Seeking your opinions/anecdotes

[salary2vetbills]

Greetings and salutations, COTHers! Apologies if I’m posting in the wrong forum for my BB debut (longtime lurker, kind of clueless poster).

I know there are a lot of smart, experienced folks here with close ties throughout the local horse scene. And so here I am, hat in hand, humbly asking for any and all opinions on my shortlist of boarding barns in/adjacent to the N Shore:

In no particular order:

-Chrislar Farm, owley
-Cutter Farm, Dracut
-Cedarwood Farm, Ipswich
-Plum Grove Equestrian Center, Groveland
-Rosebrook Farm, Georgetown
-Outback Stables, Hamilton

For context: Thanks to some good fortune in my personal and professional lives, I am finally in a position to move my heart mare and her pea-brained but beloved little brother (the ne’er-do-well inspiration for my screen name) to a barn with all the proverbial “bells and whistles.” I say that meaning no disrespect whatsoever to my current barn, a small backyard operation with a really wonderful BM; I’ve just dreamed for a long time of having my horses really close by (I’m on the N Shore, they’re ~2 hours away with traffic) and in a place where they won’t want for any creature comfort as they get up there in years. My mare in particular has gone through/gotten me through a lot, and it would be the best thing ever to spoil her in her dotage. (Her brother would also love to be in a larger facility with lots of new admirers to watch him swanning around…in between his ever-more-creative suicide attempts, of course.)

The professional good fortune that makes this move possible is also going to ensure that I won’t have time to think about my own riding aspirations for a good long while, so the quality of lesson/training programs isn’t really a deciding factor. In a nutshell, what it comes down to is: if you had to choose one of these places…based entirely on what you’ve heard/experienced about the overall caliber of care (not just lovely facilities, but attentive, personalized care and kindness shown to every horse, whether A-circuit star or swaybacked old retiree)…which would it be?

On the flip side, I suppose it’s prudent to ask the less fun question, which is: do you have any cautionary tales involving any of these barns (e.g., not-so-nice/not-so-sane people lurking among management and/or fellow boarders)? I would also really appreciate hearing about those, if you can shoot me a private message. And I’ll of course keep anything that is shared 100% confidential.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for your help!

~Sally

[Jumper_Princess1988]

Cindi has a lovely barn and the horses are always in great condition. I know people who board at Cutter and they rave about the quality care there.

My guy was on the wait list for Cedarwood before we decided to move out of state - gorgeous fields and the indoor is spectacular. They’ve had some personel changes since I was looking at it, but I haven’t heard anything bad about the changes (and you generally hear things if care at one barn or another has gone down hill!).

I have a few friends currently at Outback - facility is a little tired but the care is exceptional! They’re very happy there and their horses are, too. Send me a PM if you want and I can put you in touch with them.

Good luck with your move - it’s a gorgeous area!!! I’m counting down the days till we move back!

[dotneko]

What kind of riding do you do? Rosebrook is a lovely facility. Cindi does go to FL for the winter with some trips back north for lessons. I am not sure about their turnout. Drawback is their arena is fabric. Dressage.
Cutter isn’t going to save you a lot in travel. Mostly eventers. Don’t know if the indoor has jumps all the time or not.
Don’t really know about the others. Only in name.

[Jumper_Princess1988]

Cindi has a lovely barn and the horses are always in great condition. I know people who board at Cutter and they rave about the quality care there.

My guy was on the wait list for Cedarwood before we decided to move out of state - gorgeous fields and the indoor is spectacular. They’ve had some personel changes since I was looking at it, but I haven’t heard anything bad about the changes (and you generally hear things if care at one barn or another has gone down hill!).

I have a few friends currently at Outback - facility is a little tired but the care is exceptional! They’re very happy there and their horses are, too. Send me a PM if you want and I can put you in touch with them.

[Frog_Pond]

If you’re looking to make your horse’s happy, I think Cedarwood is a special spot. Experienced manager, peaceful facility, plenty of turnout – these are hard things to find in this area, for any price.

