Pasadena area horse boarding

[tolts4fun]

My husband is considering a job opportunity in Pasadena, so I am trying to research the horse scene in the area. My apologies in advance if there is another thread on this. I didn’t find any information during a quick search, and the LA area is so big I don’t have any idea what cities are within commuting distance.

How are boarding opportunities advertised there? Are there options within a 45 minute drive? What is a typical price range? My guy is a teenage icelandic gelding that gets along with most other horses, and we love to trail ride. Thank you in advance for any answers, tips, or advice!

[LadyJ526]

Within a 45 minute drive your best bet would be to look in the Burbank, Glendale, Sunland, Sun Valley, Shadow Hills & Lake View Terrace areas. If trail riding is your thing, there’s a pretty strong trail riding community (IMO) in Sunland/Sun Valley/Shadow Hills. What kind of living situation is your horse in now? Most of what you’ll find is either 12x12 box stalls or 12x24 pipes. Most of the smaller facilities will feed hay, while LA Equestrian Center & Hansen Dam feed cubes. You can also check out the Whittier area. From what I understand there’s some trails along the San Gabriel River.

Here’s a few facilities to check out:
http://courtshipranch.com/
http://www.middleranch.com/site/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19&Itemid=31 check out North Ranch
http://whittiernarrowsstable.com/about/

[RMJacobs]

I suggest talking to someone in the area regarding riding along the San Gabriel River. I used to live in Pasadena (sorry, didn’t have a horse then, so no boarding info). I biked all over, and while I did ride along the river path, I was always told I was risking getting mugged or worse.

The only problem I ever experienced was, ironically, a horse kicking at me. I never had human troubles but sure heard that others did.

Things change over the years (I’ve been gone for a long time), so it might be great riding along the river, or not.

Rebecca

[atlatl]

You might have luck checking out the California HorseTrader

http://horsetrader.com

[findeight]

Look for smaller, private place in horsey “enclaves”, backyards along the foothills and “rivers”, not much water but small stables sandwiched along the banks. There’s a preserve behind the Whittier Narrows dam (mostly dry floodplain) that includes the San Gabriel and Rio Hondo Rivers. As recently as 5 years ago friends were trailering in to ride there and there are or were stables bordering it. It’s South San Gabriel, Whittier and on upstream to…ahhh…can’t remember. Now, they are NOT fancy places but adequate. The climate makes horse keeping quite a bit easier and you can get by with a pen and shelter and just trail access, maybe a small outdoor ring but I never even had that when I started, didn’t need it. They feed alfalfa out there mostly, horses in light work stay pretty fat and shiny on just that.

Try up around Glendale and in Burbank along that river as well as the Hansen Dam area, but that latter is a bit further. Prepare for sticker shock if you want a formal, fancier place. The area right around Pasadena and much of Glendale can be pretty pricey compared to the areas I mentioned. No sense paying up for things you don’t need in that climate for a pleasure horse. Some are landlocked too, no trails.

Theres a fabulous tack store in Baldwin Park, close to the Whittier Narrows area and several of those horsey enclaves. Broken Horn. Check their bulletin board for private and more basic boarding arrangements with trail access.

[22Almonds]

Altadena Stables and Rose Bowl Riders. Great trail riding in the Hahamogna Watershed Park. It also connects to trails in the La Canada Flintridge system.

[Bristol_Bay]

[QUOTE=22Almonds;8959742]
Altadena Stables and Rose Bowl Riders. Great trail riding in the Hahamogna Watershed Park. It also connects to trails in the La Canada Flintridge system.[/QUOTE]

Those would be your best bet. For more money there’s also Flintridge Riding Club. Rose Bowl Riders is a co-op and there’s a long waiting list to get a stall. There used to be an Icelandic horse training barn that was in Hansen Dam Equestrian Center. They aren’t there anymore, but that area might be a good fit as there are tons of trails. On the lower budget side, there’s Arroyo Seco Stables, which feeds hay but expect to do a lot of self care. They are mostly rail riders there.

[poltroon]

When I lived in Pasadena, I boarded at a couple of different places. San Pascual Stables is one of the most utterly convenient situations if it fits for you now:

http://www.sanpascualstables.net

There are trails along the Arroyo Seco, not the most extensive network but very fun to ride. I never felt unsafe though these trails are well used by not only horses but people, people with dogs, etc, so if you don’t like to share, you might find it annoying. The management has changed since I was there. I sure loved being 10 minutes from the barn, and the Arroyo area is very peaceful and lovely year round.

