Colorado Cattle Drive

Here at Rusty Spurr Ranch, we offer a variety of activities that truly include the best horseback riding opportunity in all of Colorado. One of our most popular activities is the cattle drive. Now you might be wondering what a cattle drive is so let us explain this historically important and fun activity a little bit more. A cattle drive is when cowboys and cowgirls rode horses in order to herd their cattle from one place to another. You might be thinking, “What’s the point?” But cattle drives have a rich and interesting history. The first cattle drives started in the 19th and early 20th century in the American West. These cattle drives were a major economic activity that took place when cattle ranchers wanted to sell their cattle in the East and North. Some of these cattle drives took place for three to five months, depending on the distance they needed to travel and any delays they experienced on their path. Thankfully our cattle drives aren’t that long, and typically last about three and a half to four hours. We pasture the cattle on over 10,000 acres and we need to rotate pastures and check cattle often for environmental and herd health. This activity allows you to take part in actually moving the cattle with us. This special form of horseback riding allows each of the members in the group to ride at their own ability levels. Considering this, we prefer for the people participating to have some prior horseback riding experience. Food is provided upon your return at one of our local restaurants as dine-in or carryout.  Rusty Spurr Ranch is one of the few stables in the West that offer authentic cattle drives that are open to the public, and we encourage you to participate in this once-in-a-lifetime experience.