Can’t speak to the detailed level-of-care questions you have about the other spots – have been to a few, but only briefly. Chrislar produces very slick, cheerful looking show horses – I’m sure they can manage any sort of supplement/blanketing/haynet problems tossed their way, if that’s your thing :). Good luck shopping around.

[salary2vetbills]

Thank you everybody for your responses. (Thanks too to @Jumper_Princess1988 for the PM, sorry you had to go through that but appreciate the info very much!)

@Frog Pond, you hit the nail on the head: when it comes down to it, this move is about making my darling knuckleheads happy in their retirement. (Dressage is my discipline of choice but if I’m being realistic, the same great job opportunity that allows me to afford a big upgrade in boarding facility is also going to keep me running around like a madwoman for a good long while. I’ll be pretty pleased if I can eventually carve out time for a weekly lesson, and like I said, I’m so out of practice that the best lesson mount for the foreseeable future is a nice calm schoolie.)

I’ll be sure to update you on the results of the Great Barn Search '17. Thanks again, such a nice group of people here!:applause:

[amb]

Cutter is far enough from the rest that I’m kinda surprised it’s on the list. It’s pretty big and busy, too; I wouldn’t exactly call it an ideal semi-retirement home. No hidden surprises, though, so if it works for you go for it, it just seems like the oddball on the list.

I’d had Chrislar pegged as more of a saddleseat place but the web site looks much more general. I’ve heard good things about their standard of care though.

I would have thought Wander’s Way in Ipswich would tick all of your boxes pretty well. If you didn’t look at it (and your short list isn’t already too long!) you might want to.

[Ladylexie]

@salary2vetbills

Greetings and salutations, COTHers! Apologies if I’m posting in the wrong forum for my BB debut (longtime lurker, kind of clueless poster).

I know there are a lot of smart, experienced Mass. folks here with close ties throughout the local horse scene. And so here I am, hat in hand, humbly asking for any and all opinions on my shortlist of boarding barns in/adjacent to the North Shore:

In no particular order:

-Chrislar Farm, Rowley
-Cutter Farm, Dracut
-Cedarwood Farm, Ipswich
-Plum Grove Equestrian Center, Groveland
-Rosebrook Farm, Georgetown
-Outback Stables, Hamilton

For context: Thanks to some good fortune in my personal and professional lives, I am finally in a position to move my heart mare and her pea-brained but beloved little brother (the ne’er-do-well inspiration for my screen name) to a barn with all the proverbial “bells and whistles.” I say that meaning no disrespect whatsoever to my current barn, a small backyard operation with a really wonderful BM; I’ve just dreamed for a long time of having my horses really close by (I’m on the North Shore, they’re ~2 hours away with traffic) and in a place where they won’t want for any creature comfort as they get up there in years. My mare in particular has gone through/gotten me through a lot, and it would be the best thing ever to spoil her in her dotage. (Her brother would also love to be in a larger facility with lots of new admirers to watch him swanning around…in between his ever-more-creative suicide attempts, of course.)

The professional good fortune that makes this move possible is also going to ensure that I won’t have time to think about my own riding aspirations for a good long while, so the quality of lesson/training programs isn’t really a deciding factor. In a nutshell, what it comes down to is: if you had to choose one of these places…based entirely on what you’ve heard/experienced about the overall caliber of care (not just lovely facilities, but attentive, personalized care and kindness shown to every horse, whether A-circuit star or swaybacked old retiree)…which would it be?

On the flip side, I suppose it’s prudent to ask the less fun question, which is: do you have any cautionary tales involving any of these barns (e.g., not-so-nice/not-so-sane people lurking among management and/or fellow boarders)? I would also really appreciate hearing about those, if you can shoot me a private message. And I’ll of course keep anything that is shared 100% confidential.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for your help!

~Sally

The only one I can give real feedback on is Chrislar farm. Chris cassenti who owns that barn I highly suggest.