I keep seeing all these ads for equestrian communities in COTH. It sounds heavenly - but wondering what it’s really like.
Anyone live in an equestrian community? Care to share?
I live in an equestrian community that totals about 250 acres and we have 16 homesites (only one empty one left) with properties ranging from 8 to 30 acres. We do not have a central barn, everyone has their own barn, pastures, rings (some), etc. We have a trail system that winds between all the sites and also connects directly to one community trail system with 50+ miles and is a short hack to another community trail system with over 100 miles. Everyone here seems to like the place, we all get along (although our horsekeeping practices vary, of course). Two great things: can usually find someone to ride with if you want to and can also usually find a neighbor to take care of your horses if you’re going to be gone just a day or two. Much longer than that usually falls to one of the pro farm sitters in the area.
While we are all happy here, I know of at least one other local place that just has personality issues and they don’t always get along. I think ours is helped by the fact that it was brand new and most of us moved in around the same time and got to know each other that way, sharing the excitement of planning and building and getting to know our whole new area. It might be harder to be the new kid in an entrenched neighborhood.
And I definitely would not like the type of equestrian community that has a central barn. Too much drama, not enough personal control.
There are some such communities in the SW that have a central covered arena and several outdoor arenas, but each home has their own barn/run-ins/pens/pastures.
They hold events and clinics in their arenas, some open to the public, some for the residents only.
There is good demand for those, people seem to line up to buy them as quickly as they are made available.
I live in one and it is really nice. We don’t have a central covered arena but nice trails and a race track. And all my neighbors are pretty laid back. So I can’t complain.
I used to live in one (we rented). 10-12 properties, each with 5-12 acres and their own barns. A communal jump ring and dressage ring. Both grass, no lights. REALLY amazing trail access.
The positives were having a large ring, with a full course of jumps (nice jumps, with flowers, gates, etc) and ride-out access to one of the best trail networks in the state. It was great having horsey neighbors.
Negatives: strict rules about the property (specified what kind of fencing could be used, limits on farm signs, etc). Also, rigid rules about using the rings with drama over riding in them if there were lessons, letting friends ride our horses on communal property, using the ring if the ground was wet, and don’t even think about being allowed to move the jumps (gasp!). The neighbors were mostly very friendly, but there were individuals with agendas or old spats with other neighbors, and in general, it was very high-school.
Overall, there were advantages, but we didn’t like the rules and regulations, and when we decided to buy our own place, we specifically didn’t look at any farms in equestrian communities.
I live in one that was initially developed in the 1950s and since has been encircled by the expansion of the cities… now we are hidden in the middle of about a million people.
The Care-Flight helicopter that lifts off from downtown Ft Worth at night when headed to the northeast will over fly our place as it is a vast dark spot that they can visually aim for
The lots at first ranged up to over ten acres … all the larger ones have been subdivided… there still are about 30 or 35 that are large for a city lot (1.5 acre and up).
When we have visitors who haven’t been here before they are pretty much awe struck that there are places with open land within the city… our neighbor to the rear, their house is 1,000 ft from ours
Embedded into the city master plan is the right to maintain livestock within the city
I’m just chiming in to say that equestrian communities always fascinate me. I think I’d really enjoy living in one if it had large parcels with their own barns, trail access, and maybe a communal covered arena or something. But I know I couldn’t stomach a communal barn or an overly strict HOA!
When I was a kid in the late 80’s we lived in an equestrian community in Tempe, AZ. The equestrian lots were about 1 acre, some a little bigger. Other lots were more like 1/2 acre and those residents didn’t have horses. There were groomed bridle paths between the houses (like where an alley might be elsewhere) and a very large riding arena in the center of the subdivision. There was a big park around the arena with a soccer field, tennis courts, raquetball courts, etc. I remember it being a great place to grow up as a kid 
I live in one. Lots are three to five acres, all facilities are private for the lot owner only, and we have trails that go around the outside of our community (and one that goes a little ways through the interior). This community was established in the 1960’s,
It is a very nice place to live, but for a while a lot of the original owners were either dying off or moving elsewhere to downsize, and suburban-type people were moving in. That was not a good trend as they did not understand the needs of those of us who own horses, thought all the roads should be paved, and felt they should have the right to irrigate five acres of landscaping from a dwindling aquifer. Our covenants prohibit irrigated landscaping, but that didn’t seem to stop some people.
Lately the trend seems to be reversing–several new people moved in with horses, and one person who kept his horses elsewhere is bringing them home. There is more pressure on the people who block the bridle path to stop them from doing it, which is good–it got pretty bad with fences and debris blocking the trail.
The really cool thing is that I live 13 miles from my office, which is in a major employment area.
