One does not have to have a problem with a rule to know the rule exists.
I mean…yeah, if you wanna be a NERD and like read all up on the local rules and regulations and stuff…
I bet you do things like come to full and complete stops at stop signs also, obey posted speed signs…! PSH! NERD!!!
So, TR, this is a very valid point. Feel the liberty of knowing that you are not the target audience of this type of community. 
Totally okay. I hate kale and yet I’m allowed to exist.
Alot of this comes from the fact that after driving to and from work, through urban and suburban traffic, I don’t want to have to drive another hour to get to the barn; I want to live near my horse. But in this area, horse property is prohibitively expensive even if you’re a two-professional, two-income, kids-are-grown family. Plus there are the concerns about finding people to help you if you would like to go on vacation or you are sick, or need access to vets and farriers who are becoming reluctant to visit small barns, or losing access to trails. I genuinely am not arguing with other positions or saying that this is the model for everybody ---- it’s just that these are real concerns where I am. And I can’t realistically move to areas of the country where these things don’t seem to be an issue. So, I need a dedicated equestrian-friendly community with shared (and therefore affordable) amenities. My original question was geared to, “Who else is in the same position?”
And, the truth is that I do like neighbors. Not sandwiched in (or, at least, it would have to be a very large sandwich), but I do like occasional driveway chats and being able to yell, “Hey, come over for a glass of wine later” or, “I’m going for a trail ride in 20 minutes; want to come?” And, having been through two terminal horse colics, I don’t want to go through that again without supportive people who also knew the horse, there with me.
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I think a lot of people could agree with this in theory. I have my own small place and I’m not a social rider, but what might attract me to your vision are:
- a (well-maintained) community indoor within hacking distance
- access to a stall in a larger barn for temporary needs like stall rest (tough when you have a small herd at home, unless they’re unusually okay with being alone)
- nearby, trustworthy help on long work days or when I’m on vacation
The devil is in the details though. What if the indoor isn’t well-maintained, people can’t agree on footing type/depth, some people monopolize arena space/time, etc? What if the caretakers are not trustworthy? What if the turnout areas at the communal barn are unsafe? Yes, these issues come up when boarding, but then if you can’t live with it you just have to look for a different barn. You aren’t also selling your house.
I think that’s the hang-up. It’s nice to envision this equestrian paradise, but in practice there are so many possible downfalls that people are leery.
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All amazing points Libby2563!
I will add that when there is community stuff like this there are always those who do almost nothing and those who do all of the things - like that person who seems to always forget to pick up their manure from the indoor versus the person who is always willing to water the indoor and rake in the sides.
So picking your people to do something like this with requires you to pick just the right people, or you need to be willing to happily pick up the slack for anyone and everyone else that is there.
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Good point. And if you’re selling property - as opposed to boarding horses - you can’t discriminate based on “has the same ideas about horses as me”… once real estate gets involved, it gets MUCH more complicated.
Compounds and communities like this sound really nice on paper, but there’s a reason they don’t seem to last. At least with a boarding or co-op situation, the BO can boot anyone they don’t work well with. It is harder to revoke facility use privileges from a resident who owns property that is tied into the whole thing, no matter how airtight your contract.
A country club type facility that is adjacent but not actually connected to a neighborhood of small properties might work better, but will run into some obstacles that a normal country club does not. I’ve seen communities that have a minimum lot size (5 acres) work pretty well, but there were no communal horse facilities - just neighbors sharing or renting out their personal arena time.
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I live in Aiken, SC where there are all sorts of planned horse-centered developments.
I live in an one (or will when my farm is finished; my horses already live there and I have been around it for years). I would live in one (with caveats) but only if each place had its own farm. IMO, a centrally-run boarding operation is a losing proposition. In fact, I think it can be the investment that sinks the horse amenities in a community like this.
The problem is that there is no money in boarding and that you cannot please all of the people all of the time. And I can’t imagine anything worse than having an HOA board try to run a boarding barn.
