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

[equest]

OP might consider the Dade City area. It’s beautiful rolling hills about 45 minutes north of Tampa. There are a few trainers around there to lesson with, and Ocala show grounds will be approximately 45 minutes away.

To echo what others have said, Florida presents special concerns and challenges for horse management that you won’t have in other areas. One of my horses is a “slow sweater” when it gets super humid so he gets a supplement which helps. Another one has sensitive skin that I am constantly treating for rain rot when it’s rainy or humid (which is at least 60 percent of the time LOL). Just keep these things in mind as you visit the area.

[BostonHJ]

I am originally from Florida and still have some contacts down there. The insurance situation is a real and evolving problem. You’re going to need a wind and a flood premium in most Ocala or Wellington area locations. Both are already expensive and both are rising exponentially year over year. If you actually do incur storm damage, expect a fight to get payment from them - the wind insurance company will claim it is actually flood damage and vice versa. Rebuilding after a storm is a slow process as everyone in your area will be doing the same thing. I know neither location has had a direct hit in a long time, but… a friend in Tampa is basically starting over after her property got hit twice in August.

To echo other people’s comments, the humidity, the sand and the bugs make it very hard on horses’ skin. It is a lovely place to be in the winter, but clearly my user name shows I picked having winter over summer year round The summers down there have gotten increasingly hot and unbearable. My brother is a hardcore Floridian and even he has said July-September are no longer suitable for anything outside - and he’s a golfer and a boater. I think horses would pick a New England winter over a Florida summer.

The gulf gets super warm in the summer so it’s the functional equivalent of taking a nice hot outdoor bath on a humid/hot/sunny day. This also means the breeze coming in isn’t cooling much.

[NoSuchPerson]

I have moved around a lot in my life. Pretty much every place I have lived had people who loved it - for very valid reasons - and who hated it - for very valid reasons. The important thing seems to be whether or not the area feels like “your place,” or, as someone in another thread once said, whether or not you “feel the vibe.”

Another thing to remember is that Florida has very distinct regions. There is a meme that I see periodically that has a photo of the beach with the caption, “Oh, you live in Florida?” and a photo of the woods of north Florida with the caption, “No, I live in Florida.” In this thread, some people have shared their personal experiences from where they live in Florida that do not really match my experiences living in a different part of Florida.

[Annie10]

What supplements are you using? I have a six-year-old that’s going to be starting season three of not sweating and I’m running out of options. I’m hearing vodka supposed to be the latest greatest best thing but I’m willing to try anything at this point.

[ratatat]

I don’t live in the mountains. Candidly, I live in Texas. We have the snakes and the spiders and United Healthcare isn’t accepted by most medical facilities.

We’re def not looking at buying a house – thinking this would be something for 2-3 years before going back north to family.

[NoSuchPerson]

I spent 3 years living right on the Mexican border in South Texas. People are always saying, “But it’s a dry heat,” as a way of trying to make it seem less unpleasant, but when you’re getting off work at midnight and the temperature is still over 100 degrees, all that “but it’s a dry heat” business is nonsense. IMO.

[equest]

I have always used One AC with decent success. I have also heard good things about Pro Sweat. The key for any sweat supplement is to start way before the heat and humidity creeps up. So I start in April.

[DMK]

Well, there’s a bigger chance they will, because, science… The latest hurricane modeling is showing that these super storms are way more likely to happen in the Gulf vs the Atlantic because the rate of warming in the Gulf is much more severe. Eventually the Atlantic will catch up and these storms are such monsters it is a distinction without a difference… But I imagine it may have some short term impact on insurance rates, although that might be down to a rounding error after the next rate hikes hit.

[ratatat]

No because when it’s been above 100 for 90+ days, it doesn’t cool down at night, and you haven’t seen a cloud in what feels like years the whole dry heat thing doesn’t do a whole lot!!

[NoSuchPerson]

@ratatat

you haven’t seen a cloud in what feels like years

A guy I worked with down there used to joke about praying every day that there would be a cloud, even just one cloud, to block out the sun for even just one minute.

