Nice, affordable barns near Boston?

[frugalannie]

Wow, IFG, I thought I was frugal! I run an 11 stall private barn, and I just figured out it was costing an average of $345 per horse per month, including everything but vet and shoeing. Per horse, I budget three bales of shavings per week, 1/2 bale of hay per day during the warm months and 1 bale of hay per day during the winter, and I can’t remember off the top of my head how much grain and supplements. I include utilities, deworming, manure disposal and the town horse tax, but do not include labor in this number.

Want to come and consult on potential savings?

[tx3dayeventer]

[QUOTE=frugalannie;4254718]
the town horse tax[/QUOTE]

Huh??? What is that???

[dotneko]

If you expanded your commute time (I can make it to
Brookline hospitals with perfect traffic in 50 minutes
on a hellish day more like 1:20)
you could come to Townsend. Better yet, live in a less
expensive community out here and take the Ayer
train in.
Our board is $800 with a full size indoor and 1/2or all
day turnout in individual sand or grass paddocks.
www.settlementfarm.net

Dot

[IFG]

[QUOTE=frugalannie;4254718]
Wow, IFG, I thought I was frugal! I run an 11 stall private barn, and I just figured out it was costing an average of $345 per horse per month, including everything but vet and shoeing. Per horse, I budget three bales of shavings per week, 1/2 bale of hay per day during the warm months and 1 bale of hay per day during the winter, and I can’t remember off the top of my head how much grain and supplements. I include utilities, deworming, manure disposal and the town horse tax, but do not include labor in this number.

Want to come and consult on potential savings?[/QUOTE]

I didn’t include supps or wormer. I focused on hay, pellet bedding, and grain. That’s a bag of Triple Crown Senior a week, 3-4 bales of hay a week (I used to give more, but he was wasting it, and he is in good weight), and 6-8 bags of Woody Pet a month. I think that it was about $200 last I did the math. Are you including other stuff?

Certainly did not include insurance, property tax, replacement stone dust or footing, or labor to get rid of the manure, pick the paddock, or clean the stall. He has 24/7 in/out access, so the stall doesn’t get awful.

[EiRide]

@IFG;4254060

You all are making me glad that I keep my guy at home!

Holy Cow, me too! I can keep all of mine for less than many of you poor people keep one. Ouch.

[nextyear]

[QUOTE=tx3dayeventer;4254764]
Huh??? What is that???[/QUOTE]

It is what the towns in Ma. do for extra revenue they consider it a excise tax, sorta like your cars, they don’t call it taxachussets for nothing.

Frugel poster, what about your maintance costs? And the cost of the land to have horses on? That is why board is so high now.

[linquest]

I think Jordan Stables meets your requirements–roughly within 45 min of Cambridge, though likely longer from Boston. I part-leased a horse there. Nice facilities and staff.
http://jordanstablesusa.com/Pages/facils_riding.html

You might want to check out my directory of local barns here-
http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/Boston_Equestrian/links

BTW- I’m looking for a moderator for Boston Equestrian since I’ve moved out of state! And yes, to a MUCH cheaper horse-keeping state, but one with far fewer English riding situations. There’s always a trade-off :sigh:

[Ray]

[QUOTE=eventer@heart;4253245]
Another idea is to live somewhere outside the city on the MBTA Commuter Line or Amtrak line that would be closer to more affordable barns and commute to work. Not sure that’s doable for you but lots of people prefer that because it eliminates the driving in traffic. And, cost of both people & horse housing is much more reasonable (I agree it’s all relative, though and is not reasonable compared with other parts of the country! :eek:).-[/QUOTE]

yes, this is a good idea. Hollis NH and Pepperell, MA are in a great area. I know a good eventing barn in Pepperell, Maple Meadows Farm, 13 Maple St.
Penny Lowman is the trainer.

[EventingDiva]

Backyard/smaller situations might be the way to go for your requirements. It is just so expensive out here! I’m at a barn where you could bring any instructor you want in, but is longer then you wanted to travel…

Jordan Stables is more expensive then your request as well as a pony club riding center, so very busy with lots of kids. Rumor is the barn is either shutting down or changing hands within the next month or so anyways.

The option is Boxford seemed nice also, but I’m not sure where that is in relation to where you would be moving! I used to ride at Wetherbee in Boxboro (also a real estate agency for horse property), however I’m not sure if they still offer boarding. The board back then did meet your requirements. Anne Geoghenan was training out of there when I left and I’ll bet she still does-she was riding their homebreds for them as well as instructing. The barn managers/owners name is Rondi. I know she wanted to focus mainly on breeding but back then they did have XC schooling, an indoor, nice outdoor, and nice instruction.

