A Day in the Mountains – Part 2

The whole purpose of going to Breckenridge was for our open horse sleigh ride, that Larry had purchased for us for Christmas, through Breckenridge Stables.  Because it is an open horse sleigh ride, it is pretty much limited to doing it only in the winter months, when there is enough snow for the sleighs.  The drive going up was beautiful and it was even prettier once we got to there.  For being the middle of winter, the weather was actually pretty mild.  There was no snow on the roads, though the mountains were blanketed in a beautiful covering of pristine white snow.  The temperature was was quite comfortable.  We didn’t put on our heavy coats and gloves until right before we got onto the sleigh.

We booked our sleigh ride through Breckenridge Stables.  They currently have about 30 different horses they use for their two locations.  In the summer, they do trail rides too, but they usually use quarter horses for those.

They use the big draft horses, and mainly the Belgian draft horses or the Percherons for the sleigh rides.  The Belgians are known to be one of the largest and strongest horse breeds around.  Each horse can pull up to about twice their weight.  The Percherons are well muscled and are known for their intelligence and willingness to work. They said they occasionally use the Clydesdales too, but they found them to be very lazy; pretty to look at but no work ethic.

Our fearless equine leaders were two big Belgian draft horses, Summit and Big John.  Big John was most definitely BIG!  He stood at 18 1/2 hands.  Each of these horses weighed between 2500 and 2800 lbs.  That is a whole lot of horse!  All of the horses eat about 60 lbs of hay everyday, plus about 15 lbs of additional grains and oats.

We followed a manicured path through the beautiful residential area of Breckenridge so the sleigh would not sink.  The snow that was not manicured was about 18 inches-2 feet deep.

This is a bridge that covers a little stream.  You wouldn’t know it by looking at it because it was covered with snow.

Fortunately, our ride was a peaceful one, with no vicious enemies to be found.

Cody, our wrangler, Summit and Big John all took us safely on our journey through the winter wonderland.

Big John and Summit were very gracious hosts and loved posing for pictures.

We had a very enjoyable day.  This is a fun family activity that be can shared by all.  The tour took us around the back of Peak 9.   When the original settlers came to Breckenridge, they were not very creative on naming the mountain peaks.  They are named 1-10, and are on the Ten Mile Range.  The sleighs are all custom built for the area and for Breckenridge Stables by the Amish and they will carry you over the river and through the woods in comfort and style.  You can do an intimate sleigh ride for 2-6 people or you can ride with a group up to about 16.  You can contact Breckenridge Stables at (970) 453-4438 or (970) 389-1777 or info@breckstables.com