[skydy]

@DMK

Well, there’s a bigger chance they will, because, science… The latest hurricane modeling is showing that these super storms are way more likely to happen in the Gulf vs the Atlantic because the rate of warming in the Gulf is much more severe. Eventually the Atlantic will catch up and these storms are such monsters it is a distinction without a difference… But I imagine it may have some short term impact on insurance rates, although that might be down to a rounding error after the next rate hikes hit.

It’s very true that the Gulf Coast of Florida is not a great place to be, hurricane-wise. The Gulf of Mexico is very warm and the rapid intensification of hurricanes in the Gulf is an issue that has NOAA scientists very concerned.

[Demerara_Stables]

@DMK

The latest hurricane modeling is showing that these super storms are way more likely to happen in the Gulf vs the Atlantic because the rate of warming in the Gulf is much more severe.

I’m not talking about during hurricanes, I’m talking about the other 98% of the year.

[kenyarider]

Well if your house is blown away or floats away, you are going to spend the other 98 percent rebuilding assuming FEMA is still around. :).

[Annie10]

FEMA doesn’t give you jack if you have insurance. Anyway, this discussion already took place on another thread…

Another consideration on the gulf coast is the bacteria in the water and the red tide. The Firt Myers beach area has been awful since Hurricane Ian is still nasty although they say it’s better. The huge amount of fertilizer runoff in the area doesn’t help the bay and canals either. No way would I swim in it.
And the bay around Sarasota had huge amounts of run off and overflowed sewage systems leaching bacteria into it .
You can easily google that there have been many articles about it .

[Demerara_Stables]

I was born and raised on the Gulf Coast and the majority of my large family has lived there for 50+ years and none of my family or friends has had so much as a flooded house or severe roof/house damage.

I’m not saying it doesn’t happen because we all saw the pictures from last year, but if you build inland and not in a flood plain, the damage is much less than the media wants you to believe.

[Annie10]

As many have stated in the last several years, really starting with Ian, it has changed. My mom lives more inland, in South Fort Myers. She had never had flooding or major damage where she is, and they built in 1977. During Ian the majority of her neighborhood had water in their homes. My mom’s was right up to the house, but not in and the saving grace was they had extra fill out in when the house was built so it’s just a tad higher than the others. Her house and the ones on either side had no water in the house but nearly all the others did. So definitely investigate carefully anywhere you plan to settle. As they are building and paving more, more and more drainage areas are going away and the effects are showing

[Demerara_Stables]

@Annie10

As they are building and paving mire, more and more drainage areas are going away and the effects are showing

Totally agree with that. I’m now in an area where it’s near impossible to build (slowest planning commission in the state of CA), so sometimes I look at FL and think it must be nice to build so quickly/easily, but there are pros and cons to each process.

[equest]

Very true. Many inland / farm areas flooded after Milton that were not previously expected to.

[BAC]

@clanter

the primary reason for leaving Kentucky was the winters of the late 1970s, we had 60 inches of snow on the ground with temps in the minus 20s … after the second year of that then add in the summer heat/humidity it made leaving pretty easy.

I grew up there, just outside of Louisville in thoroughbred and saddle horse country

The summer heat in north Texas can be dealt with since the humidity rarely is above 20%, often falls into the single digits.

Florida never appealed to me, I did work for a company based in Tallahassee for a short time. really did not like the area

I had no idea KY weather was so awful, the only times I have been there was for what was then the Rolex KY three day event in April and always had great weather. A friend moved there from NY and has a lovely farm, the pictures of rolling emerald green pastures is so appealing, I’m so disappointed.

[NoSuchPerson]

@BAC

I had no idea KY weather was so awful, the only times I have been there was for what was then the Rolex KY three day event in April and always had great weather.

I’ve lived in the Lexington area twice over the years and I still have family there. Too hot in the summer, too cold in the winter, and in my experience, both Rolex in April and the Kentucky Derby in May have awful weather more often than not.

But it’s still a beautiful area with many reasons to visit or live there.