Open Range vs Horses

People usually think of cattle when they think of open range abuses. But horses can also be a huge menace. We used to own a cabin  in the front range Rocky Mountains, open range law affecting 200 property owners including ourselves.

People would bring their horses up and let them run rough shod (good term!) over the area.  The horses would hang out right next to the cabins, for shade in the summer and shelter in the winter. What a mess! We came up one spring to see a dead horse on the deck of a neighbor’s cabin. It has gotten onto the desk and fallen through. The cabin probably stinks to this day.

The people responsible for this were perfectly legal, thanks to Colorado’s wonderful open range law. Of course they didn’t give a damn about either their horses or their neighbors. But no one could do anything about it.