Speak to me of New Mexico

[Real_Rush]

For several different reasons, I’ve seriously begun considering leaving the current state I live in. Since my job can be done remotely full time, that is not a limiting factor. After weighing different pros and cons, I’ve decided on New Mexico. I know the terrain varies across the state from rough desert up to mountains, but I really don’t have much of an idea which greater metro areas are better suited to the equestrian lifestyle. Here are my preferences for a new farm (and ETA that these are in no specific order):

– someplace that will have grass at least from late spring/early summer into the fall

– somewhere moderately temperate. Being a born Southerner, I can deal with heat up into the 90’s at least part of the time (especially since it will be less humid in NM), but I also don’t want to be in an area where it’s below freezing most of the winter and lots of snow.

– access to equine vets (preferably) within an hour drive.

– I’d definitely prefer more suburban/ bordering on rural. I want my space and privacy, but would probably get twitchy if I didn’t have access to “civilization” within a reasonable drive’s time.

– all I’m looking for is ~15-20 acres with a decent ranch house. Certainly nothing ritzy or expensive. I’d be very happy just having a 2-3 bedroom home with a 4 or 5 stall barn, but am not especially keen on a manufactured home.

So anyone that knows New Mexico pretty well, please let me know your thoughts. I’m definitely not in a rush, and have planned on approx. a 2-year time frame before I move. I definitely want to actually visit (planning on a trip this fall) and see places for myself, but I’m just not sure which urban city is a good place to start looking in the vicinity of. Google can only help so much, I’d really value personal experiences and opinion. Thanks much in advance!

[OnAMission]

I love NM and spent my childhood there but put the idea of grass way down on the priority list. There are places it can be found but focus on the other things instead to get a real read on it, IMO. I’ve had family in Santa Fe, Alb, and Silver City and grass was never on the agenda except as a bonus during the monsoons. Hopefully there is someone here that can disprove me b/c otherwise NM is gorgeous, its own culture and a great place. ETA Las Cruses might be your zone

[rockymouse]

There is better grassland up around Reserve, NM, but this is quite remote. The closest sizable town is a couple hours away, Silver City, which probably has not much of a horse scene.

NM is a wonderful place in many ways. You’re going to need to temper your grass expectations. Rainfall typically happens in the monsoons of July, August and September. There’s very little rain outside that period. Good thing that horses do great on coastal and a bit of alfalfa.

[fivestrideline]

Disclaimer: I haven’t lived there in ages, and wasn’t into horses like I am now.

Grass really isn’t a thing, at least not for long enough to matter. So I’d take that entirely off your list if you want to stay sane while looking. Plan to buy shipped in hay year round.

If you’re planning on working remote, that’s going to limit you drastically- actually enough that I’d be shopping for internet access FIRST and everything else after. Once you get outside of the metro areas and “big” cities, things get spotty FAST. Hopefully you don’t need extremely high speed internet (how much time do you spend on video calls or other high demand services?). I wouldn’t depend on cell service either - check and double check you’ll actually have service anywhere you look. This is true for just about anywhere “out west”, so hopefully not a surprise.

Vets were not as available as they are here on the east coast, and they tended to be the “cow vet” as we call them. So if you’re like me and have a hothouse flower, find the vet school or other big clinic and set a radius. That probably will put you close to human amenities as well.

All of this to say - are you currently in a horse hub? Have you had horses in a more “remote” location? If it’s yes and no, I think you may be in for quite a different experience than you’re used to. NM is beautiful, and horses do well in arid climates, but it’s certainly not the same as being on the east coast.

Hopefully someone with more current info can chime in with suggestions or prove me entirely wrong!

[rockymouse]

Las Cruces is a neat college town, and the nearby village of Mesillas has beautiful territorial architecture, and a super cool village center, if you’re into that sort of thing. For a dose of big city, El Paso is just down the road, about 40 minutes away.

Agree with @fivestrideline that vets may generally be of the colic/abscess/shots variety. That said, I have hauled to Dr. Jensen equine hospital in Santa Teresa, NM, right on the TX/NM line and literally across the street from the Sunland Park racetrack. Excellent practice, super smart guy and equally smart staff, efficient and in high demand - and he’s a chiro.

[Real_Rush]

Thank you @OnAMission, @rockymouse and @fivestrideline for your thoughtful replies. I sincerely appreciate them! I should have prefaced in my original posting (and have since edited to add) that the list of preferences were in no particular order. I just typed as thoughts occurred to me. So suffice to say, it definitely looks like I should take the grass requirement off there entirely.

I currently reside on the outskirts of a horse hub that is approx 50 miles outside of the state capital. While I’m pretty self-sufficient with most horse things, I confess I have almost always had an equine vet relatively nearby to fall back on, in case something major happens or is beyond my knowledge base.

VERY good point about reliable internet access. That is something I absolutely must have for work. I know and expect conveniences to not be as readily available in NM, but sounds like things might be just a tad bit more sparse than I had originally thought.

All in all, you guys have given me some good food for thought. But I am certainly not deterred. Every picture I’ve seen proves that it’s an incredibly beautiful state, and I’m eagerly looking forward to visiting in person this fall. Please keep any advice/suggestions coming!

[js]

Born and raised in NM, left but moved back a few years ago, we are in Alamogordo but I grew up near Santa Fe. We do have an equine clinic in our area, however, the vet services several large TB breeding farms and isn’t always available. Hay for us is expensive, it was $28 a bale (3 strand) but has come down to $26. You can buy it out of the field much cheaper when you can find it. This area is not the beautiful part of NM you are likely think of; it’s desert, lots of mesquite and not much else. As I type it’s 111 degress outside it’s been above 100 for a couple weeks now. Our property is mostly dry lot for the horses, when it’s this hot, nothing stays green. I don’t recommend this particular area for many reasons, medical is substandard, dinning out is poor, shopping even worse.

Las Cruces is nice, they do have a mobile equine vet but the nearest vet hospital is closer to El Paso. You will be hard pressed to find 5 acres ready for horses. Las Cruces also have pet restrictions, no more than 5 per household and an acre per horse. ABQ while a better choice for many things, is high in crime, if that is a concern for you. My sister and BIL live in Santa Fe, he says it’s getting hard to find large animal vets and farriers, median house price is $600,000.

To be honest, if we had a do over, we would not have moved back here.

What is your budget? Have you looked at properties here with acreage that is set up for horses? It’s going to be hard to find and if you do might be very expensive? Real estate (relatively speaking) can be high.

[Cowboy_Girl]

For your criteria certain parts of Arizona or southern Colorado might be a good option to look at.
And in the southwest there is no such thing as a “reasonable drive time” of the sort you are used to. Access to a good people vet in less than 1 and half can be an issue.

[Risuena]

You might want to research the area known as the “East Mountains” outside of Albuquerque. Some towns in that area for reference are Tijeras, Cedar Crest, and Edgewood. Fairly horsey area and not too far from the city.