No Ranch stay would be complete without getting to know a few of our full-time residents—our horse herd! We pride ourselves on fostering a healthy and happy environment for our horses and love to let their individual personalities shine. Year-round, we invite you to stop by Cabin Creek Stables to explore our breathtaking ranch on horseback, enjoy a wagon ride, or just to say hi. Learn more about our offerings below.
Stables Adventures
History of Cabin Creek Stables
In 2006, Devil’s Thumb Ranch officially started our horse program with the purchase of 25 horses. As we’ve grown, we’ve expanded our herd to 50 to 60 horses that are mostly quarter horses and quarter horse crosses. The average age of our herd is 20 years old. These slightly older ages work best for our program as most of our guests are beginner riders and young buckaroos, but we also have horses better suited for experienced riders as well. We have a wonderful group of 6-8 lease horses from Samuelson Outfitters that we add to our program during the summer to help with our busiest season for horseback riding. Many of these horses come back for multiple seasons and we offer them a working retirement home when their owners decide to sell.
Based on the season, we have different methods of feeding the horses. In the summer, we “jingle” our horses to pasture each night and then bring them back to our corral in the morning. The term “jingling” comes from cowboys who allowed their herds to roam large acres of land. They would attach a bell to the lead horse to make it easier for the herd to be located. There are no bells needed for our herd since our horses are fenced in pasture instead of free roaming the property. Keeping our horses in pasture overnight offers them a mental break each day when they can graze for up to 12 hours. In the summer, we invite our guests to watch as our horses run to and from pasture. Guests are informed daily of the approximate times this takes place in the morning and the afternoon. This time can vary, so be sure to be early so you don’t miss the action!
In the fall and winter as the grass starts to die off, we provide hay for our horses. We will load up one of our 700-pound bales of hay on our wagon or sleigh and feed the herd with the help of two pulling horses. We typically feed this way multiple times a day and welcome guests on our wagon/sleigh rides to visit with the horses up close and personal!
All our horses live outside year-round. With this more natural way of living, we see improved mental and physical health in our herd. Keeping a horse indoors is usually more for human comfort and convenience than for the positive health of the animal. We pride ourselves on letting our horses be horses. With this way of living, we tend to see fewer health problems or injuries. We also keep track of the number of rides per day each horse works and ensure they receive days off throughout the week so that they are never overworked.
Know Before You Go
Reservations are required for all Cabin Creek Stables activities. All reservations are on a first-come, first-serve basis. Stables staff have the right to limit activities in order to provide the safest equine experience.
At Cabin Creek Stables, we strive to work with our horses by creating a partnership. Each horse is a four-legged coworker and friend, so we want our guests to work with them as a team. Each team needs a leader, so we encourage guests to be a leader for their horse to have the best experience.
Altogether, this helps the horses stay mentally sound in such an important job: taking care of our guests. Horses are amazing creatures that embody beauty, power, and strength, so we are grateful to be able to share these animals with you. Being a prey animal, when they feel in danger, there is always an inherent risk with horses. However, we do our best to provide our horses with the education needed to provide the best experience for our guests.
Cancellations:
- To avoid penalties, please honor a two-hour cancellation time frame.
- All activity times and availability are dependent on weather and trail conditions to ensure animal and guest safety.
- We will still ride in light rain but may cancel due to lightning, hail, or high winds.
Weight Requirements:
- Maximum rider weight is 245 lbs.
Age requirements:
- Children must be 7 years of age or older to ride by themselves. No double riding.
- Kids 6 and under must be led by a wrangler or another adult.
Pregnant Riders:
Pregnant riders are not allowed on horseback, but wagon/sleigh rides are at your own discretion.
Ride Speed:
- Rides are limited to the lowest ability level of the group. If you are interested in traveling faster than a walk, please consider a private ride option (pending availability, trail conditions, and rider ability) and contact Stables staff directly.
Packing List for Warm-weather Horseback Rides:
- Close-toed shoes: Cowboy boots, tennis shoes. Hiking boots or shoes with significant tread are NOT recommended. A shoe with a 1-1.5” heel is recommended but not required.
- Long pants (jeans, athletic pants, etc.)
- UV Protection (highly recommended): sunscreen & sunglasses
- Hats: Cowboy hat or ball caps are allowed but we require you to have a stampede string or borrow a hat clip to prevent the hat from flying off in windy conditions
- NO backpacks allowed: you will be provided a saddlebag for your items
- Helmets are not required but are recommended and available to borrow
Packing List for Cold-weather horseback Rides:
- Close-toed shoes (insulated recommended)
- Snow pants or long pants with thermals
- Gloves, scarf, hat/headband (if not wearing a helmet)
- UV Protection (highly recommended): sunscreen, sunglasses
- Hats: Beanies/headbands. Cowboy hat or ball caps are allowed but we require you to have a stampede string or borrow a hat clip to prevent the hat from flying off in windy conditions
- Handwarmers/toe warmers if desired
- NO backpacks allowed: you will be provided a saddlebag for your items
- Helmets are not required but are recommended and available to borrow