Tell me about the best areas in these states for horse keeping–farriers, vets, vet clinics, etc. I may be relocating, and want to make an informed decision
Michigan: Grosse Pointe, Metamora, Battle Creek–lots of horse activities in all three locations.
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Not so much in Grosse Pointe anymore. The Grosse Pointe Hunt Club is gone, replaced by a very nice training stable, but it’s the only one in that area.
Milford and Highland area are nice.
Michigan is a pretty big state. It would help to know what part you’re interested in.
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@sunkistbey as OP was specific about wanting a Dressage place, one of the finest in MI is Grosse Pointe --There are certainly Dressage facilities in the other places --Metamora and Battle Creek --and pretty sure there is a new facility near Holland MI --I don’t know the name but have heard others speak well of it.
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In the original post I didn’t see any mention of a dressage specific barn. I will agree that Grosse Pointe Equestrian has some fine H/J trainers. I’m not familiar with their dressage trainer.
Edited to add. There are some very nice dressage barns scattered across mid and southeast Michigan. Fenton, Ann Arbor, Clarkston, Milford, etc. OP, if you would like names or specific areas, send me a PM.
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Is it really gone? I have fond memories of showing there (H/J) years ago. What a bummer but it sounds like it’s still a riding place.
Back in the day, Metamora and Oxford were great horsey places. I don’t live there any more so no idea what is what these days.
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Lots of barns in Metamora and Oxford area. It’s a pretty nice mix of H/J and Dressage.
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Sorry for the confusion. I had originally said a dressage area, then changed into horsey, since I realized my horses will be retired. I don’t have a specific area in mind, so I’m asking in general.
It looks like Grosse Pointe is in the middle of Detroit? Am I seeing that wrong?
Eastern suburb.
I know of a couple of retirement farms in Metamora. They’re very nice and it’s a beautiful area.
I have a friend in the Lansing area who talks about what a horsey Mecca it is. Is that true? I’m always skeptical…
Hmmmm, I would not say that Lansing was a horsey area. There are actually several boarding facilities that are for sale, or have closed in the past few years. There are no recognized shows held in the area—there is one schooling series that is held at a barn that is now for sale. I don’t even know of many dressage specific barns—most are “mixed discipline” with H/J, eventing and dressage riders all crowded in the indoor together! There are a couple dressage barns—but not enough to classify it as a “mecca”. So not sure what your friend is smoking, ummm, thinking. 
I think of the most “horsey” area in MI as Metamora. There are sooo many lovely barns and a network of trails due to the very active hunt club in that area. You can wear breeches to dinner there. That’s my litmus test for a horsey area (can you wear breeches out and no one gives you a second glance?).
Ann Arbor also has a lot of barns and options—just being a locale near a big university means there is $$ and a diverse population.
Dressage specific barns are in a variety of locations—many in the outskirt suburbs of Detroit, Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids.
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That’s kind of what I suspected. I threw it out there to satisfy my own curiosity as much as anything. Thanks for confirming.
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There are a number of veterinary clinics/barns/showing opportunities in Southern Wisconsin, ie Madison or Milwaukee areas.
Agree - Southeastern (great Milwaukee area) WI has WI Equine - great horse vets, Madison area has UW Vet clinic which is great for emergencies and usually more affordable than WI Equine.
Both MKE and Madison areas have great facilities/barns. I live in MKE area and both Mequon/Germantown (Northern suburbs) or Eagle/Mukwonago (southeastern suburbs) have great barns.
I live in Minneapolis, MN and there are plenty of horsie areas around the twin cities. Because I live so close to downtown I drive about 45 minutes but if you were in a suburb you could live much closer to a barn. I’ve spent most of my time here boarding in the Northeastern corner of the cities, near Forest Lake, and there’s a lot of horse stuff up there including an amazing local tack shop. The west side of the cities has more dressage and hunter barns and there is a Dover store. I’m happy to share more details about barn experiences if you decide to move to this area so feel free to PM me.
Edited to add: There are several good equine vet practices including the UofM vet hospital in the cities. Since your horses will be retired it may not matter but we also have several good schooling and recognized show series within a 1-2 hour drive.
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I’d say that Lansing is reasonably horsey. slp2’s remarks about boarding facilities closing/selling is true, but there’s always somebody building a new one. The nice thing about Lansing is that you get somewhat reasonable board for a relatively short drive to other horsey areas. I think the hard thing about the Lansing area is that 1) some of the burbs with the most boarding facilities are basically in the swamp, so landowners are always fighting water – that’s where land is cheap, because it’s not really land! And 2) the networking/community infrastructure sucks. There’s not a sense of The Lansing Horse Community the way there is in Metamora or even TC. Probably because downstate people spend a good part of their summer up north? Add that to the general gossipy tendencies of horse communities and cliques and … Lansing is just kind of a bunch of equestrian silos, and definitely not the sort of place where you walk around in your horse clothes. It’s just weird, is what I’m saying. It could be an equestrian mecca and it’s strange to me that it’s not. (My lifelong dream was to turn the Waverly golf course into WEC. LOL).
I’m in Michigan! I board south of Lansing at one of the previously mentioned dressage facilities in the area and love it. I live in mid-MI (Gratiot Co.) and drive about an hour to get there. While it is very true there have been a rash of boarding facilities closing all over mid Michigan for a handful of different reasons, I’d recommend looking Lansing and south east from there: Ann Arbor, Metamora, Grass Lake, Dexter, metro Detroit, etc. Which isn’t to say there aren’t good dressage facilities in mid to Northern Michigan, one in Carson City and Frankenmuth stand out to me.
But in terms of bang for your buck and proximity to vets, farriers, body workers, etc. your best bet is that south of Lansing-southeastern MI corridor. They’re all not a bad haul to MSU’s large animal clinic for either dire emergency vet care or surgery.
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Foxglove, perhaps the new barn you’re thinking of in Holland is Sandy Hill Farm. Just into its second year - fabulous facility (heated tack room, observation room, kitchen, and barn/indoor, when it’s cold enough), huge indoor, nice outdoor dressage and jumping arenas, meticulous care by a staff that is so dedicated, friendly, and willing, lots of turnout for the horses, various stall options (indoor stalls as well as stalls w attached small paddocks they can go into when they’re not turned out). Head trainer is Erika Treis Petersen - very talented eventer and silver medalist in dressage. No drama barn - everyone’s very friendly. I’ve known Erika for decades (she taught all my kids to jump), and it’s great to be back in training with her. Deltawave is also there.
Waterloo is a couple of hours away w/ quite a few USDF shows in the summer, as is Lamplight (near Chicago). https://sandyhill.farm/
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