My husband and I continue to mull a potential relocation to the West when we retire. We currently live in GA. We love Oregon but the cost of living (housing) is quite high. WA State is maybe a bit better. Would prefer not to wind up too cold and wet. Colorado has a better cost of living, but reading up, is there any where in CO that grows decent grass besides out on the prairie? Looks like some of the valley’s might have potential like, I don’t know, Rye? Would prefer not to live in arid area like Grand Junction or Pueblo. Not wanting anything big; maybe 5 acres - 2 horses. Thanks.
If you don’t like cold, Colorado can get very cold.
Even if it is a dry cold, it can get bone chilling cold some winter days.
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When I lived in Colorado and had horses (25 years living there, 15 years with horses) we had to feed hay year round. The cost of housing became very high toward the end, so much so that I had to move someplace cheaper after I retired. I lived 20 miles southeast of Denver. I still miss it a lot.
If you don’t live along the Front Range, housing cost is a lot lower. And irrigation makes a huge difference on growing grass.
Rebecca
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Good grass is really hard to come by out here. If you want grass you need to have irrigated pastures and rotational grazing.
The hardest thing I find about horse keeping out here is that the temperature changes so quickly and so dramatically. Around 6 weeks ago while it was still technically summer we had a sunny 95 degree weekend and then we woke up to 3 inches of snow Monday morning. I’m constantly throwing blankets on and off. It’s rare that I’ll throw them on and they stay on for more than 12 hours. It’ll be freezing cold at night and then sunny by 8 am the next morning.
The forest fires are another thing that make having horses out here hard. There were several entire weeks this summer that the air quality just sucked so bad that it wouldn’t have been healthy to ride.
Also idk if you’re into trail riding but there are plenty of trails in the mountains but they’re a lot harder than the East coat. They’re called the “rocky” mountains for a reason and it’s mostly up then down and not a lot of flat.
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If you want to ride consistently you MUST have an indoor. Preferably heated. It’s pretty windy most places year around. Summers are very nice with low humidity and cool nights. Boarding a horse is very expensive as lots of hay has to be fed. Little to no grass. There are also not many great boarding places. We moved here as we love the state but it’s not a great state for riding or showing.
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As you can see by the responses, Colorado has issues with keeping horses. I have family in the foothills above Boulder who have horses, but they are very wealthy, and everything told to you above is what they would have told you. How about OK or KA?
I don’t know if she post here any longer but Kings Ransom moved to the Front Range of Colorado a few years back and she loves it. She has acreage for her horses which helps. I’m not sure what her hay arrangement is now but early on she had a hay producer from Kansas bring her hay. She doesn’t show her horses, I think she might trail ride for fun. Anyway, she would be a wealth of current information on a move to Colorado.
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Right, @King’s Ransom lives by Colorado Springs, I think.
Everyone loves Colorado, is a beautiful state and has many plusses.
I have friends that grew up in Colorado Springs and also love their state, but being horse trainers, life just this bit further South and out of the mountains is way better for horses and training horses than in most of Colorado.
If moving to Colorado for the beauty, the OP will be happy.
For horse life, that will depend how much the OP wants to adapt to wherever she decides to move to, what is there to do, because it will be hard to find other, the distances to travel so large, the mountains not so easy to travel around in.
As for the OP’s not wanting it cold, well, Colorado will be very cold at times, is the nature of those places, those mountains, why my friends like it better here, where we are also cold, but not quite as bone chilling cold as Colorado can be at times.
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I was speaking a couple weeks ago with an acquaintance who moved to Colorado for the horse life but could not tolerate the culture otherwise. She moved back to New England. Just be aware of what you’re comfortable with in terms of the role of religion, your political leanings, how easy you find it to make friends, what level of horse care/dog care you are comfortable with, etc.
While I would agree with this statement, depending on what type of ‘culture’ you are looking for, you can find it in CO but it may dictate where you choose to live.
Places that can/do grow hay are not necessarily in the banana belt. I used to feed my horses grass hay grown in CO, but in the mountain valleys and those are not warm in the winter. They are also often not that easily accessible if you’re looking for any of the amenities of ‘big city’ life including airports 
I lived on the north side of the Springs for over 30 years and miss living there to this day. But, where I am, snow is an alien concept :lol:
I’ve lived along the Front Range (from Boulder to Loveland) for 30 years now and had horses the entire time, but just the last 8 years had them at home.
