Horse cremation and aftercare in Longmont
Cremation, burial, rendering or composting: for a horse in Longmont, the right choice depends on land, distance and budget. Here's how each works locally and what it usually costs.
- Providers that can take a full-size horse
- Collection priced from your barn's address
- Burial, rendering and compost explained too
Longmont, Colorado
Finding horse aftercare that reaches Longmont
Many Longmont families have raised horses or show animals for generations, and losing a long-kept animal can feel like losing part of the farm's history. Families here sometimes hold onto a feed-room nameplate, a fair ribbon or some mane hair. Others mark a spot on the property with a stone or a tree. Ask about keepsakes before the animal is collected.
The 2013 flood along the St. Vrain River showed how quickly conditions can change for large-animal owners around Longmont. Winter can also make pastures hard to reach, and summer heat means an animal's body needs attention fast. It helps to have a plan written down in the barn: who could help, whether burial on your land is realistic, and whether ashes should come home.
In a place like Longmont, the horse community is small enough that word of mouth still works. Farriers, feed stores, tack shops and vets all know which providers turn up when they say they will. Ask two of them. You'll usually hear the same one or two names, along with honest notes about price and about how the driver handled a hard morning with a grieving family.
Longmont is home to about 100,109 people, the 13th-largest of the 36 Colorado communities we cover. The nearest larger centre is Denver, about 30 miles (49 km) away, which is where some providers serving Longmont are based.
Our pages for Frederick (8 miles), Firestone (8 miles) and Erie (9 miles) describe the same choices from those towns' point of view, and the providers overlap, so a quote from one often covers Longmont as well.
77.4%[1]
The NFDA projected Colorado's cremation rate at 77.4% for 2024.
6.6 million[2]
There were an estimated 6.6 million horses in the United States in 2023, down from 7.2 million in 2017.
$600-$1,000[3]
Cremating a 1,000-pound horse was reported to cost about $600-$1,000, depending on location and the price of propane.
3-5% of body weight[4]
Embrace notes cremated remains typically weigh about 3-5% of the pet's original body weight.
The published sources behind those figures are American Horse Council and Embrace Pet Insurance.
Cremation in Colorado, and where horses fit
About 77.4%[1] of people in Colorado are cremated, so cremation is an ordinary, familiar choice here. That familiarity carries over to animals, but horses are a special case. A dog's cremation is a quick errand; a horse's involves a large-animal chamber, a winch truck and often a long haul. Plenty of local owners still choose it, especially boarders with no land for burial who want something to bring home.
The Colorado figure comes from NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024). It describes people, not pets, so read it as a sign of local attitudes rather than a pet statistic.
Weather, ground and truck access in Longmont
Winter means more horses spend nights in stalls around Longmont, and a death in a stall brings its own problem: a narrow door and an aisle a truck can't enter. Drivers use straps and a winch to draw the body out, which is slow and hard to watch. For a planned goodbye in January, February, March, November and December, choose a cleared spot outside the barn instead.
Longmont winters are cold, with average lows at or below freezing in January, February, March, November and December. Cold buys you time after a death, often enough to wait for a daytime collection, but it takes burial off the table for much of the season. Digging a trench about 9 ft deep[5], as extension guidance suggests for a horse, is slow and costly in frozen ground, so winter deaths here usually mean cremation or a collection service.
What horse cremation costs in Longmont
Extension specialists have reported about $600-$1,000[3] to cremate a 1,000 lb horse, depending on location and the price of propane. That's before transport, which is often the second-biggest line on a quote in Longmont because equine crematories are few and far apart. The table shows every main option, since many owners compare cremation with burial, rendering and composting before deciding.
The Colorado price table breaks costs down by size; our services page explains what sits behind each line.
Free tool
Horse aftercare cost comparison
Compare equine cremation, burial, rendering and composting side by side.
What Colorado allows for a horse
If your horse was put to sleep with a barbiturate, the rules tighten almost everywhere: the body must be buried deeply, cremated or handled through an approved route so wildlife can't reach it. Beyond that, local rules in Colorado decide whether burial or on-farm composting is allowed, and how soon disposal has to happen.
The official Colorado local government directory lists every county and city office, which is the quickest way to find who to ask in Longmont.
Start with the Colorado rules, which cover burial, scattering and oversight for the whole state, and treat Longmont's local ordinances as a possible extra layer.
The first day, step by step
- Tell the clinic right away what you want: a private cremation with the ashes returned, a collector's pickup, or taking your horse home yourself.
- Ask how long they can hold your horse and whether there's a daily storage charge.
