Hi there!
I am contemplating a move to the Philly area and am having trouble finding a barn within commuting distance of the city. I don’t need a fancy show barn, I am more invested in good, clean, safe facilities and great care. My horse is older and has some special needs (dietary, turnout etc.) Can even be a small private barn - no fancy trainer/showing needed.
Anyone have any suggestions?
PS sorry if this is a repeat post - all those that I could find were very outdated!
What does “commuting distance of the city” mean to you and would you cross the bridge. The only non-terrifying places within a 45 minute drive of the city (and I mean really a 45 minute drive, including traffic) that I know of are in NJ.
Yeah, and if you find one in PA, let me know.
There are a fair number of nice, small private barns in the Bucks County PA area, usually a solid hour’s commute to Philly. So, that may or may not be acceptable to you.
If it is, there’s a Facebook group - “Bucks County Equestrian” or something similar - I recommend joining and asking there.
From Philly, you are looking at at least 45 mins to an hour to get to any boarding facility, really. It all depends which direction you want to go as to where you should look.
If you plan to live in the city, or in the western burbs, you could try Ashford Farm: http://www.ashfordfarm.com/
They used to offer boarding back in the day, but I am not sure now. It is in Miquon, just shy of Conshohocken, and is about as close to the city as you will get to the west.
I lived in Newtown, Bucks County, in the 80s and at the time it was a 45 minute commute to Phila. I’m sure things have changed for the worse 
That being said, Bucks County Saddlery may have some suggestions for small private barns in the Newtown or Wrightstown PA area. If you could find something not too far off I-95, even over the river in Hunterdon County, it might be “doable.”
Where are you planning to live? It is my understanding that there are more public transportation options to Phila. from farther out than there used to be. My sister says there is now a train to Doylestown. If you don’t have to live in the actual city, that would make the middle / upper Bucks County area doable.
The only really close area are parts of South Jersey (Burlington and Camden Counties). There are great places in Bucks County but I don’t realistically see them being under an hour drive unless you go at random times. I don’t think Ashford Farm boards but I could be wrong. I think with traffic that’s still going to be an hour or so drive. Mt. Laurel is about 30 minutes from Rittenhouse area and that’s where I ended up but I know some people don’t want to cross the bridge
Random…
I MISS PA!!
I agree with S. Jersey. I found a great place several years ago by contacting the leader of the local pony club.
Thanks everyone! My understanding is (and could be totally off) that I could live a bit outside the city - an easy 20-30 min commute by public transportation and then be closer to some areas with barns. For me I would be looking either outside the city in PA or living and commuting from south jersey. Does anyone have experience with this and think it’s doable? Or have recommendations for places to look in south jersey?
Thanks for your help!
20-30 minutes by mass transit in PA?! I assume that means regional rail. If it’s the main line, be prepared for sticker shock. If it’s other directions, I don’t know them as well but I suspect that time estimate is low and you may have to commute longer.
Will post some NJ suggestions when I am not on an iPhone
Legacy Farm LLC in Lansdale is great. They take excellent care of their horses and have excellent trainers as well
I live in Coatesville, PA and worked at HUP (hospital of the university of Pa) at 34th and spruce. I would take Septa (the old R5) and the train ride was about 45 mins door to door. I don’t know where in the city you will be working, but Septa is really pretty good and reliable. If you are able to go outside the city limits and look at living in the suburbs, you will have a lot of great choices. I live in CHESTER county and there are lots of choices here. You just have to decide if you can handle the daily commute. ??
I live and board in the Mt. Laurel area of South Jersey. If you lived along the PATCO line (Haddonfield, Collingswood, Cherry Hill) you could be a 15 minute high speed train ride into the city and 20-30 minutes from barns. There are some smaller, non-show barns sprinkled throughout Burlington and Camden Counties. They are more in Glouchester but that’s a further drive. I’m at Ev-Ry Farm in Mt. Laurel and I am very happy there. There are two barns, one is a show barn and the other is not. I don’t know the details for boarding at the non-show barn but it’s something you could ask about. Other barns in this general vicinity (and note I am not necessarily vouching or not vouching for them-- just naming them) are Fox Hunt, Tustin, Chesterfield (this may have changed names), Suddenly, Horse Power Meadows, Woodhaven, and Bit-o-Woods. Lots of smaller, more backyard places too that I don’t know the name of. Suffice to say, there’s a fair amount out this way while still being “close” to the city. I don’t spend more than 40 minutes commuting on an average day and if I lived equidistant between Mt. Laurel and the city it would be 20 minutes to the city and 20 minutes to the barn.