Other places I would suggest are Paddock Riding Club in the Los Feliz area: http://www.thepaddockla.net … they have access into the Griffith Park trail network.

LAEC itself is attached to the huge trail network of Griffith Park. It is not always the most satisfying for horse care, but I have a friend who has been there a while who has worked out a situation that makes her horse happy.

There are many barns in the Shadow Hills and Hansen Dam area. These will let you ride out to the dam area (it is a flood control dam, and there’s not really a lake, so you ride in the lake bed) or up Little Tujunga Canyon. The main Hansen Dam stable usually has room, and they have nice big 12x24 covered runs that can make for nice horsekeeping.

I rode out of this facility for a while, and it’s one that has drylots with multiple horses in it that might be a good fit for you: http://shadowhills-equestriancenter.com

Someone has already suggested the Horsetrader as a good source of info.

If your horse will tolerate being with other horses, and you want to trail ride, you might be able to find a small private situation that fits you well. Shadow Hills has quite a few properties that look like suburban subdivision that have little horse setups in the back. People like this with a slot would advertise in the Horsetrader usually.

The thing to know is that horsekeeping is expensive in the area and you want to compare barns on a complete services-you-need basis. That is, board often doesn’t include turnout, feeding grain, blanketing, or any storage for tack, trailers, or feed, and you may need to pay extra for those services. Some barns feed hay and some barns will only do so at extra charge or if you provide it and pay for space to store it. The larger barns have trainers as tenants so the barn management and the training/handling services are separate - you may find you need to affiliate with a trainer at some of them. Ask about hours too - barns that are located in the city limits often are obligated to be closed or at least dark at night.

All of the places I’ve listed would be within 30 minutes of most places in Pasadena proper (at least when I lived there, lol). If you get to the east end of Pasadena, the commute to these areas, which are all west, will get much worse.

Pasadena is a good place to live in an apartment, but house prices can get expensive fast. We bought a house in the south Glendale area, which was also a very good commute to all these places.

[tolts4fun]

Thank you all for the input! I had no idea there were so many realistic options close to the Pasadena area. I wasn’t excited about the possibility at first, but after looking into some of the barns, it seems like a wonderful place to keep a horse!

[poltroon]

[QUOTE=tolts4fun;8962064]
Thank you all for the input! I had no idea there were so many realistic options close to the Pasadena area. I wasn’t excited about the possibility at first, but after looking into some of the barns, it seems like a wonderful place to keep a horse![/QUOTE]

Wonderful is probably overstating the case, but it’s not without charms. Your horse will possibly see a blade of grass once or twice a year. Turnout can be difficult if your horse lives in a stall - typically you would pay to have someone turn out your horse for an hour a day. The Pasadena area gets quite hot in the summer. Farriers and vets are more expensive too. If you have to buy your own hay, price out what it will cost you, delivered and stored.

I assume your DH is getting a raise, but the extra costs of the area may actually leave you with less disposable income, so be aware.

I recommend visiting for a week or so, visiting some stables in person, trying the commutes at times you’d need to commute, etc, to get a sense of if it sounds fun to you. Small adjustments in your endpoints can change a commute from smooth to nightmare and vice versa, IME.

There’s a lot to like about the area - Pasadena is right at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains (now national monument) and there are lots of great trails and nature opportunities right at hand, as well as all the amenities of a city. I cross-trained for riding by walking to the ice skating rink on my lunch hour, and I frequently biked to work.

[MuddyHalter]

+1 to all of the above from Poltroon

I moved here from PA, and horsekeeping practices are vastly different. I much prefer horsekeeping on the East Coast, and look forward to moving back, preferably within the next five years. But horses do fine regardless of the lack of grass and turnout, and the weather is certainly conducive to year round riding. Depending on what you are accustomed to, moving to SoCal will likely be culture shock in every aspect - horsey and nonhorsey. Pasadena is indeed a fun city; very walkable and lots to do. Best of luck with your move!

[Miss_Motivation]

Look for boarding and equestrian options at www.socalequine.com too- site is quite comprehensive for boarding and so forth in the area.

Horsekeeping is quite different out here than in other areas of the midwest, but as MuddyHalter says, the horse adjust quite well… better than their owners in many cases!