That said, the reason I do live in one of these places is the set of other amenities-- trails off my property and rings that are far grander and better maintained that I could do myself. There is a community center with a small work-out room, too.
I don’t think anyone living in an HOA likes it. It’s not my cup of tea, but I see the purpose and I try to just keep my head down and mind my own business.
In horse communities that plan parts that are for non-horsey people, you have another lurking problem: At some point, those folks won’t want to pay for the upkeep of the horse stuff. Can you picture the fight that will be had about the need (or not) to re-do the footing in the arena? And charge everyone a special assessment for that because the HOA never quite saved up enough for large expenses like this?
Even in horse communities, people disagree about just what counts as horse-safe enough. So while we can all agree to things like no motorized vehicles on the trails, driving horses (which tend to scare the pants off horses initially) present a problem, even though they are expressly allowed in our covenants. BTW, there is a dedicated driving community a town over. People can’t agree on dogs being contained well. Some people’s dogs will bark and run the fence at them in the owner’s yard while they ride by on a trail. People don’t like it, but they have to accept that.
The one problem with the land being owned by someone else and managed to his/her specs is that the horseness of the community is not guaranteed to last. It’s bad enough when a developer has all the control (as they do until 95% of the lots are sold) and he does things like not create a good trail system. That makes the early investors worry and/or unhappy. But the HOA does own all the land used by the community and it so you can be sure that it will stay.
But to have the available land always under threat of going away or being managed differently? That makes the real estate investment in a horse community untenable.
But! If I just wanted to live in a pretty, bucolic-yet-upscale neighborhood and I regarded horses as optional in my life, I might buy here and feel safe that my property would appreciate. But then I’d be “part of the problem” in that I wouldn’t have a lot of skin in the game in terms of voting for the expense of keeping the horse amenities going.
In short, you have to set something up where the HOA doesn’t lose money (so it doesn’t undertake the losing proposition of building a boarding barn), and where the horse people who bought there are tied in to keeping it for horses. Even though people will “age in” to a community like this (they are often early- or spry retirees who have always wanted to keep their horses in their back yard), they will also age out (plenty of them are starting to trade in their show horses for trail horses or they realize that the horse they own now will be their last). More people will come along after them and buy in, but the only way to keep the horse amenities up is to insure that all the real estate in the place is also farms… and the only way to sell those is to keep the horse amenities up.
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Yes, lots of what you want are the same reasons I bought in a horse community. I did/do need horse-savvy neighbors. What has surprised me is how many of them are not. Either they couldn’t come help me with, say, a cast horse, or do horse care while I was away, or they would not because they don’t want to work that hard/work at all. I think the demographics of people who want to/can afford to buy into one of these communities are changing. These are not old barn rats (as I am) or pro horsemen with a half-century of knowhow behind them. The few that have jobs are busy doing those jobs and between caring for their own place and riding their horses, they don’t have time for the rest.
I have one bestie in my neighborhood who I trust to care for my horses and vice versa.
As to the deeded, rentable acres adjacent to each property: How is that of benefit to the land owner? So they have land divided up into small parcels checker-boarded with land they don’t own. They can’t sell it, but they can’t rent it 100% of the time, either? If it’s not a good deal for the land owner, it won’t last.
As to the other advantages-- they are real and valuable. The HOA is even valuable in a horse community in the sense that it helps keep the neighborhood horse-focused. But the fact that you have to buy a farm-sized lot (minimum is about 5 acres) means that the people who have invested there are also interested in maintaining the horse amenities… so that they can sell that dedicated farm on to another horse person in the future.
Aiken is horsey enough that you can more or less get vet work, farriers, delivery and other contractors to come out to where you are. I have coordinated with people in my community for things like farrier visits. If you can’t get vets and farriers to come out to little farms in your area, I do see the community as giving you an advantage. I have lived in worse horse markets and it can be hard to be the one little backyard barn.
