Asheville, NC?

[Texarkana]

Nothing will probably come of this, but DH is considering an opportunity in Asheville, NC.

We finally relocated back to horse heaven and while I love an adventure, I’m not ready to give up easy access to horse amenities.

So what’s it like from both a horse-owning perspective and for general living? Pros & cons? My enthusiasm for this idea is directly related to how it will impact my horses and myself.

I have mostly thoroughbreds and do some low level eventing/dressage, but really enjoy being able to participate in things like paper chases and other social, non-competitive events. Reliable access to good vets, farriers, and feed/hay suppliers is a must. We would be looking to purchase or rent a small farm in the area on a modest budget if we pursued this.

[NoSuchPerson]

Asheville is only about 40 miles from Tryon, which is another horse heaven, so I don’t really see a big problem there.

A key factor may how far your husband is willing to commute. I think Asheville property is kind of expensive, but I’ve been living in relatively inexpensive areas of the country for a long time. Depending on where you’re coming from,you may not feel that way.

[SkipHiLad4me]

Love, love, love Asheville but as a flat lander I can’t tell you much about about living there with horses. Tryon International Eq Center isn’t far and is pretty amazing. You’re also not terribly far from Greenville/Spartanburg/Landrum SC area.

[Texarkana]

Thanks @NoSuchPerson and @SkipHiLad4me ! I didn’t realize Tryon was so accessible. That eases my mind a bit.

I’ve done some cursory searches on Zillow and it seems that while I can find lots of land within our budget, most of it isn’t horse-friendly land. Mountainous, trees, etc. Is it especially tough to find pasture land or is it just expensive (hence not showing up on my Zillow search)? Obviously it’s a mountainous region.

What’s traffic like in terms of commuting from 30-45 minutes outside of town?

[Sancudo]

I’m facing a move back there right now. I-26 can be a nightmare on the daily, it’s very steep and has a lot of tractor trailer accidents or trees down that block the highway. So if that’s your way to commute it’s tough. Pasture land is hard to find in that area, it’s quite mountainous in places, heavily treed, and with a clay soil that is slippery and doesn’t always drain well. South and east (by tryon, landrum, or past lake Lure) is more rolling pastures but is about 40 minutes out. South Carolina towards Greenville/ Spartanburg/ travelers rest has lots of pasture land and is more affordable, but it’s an hour out of Asheville.

[rubygirl1968]

I live just outside Asheville and while I love the mountains and the climate, mostly, it’s very expensive and the traffic on I26 and I240 is terrible every morning.

I live just east of Asheville and it’s not too bad traffic wise, yet. South, West and North are the worst but it depends on where you’re coming from. I grew up here and got spoiled by the small town vibe and traffic and now it’s driving me crazy. If you move here from a big city, like Charlotte or Chicago, this would probably be a cake walk. lol

Land in McDowell county is much more affordable than Buncombe county (Asheville) but it is not a horsey area, as in lessons. Rutherford county (Tryon) has a lot more options in lessons and more instructors, especially dressage.

If you like trail riding, this is a great place. Gorgeous views and horseback can’t be beat, in my opinion.

There is pasture land available, but it’s not going to in Asheville proper and even grassy, will be mountainous. Places like Fairview, Weaverville, Swannanoa, Fletcher and others are close to Asheville but smaller towns and more land.

[Texarkana]

Thank you @Sancudo & @rubygirl1968! Very helpful information.

Everything I’m looking at around Tryon seems treed/mountainous, too. I’m betting the “nice” horse properties are probably listed for higher than what I have my budget set at in Zillow.

I am seeing a good number of suitable properties around Canton, some of them horse ready and advertised as 10-30 minutes from Asheville. Is that area a horsey wasteland? Lessons are less of a priority than good veterinary services (especially emergency services) and access to quality feed. I can always trailer out for lessons and don’t mind having to drive a bit for them. But I lived in Nashville for many years and it drove me bonkers having to drive upwards of an hour one way to get decent feed; it also drove me bonkers when I lived in a part of the region with limited vet care and you didn’t know if your emergency call would be answered. I refuse to go back to that, which is why I’m approaching this with such trepidation.

DH hates to commute, which always limits us.

[rubygirl1968]

I honestly don’t know much about Canton. It’s not that far from me but it may as well be on the other side of the earth for as often as I go there. I have seen a couple farriers highly recommended on the facebook page in that area.

I know I’ve seen vets recommended there on the local Facebook page (WNCEquestrians) but I don’t know about the feed situation. I can say that for me I either go to Tractor Supply or Southern States for feed. Nelon’s in Hendersonville carries almost every brand of feed you could want, but Southern States is closer for me.

As far as equine surgeries, everyone I know has either taken theirs to Tryon Equine or the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

If you see any properties in Hendersonville, Flat Rock, or Henderson County in general, check them out too.

[rubygirl1968]

Oh, reference the commute - Canton is about 30-45 mins away from Asheville, depending on the side of Asheville you’re going to and the traffic.

There are many equine vets that serve Buncombe and Henderson counties that I know of, but I’m just not that familiar with Canton and Haywood County. The one I use is a multi-vet practice and have never had any trouble with emergency care after hours or weekends.

[cutter99]

@Texarkana

Thank you @Sancudo & @rubygirl1968! Very helpful information.

Everything I’m looking at around Tryon seems treed/mountainous, too. I’m betting the “nice” horse properties are probably listed for higher than what I have my budget set at in Zillow.

Set your top amount $100K higher than your budget. We’ve bought two properties that were priced waaaay out of our ballpark for less than our maximum budget. And it never hurts to look!

