(PEYTON, Colo.) — Thanksgiving is one of the busiest travel times of the year, so law enforcement agencies across the state are increasing patrols to make sure everyone gets to their family safely. That includes deputies on horseback. "In a high volume scenario like Wednesday is going to bring, we tend to look for lane violations, aggressive drivers, people who are cutting other drivers off, or even something as significant as passing on the shoulders," said Sergeant Patrick Rice with Colorado State Patrol. "People can get in a hurry and awfully impatient when there's a lot of volume, so we like to keep those speeds down to avoid crashes and keep people paying attention to the road." People tend to slow down when they see law enforcement out on the roads, but sometimes they can be tricky to spot. Some deputies with the El Paso County Sheriff's Office are especially hard to spot since they're not even on the roads, but on four-legged friends. "Our horses are Pete and Gus," said Sergeant Jason Haag with the Traffic Enforcement Unit. "I love having Pete and Gus here. If there's a horse on the side of the road, [deputies] can actually get a real good look at how people are driving, their behaviors, how they're acting when they're not seeing a patrol car in their area." Pete and Gus tend to blend in with their surroundings, which makes it super easy for their deputies to clock your speed without you even knowing. During their last operation, Pete and Gus helped pass out nearly 150 tickets in just a couple of hours. If they catch you speeding or breaking any other laws behind the wheel, a deputy in a car will be radioed to pull you over. "Unfortunately, El Paso County has led the state of Colorado in traffic fatalities for the last several years," said Haag. "My goal would be to go out there and write zero tickets in a day, because that would mean everybody's doing what they're supposed to be doing, and being safe. Unfortunately, sometimes we do have to associate a citation to it, to try and slow people down and educate them about their behavior" Although the mounted deputies are helping out with increased patrols for the holiday, they can be out any time of the year. The sheriff's office hopes the public will drive like they're always watching. Horse enforcement by the El Paso County Sheriff's Office is part of Operation Blackout, which is a two-phase operation in an effort to keep families safe this holiday season. It's a partnership between law enforcement agencies across the Pikes Peak Region. The 'blackout' operation will focus on identifying and addressing distracted, speeding, and reckless drivers throughout the day and impaired drivers in the evening.