Windridge Farm/Fox Meadow Farm

[TrailRider]

Hi,

I’ll be moving to the Bolingbrook (Illinois) area in the near future. Looking for a place for my semi-retired trail horse. The Windridge Farm (used to be Fox Meadow) looks interesting. It has two large indoor arenas and access to a forest preserve. I heard the place has a new owner and just want to learn more about it. Any thoughts and comments about this farm will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Chris

[hsfan_2015]

This is part of a post I’ve made on Free Speech Horse Forum, but relevant so I thought I would post here as well.

I would advise against moving any horse to Windridge Farm. If you choose to, be very careful going into it.

The barn was bought out by the McMurtry family and has been managed by them since early December. However, management has been of poor quality in the very least (and the facility has only deteriorated since they’ve come into ownership).

Fencing is in ill repair and even slower to be fixed (many are propped up with unsupported boards) which is limiting turn-out. Arenas are poorly cared for - dust is a major issue, as is the general inconsistency (the arenas are relatively high traffic and aren’t being maintained in necessary ways - there’s a rock hard track around the outside edge that’s jarring to ride on).

As business owners, they’re lacking in necessary business skills. Their bookkeeping/money management has a pattern of being negligent (at best). Checks have been cashed for more than they were written out for and a number of invoices (more than five) were sent out in February that were erroneous. These errors included: citing several boarders had failed to pay board, charging boarders for lessons they never took. These invoices failed to accurately account for all of the checks that had been written (and cashed - banks had verified) by the barn.

The general management of horses at this facility is sub-par, especially considering the improvements the McMurtry family have advertised themselves as working towards. They installed a flat screen TV, and sent out a letter to boarders talking about their goals to install a laundry room, a new viewing gallery, and a new outdoor arena (among other things). These are all lavish human amenities that they seem to value over basic horse management. In December they powerwashed the interior of the main arena (which shorted out the lights and actually damaged boarders’ tack, as water was forced into tack rooms - no one had been given notice this was happening), and through January and February they’ve had barn staff painting stall fronts (the metal on the bars have been scrubbed of rust and painted black).

Meanwhile, they’ve failed to ensure the basic necessities for horses. Several times through February boarders arrived to find their horses with an unacceptably low level of water. Hay has been of poor quality and very sparingly fed. Stalls have been poorly bedded that horses that have never had problems with hock sores were developing them. (They were also poorly cleaned.) Fences weren’t fixed in a timely manner (or at all) which limited the turn-out access, and the footing was of such poor quality that I felt it to be irresponsible to work hard on it.

To your specific query (regarding the trails) while this property does border the forest preserve and is advertised as having trail access, it actually has been impassable for the past year. The prior owners never cleaned it up and there’s some pretty sizable fallen trees that make it impossible to get from the barn property to the trails. While that was under old ownership I don’t feel safe in making an assumption that the new ownership would prioritize trail access, given their emphasis on human amenities over maintenance of things like arena footing and fencing.

While there’s always a learning curve for new ownership, for people who came into possession of this property at the beginning of December, I would advise potential boarders to steer clear. If these are growing pains, I would wait until there’s evidence of solid improvement before bringing my horse to this property.

[My_Two_Cents]

I think I would check it out myself. There are new owners and they deserve a chance to show improvements. It sounds like they have been busy. It has been winter weather. They have only owned it since December. Fixing fence in the winter is pretty tough. The next few weeks the weather should be improving. Trails were let go by the previous owners not the current ones. They should have a little insight on powerwashing around electrical outlets but at least they were attempting to clean up. I think the previous poster is a bit harsh and I would check it out an form my own opinion.

[TrailRider]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and observations. Will visit this farm and some other barns in the area.

Thanks,
Chris

[hsfan_2015]

I feel as if it’s reasonable to expect a learning curve with any new management/owners. Fox Meadow/Windridge is an enormous property (there are two barns on premise) and it’s quite an undertaking to manage the upkeep. I think that goes for any transition at any barn.

That said, repeated significant bookkeeping errors would be a matter of concern for me. (Between cashing checks for incorrect amounts and their invoices being off - by more than $500, in some cases, there appears to be a pattern of problematic issues.)

Likewise, the pattern of putting human amenities and aesthetics over horse care would be an issue for me. I can understand wanting to clean up the place. From my understanding, the property hasn’t really been well looked after for years. However, I question putting things like painting the metal on stall fronts, power washing arenas, and putting in a flat screen before they pay attention to the quality of their feed, their turnout situation (cracked boards can be fixed even in winter), and the maintenance of their arena footing.

The property itself is absolutely beautiful. It’s one of the largest in the area with amazing access. There are several arenas onsite and multiple places to ride outdoors as well when the weather is good. From what I’ve heard the barn under new management also has continued its relationship with local vets and farriers (who come out on a weekly schedule) which is incredibly convenient. That said, due to some of the issues that have cropped up with new management, I feel as if it’s reasonable to be cautious if someone is intending to move their horse there (or wait to see if new management will undertake addressing the issues that would improve the quality of horse-care.) It would be really nice if it worked out because as far as convenience and size, the property can’t be beat.