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What Do C Lazy U’s Horses Do In The Winter?

December 24, 2020

With over 200 horses and 8,500 acres of Colorado mountains to explore, horseback riding is one of the most popular activities at C Lazy U ranch. This family-friendly vacation activity is available year-round, allowing guests to experience the beauty of the ranch in every season.

winter jingle

Today, we’re answering your most-asked questions about what C Lazy U’s horses do in the wintertime, both on and off the trail.  

How Do Horses Stay Warm In The Winter? 

Horses adapt well to the cold and start growing a thick winter coat as the temperatures start to drop. When they’re not on the trail, our horses live out most of the winter in the West Meadow, where they can huddle together under the willows. Willows are a great natural resource to protect the horses from harsh winter temperatures. If the wind is bad, the horses turn their behinds towards the wind and stay huddled together for additional protection. 

Can You Ride Horses In The Winter?

group of people horse back riding in the snow

Absolutely. In fact, there’s nothing quite like exploring the Colorado wilderness during a winter horseback ride. Whether you’re enjoying the flakes falling gently around you or riding through a fresh blanket of snow, winter horseback riding is a unique adventure you’ll remember forever.  While we won’t ride in a blizzard, we’ll ride in the cold and the snow, and most of the horses love it! 

Is It Safe To Ride Horses In The Winter? 

Winter horseback riding is safe and C Lazy U takes extra precautions to ensure the safety of our guests and our horses. The horses that work during the winter get special shoes with pads and studs to give them extra traction. If there’s heavy snow or ice, a wrangler and lead horse will “break trail.” This means the wrangler and horse in the lead position will work their way through the fresh snow, allowing the guests to safely follow in their footsteps.   

What Do Horses Do When They’re Not On The Trail? 

horses in the snow

Winter is a great time for our horses to rest, eat up, and get some much-needed time off. Since their bodies are working harder to keep them warm, we give our horses extra hay and our senior horses are given supplemental senior feed. Most of our horses enjoy the extra downtime to spend with their friends in the pasture, but if a horse is sick, injured, or old, we’ll move them to a paddock where we can give them additional care.  

C Lazy U’s Biggest Snow Lovers 

While most of our horses enjoy winter, our draft teams love it! Fred & Mike, Annie & Oakley, and Sam & Tom love to pull the sleigh, and each year one lucky team gets the honor of bringing Santa to the ranch.  

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If you’ve admired the graceful gait of our horses’ hooves on the trail, or paid close attention to their rhythmic clatter during a trot, you might find yourself wondering: why do horses even need shoes? They’re originally wild animals, after all, so aren’t their hooves tough enough to handle anything nature throws at them? While…

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From the Horse's Mouth

Brook and Alana were so wonderful and encouraging to our son. It was our visit visit to the ranch and his first time on a horse and they really took great care of him. Braley was such a joy as and so helpful on the daily. Mike was our first introduction to the ranch and through our visit he was so engaging and helpful, always had a greeting for us each day and if he didn't know the answer to our questions he made sure he would find out for us.

~ Dani B., 09-06-2021

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