Help — Relocating to Moorpark

[Snowdenfarm]

We are moving to Moorpark, CA from Wellington, FL. I am completely new to the area and need help finding stabling for my two horses. They have different needs, and I am find boarding at two different barns.

1. Fully retired, sweet warmblood mare. She has knee arthritis and, while exercise is good for her, she has preferred to stay inside more and more. She is down to only an hour outside from 12 hours. However since it hurts to flex her knees, she needs deep bedding both for dropping to her knees to lay down and also as she then has to lay out flat to straighten her knees. Currently, she is beddded almost a foot deep with free choice hay which may be why she does not enjoy going out anymore, lol. I hate to move her as she is so happy, but I cannot bear the thought of never seeing her as we will no longer have any connection to FL after the move.

2. My new warmblood mare who was used to 24/7 turnout for the first 7 years of her life. I tried her in a stall with a walkout for six weeks and she was batsh!t crazy. She is now out 18 hours a day, on two acres, with two other horses and is a different horse. That kind of arrangement is unheard of in Wellington and I am so lucky to have found it. It seems to be difficult to find in the Moorpark area as well

I prefer a smaller barn. I obviously need an arena, but I am not looking to work with a trainer or fight for ring time at a facility with multiple trainers. I found one place online that has turnout in herds, VH Ranch on Middle Ranch Rd, but I know nothing about it.

I would love suggestions if anything fits my long wishlist and please DM me if there are any places to specifically avoid.

Thanking everyone in advance!!

Oh, and I only have the next three days to visit farms before I have to go back to Wellington to pack!

[poltroon]

This is going to be a bit of a tough go especially on such short notice. In particular, a small facility with a nice dressage arena that does not require you to be in some sort of training arrangement is really just challenging to make economically viable. They likely exist as private friend of a friend type situations here and there, so maybe someone here will know one.

In the short term, you might check out a place like El Sueno https://www.elsuenoequestrian.com/ . El Sueno is in Somis which is Moorpark-adjacent. It is not small but it might check off enough of your boxes to get you going until you find what you need.

Most of the people I know who have retired horses have sent them on to places in Santa Ynez, Atascadero, or similar that specialize in retirees. These are at least nice day trips. However, they may not be able to accommodate the big stall with shavings your mare needs. A big covered pipe corral type situation might suit her with boards added to the bottom to contain shavings, but obviously that will only work if fully covered so the shavings don’t get wet with the occasional rain. Maybe a rubber mat system or sand would also be acceptable to her.

Good luck to you and welcome to California!

[atlatl]

Welcome to California.

I agree that El Sueno might be a stop gap solution.

[Bristol_Bay]

Maybe ask @Peggy? Not in Moorpark but not far.

[Amberley]

There is a fair bit of paddock board in Moorpark if you know where to look but less actual larger pasture board. Paddock board with a bedded mare motel style are might work for your retiree: it would be something like a 24’x50’ or 100’x50’ drylot with a 12x24 shelter that gets bedded. There are tons of variables but that’s the general idea. Actual pasture board is harder to find.

Wolf Canyon Ranch in Thousand Oaks has pasture board and nice dressage arenas + other facilities. It’s close to Moorpark proper and is very nice but not cheap. Some of the places on Happy Camp Road have pastures or dry pastures but they seem to change ownership a lot and it’s hard to say what’s available at any given time.

I think your best bet is to post an ISO on one of the local Facebook pages.

[SBrentnall]

I’m at Wolfe Canyon - they have pasture board, but they don’t bring horses in and out. If you wanted that, you’d need to pay for both pasture and a stall.

Pasture is currently $650 and stalls are $1305. They might do a package deal if you wanted both, but I’m not sure. Premium hay (orchard, meadow or timothy) is extra.

It’s real pasture with a small group, and they have three pastures to choose from: two for younger horses, and one for retirees who aren’t too rambunctious. The latter also requires that you pay for a care program (weekly grooming, grain feeding, daily fly spray, flymask removal, etc.) for approx $200. It’s too difficult to have one horse not in the program when it comes to feeding and care.

[Bristol_Bay]

@Snowdenfarm

I found one place online that has turnout in herds, VH Ranch on Middle Ranch Rd, but I know nothing about it.

