Hello Mrs. Bean, we are very sorry to hear that you didn't enjoy the ride as much as it seemed. It was great that you were on time. Our experience with other guests showed that it takes time to get ready to then leave on time. Sometimes they find some traffic and that's why we put the time a bit earlier. Our horse Oli is a sensitive very well-behaving horse that doesn't like a hard hand. We like our horses' reins a bit longer so they don't feel the pulling hands through the whole ride. The little cut on the horse's hoof in front of you was an older tiny wound from weeks ago that got dry and opened up a bit. He was totally fine for the whole time. Our horses do get nutritional supplements, have hay 24/7 and we feed them high quality food. We feel very sorry that the aging of horses is a negative thing about us as we keep them until the end of their days. On your ride there were only younger horses, your guide even had a rescue horse that has had a fantastic recovery story. We are happy to hear that you enjoyed the countryside and one guide and hope you had a good time in Tuscany. Kind regards Caja Schaefer Hotel Prategiano