Horseback riding

Hm, there are a lot of places one could take lessons, but few rent-a-horse options. Those that are there are often overnight camping trips. It is simply not done here that one just hands over their horse--remember, this is horse country!--for some tourist to sit upon like a sack of potatoes (not saying you, but the average tourist). And add to that the requirement of public transport and you are asking a lot. I do know of a place up here on the North Sea, which doesn't help you.

Here is a link that might help, but it probably isn't what you want:
https://www.pferdreiter.de/e-info.html

This might work:
https://www.freizeitstall-unteraigen.de/

For this very special question I think it would be a good idea to contact the local tourist offices, e. g. Füssen (contact form).

Not on your route but traditionally the high-class riding tournament Hamburg Derby in Klein Flottbek is happening every year in May.

Vienna: it is not about own riding but I guess we do not have to mention the Spanish Riding School?

It helps others if you would write a short report after journey how you found something and what you did finally.

Have a nice journey.

Take a look at Chateau Chantilly outside of Paris. There are horse exhibits and shows. I thought I saw a riding stable nearby a few years ago.
https://chateaudechantilly.fr/en/great-stables/

Thank you all! I had a feeling that it might be hard to find a place. Seems horseback riding tours aren't quite as common in Europe as in parts of the US, perhaps. And I totally understand why- I wouldn't personally want a tourist who'd never ridden before on my horse! We are definitely going to the Spanish Riding School, so that might have to be our horse experience this time around, but I'll check out the other suggestions as well.

Years ago (early 1990's) I took a riding vacation in Donegal, Ireland for a week. There were lots of Europeans in the group, in fact we were the only Americans. And it was marvelous. I haven't checked to see if such specialized trips still exist, but if they are still out there, maybe for a future trip?

I'm quite surprised by the lack of options. In the UK (and Ireland, Ireland is a very horsey country) you'd look for "pony trekking". The way to narrow it down would be to add your favourite rural region (Cumbria, Yorkshire, Welsh regions, Scotland, Cornwall etc.) to a Google search for pony trekking. It would usually be an escorted group ride for riders of mixed ability.

Pony trekking maybe has a bit of a connotation of being "for kids" but I'd imagine businesses set up to provide this sort of service could cater for the more experienced. I've only done it once, many, many years ago on The Isle of Man. My mum and I found it a bit slow going, with all the walking, but the ride included a stop out in the country where mum and I were able to give the ponies a little canter around while the less experienced took a break.

I know this isn't any of the countries you mention, but might be worth considering if you're still open to thinking about destinations based on riding.

There are lots of multi-day trekking options (see the link I posted), most of which require some riding skills. It's the "rent a horse for a few hours" thing that is not common in Europe. In many places, you go and do a horse trek as a good way to see the country--sometimes with well cared for horses, other times with animals that, if in my barn at home, would have me calling a vet faster than you can say abused.

Horseback riding is serious business in Germany. You generally don't start lessons by plopping on a pony--you start by being lunged without a saddle to develop seat and balance. You do some vaulting. You attend summer pony camps. You want to show? You need to pass licensing, both in horse care and in riding skills, and as you move up the levels you must continue to pass higher licensing. Lessons are cheap and easily available, so it feels like every little girl and many little boys get some mileage. That is one reason they can offer these treks with a high degree of skill required.

I don't know how it is in France, but it wouldn't surprise me if it were similar.

In places like St. Peter-Ording here in the north you can do a few hours on the beach. Some degree of skill is required even for that. If the OP were coming here to the north, I would suggest that.

I tried googling in German and came up with very little, but I did find a bit more:
https://www.alpin-trails.de/?Startseite
https://www.lesachtaler-reiterhof.at/kontakt/ (not anywhere near where you are going)

In London there is riding in Rotten Row in Hyde Park.

Long established stables and instructors.

Private rides are available from £145 per hour per person - one to one mandatory accompaniment ...

https://www.hydeparkstables.com/london-hyde-park-horse-riding-prices

Better horseback riding in the West of the USA.

It's the "rent a horse for a few hours" thing that is not common in Europe.

I'm not sure where you got the idea that was what the OP was looking for. I didn't get that from the original post. You then went on to talk about tourists riding "like a sack of potatoes" to someone who already told us they are an experienced rider. In my experience, if you have to say "present company excepted" in the course of conversation, you've probably inadvertently said something quite rude :)

My point in bringing it to the UK with a generic search term such as "pony trekking" was just to get the OP in the right ballpark where they could assess what people with horses are offering, even though they're probably above pony trekking standard in their riding ability. There's many different options to ride out for a day in the UK. I didn't get that there was in Germany from your original post and I don't think the OP did either.

Better horseback riding in the West of the USA.

Certainly a different experience. Some may find it interesting to ride European style rather than western style.

My perception is that there are a lot of opportunities for this in Germany but they are already well to over demanded by recurring German customers (I know from ex-colleagues of waiting lists around Cologne). 70-80% of tourists in Germany are Germans. So, no need to get into the language and travel coordination issue on top for a one-time business. Also many farm vacation providers offer it to their guests when they know them 1-2 days and with flexibility of time during the day. They also take care of the daily form of their horses.