Rebecca
What I know from equestrian communities (lived near several, lived in a town that had trails throughout, and my sister lived in one) is that people may move there for the horse lifestyle, but they live in the house a lot longer than they have horses. So the interest in the horse friendly facilities waxes and wanes depending on the family’s participation in the sport. Some have lots of tension between those who want HOA money spent on upkeep of horse stuff, versus those who want HOA money targetted more toward other community assets like pools or golf courses.
In my sister’s community, she had 4 stalls in the barn that were only ever used for storage. The barn was essentially run by one family that had been there a long time, and they were just pushy jerks, but since my sister didn’t have any horses, she wasn’t bothered by it. This was a smallish community (in terms of # of houses) but with lovely land surrounding it for trail and dog walking. Wasted, mostly.
In Poway, we had a town that allowed horses on 1/2 acre and up parcels, cheek by jowl with builder developments (which is part of the reason the city incorporated: because San Diego was approving these massive developments that Poway couldn’t control.) The newer spots were required to put in horsetrails. The trail system (about 40 miles of it) is mostly still open. I don’t know if there’s much pressure to add to it anymore, since the town is largely built out, and it’s going thru a phase of shrinking horse population, but like RMJacobs reports, it may rebound with another cycle of horses and horse people. The city only required trails. There was a private organization that created the rodeo grounds and maintains that for members (at a very reasonable membership cost).
I live in a very small equestrian community–20 homes. As aregard mentioned, many of the people here moved to their homes in the early 1990s, and only six homeowners have horses. There is an HOA, with fairly relaxed rules. We have an equestrian easement that borders everyone’s property and is used as a riding trail, with no motorized vehicles allowed. There is a “commons” area, where jumps can be set up. If you are considering such an environment, take a very close look at the covenants, and speak to one of the Board members if possible. There are issues that you may not think about. In our case, water rights were a HUGE issue.
My parents used to live in one in Orange Park Acres, CA. The homes were on an acre or a little more and there was a community arena, pool, bb court, etc… The HOA was pretty strict.
I currently live in one in Colorado with an HOA. We have a community arena, barn (that can be used in an emergency) and round pen. We have miles of trails that hook up with other trails from other equestrian communities. There is also a sport court and pool. Everyone is on 5 acre lots (seems pretty common in our area). The HOA isn’t too bad. We do have a stricter horse limit than the county and no other livestock (neighboring communities are less restrictive). We have a mix of horse people (barrel racers, h/j, trail riders, etc…). I like having the community arena and the trails and when riding on the road, most drivers are aware that horses can be around any corner so tend to drive slower.
can you all post the areas these communities are in?? I’m dying to move south and would love to live in a community like this if its set up well and not too much drama. Don’t want a community barn but a community ring would be awesome and trails!
I’m in particular interested in SC and NC or Southern VA if you want to PM me instead…thanks!
A friend of mine told me about two in the SE.
One is a gated community built around a golf course, with a pool, and a barn at one end of the property. I’m told only two of the homeowners in the community are also horse owners; one has their own barn on their property, the other boards in the community barn. That is a big barn, and none of the other boarders live in the gated community. The barn has an indoor and two outdoor arenas, one a dressage arena, one for jumping.
The other community is even older (1960s?) and each property has its own barn. There is no central barn or arena. My friend knows only two homeowners in this community who have horses; the majority of the homeowners do not have horses. The community was built for horse-owning homeowners and the roads were laid out so that each home had access to the small roads within the community and I think access to nearby trails as well.
I had no idea this was even a thing. It sounds like heaven, or hell depending on how different everyones beliefs are :lol:
I thought the O’Connors set up something like this in Florida?
Here is one for you to see what all is out there:
http://www.horsemansranch.com/story_horsemans_ranch.html
Have heard people really like it there.
There is another one in Eastern NM, that the rumor is went thru some “financial remodeling” a while back, may be back on it’s feet again.
Googling “equestrian communities” and any one state brings many hits.
Whatever one you choose, due diligence to see how they operate is imperative, check them out thoroughly.
My friend has a house/barn in an equestrian community. Nice house, 4 stall barn with paddocks. Community park with 3 riding areas (1 all purpose, 1 dressage, and a grass field with XC jumps) just a short hack down the road.
[QUOTE=ybiaw;8204894]
My friend has a house/barn in an equestrian community. Nice house, 4 stall barn with paddocks. Community park with 3 riding areas (1 all purpose, 1 dressage, and a grass field with XC jumps) just a short hack down the road.[/QUOTE]
Caloosa! Love it in there
I would dearly love to find a community like this so that I could have an indoor arena without having to foot the expense, but given how crazy boarders are, I can only imagine how batshit people are when they have an ownership stake in the community facility.
