Ocala (or Florida) Year Round - Let's Chat

[ratatat]

Does anyone here live in Ocala year round? I’ve seen similar posts but all are quite old or are specifically looking for a trainer. I’m not really concerned about finding quality horse care, but really want to get input from anyone who lives in Ocala, or Florida, year round.

My significant other and I are considering relocating from our current major Southwest city (think: intense, 100+ degree, heat most of the year) to Florida for personal reasons. We are both fully remote, 30-somethings, and are open to living “more rurally” if it allows us to embrace our passions of golf and horses, respectively.

Beyond our hobbies, we’re largely homebodies – we love a good movie, hike, or kayak – and Ocala’s location of being just over an hour from MCO and just under 2 hours from Tampa doesn’t feel overly intimidating in terms of being near major concerts or an airport.

That said, I’d love to hear from anyone who lives in the area year round. We do have family who lives closer to Wellington and they love it. But hearing from folks who don’t have a metaphorical horse in the relocation race would be helpful.

[beowulf]

I’m following too, as I’m considering the same. I’m concerned about the horse keeping aspect, especially whether it is realistic to keep them out 24/7 year round. So here’s a bump!

[Demerara_Stables]

I was born and raised there, lived there for 27 years until I moved to NorCal. I do miss it, but I left because I was bored - loved my job but I was in a small town and no real room for substantial advancement. Went to the same bar/beach/restaurant every weekend, and I was looking for a younger crowd and more to do.

It was hot AF in the summer but I trained there for a number of years and (despite really not being a morning person) worked out a schedule where I was on my first horse by 6am and done riding by 1:00 and I finally stopped getting heat stroke. If you just had one or two to ride, it’s totally doable. The humidity is no joke, and if you haven’t visited in the summer you absolutely must because that’s the only way to know what it’s like.

My parents had a “vacation home” in Ocala so I spent a lot of time there in the 90s. Of course it’s much different now but I enjoyed it then. The outskirts can be pretty rural, as you might know. It’s a good location other than the center of the state gets even hotter, and of course no getting to the beach in a day if that’s something you want to do.

The winter can be absolutely glorious, and those days make it all worth it.

[Demerara_Stables]

@beowulf

whether it is realistic to keep them out 24/7 year round. So here’s a bump!

Yes, kind of. I had a few places where they had access to stalls and the field 24/7. You’re always running fans in the barn during the day all summer, and some of winter, so they usually bring themselves in to stand under the fans anyway. My mare had bad no see um allergies so she wore a fly sheet all summer. Most people that I knew turned out all night in the summer and all day in the winter. The only real issue with being out 24/7 is the lightning. The afternoon thunderstorms in the summer necessitate bringing them in, and sometimes you get lightning at night too. I’ve made a number of 2am drives to the barn during a thunderstorm. Not a ton of lightning in the winter.

[kmwines]

I grew up in Jacksonville and have lived in Wellington area. Horse management depends on your setup and your horse a lot. Our horses went out at night during the summer and were in most of the day mainly to keep them from getting sun bleached. We didn’t have a lot of shade in the fields. Bugs can definitely be an issue for some, particularly the no- see ums. Depending on your property as well, the summer rains can create mud issues so if youre looking at your own farm setup make sure you visit during the summer and after a good rainstorm to see how it handles water.

If your horse is a non sweater or has respiratory/allergy issues Florida is awful. But coming from your area it’s probably similar. The humidity is tough during the summer and you definitely need to ride really early or late in the evening for yourself and your horse. It also typically thunderstorms in the afternoon.

Another nice aspect of Ocala and Wellington area is access to great vet clinics right there.

I worked in Ocala for a bit in college and it was a pretty quiet town but its grown a lot since then so cant comment on the social aspect.

[steelerino]

Well Florida summer is still hot and miserable, add thunderstorms every afternoon. Thankfully, covered arenas are becoming popular down south were I live so at least you don’t spend weeks being rained out. Ocala is boring to me. I live just outside of Wellington. An ride my side by side to the store or golf cart into Wellington if I want. Also only about 30mins from the beach. My husband golfs so he has access to plenty of decent courses minutes from the house. It’s insanely expensive here now for property. Still hard for me to believe our little house is worth what it is lol.

[anonevent]

If reliable internet access is required in order for you to work remotely, you might want to search with that criteria in mind. Cellular access and internet are still sketchy in/around areas of Ocala.

[findeight]

@ratatat

just over an hour from MCO

That is….optimistic. There are lakes in the way of a straight line drive and no real shortcuts. The Turnpike can be tricky and once you get to Orlando, you are at the mercy of that local traffic. You will need to come on down and drive it if is important to you.

But for Paint Party, after 4 years nearby, YES I think you might consider it down here, it is manageable. Pros and Cons of course. Overall lifestyle is comfortable, some of the city and county services are underfunded but no state income tax so due diligence of course. Good show venues and heard Ocala area vets and farriers are very good. Yes hurricanes, been through 4, they announce they are coming a week out, unlike wildfires. Pick your poison.

Lots of golf, kayaking and manatee watching around Ocala in winter plus all the other stuff nearby like numerous (successful) rocket launches, the attractions, pro sports etc.

[NoSuchPerson]

I lived near Gainesville for 20+ years, thought I wanted to be somewhere that wasn’t so freakin’ hot in the summer, and moved to the mountains in NC. After 6 years, I came back to Florida and I am so happy to be back. Apparently at some point in those 20+ years, I turned into a true blue Florida Girl.