Winters are generally mild. We do get cold and some snow ( last year we got a total of 6” at my house - 5,130 ft elevation). Higher elevations get more snow and colder overnight temps. Temperates and snow vary greatly along the Front Range. The Denver metro-area and South to the Castle Rock area always get more precipitation, both rain and snow, than the northern Front Range.
Rye, CO. This area could work if… you prefer conservative politics; like really hot and dry desert-like summers; having to drive to Pueblo for major services; have an
understanding of what Pueblo is like; don’t want any grass pasture. I would suspect it’s an affordable area.
Boulder county has a robust system of irrigation ditches, so if you bought horse property with shares of water, you have a chance of having grass pastures. BUT, having shares and irrigation rights does not mean you will get water. It’s a long, complex story. Boulder county is very expensive. Rough estimate for a 5 acre horse property, $1.7M+++.
Eastern CO (Weld county) also has irrigation for crops and hay fields. But in my opinion, Weld county is even more conservative than the Rye area. Much cheaper, maybe 1/3 of what you would pay in Boulder county. Excellent hay production. I get my hay east of Eaton and it’s an 80/20 mix of Timothy/Orchard and alfalfa for which I pay $10 per bale.
CO can get very windy, especially in the Spring and Fall.
Northern Front Range: If you don’t mind giving your horses 2-3 weeks off each winter, there is no need for an indoor. Mountains and S Colorado is a different story. Rough estimate for 5 acre horse property in my area $750K+. For the most part, no green pasture, just dry lot.
In general, CO is hot, dry and windy. It is classified as a semi-arid climate, but the longer I’ve lived here the hotter and drier it has become. And while the wildfires are not yet as prevalent as CA, there are several major fires here every year. This year is really bad in NoCo. We’ve had weeks of poor air quality, heavy smoke, ash, and that awful smell.
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Thank you for all of the responses. Very helpful. I’m just trail riding these days. We are more progressive politically and obviously the deep South is not that.
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I would not say it is about being more or less “progressive” what will make someone happy in any place, but that they are “progressive” or “conservative” doesn’t rule how they interact with others in a free world, free to be as each one is, everyone different, and understand that is ok.
I live in the middle of the Bible Belt, but happen to be in an area where people mind their own private lives and don’t try to run those of others, more a live and let live attitude.
Only a few are the more in your face types, on both extremes and most every one else kind of shut down and change topics when those want to go there.
Intransigence doesn’t has a home in any one group as much as is dependent on the individuals involved when it happens.
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If you would consider yourself ‘progressive’ then the Denver/Boulder/Ft Collins area would probably suit what you’re looking for from a cultural perspective.
Co Springs and the more rural areas (mountains, plains out east) will lean more conservative. If you can ‘tolerate’ living in an area where people may not necessarily see your POV, you’ll be ok. If you need to be around others that share your POV, then be a bit more picky about where you live.
I would agree that living in an area (regardless of location) where others don’t necessarily share your POV can be stressful at times (not just in CO ).
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We don’t have to live where our politics are aligned as like most things, including demographics, it’s fluid. More concerned about quality of life as we are active out of doors types who enjoy hiking, kayaking, swimming, and as to me, horseback riding. I’ve mostly kept the horses at home but boarding is also on the table, but would prefer at home. Cruising Zillow, it does look like there are some possibilities out there, but I appreciate hay logistics could make it complicated.
Also very tired of the bugs, heat and humidity here in the South.
- Plan to feed hay 365 days a year.
- Plan on very few horses on 5 acres unless you want a lot that is just dust.
- Plan on lots of wonderful places to trail ride–a lot challenging. Some not as much.
- Plan on extreme temperature changes all year around.
- Plan on access to 2 exceedingly well known veterinary clinics plus 100’s of smaller ones.
- Plan on making sure whatever you buy has defined and documented water rights. Water here is an issue.
- Plan on a large equestrian population that encompasses every discipline you can imagine with major competitors and trainers in those disciplines.
Enjoy.
I dont think western washington is cheaper than western oregon.
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I am obviously in the flyover state, but some areas here offer the ability to play golf, snow ski, and ride your horse outdoors, all in the same day.
Property is expensive, but most has irrigation and pasture, especially in the banana belt.
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I was thinking the same thing… ðŸ§
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Cost of living in Western WA is sky high, esp as you get closer to Seattle.
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