[Texarkana]

@rubygirl1968

I honestly don’t know much about Canton. It’s not that far from me but it may as well be on the other side of the earth for as often as I go there. I have seen a couple farriers highly recommended on the facebook page in that area.

I know I’ve seen vets recommended there on the local Facebook page (WNCEquestrians) but I don’t know about the feed situation. I can say that for me I either go to Tractor Supply or Southern States for feed. Nelon’s in Hendersonville carries almost every brand of feed you could want, but Southern States is closer for me.

As far as equine surgeries, everyone I know has either taken theirs to Tryon Equine or the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

If you see any properties in Hendersonville, Flat Rock, or Henderson County in general, check them out too.

If there is a Southern States within a reasonable drive, I’m good to go feed-wise.

Knowing UTK would be my surgical site (again) doesn’t exactly make me feel warm and fuzzy, but… it’s closer to Asheville than it was to me in Nashville, so that’s at least a plus. Tryon Equine looks promising.

I’ll have to check out WNCEquestrians…

Good to hear about Hendersonville, etc. I’ve been clicking on properties all over trying to get a feel for the area. I have no proverbial dog in the fight at this point. I just asked about Canton because it was the one place where a considerable number of horse properties in our budget came up, everywhere else was acreage with a lot of heavy woods and cliffs for sale in our price range.

My husband still isn’t 100% committed to pursuing this opportunity, and it’s his opportunity to pursue if desired. I’m just trying to wrap my head around the idea from a horse perspective. Things are really easy breezy for my horses and me right now and it’s hard to stomach another major change (which I’m trying not to let on to him as he makes his own decision). I do feel a lot better realizing Tryon is so incredibly close. Living in the Blue Ridge mountains in the past, I know it can be hard to judge what’s “close and accessible” in mountain areas.

[mroades]

My longtime equine chiro just moved to flatter land from Tryon .She just couldn’t take being on the side of a mountain anymore.

[Texarkana]

@mroades

My longtime equine chiro just moved to flatter land from Tryon .She just couldn’t take being on the side of a mountain anymore.

Were her reasons strictly geographical in nature, or was there more to it than that?

[mroades]

It was about not having anywhere to turnout safely with old ones and rehabbing ones. Also having to redo her driveway every week in these wet years

[HenryisBlaisin]

There is a Southern States in Asheville. I was going to suggest the WNC Equestrians FB group as well. I’m a member, though I’m about 90 miles from Asheville. There are usually properties for sale listed there and lots of good info on vets etc. I’d love to live out that way one of these days.

[Melissa.Van_Doren]

You’ll want to live in the “Foothills” - Tryon and Columbus, NC and Landrum and Campobello, SC. (Saluda, NC is also technically included.) We are Horse Central. Loads of barns, trainers, show grounds (incl. Tryon International), vets, farriers, and other services. 22 hunter pace events from Sept-June. 3 recognized fox hunts. Clinics out the wazoo. Really.

Asheville and the surrounding area is beautiful, and there are a few very good barns and a bunch of good barns, but everything is pretty spread out. In our area, it’s horse properties on top of horse properties in a very central area. But there are a large variety of environments, too… from pretty steep and forest-y to flat open ground to pine woods and sandy ground. Huge variety of prices, too.

If you can’t live here, you’ll want your horses to live here. The drive is worth it.

[GucciJumper]

I lived in upstate SC and honestly hated it. The horse scene was not very good. I was not impressed with Tryon, especially their horse center. I seems very poorly run. I personally hate the weather as well.
You could not pay me all the money in the world to move back there. Not my cup of tea.

[GraceLikeRain]

I’m about a hour and a half south of Asheville. Asheville is an amazing weekend trip to me but not somewhere I’d want to live due to the terrain, cost of living, and pretty crazy mudslides they’ve been having.

The foothills are much more horse friendly but Foothills people (no offense y’all) have the most absurd sense of distance ever. I am regularly told by someone down in true campobello they are “15 minutes from TIEC”…girlfriend, in what world? Are you doing 90 with that trailer? Or someone will reference trainer ABC who is “around the corner” but “around the corner” is a solid 40 minutes with a trailer.

Campobello, Landrum, and Tryon is a very large geographic area so if you land a central location you can get a lot of places in 20 minutes. Landrum as close to the highway as possible is probably as close to central as I can envision without pulling up a map. However, if you are at the southwest corner of the campobello area, it’ll take you seemingly a year and a half to truck up to Mill Springs area. True Tryon is quite $$$. Once you cross into SC things are considerably cheaper but the land still runs ~$12-18k/acre outside of subdivisions.

If you are in close proximity to I-26, the drive to Asheville isn’t horrible as long as traffic cooperates. If you are 10 miles off the highway it may take you 20 minutes just to get to I-26 with winding two lane roads, school buses, etc.

Hendersonville is pretty small but seems like a nice area to me, especially if you are willing to haul for a saddle fitter, chiro, etc. who may not make it quite that north. I would imagine a lot of vets and farriers still venture up that far but people farther north would have a better idea than I would. Hendersonville also has some cute restaurants and outdoor culture.

[lesson_junkie]

I live in the Tryon area and love everything about being here-just want to get that out right up front. I’m from NC, DH and I lived in Yancy County, an hour north of Asheville, for the first ten years we were married. Asheville is a great town, lots of all kinds of fun, but it’s not horsey like the Tryon area.

Don’t underestimate going up and down the Tryon Grade on I26. It can be a tricky drive, especially pulling a trailer, tough on your tow vehicle either direction.

[Palm_Beach]

If you go, why not rent and board for a year or so while you get the lay of the land? If you don’t have too many horses.