Check out Frederick, Maryland. Cute town with plenty of restaurants, close to DC and Baltimore, but with enough surrounding farmland to make it still feel like the country. I live in Virginia but find myself in Frederick often enough to appreciate its advantages. You’ll have your pick of vets and will only be ~25 minutes from Morven Park and the DuPont Medical Center.
I would advise against NM if you’re used to the Aiken horsey lifestyle.
In anthony nm, there is a horse prop for 365k with 16 stall barn, hotwalker, round pen, fenced paddocks, 2 tackrooms, full irrigation rights plus a well, a 1280 sf mobile home. Easy access to El Paso for an airport, stores, restaurants, etc.
Another listing is 164 Haasville rd anthony nm
Has a pretty 3600 sf house with granite, upgrades. Well. 5 acres. Mountain views. 750k. Additional 9.7 acres adjacent are also for sale.
I’m south of SF, originally from Richmond area VA
While I love NM - Horse haven for those who have standards it is NOT. Horses are livestock here, there are plenty of them, but you will have a hard time finding the same sort of ‘horse people’ you do on the east coast. Vet care is hard to find - there are emergency options but routine care is difficult. There simply isn’t enough people and/or wealth in NM to support nice boarding - training - shows - etc. There is no water. You have to accept your Horse will be drinking his water down in whatever state it is in. Hay sucks - & there’s no grass (If there is, you need I think around 50 acres to support one horse year round on unirrigated pasture) if there IS irrigated grass - you’re in ABQ or Abiquiu along the river and you are paying $$$ (which is cheaper, sure, but there are no opportunities in NM) Farriers work on NM time - they may show up, they may do a job.
I’m an enterprising individual, and I LOVE New Mexico. There are no building codes really - build your own barn. Fence your own land. Let your horses live feral, barefoot, ride them into the mountains. The trail riding and endurance world here is amazing. Do your own trimming - do your own basic vet care. NM is your oyster. It’s why I love it - and why I left VA h/j barns who standards are often too high for no good reason. If that doesn’t sound like you - then don’t do it. Santa fe can give off the impression that you want to live here in this culturally rich paradise - it SEEMS like horse country - but leave city limits and it is the wild west.
Ski resorts are in the mountains near Taos and Santa Fe.
IMO Northern NM is incredibly beautiful in the right places. I regularly drive from the NE corner of NM into Alamosa on my way to Hotchkiss (south of grand junction, but not in the desert).
Thank you all for your posted.
You all have reminded me of what I saw in NM the times I have been there, and reminded me to take seriously the experience of my friend who currently lives in Ramah: This is not the place to go if you want horse infrastructure.
That, plus really noticing the support for Horsing that’s here in Aiken, not just taking it for granted, has helped me be honest with myself. I have lived in some wealthy (but not necessarily horse-centric markets like the SF Bay Area), some pretty horse-centric spots (also with wealth that made it untouchable by me except as a visitor: Bedford NY, and some less wealthy, but good-ish horse places, (Ithaca NY with Cornell there) and some mediocre** places (Corvallis, OR, post-2008 recession). The mediocre places compared to the wealthier, educated and then genuinely horse-centric places are what gave me PTSD about living in areas without the infrastructure that let’s me do right by my horses. Until I relax about that, I think I’d just be signing up for some suffering.
Heck, I moved to Aiken in order to be able to care for them they way I think horses ought to be cared for, given the limited amount of money I have. I can’t afford to live by a major city that offers high culture and do right by horses who need land and grazing in order to be happy.
In any case, I don’t think NM will check my boxes, but the reality check has been really, really helpful. And I’m sorry that NM can’t work because I think the state is beautiful, at least in the Northern parts I have seen.
If not-what-you-think horse care gives you PTSD< then you should for sure stay where you do not experience PTSD of that sort.
Especially because NM also lacks infrastructure for the people,not just the horses.
I’m telling ya mvp, think about MD… because I completely get what you’re saying. We have the highest number of horses per square mile (well, us and NJ go back and forth). All those horses come with a whole lot of resources. It’s not untouchable, even with low inventory and record high prices, there are still plenty of horse-friendly farms on the market for under $750K, especially if you are flexible with the location.
Just sayin…
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/15102-Nottingham-Rd-Upper-Marlboro-MD-20772/37365792_zpid/
Sadly and too late for us, this is what we found.
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