For those of you that likes the dude ranches, please give me a few more names. I'm looking to book something for late summer, but I'm overwhelmed by the options. Leaning towards Wyoming, but Colorado also sounds good. Not for any particular reason, but there are hundreds of them to choose from and like I said I'm overwhelmed!

Advice/recommendations?

Thanks!

I hated it.

Best family vacation we've ever done as well. Incredibly $$ but we're planning to go back. Also planning to raft the Grand Canyon. We went to R Lazy S in WY...almost over the top when it comes to safety (we're all riders) but I was fine with that given the risk of injury.

CM Ranch outside of Dubois Wy. Spent a long weekend in Jackson Hole first hiking the Tetons/experiencing Jackson.

Which one did you go to 16:32?

Anonymous wrote:21:39--how was your vacation?

hands down the best family vacation we have ever taken! We didn't want to leave, and all came home happier, closer, and way more relaxed for it. The kids rode 4 hours a day and absolutely fell in love with the horses, food was delicious and the family bonding time was way beyond expectations. First rate.

Wish I could help but both families I know that did it (who I trust to do fun stuff since we hang out together often) said it was the best family vacation they ever went on. Out West in Colorado and Wyoming. We are a kind of outdoorsy family but not horse savvy.
To the lifelong equestrian - try to remember not everybody has the time and money and horse crazy mom to give you riding lessons as a youngster. It is a crazy expensive and time consuming hobby that requires a ton of responsibility. And how do you expect more families to get interested in horses if they have to start from scratch and weren't born into British royalty? There are so many rescue horses and not enough riders as it is. Cut the rest of us a break OK?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rafting the Grand Canyon sounds a lot more fun.

I've done both, and it is a lot more fun. I didn't do the dude ranch thing, but did a horsepack trip about 100 miles through Montana. The scenery was gorgeous, fly fishing world class, and the camaraderie was great, but guiding a dumb horse for five days wasn't my cup of tea. We were on some trails with big drops to the side and still can't believe I trusted that dumb horse with my life. Also, dumb horse also stepped on my foot one day and about crushed it. Maybe it was the rider that was dumb Anyway, did a Grand Canyon trip and loved it.

I think someone else was "dumb". How about not putting your feet near the horse's feet?

Anonymous wrote:Rafting the Grand Canyon sounds a lot more fun.

I've done both, and it is a lot more fun. I didn't do the dude ranch thing, but did a horsepack trip about 100 miles through Montana. The scenery was gorgeous, fly fishing world class, and the camaraderie was great, but guiding a dumb horse for five days wasn't my cup of tea. We were on some trails with big drops to the side and still can't believe I trusted that dumb horse with my life. Also, dumb horse also stepped on my foot one day and about crushed it. Maybe it was the rider that was dumb Anyway, did a Grand Canyon trip and loved it.

21:39--how was your vacation?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hate outdoor "adventures." My threshold is about an hour-long hike. Mayyyyyybe two hours with the second hour for turning around and getting back. I hate everything cowboy-isn. The clothing, the dumb hats, the boots, the bolo, the high cholesterol meals, etc.

We can hang out on a beautiful beach together.

An indoor beach?

I hate watching people who don't know how to ride a horse yank on a horse's mouth and kick the horse soundly with both feet because they don't know how to subtly signal directions to the horse with pressure and weight. It ruins the horse by "hardening" its mouth, and it isn't comfortable for the horse when someone who can't ride is permitted to bounce around on the horse, pretending to be a "cowboy". People get hurt when they are put/allowed into situations with large animals they don't know how to handle, and it takes more than an hour's lesson, or a few lessons, or even two weeks of lessons to learn to ride a horse with skill. It is also rare that horses in those types of institutions are properly groomed, and their tack is usually rarely cleaned/ill-fitting.

So, yeah, I hate "dude ranches".

Signed,

Another Lifelong Equestrian

I had the most miserable few days of my life while staying at a horse farm -- turns out this city slicker is crazy allergic to horses. Hopefully your kids are allergy free.

Rafting the Grand Canyon sounds a lot more fun.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I will never go to one again. When I was 14 my mom got thrown from a horse and kicked in the head. Not a fun vacation.

And that's why you wear a helmet. Watch the Olympics.

--lifelong equestrian

Helmets don't seem to be standard at a lot of ranches. I gave up trying to make my kids wear theirs when it became clear that no one else had one and they might need hats for sun protection.