van eden ranch & retreat

I went to the Van Eden Ranch for a senic horseback trail ride, but ended up spending 5 hours in the emergency room of a Denver hospital. The place was dirty with litter all over, I felt like I had stepped into the movie Deliverance. The horses were thin, their feet were not properly trimmed, and the horse I was giving to ride was very lame and sore. My horse kept rearing up and the trail person kept telling me he was excited and would settle down once we got into the ride. As we started to climb up the trail my sore lame horse stopped and refused to go forward, then he reared up and flipped over backwards with me. Thank goodness I do ride and I knew I did not want to be trapped under the horse so I took my feet out of the stirrups and jumped off. I spent the next week recovering from mutiple bruises, pulled muscles and stitches. Do NOT go on a trail ride at the Van Eden ranch. The horses are not properly cared for and I feel they are very not fit for a beginner rider to be put on.