- Ask staff to save keepsakes for you: some tail, a little mane, the shoes and the halter your horse wore in.
- Get the provider's name in writing, whether it's the clinic's usual one or a provider you chose.
- Settle who bills you: some clinics add aftercare to their invoice, others leave it between you and the provider.
- Arrange where the ashes should go: back to the clinic, to your barn, or delivered to your home.
- Collect your tack, rugs and paperwork, or ask the clinic to set them aside for you.
Remembering your horse in Longmont
Longmont grew up as a farming town, and agriculture is still close: sugar beets once dominated, and today horses, cattle, goats and sheep are kept on acreage around the city and east into Weld County. The Boulder County Fairgrounds is in Longmont, and 4-H is active here. Expect questions about the exact acreage, the lane in and whether a truck can back up close.
the planning tools turn your pet's details into figures, Our services overview lays out every option side by side, or see what other families chose in the poll results, read our guides and latest articles. Close to Longmont we also cover Lakewood, Denver, Thornton and Aurora; the full list for Colorado and for the United States is a click away.
Reader polls
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If you had to decide today, which aftercare would you choose for your pet?
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Free tools to help you plan
Horse aftercare cost comparison
Compare equine cremation, burial, rendering and composting side by side.
Aftercare options compared
Compare private, communal and water cremation with burial on cost, timing and what comes home.
Ashes weight estimator
See roughly how much ash to expect back, by species and body weight.
Questions people ask
Where are the providers that serve Longmont actually based?
Some are local, and some run from Denver, about 30 miles away. That is normal for a city this size. What matters is the collection time they quote for Longmont and whether the drive is priced into the total, so ask both up front.
Is cremation common in Colorado?
For people, yes: about 77.4%[1] of Colorado deaths end in cremation, according to NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage) (2024). Nobody publishes the same figure for pets, but in our experience pet choices in Longmont follow the human pattern closely, so cremation is the default most families here start from.
When is the hardest time of year to arrange a burial in Longmont?
January, February, March, November and December: average lows are below freezing then, and frozen ground makes a home grave slow or impossible until it thaws. The other pressure point is July, when highs around 88°F mean a body needs cooling and collecting quickly.
Can a provider from a neighbouring town collect from Longmont?
Usually yes. Frederick is about 8 miles away, Firestone is about 8 miles away and Erie is about 9 miles away, all inside a normal collection radius. Get the mileage written into the quote so there is no surprise on the day.
How long until I get my horse's ashes back?
Longer than for a small pet. The burn phase alone takes at least 4.4 hours[7] for an 1,100 lb horse on our estimate, followed by a long cool-down and processing. Around Longmont, distance and scheduled delivery routes add time too. Ask for an expected return date and whether the ashes will be delivered or need collecting.
Can I bury my horse on my own land in Colorado?
Often yes, with conditions. Rules usually cover depth, soil cover, distance from wells, streams and property lines, and how quickly burial must happen. National extension guidance suggests a trench about 9 ft deep[5]. Check with your county or the Colorado agriculture department before digging, and remember that you can't take a grave with you if you ever sell the land.
Sources and our estimates
- [1] The NFDA projected Colorado's cremation rate at 77.4% for 2024. NFDA 2024 Cremation & Burial Report state projections (via Occasional Sage), 2024.
- [2] There were an estimated 6.6 million horses in the United States in 2023, down from 7.2 million in 2017. American Horse Council - 2023 National Equine Economic Impact Study release, 2023.
- [3] Cremating a 1,000-pound horse was reported to cost about $600-$1,000, depending on location and the price of propane. Extension Horses (eXtension national Cooperative Extension) - Horse Disposal Options, 2019, 2019.
- [4] Embrace notes cremated remains typically weigh about 3-5% of the pet's original body weight. Embrace Pet Insurance - Bury or Cremate Your Dog? Costs, Pros & Cons, 2025.
- [5] Extension guidance recommends a horse burial trench about 7 feet wide and 9 feet deep, covered by 3-4 feet of soil, and no fewer than 100 yards from wells and streams. Extension Horses (eXtension national Cooperative Extension) - Horse Disposal Options, 2019, 2019.
- [6] About 92,400 U.S. horses would be expected to die or be euthanized each year (6.6 million horses x 1.4% annual mortality). Our estimate: 6,600,000 x 1.4%. How we calculate.
- [7] At an average rate of 250 lb per hour, the burn phase for a 1,100 lb horse would take at least about 4.4 hours, not counting preheating and cool-down. Our estimate: 1,100 lb / 250 lb per hour. How we calculate.
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