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But, what is different here? You don’t have to sell your house. You just go look for a different barn. If you don’t want to use your “back 5 or 10” or whatever, you stop paying rent on it and let it go back into the community. True, I guess a terrible neighbor could potentially take over your “back 5,” but, the idea is that the HOA (gasp and horror 
) would protect most situations. And since the “back 5” is rented, not owned, the terrible neighbors’ use of the land can be cancelled if they were not following The Rules.
Overall, though, this thread has been so helpful! I am very grateful for people’s concerns over the details!
One thing about being older and around horses as an adult since 1970 is you get to see the long term results of many projects, ideas and such.
Seen many horse communities in several states and the biggest challenge is the passing of time. Families buy, the kids age out and move out. Adults get older and reduce their riding, suffer age related health problem, pass on or retire from riding and convert the barn and park classic car project or boat in it or convert it to a kennel or even an additional living unit. They like the place so will stay without the horses.
Some do move out and are replaced by non horsey residents who don’t want to pay for community barns, arenas or trails. Sooner or later they get elected to the HOA and it goes downhill after that.
If there is a community barn, they cannot absorb increasing costs and dropping horse population and if there is a resident trainer, they can’t support their business. So they have to start taking outside the community horses and clients or shutter the barn…personally boarded in formerly exclusive community barns 3 times in 2 states, dd not stay long in any of those, Plumbing issues. Burned out lights, rickety fences and such dependent on community funds to maintain trainers never stayed long either.
All three of these places looked great from the outside and all were around 15-20 years old.
Another issue is zoning changes, If they are close enough in to attract the demographic to afford a horse community, they are in the path of development. Once the surrounding land starts to fall to speculators, writing is on the wall.
Most people looking for this type community select housing on a long term basis but the reality is that time flies and things change.
ETA insurance is a far greater burden than it used be as well. Personally know two community arenas shut down by lawsuits. Both in just regular horsey areas, not part of exclusive areas. Both also some time back before liability rates really shot up.
Sounds like you might be a neighbor. I’ve put in ten years so far here keeping my head down and trying live in my own bubble.
I mean, you don’t HAVE to sell your house, obviously. But if you bought in the community relying on using the communal horse facilities, I imagine you wouldn’t be happy to have to look for boarding or facility use elsewhere. Especially if you were still paying ongoing fees. Even if you weren’t, wouldn’t those facilities have factored into the price you were willing to pay for the property? Maybe you can no longer afford your mortgage if you also have to pay board somewhere else. (I’m not saying I’d plan my finances that way, but somebody might.) Also if everyone slowly gets disgruntled with the facilities and moves their horses away, the community ceases to function the way it was intended, as others have described happening IRL.
To me it’s just not hard to see how the stakes would be higher if you’re buying a property both for itself and for some communal amenities that might not work as expected and that you’d need to pay more for / drive farther to replace if they don’t.
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I don’t want to belabor the point, because … why… But, isn’t this the case when you buy any property, anywhere (or board a horse anywhere)? You come in expecting a certain environment, and pay for that environment accordingly. And sometimes it changes or you change, and you move away with some combination of bittersweet sighing and disgruntling as you go. Hopefully it was a fair bargain for the time you were there.
I guess the thing I am struggling with is my perception that people are thinking about more risk vs. benefit for property in an equestrian community than for buying property independently. Not saying those concerns aren’t valid, because they are, but yours truly is still unpacking the benefits vs. the risk.
Maybe we just see it differently? If you buy a house and choose a boarding barn, those are two separate decisions that need not affect each other that much (except relative locations or budgeting). Lots of people will stay in the same home but change boarding barns over the years. If you buy a farm without communal facilities, you’re basing your decision mostly on aspects of the property that you own and can control. If you buy a property in an equestrian community, there are more moving parts that you can’t control. That, to me (and it sounds like to others here), increases the risk.
