Horseback Riding in Colorado

When embarking on your next horseback riding vacation, the last thing you need to worry about is if we are going to have the right mount picked out for you when you get here. Quite frankly; this is our job. Upon arriving at The Home Ranch, there will be a time when everyone sits down to their first dinner. This is when the Head Wrangler comes to greet you and talk briefly about your riding experience. After doing this we can than make an informed decision about which horse would suit your needs or wants for the week.

In terms of actually teaching the first time rider, that too is a large aspect of our job, and something that we are very comfortable doing. The first ride will be set up according to riding ability. From then on, it is up to you to decide who you would like to ride with. If the skill levels vary throughout the group you may be with later in the week, the wrangler and other riders will meet you where you are, and not progress until you are comfortable.

No matter how much or little experience you may have, all riders go through a brief orientation before getting on their horse. This helps bring horses back into our minds, and allows us to begin our week long journey to becoming better riders. Whether it has been one week since you have ridden, or thirty years, our program is meant to adapt to your needs and meet you at your level. Being comfortable on horseback is something we take very seriously, and the only way to get there is by truly understanding where you currently are, and where you would like to go from there.

Our half-day rides allow you to get a little further off the ranch and into the vast Routt National Forest than our 2-hour rides. A half-day ride consists of a total of about 4 hours in the saddle with a lunch break somewhere in between. Most of these rides depart from the barn at 9 A.M. and return around 2 P.M. With the myriad of trails, there is a number of ways that such rides can be pieced together. As for difficulty, they too can be adaptable, but usually involve steeper grades and narrower trails. If you ever find that the 2-hour ride is not enough time in the saddle, feel free to try a half-day, a little effort for a whole lot of reward.

Our all-day rides are the longest rides that we offer. These compute to around 6 hours in the saddle, and are guaranteed to leave you speechless. The views and wildlife alone are completely awe-inspiring. Add that to the things you would like to learn about horses, and you can see the rocky mountains like many others can only dream of. The difficulty of these rides is moderate. There is nothing easy about being in the saddle for 6 hours when you are not used to it, but that can be remedied with the hot-tub back at your cabin. There are often steeper trails and sometimes very faint trails on these trips, so if you have an overwhelming sense of adventure that our other options cannot satiate just let us know, we would be glad to help.