I’m not very familiar with south Florida or the panhandle area, so can’t really speak to those areas, but different family members and I have lived in several places in the northern half of the peninsula. Yes, Florida is hot, humid, and miserable in the summer, but winter…winter is glorious.

When I lived near Gainesville, I had my own property and kept my horses at home. They lived out 24/7. Horsekeeping was easy. Now, I board, so horsekeeping is even easier. Having a covered arena is a true blessing when the sun is beating down, but you can manage without it if you ride very early or wait until around dusk.

People moving from areas where good grass pasture and quality local hay are the norm are typically shocked at the sad pasture grass and the expensive “trucked in from up north” hay. But, given where you are coming from, it might not be that different here.

[Annie10]

I have lived in Fl my entire life. Grew up in SW FL then moved to Ocala for awhile then to NE FL for work and stayed.
No way in hell would I live south of Ocala. It has gotten so over built and over crowded and over priced it’s pathetic. NE Fl used to be more tolerable temp but not anymore. Last summer especially we started with 100 degrees temps in late May and kept it until September. It was absolutely horrible. Get your outside stuff done by 10 am and then don’t come back out til after 6 pm .
I kept my horses out 24/7 but the last two summers I have kept them in from 11 am until about 6 pm every day under two fans and they are still panting.

We are doing stuff to our house over the next few years (getting some new windows next month, new siding next year, pool resurface and some other stuff ) plus we have lots of dogs that will be aging out soon. and of course my elderly mother is still in SW FL but once all of that is resolved we are making plans to get the hell out.
Overcrowding and development are rapidly moving northward , and let’s not forget to mention the hurricanes and homeowners insurance mess. We can’t wait to get out of here .

[Ponyplusaninch]

Haven’t lived specifically in Ocala, BUT–I would make sure your horses are comfortable with humidity and bugs. Not all of them are. I know personally of two horses that had to be sold specifically to cooler northern climates because the GA/FL summers were too much for them. Skin conditions, hydration issues, and stress induced colic because they were so uncomfortable. So take the ponies’ opinion seriously.

All three of my other horses were fine with it–they found shade and water, and we got all our stuff done before noon every day in summer (before 9AM if we could manage). My current horse? He freaks out in Ohio summers and begs to come inside where he has two fans. I can’t imagine him tolerating FL well.

[Annie10]

You can easily get to the beach in 90 minutes from Ocala

[Newberry]

Lived I Florida my whole life and require a certain level of humidity to function. Interior Florida gets all the heat, and humidity, and none of the breeze. That being said, I can’t imagine loving anywhere else. Horse can live outside 24/7 but would really like to have at least a shelter for afternoon thunderstorms. Bonus if the shelter has fans for bugs and to help with the heat. I’m sure you think you’ve been hot in the desert. Trust me when I say it’s not the heat. It’s the humidity. I would visit in August and ask yourself if you can handle it.

[NoSuchPerson]

@Newberry

Interior Florida gets all the heat, and humidity, and none of the breeze.

And this is kind of a big deal. I now live on the Atlantic coast and have been surprised at what a difference those breezes can make. Our “local” TV stations are out of Orlando and it is routinely 2-4 degrees cooler here when it’s hot out. Riding under a covered arena with a nice breeze is unexpectedly pleasant even when it’s hot outside.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to downplay the &^%#$ summer heat and humidity. It’s miserable. But, for me personally, the advantages outweigh the negatives.

[4horses]

I can’t wait to leave Florida so I vote “no”.

I have one horse that developed sweet itch last spring and she’s miserable during the summers. Now that she has it, I doubt it will get any better. She tried to itch her ears off, despite wearing a fly mask with ears. Right now she’s doing okay wearing a fly sheet and mask 24/7.

Last summer was brutal. I had 3 episodes of colic all on the hottest day of the week when it was 105 degrees out. I really cut back on hay because they were sweating so much they would get dehydrated. So they got one flake in the morning with their grain and a big bucket of water dumped on their feed, then another flake of hay around 5 pm.

I am prone to heat stoke and heat exhaustion so summers are tough on me. I basically don’t do anything with the horses all summer or just ride for 20 minutes. I used to trail ride during the summers but as the humidity gets worse and temperatures get hotter, I don’t do that anymore either. One summer I went trail riding and had to gallop back and hose myself down because I was ready to pass out and this was maybe 9:30 am ?

Then last fall we had 2 major hurricanes and I was more then ready to just pack up and leave.

Florida was nice maybe 15-20 years ago. The traffic and development wasn’t bad and there was tons of riding and you could ride all day long.

[Annie10]

Amen. Now it’s all paved over and built on

[Demerara_Stables]

Fair. Not a distance I’d want to drive in one day but YMMV.

[ratatat]

This is all super helpful. We’d only stay there for around 2-3 years before heading north, where we’re both originally from.

I’m not super worried about Ponykins weathering the heat, just because we get such insane heat here already. 100+ degree weather is the norm for a good chunk of the year.

I’m not super thrilled about the politics, but it’s just as bad here and, hey, maybe two extra drops of blue in the bucket will help – ha!

[Foitin]

I have never been able to get from MCO to Ocala in under 1.30 minutes, and I’ve tried pretty hard and under duress many times. Most of the time with the traffic it is close to 2:20. Sucks.

[kenyarider]

I have 2 friends who live in Florida. One in Miami, she hates the people and the politics but her husband’s business is there. The other is a horse trainer up near Ocala - some little town. She loves it despite the heat, the bugs, and the humidity. I have no idea how much longer they will “love” it. They came from the SW so were used to dry heat and bugs. She moved for the show scene though she doesn’t do WEC or the other one. She does some local show circuit.