I can’t think of too many barn that fit your time range from the city as well as price…it’s expensive out here :(. Would trucking to an indoor be an option for you? In that case there are several great private barns I can let you know about!

Good luck in your search!

[Tucked_Away]

I can’t say enough good things about the place where I board/ride. Meets your criteria except for the commute: it’s ~60-70 minutes from my place in Somerville, though 15 of that is from my apartment to the highway, so conceivably you could knock it down to under an hour by living closer to a highway and/or on the other side of the river. PM for details, if you’d like.

[brii7]

website.

http://gastonfarm.zoomshare.com/0.html here’s our website! We’ve recently fixed many things on the property[indoor,fencing,etc] and added new jumps.

[frugalannie]

@nextyear;4255427

Frugel poster, what about your maintance costs? And the cost of the land to have horses on? That is why board is so high now.

Don’t want to hijack this thread, but a small number is included for diesel/gas for dragging the indoor and outdoor rings, excess liability insurance, and probably three fence rails per horse per year. If I included property taxes, field maintenence and mortgage DH would be so apalled he’s make me give up horses! Actually, I leave that stuff out because I figure we’d be paying it anyway in the normal course of keeping the property up, even if we didn’t have horses here.

And yes, Taxachusetts indeed!

[LKF]

Ledyard (?)

What about http://www.ledyardfarm.com/

[Wonderwall]

I know Liberty Tree in Acton is pretty affordable. I think it’s about $700 a month. They do eventing, dressage, h/j and western. They do have an indoor, and allow outside trainers. I’m not sure on availability of stalls since it is a smaller facility, but it has a wonderful atmosphere.

[kmmoran]

I live in and work in Boston now, my horse is on lease up in Georgetown. All I will say is definitely live in a suburb and commute in, it will save you money! And the commuter rails run pretty much the same time regardless of traffic (someone correct me if their experience is different), so that’s something you can rely on. The board at Rosebrook where she is is unfortunately out of your price range (900 )

South shore has some really really nice barns, not sure on pricings but I know people who commute in from Marshfield, Plymouth area. I wouldn’t go that far (loking at over an hour commute), but maybe if you found something for you in the middle and kept your horse on the other side?

I’ll say that 93 is a nightmare. 495 is simply out of the question on Fridays or Sundays in the summer… and the pike is the pike. Very rush-hour based. Plus parking in Boston is ridiculously expensive, so definitely utilize the trains unless your parking is paid for. Sorry this turned into more of a how-to-live-in-Boston reply…

[Manahmanah]

Yes, agree with living in the burbs and using mass transit. What can take you 45 minutes at midnight can easily turn into 1.5 to 2 hours in Boston, traffic is awful. Much nicer to decompress on the train and then go to the barn nice and relaxed. Also, what you save on rent you can spend on shows and horse shopping.

[quietann]

[QUOTE=Manahmanah;7048368]
Yes, agree with living in the burbs and using mass transit. What can take you 45 minutes at midnight can easily turn into 1.5 to 2 hours in Boston, traffic is awful. Much nicer to decompress on the train and then go to the barn nice and relaxed. Also, what you save on rent you can spend on shows and horse shopping. :)[/QUOTE]

Hee, very old thread, but I agree with this 100%. I drive 4 1/2 miles to the nearest train station and chill on the train getting into work in Boston. Public transit does require a little bit of flexibility but I wouldn’t do my commute any other way!

[findeight]

Guys, it’s a 4 year old thread. Even as reference only, things can change alot in that amount of time. Barn recommendations are best when based on current conditions, trainer, owner and management.

[RolyPolyPony]

@linquest;4255454

I think Jordan Stables meets your requirements–roughly within 45 min of Cambridge, though likely longer from Boston. I part-leased a horse there. Nice facilities and staff.
http://jordanstablesusa.com/Pages/facils_riding.html

Jordan hasn’t been Jordan in about 5 years - it’s Milestone Stables now (http://www.milestonestable.com/) - however, it still may work for the OP. Especially if she can do semi-rough board.

OP, I second the suggestion of not living in the city and instead living somewhere you can take the T into work - your drive to whatever barn you chose will be greatly improved. Maybe look at Arlington if you want to be pretty close, but there are also a lot of towns on the commuter rail that are closer to horsey areas.

[Hawks_Nest]

45min north of boston, we own a small (10 stall) boarding facility and I think atm the board is just around $800. Big indoor, all day turnout weather permitting on good grass, very good care. There is no onsite trainer but we are within 20 minutes of a very good dressage instructor and several good event coaches, one of which is at our barn fairly regularly. Lots of trails