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Pre 2022 material from the old website

Hildebrand Ranch Park

Archives-Trails History /

by Suzanne Webel Where?? Well, it’s South of the Border, about 25 miles or so. It’s Jefferson County Open Space’s newest park, about 1,500 acres tucked in between Chatfield State Park, the Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield, and the first hogback of Denver Mountain Park. It may eventually connect to Deer Creek Canyon Park trails to the north and to Chatfield State Park trails, including the High Line Canal, to the east. Take Hwy 93 to Golden, merging onto C-470 just past the “Taj Mahal” (JeffCo government building). Proceed south to Wadsworth Blvd (C-121), and turn immediately west on Deer Creek Canyon Rd. The newly completed trailhead is about 1.3 miles west of Wadsworth, and is “paved” with a durable concrete block system that won an award for excellence. The Two-Brands trail provides a five mile loop through three sandstone hogbacks (Jurassic and Cretaceous Niobrara, Lyons, and Dakota Formations) as well as grazing land and hay meadows. Physical geographic communities include the foothills-canyon riparian zone, foothills/shrubland, foothills-meadow, and ponderosa pine-savannah, which support raptors, prairie dogs, burrowing owls, mule deer, elk, mountain lions, and bears. The land was originally settled by Frank Hildebrand in 1866. Since at least 1950 the Chatfield Valley was recognized as having potential for massive flood control measures needed to protect Denver, but funds were not appropriated. In 1965, a torrential flood roared down Plum Creek, killing 13 people and leaving millions of dollars in damage. In 1971 the Army Corps of Engineers condemned over 300 acres of the Hildebrand Ranch and built […]

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That was a fine day out on the trail with You, Sunny, Beau, Tina, Ulla and I

archives, Archives-Guest articles & contributions /

We thought you might like this recap of a trail ride at Boulder Valley Ranch! We hope you enjoy it, and thanks fro sharing! Linda P Submitted by Teresa Chuck, As I recall the highlight of the day, a number of images keep recurring in my “minds eye”.  My attempts to explain the “incident” to others got me thinkin’ about exactly how it all went down.  So, here’s a few thought on what I experienced from my perspective. Of course this could be, and is most certainly, a very different experience from your perspective. …The chance to finally ride with my friend Chuck emerged.  The upcoming departure of Tina loomed on the horizon. “We have to get at least one ride in with Chuck before you leave town”.  “YES” What’s the Colorado weather look like, lets find out when, where, what.  Yey, “Lets do it.  On our way.” What a lovely start to a ride. We were all ready for a horse outing.  Hugs, kisses, hello’s, how are ya’s, blah, blah, blah.  Then,  off we go to do the Boulder Valley Loop. Horses are fresh, riders are happy, Life is Good. Obstacle 1:  Water crossing. Okay, so its a somewhat steep bank down/up with water in the middle. Beau, our fearless leader with his most confident rider proceeds to cross over.  With two feet in and two to go, Tina says…”we have a problem here” as Beau sinks up to/past his knees in mud sucking conditions. But alas, trusty Beau asses the situation, gives it a heave, then up and forward and scales the bank to the topside.  One

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Beet Pulp FAQ

archives, Archives-education /

I  like to feed beet pulp, and recently some friends have been asking me about it. Here is a recently published article I would like to share. – Linda P Beet Pulp FAQ’s By Alexandra Beckstett, The Horse Managing Editor You hear about owners feeding it to their underweight or aging horses. You see fellow boarders at the barn scooping it into buckets for soaking. But what is this stuff, and does your horse need it? Beet pulp, a byproduct of the sugar beet industry, has long been a part of equine feed regimens, but that doesn’t mean owners don’t have questions about it. So we’ve compiled your most common inquiries and called on Kelly Vineyard, MS, PhD, research equine nutritionist at Purina Animal Nutrition, and Kristen M. Janicki, MS, PAS, an equine nutritionist based in Versailles, Ky., to provide some answers. 1. What does beet pulp do for a horse? Beet pulp is a low-cost, highly digestible form of fiber (greater than or equal to that of most hays) that offers many nutritional benefits for horses. The microbes in the horse’s hindgut can easily ferment and use it for energy production, Vineyard says. “(Beet pulp’s) energy value is higher than that of alfalfa pellets and is close to rivaling oats’ value,” Janicki says. “Therefore, it is a great source of fiber for hindgut health and calories for added body condition or fuel for performance.” Vineyard says the fiber in beet pulp also absorbs and holds water well, making soaked beet pulp an efficient way to

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