I'd probably add that I don't mean to be too grumpy with HowlinMad. I'm sorry if anything I'm moaning about is related to English not being your native language. Don't mean to sound down on Germany either.

Cheap flights are available into UK regional airports from Paris particularly. Jus' sayin' :)

I have noticed a number of riding opportunities in Austria. Just google “horseback riding Austria” and you will seee things like this:

Trail rides in the Öztal area:

https://www.oetztal.com/summer/leisure-time-tips/horse-riding.html

Trail rides or lessons on Lipizzaner horses, for beginners or advanced riders:

https://www.stanglwirt.com/en/sport/offer/riding.html

English is one of my native languages, and I am a long time horse owner and occasional competitor in the US and in Germany . My "like a sack of potatoes" comment is from years of watching people who don't know how to ride sit on tourist trail rides. Heck, on a recent trip to Tunisia we did a very short camel ride, and it took our guide only minutes to ask if I rode horses based on how I sat a camel. I have also been in groups where people claimed to have more experience than they did (one had no experience) so they could go on these treks with friends. I have also been asked if someone could come ride my (not trained for beginners) show horse because they had signed up for such a trek and said they could ride and wanted to make sure they could keep up.

So my comment was about the average tourist day rider, not about the OP. It isn't any ruder to say it than to say that someone like me figure skates like a sack of potatoes or a drunk daddy longlegs or whatever. I haven't ever learned to ice skate. I can't be expected to know how to do it any more than I can expect someone who hasn't had riding experience and/or lessons to know how to sit a horse. So if I am renting horses to tourists, I have to expect that the riders will sit poorly.

The OP stated that they have experience, which is why I said "not saying you, but the average tourist". I am sure the OP is used to being the best rider in many of the tourist places they ride. The OP didn't specify longer experiences or day rides, which is why I posted both. The first link I posted had pretty much only experiences requiring some level of riding ability/experience. So I definitely did not disparage the OP's riding. But I did assume they were looking for day trips given that this is supposed to be an experience within a larger vacation. Perhaps they did want overnight trekking (again, it was included in my initial link for that reason).

There are a ton of places I found that offer trail rides in conjunction with lessons. Heck, even the Hyde Park ride you posted comes with a lesson, albeit in English. But as you said, there are not a lot of places where you can ride for a day in Germany. Pony trekking, or multi-day treks, are somewhat available, and I posted those for the OP. But unlike the UK and Ireland, I have not found it to be a common thing here in Germany or, from what little I have seen of it, in France. I did say that there was such a thing up here in the north in St. Peter-Ording ( https://www.reiterhof-immensee.de/ ) and did try googling various things to see if I could find something in German that would work for someone with some riding experience. There just is not much other than the multi-day treks (most of which require experience) and riding lessons or pony camps. Of course if lessons are desired, there are TONS of options.

But I didn't take any comment as being down on Germany or me.

Alright cool! Thanks for explaining.

It does quite interest me, the idea of being around horses on vacation too. I think a day on horse would half kill me now in my current fitness level :) I have a riding school literally within walking distance of where I live and I keep meaning to book a lesson to see how I get on.

I learned to ride before I was old enough for school but never kept up with riding past my teens. Never really interested in competitive riding, but learned a lot being around absolutely nutty horses. My mum was a professional groom for racehorses, showjumpers and at hunting stables in her younger years. She learned to look after horses when she was very young, at a local dairy, where they still delivered the milk by horse and cart. Stables that had been previously used for the pit ponies down the mines.

I see Lola has offered some suggestions in Austria. I would love to ride a Lipizzaner! I mostly ride Western on my own horses, but have also done some jumping and a little dressage in classes on “English” saddles, so I do know how to sit a horse.

Some years ago I saw a webpage of an Austria “dude ranch” style riding resort, offering Western riding on trails, and the clothes to match. But no “city slicker” style cattle drive!

Gerry, if you haven't been riding in awhile I can say that if you are just sitting on the horse ("like a sack of potatoes" ;) ) you might be slightly sore, but if you are in any way trying to ride properly there is a good chance even an hour will have you a hurting puppy! When we moved to Europe, I sold my horse in the US a few weeks before we left, then took a number of months to settle in and get our finances sorted before I started riding again here in Germany. I started with a lesson on a beginner horse just to get into the scene here, and one lesson left me quite sore despite my regular visits to a gym in the interim! But it was nothing a bath couldn't fix, and it only took a very few rides to put me to rights.

So go for it! No better feeling than being on the back of a horse! Just be sure to pop an aspirin right afterwards, do a lot of stretching, and be gracious with yourself!

Thanks again to everyone for their suggestions! We ended up finding a place in Paris called Horse in the City which offers somewhat reasonably priced guided rides in Paris and in Versailles and other local areas, as well as lessons, which I think is going to work well for us. Hope this information helps someone else!

It sounds pretty epic to ride out in the grounds of the Palace of Versailles. Hope you have a great trip!

http://www.horseinthecity.fr/en/horse-riding.html