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Libby – can I just tell you, re: seeing this differently… On another board, I had mentioned pool and hot tub as included in the community facilities (confirming that this would be for people, not horses, mind you, as COTH likes to take things with a very granular view), and a responder said that a community hot tub sounded like a disaster. My response was that the responder clearly had not grown up in California in the 70s, because I personally have very non-disastrous impressions of community hot-tubs in California in the 70s. 
(Not involving myself, of course. Most of the time.)
Anyway, I think we have successfully picked this thread topic over. I believe it is ready to be put to bed. I must go put on 37 layers and go see the cookie monster, though it is too cold for me personally to ride.
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lol community pools and hot tubs CAN and DO become disasters. BTDT - having access to a clubhouse with pool or gym or hot tub would factor 0% into my choice of a home… except for how much I’m not willing to pay for them. Now, if membership was optional, and I could choose to opt in or out, I’d very likely opt in if the facilities were up to my standards! But I would not be making budget and lifestyle choices based on the availability of that membership. If I was moving into an equestrian community, I would absolutely be making budget and lifestyle choices based on those factors… having to shop for a different boarding barn after moving the horses “home” would not be acceptable to me.
I’ve lived in several places where the communal facilities were heavily advertised as reasons to choose that community. Only one was maintained in such a way that the facilities were useable (and that was only the pool). Gym equipment breaks and management chooses not to repair or replace, same for the pool/hot tub. Dog park turns into a poop field and the fencing is unsafe. Etc. Then an email blast goes out saying “fees are rising to maintain XYZ”… facilities that will remain “closed for repairs” for months, only to reopen with repairs done as cheap as possible. And there we go, right back to square one.
Personal experience says no way I’d move somewhere with an HOA or any sort of outside control of my horse life connected to my housing situation. Maybe if I was only planning to have horses/live there for less than 10 years - ie, planning to retire somewhere else - but that’s a long way off for me right now! These communities just never last, not to the standards they were intended. And not just the equestrian ones!
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The only real amenity at my HOA subdivision of 53 homes, is the pool with the pool house/club house. They are expensive to maintain, big problems with trespassers and vandalism. People give the gate code out to anyone they want, and there’s no way to prove who did it. Also, lots of rentals here (18 of 53 homes are rentals), and everyone who ever rented has the code. Very few use the pool, but some keep claiming that having it increases property values. I made a mistake buying here, but can’t move without going to either a fixer, or a worse location, or renting an apartment.
The pool here has nothing but the gate code, and too short fence to keep trespassers and vandals out. The HOA board members are the ones who want the pool, so the votes are mysteriously exactly the number they need to get their way. No way I would ever do anything here but pay my dues, I simply live here, and that’s all.
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Because there is more risk because you are putting all your eggs in one basket.
If you buy a house and board your horse at some random boarding barn, if one goes sideways on you, you only have to fix that one thing - find a new boarding barn or sell your house and find a new one.
If you buy in a planned horse community and things go bad you are having to figure out the logistics of finding a new boarding barn and selling your very specialized housing situation.
I do have a question, you keep talking about people renting/leasing these five and 10 acres pieces near their house, what happens if people are not renting them? Does the HOA have to raise fees to maintain them in case someone else comes along and wants to rent one?
Some of my thoughts on this topic are based on knowing what friend deals with. Friend owns property in a neighborhood that was built as a horse community. Large lots all zoned for individual small barns, etc. The neighborhood did not have community riding ring or indoor or such, but it was built with some riding paths around the perimeter and various places.
Friend is now one of two houses in the whole community that has horses and there are some people in the neighborhood that like to complain endlessly about how horrible the horses are.
The riding paths no longer exist (because they were basically at the back edge of people’s yards, so things were planted, fences were installed, etc.).
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This seems like it could be a relatively easy fix. Put up a better fence and get a programmable lock where each house gets a different code, and that code is changed or deleted if the occupants of the house change, or the homeowner requests a change.
Even just changing the code annually so only the current owners have access might help.
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