I have been in the greater Philadelphia area for years now. I tried the Philly to Malvern commute to ride. NO WAY NEVER AGAIN. My blood pressure can’t handle that. I explored Bucks County and while it would have been decidedly less hellish, it really wasn’t THAT close, at least not anything I found. NJ was an easy “yes” once I discovered it. You can be close to the city and close to barns without spending an hour and a half in gridlock each day. There might be other options in PA along the regional rail lines other than the Main Line, but there weren’t really any that I found that made sense financially/distance-wise when I looked.
People who don’t live in Philly or ever commute there will tell you nutty things about how easy/fast the commute is. They will just straight up be delusional about it. It’s a way of life here. Until you’ve done it, you cannot understand the hell. Some people make it work. GOD BLESS THEM but I could not do an hour and a half from Philly going 20 miles on 76. I just could.not.do.it. I am VERY happy in NJ. Maybe I drive a little further for shows (not really any more, but at first) but otherwise I have everything I need horse-wise right by me.
PLUS we have the Costco and a Wegmans. Great school districts. Freedom Barks (if you have dogs). There are actually still FARMS here. Mt. Laurel is awesome.
Oh and I’ve never ever heard of many of these, but here you go…
https://www.newhorse.com/page/horseboarding/b.510.g.10183.html?page=1
Thank you SO much for taking the time to reply and lay all that out. I was thinking living in South Jersey might be the answer but just on google maps directions I couldn’t find any sort of public transportation that seemed reasonable for the distance it was traveling! It was saying something like a hour! So having the details of the PATCO line is super helpful. I will definitely look into all these options.
Thanks again! You definitely relieved some of my anxiety about it being totally impossible!
I live in Chester county and commuted to Center City for 10+ years on the R5. I commuted from Downingtown, which is less than an hour on the express trains. For me, it worked because I could get a lot of work done on the train (especially once they instituted a quiet car). So the hour-ish commute was not a waste of time.
I live in Unionville, which is horse mecca, especially if you compete or fox hunt. You can find some decent boarding prices at some of the smaller places if you get lucky. Where I board my retired horse is $300 for field board and $600 full, with a nice outdoor, an indoor next door, and lots of trails. But they are full.
My trainer is in Mullica Hill, NJ, which is about 30 min from Philly. It’s pretty rural there, so I don’t know where the closest train line would be.
Good luck! I know one other place in Woodstown, NJ, if you are interested send me a PM.
Mullica Hill is a gorgeous area but not really near PATCO. Parts are very close to the turnpike. When I commuted Collingswood to Keneva it took about 45 minutes or so. For no explicable reason 55 to 42 is a nightmare. That’s what makes it take over half an hour. Add on to that from Philly. Love Glouchester County but I would stick closer to PATCO personally
I was living in Center City for school about 10 years ago. I boarded at Churchville Farms in Bucks County. It was a little homely, but the care was good. No idea whether it is still there, or what kind of shape its in - but I made the drive in about 35 minutes (admittedly outside rush hour).
[QUOTE=vxf111;8603636]
Mullica Hill is a gorgeous area but not really near PATCO. Parts are very close to the turnpike. When I commuted Collingswood to Keneva it took about 45 minutes or so. For no explicable reason 55 to 42 is a nightmare. That’s what makes it take over half an hour. Add on to that from Philly. Love Glouchester County but I would stick closer to PATCO personally[/QUOTE]
Yeah, that’s what I figured. I agree, I am a train girl myself. One of my employees lives in S Jersey and has to take the BF to work everyday (we are now in Malvern). What a nightmare!
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