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Coggins tests, hauling papers, and health certificates:
Be sure to check with the brand inspector to find out current requirements for travelling with your horses. If you are travelling with your horse, by law you are required to have a current coggins (equine infectious anemia) test certificate, current health certificate, and brand inspection papers for all horses in your trailer. After your vet draws blood for a coggins test, it may take 2-3 weeks for your papers to come back so be ready well in advance. If you are stopped without correct papers, you can be fined and the fines are hefty ($250 just for not having brand inspection papers AND your horses and rig can be impounded - I've been scolded by the brand inspector for this). For club rides hosted out of state, horse owners are individually responsible for having proper paperwork for their animals.

Here's a notice by the brand inspector from another site:
LIVESTOCK INSPECTION IS MANDATORY COLORADO LAW: A brand inspection is required on all cattle and horses that change ownership, are transported over 75 miles within the state, or are transported out of the state of Colorado. CRS 35-53-105; For more information call the Denver Brand office 303-294-0895 or your local brand inspector - Nathan Sanburg (970)385-8454

Search and rescue permits:
Support search and rescue in a small way instead of a big one. In Colorado, if you buy a hunting or fishing permit you automatically get a search and rescue permit. You can also buy one at local sporting goods stores. If you are lost and you have your permit, you are not billed for the search and rescue effort. If you don't have one, you may have to pony up big bucks for search and rescue costs. You can buy one year or five year permits. Search and rescue costs can go into the tens of thousands of dollars, at just a buck everyone should have one of these permits. Especially if you ride your horses in the back country.

Worming, flies, and bots:
You probably already have a good worming program, but a check with an area vet is likely in order to make sure your current program is appropriate for our climate. In Spring you may find deer flies, biting black flies, stable flies, horse flies, and in summer bots are also a concern. If you can put fly masks on your horses in summer, you may save your horse and your pocketbook from a case of conjuctivitis. I know from experience some horses are more likely to get hurt by wearing a fly mask, though.

General Horse Care Tips (kindly provided by Michelle Fink!)

Cold Weather Care:

Horses in this area generally need a water tank with a heater in it so they will drink adequate water. Lack of a water heater can lead to dehydration and colic. I am really careful to set up my tanks so the horses can't chew on the heater cord. In my case, using a partial wood cover for my tank (cut from a sheet of plywood) and then setting several heavy concrete blocks on the wood to hold it down keeps my cord safe. I have seen people cover the cords in pipe, too. Be careful with your setup, and check it for safety daily!

Most folks have a run in shed for their horses, typically a 3 sided shelter with a roof that blocks the north and west wind is sufficient. Some people with heavy timber in their pasture will let their horses winter in the trees.

While grass is generally the best hay for pleasure horses, on a very cold night an extra flake of alfalfa will help keep horses warmer due to the higher protein content. Legume hays in general cause a higher rise in temperature during their metabolism, this is one reason many distance riders like me don't feed much alfalfa. Suprisingly, grain does not produce much body heat as it's metabolized. Grain does provide extra calories and extra nutrients. I also feed grain to make sure my horses have adequate fat for insulation, I like them to have some reserves in case of injury or sickness. Those reserves can be critically important for an injured horse that doesn't want to eat.

If you don't have experience with horseshoes on snow and ice, be cautioned that horses have very little traction unless the shoes have ice studs or borium caulks. Unless it's impractical for a specific reason, shoes are usually pulled from horses for winter in this area. The hoof has a chance to grow and strengthen over winter, and a bare hoof sheds snowballs much better than a shod hoof. Your farrier is the best resource to determine how to care for your horse's hooves over winter so they are in great shape for Spring riding.

As with all horse advice, take the above with a big grain of salt and use your discretion to decide what is safest and works best for your horses. Happy Trails!