Riding Horses in Estes Park [PICTURE GALLERY]

Ever felt like you were completely in control of a 1,000 pound animal? Conversely, have you ever felt like you were not in control of a 1,000 pound animal whose back you happened to be on? Both of these things can happen during a trail ride through the Rocky Mountains. The good news is, if you aren't in control of your horse on a touristy trail ride, the worst thing that will probably happen is your horse will just stop and eat when it is supposed to be walking.

We rode horses in Estes park this week. It was a group trail ride. The whole ride took about an hour and I thought it was very fun. Of course, I love horses, so that helped.

We used Elkhorn Lodge because of a deal we found, and they did a good job. It's a pretty straightforward process. Show up about 20 minutes early to get signed in, and then hang out and the ranch hands and wranglers will get you set up with a horse.

The horses have temperments that are suited for people who have rarely or never ridden before. That means that they are the nicest, sweetest, or just the most laid back horses you'll ever meet. There is a mental tug of war for power anytime we try to ride another living animal, so the ranch hands know not to put you on the back of something that is going to take too much advantage of a nervous rider. They know the horses really well and match the riders to horses pretty well.

Some of the horses are even on auto pilot. This was my second trail ride of this type and on the first one, my horse didn't respond to any commands. He got in line, walked when the leader was walking and stopped when he stopped. On this ride, I was glad to see my horse did respond to me, very well in fact, so that we even got to hit a little trot when we fell a bit behind. Her name is Ruger and she is a wonderful horse. She is in the pictures above.

The whole horse experience is a remarkable one, outdone only by the remarkable scenery of the surrounding Rocky Mountain National Park. It can feel like you are in an old Western, and that's not even a stretch.