We have seven rideable equines that call the Backcountry Wilderness Area home. Here's a little bit about each one.
We are lucky to have some amazing equine friends out at the Backcountry! They are all filled with different personality traits, making each of them so unique and special to us.
A little vocabulary to start:
Mare- Female horse
Gelding- Male horse that has been gelded (neutered)
Meet our horses!
Cinder
Cinder is a blue roan (color), draft-cross (breed), mare (gender). She is one of the kids' favorites! She is gentle, kind … and even sometimes a bit lazy. Our students learn a lot from her—from patience to building confidence!
Freya
Freya is a bay roan, mustang mare. Rumor has it, her mom was once a wild mustang! Freya loves working with our older students to teach them to balance and even how to gain a little speed.
Little Man
Little Man is a bay, Spanish mustang gelding. He is one of our newer residents, but he has quickly shown how versatile he can be. He was trained in an Amish community, and used to pull a cart! Now, he teaches kids and adults alike in Western, English, and trail riding.
Roscoe
Roscoe is a paint gelding. With his unique blue and brown eyes, horse program participants are drawn to him. He was once a ranch horse, but now Roscoe fits in perfectly at the Backcountry horse corrals.
Spirit
Spirit is a buckskin, quarter-horse mare. Because of her name and appearance, kids always ask to ride her! It works out well because kids are her speed. She is slow and patient, which is perfect for beginners and first-timers.
Ponies: Cabo & Ziggi
Cabo and Thor the Donkey Ziggi
If you’ve been to Base Camp, you’ve likely met Cabo and Ziggi- our resident ponies. Both are geldings with very different personalities. Cabo is a little more on the reserved side, but opens up once you gain his trust! Ziggi wants your attention as soon as he sees you. Both are fans of apples and carrots. These two love kids and teaching them all about horse safety/riding basics in our pony programs.
Want to meet our horses and ponies? Want to learn how to ride? The Backcountry Wilderness Area Horse and Pony Programs offer lessons and riding opportunities starting at age three for ponies, age five for private horseback riding lessons, and age seven for horseback trail rides. Visit HERE for details on all upcoming programs and trail rides. Visit HERE for information on horse camp at Camp Backcountry.
Carly Steiger is the equine coordinator for the Backcountry Wilderness Area. Carly moved to Colorado in 2015, and is an avid animal and outdoors lover. When she’s not hiking or snowboarding, you can find her caring for her tribe of rescue animals. carly.steiger@hrcaonline.org