle stop.  Other than that what's to know?  Be respectful and gentle and know that the horse is probably very used to people riding it.  Have fun.

We've ridden horses in Mexico and they were very mellow.  You aren't too old.  You might have a harder time getting them to trot.  We've also ridden camels on the beach in Mexico and that was a treat.  In my experience, the places have a big staired block that you walk up to access the horse.  I don't think most of their clients could get on a horse without one.  Easy peasy.

The last time that I rode a horse, after having not ridden one for about a decade or more, I realised that it is very important to have good pelvic floor strength. Alternatively, make sure you wear some kind of stress incontinence protection! 

I started skiing again 6 years ago after 25 years. I got brand new skis, boots, all the gear and even a 4x4 . I was determined and committed. I had the same fears and made my daughter and her boyfriend go down the literal kiddie bunny hill with me as I got my sea legs back. Now if anything looked odd, that was it. I didn't need to do it all. In reality I was more worried about getting on the lift and then getting off. Again, no problem. It was like riding a bike. I will tell you that I never feel more alive than when I am skiing down the slopes. I hope your first experience back skiing is just as wonderful as mine.

To reply to the originally asked question about riding a horse - I would do it. I started back horseback riding occasionally the same year I started skiing again. You could get hurt anywhere and the likelihood is not any greater in a resort area than others I believe. Life is short, seize the day and enjoy it all. 

Nope not crazy, can and does happen.

The problem isn't so much the horse riding at your age, the problem is that you have no experience and at 50 if you fall off, potentially you are at higher risk of serious injury.

I went horse riding in my 20s...flat ground, calm horses, but I had no experience and didn't know what I was doing, so when my horse turned suddenly, I didn't know how to adjust my position and so I fell off. Injured my back and could barely walk or sit for 2 weeks.

A couple of years ago I watched a documentary featuring various ERs around the world, one was in Hawaii. It started with a middle aged man being pulled out of the surf with a spinal cord injury. He was there on vacation with his wife and teenage kids. Flick to the ER doctor explaining that they had one of the highest rates of serious spinal injuries in the world...because people come to Hawaii and want to try surfing, they have no experience, but get on a board anyway, then fall badly and the next thing they know they're in a spinal unit and are paralysed.
That's exactly what happened to the man in the doco - instant quadriplegic. That's the rest of his life and his family's in tatters.

The issue isn't trying something new...it's trying something "cold" with no experience of the activity, no previous learning and no knowledge of how to do it safely to avoid injuries.
Injuries don't happen to everyone...but there are spinal units, orthopaedic wards, and ERs etc. in hospitals full of people that it DOES happen to.
Do you want to flip the coin and see which side you end up on?

If you want to horse ride - great, go to a proper school and have lessons. Learn how to do it correctly, what safety equipment to use and how to sit correctly, stay on. THEN do the ride on your vacation and enjoy it.
Don't have your first ever experience in 50 years be a 45 min ride in the jungle.

Find a school and have a few lessons before you go. Otherwise...my vote is for 'crazy' and you are risking the potential for a serious injury.

If you haven't been on a horse in more than 50 years, I would recommend a few lessons before you go on the cruise. Not only to get your proverbial sea legs back so you're safer, but also because you will enjoy it more when you feel more at home on horseback. 

Absolutely you can do it! I took lessons when I was teen in England back in the 1970s. Then I began taking lessons again in my 50s. Prior to that, I had gone on the type of ride you describe in Hawaii (REALLY large hills), Hilton Head, etc. They were gentle rides and very easy. Many people on the ride had never even ridden before. Go because you will love it.

I would do it. I did a beach ride after not having been on a horse for 15-ish years (which is admittedly not 50), and it was indeed like riding a bike. It felt great - it's surprising how the muscle memory comes back.

Remember, those horses are used to taking people with NO experience. If you have any horse sense at all, you'll be more than fine... Maybe do check your tack first, though - eleezybeth's story is sobering!

Tourist horses are very tame. It will/would be a rare thing for the horse to act up.
I say do it.

GO! 

This is from someone who, @ 35, took an hour horseback ride such as you describe while leaving my eight WEEK old son in the care of his father. Ended up being the only one who knew how to ride English style, stupidly raised my hand that I could, and ended up with the biggest horse I've ever SEEN. It was AWESOME!!!

Until I had to get off....and they had people to help me. It was all good except for the cocky douchecanoe guys that were bitching about how long it was taking me to dismount (cause they had to wait), and my friend Julie piped up, "Hey, it's a lot different swinging down out of those stirrups than 8 weeks ago when you had DS, isn't it?" Annnd, they shut the hell up. 

GO! And come back and tell us all about it!