I looked at the website and I think this is where I sent my retired horse back in 2010. He wasn’t there long. Somehow, he managed to pull a shoe and gouge his pastern, and develop cellulitis. Since he required hand walking, meds, and wrapping, I just had to bring him back to the boarding stable by my house. It wasn’t their fault, just my clumsy horse.

PM me if you want any more info. I hesitate to post since I’m not 100% sure it’s the same place.

[Snowdenfarm]

Thank you all for your help and I welcome any other suggestions and especially insight on care, drama, etc.

[Peggy]

Welcome to California!

I am unfortunately of not much use since my horse is in one of those private backyard situations that doesn’t take boarders. We’re in the Santa Rosa Valley which is roughly between Moorpark and Thousand Oaks (AKA TO). But, the idea of finding a private situation like that is one that might work, though it may be hard to find on short notice. I see places in the area that have paddocks and a ring. Some areas have home-owners or city rings. You may end up someplace temporary while you look. The good news is that there are a lot of horses in the area.

Does the retiree need to be locked in a stall at night, or would a 24/7 in-an-out situation work, possibly one with a shelter with bedding? Not that I have any real ideas here…

The local Dover Store in Moorpark co-exists with a Dressage Extensions store and several of the employees there seem to ride dressage locally. It might be worth a trip in there to ask. Likewise, you could try going to Kahoots Feed Store in Moorpark to ask.

Jenny Brown has a retirement facility (at her house?) in Fillmore - https://www.shadowbrookstable.com/retirementandrehabilitation

There is a Santa Rosa Valley Equestrians group on Facebook that may be of help.

The horses at Hilda Gurney’s (Keenridge) don’t all live in stalls from what I’ve heard, but you might need to be in training.

Peck Farm in the Happy Camp area of Moorpark has a variety of stalls and paddocks. I don’t know if you need to be in training. http://www.peckfarm.com/about.htm

There are several places along (or just off of) Tierra Rejada Road just east of the 23 Freeway. Some are fairly fancy and probably require full training (Elvenstar, Corsari), but others look more basic.

That is all I can think of for now.

Good luck!

[Snowdenfarm]

Thank you so much. I am o appreciative that you took the time to share all of this. I have a number of options now. I will check them out this week and choose one to at least start out at. I am excited to be out here. Wellington was so much fun, but after seven years I am over the humidity!

[Amberley]

The pastures at what is now Peck Farm are very steep but they do have both group turnout and paddock board, or did at one point. They have very limited turnout for the stalled horses though. Hilda mostly has what I’d call mare motel/ paddock set ups but does have some bigger paddocks. JM Boarding across the road has larger paddocks. I don’t know that any of them have group turnout/ living set ups though.

There are tons of similar set ups in and around Moorpark, imho the weather makes an actual stall in a barn completely unnecessary in that area and a lot of facilities reflect that.

If you can’t find one facility for both I know several people who have horses at retirement facilities that don’t advertise ever, including one in Agoura area that has irrigated pastures which are basically unheard of in the area. I would definitely post an ISO in a few F’book groups for that if needed.

[Snowdenfarm]

Again, thank you all. The area horse community is so welcoming. I visited two farms this morning, VH and Willow Gate. Both had what I am looking for to varying degrees, the owners annd boarders were lovely and the prices are so good compared to Wellington! I am going to go with Willow Gate as it is only five minutes from our new house. Thanks again. So excited for this new chapter.

[SBrentnall]

Welcome to the neighborhood!

[Amberley]

@Snowdenfarm

Willow Gate

That area is great, you will love having access to Happy Camp Park! I have many happy memories of riding the trails there.

[Snowdenfarm]

That is so great to hear. Thank you!

[pluvinel]

I am dating myself, but Hilda Gurney used to have her farm at Moorpark.

[Snowdenfarm]

Does anyone know if she is still there and where her farm is? Also, does anyone know if there is boarding at Ebeling’s old place?

[SBrentnall]

Hilda is still in the same place. Jan’s old place is private now, and it’s a hunter/jumper facility. I don’t think they take boarders.

[wanderlust]

I know this post is a week old or so. While I don’t have any recommendations for that area (although I love it there and am so so so jealous you get to move there) and sounds like you have found a good option, something to consider is the trip from FL to CA will be absolutely brutal on the older one given what you say about her arthritis and ability to get up and down. Choose your shipper very carefully.

[Snowdenfarm]

Agreed. After speaking with my vet here in Wellington, I will be flying them out.