Horse Boarding Across America
posted by citizen.K on Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008 / 
Print & Hang in the Barn
Hunter/Jumper horse care pressures and priorities take various shapes across America. I have lived in many states around the country and have always found the horse boarding, training, and showing communities so very different. Here are my observations:
Upper Midwest Horse World (Illinois & Wisconsin Vicinity)
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Boarding here is straightforward. Priorities are very strange. The cost of board is relative to the amenities (indoor arena size and heat). Oddly, location doesn’t play much into the cost. Even if a barn is close in to a metro area, if they don’t have specific amenities or facilities, or a big show clientele, the cost of board is generally less.
Trainers here have very specific goals (or call them requirements). A shows, Open shows, no shows. Most of the time, you gotta fit within their regimen or else.
Big emphasis on coolness is the Midwest. Big thought that good riders are made by fancy tack. No, not just fancy tack, trendy, expensive tack. It’s gotta be an $800, brand new Edgewood bridle or the trendy saddle of the times (I think that’s Antares right now). One obviously can’t have that cool of a jumper if one doesn’t have cool jumper boots or the figure eight noseband. In the Midwest, “great” riders are not made by skill, talent, drive, or even major riding accomplishments (such as winning in Florida), it’s really about how cool you look.
Texas
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Texas is a country onto itself, and though there is much to deservedly hate about Texas, they have a pretty well rounded, and large, Hunter/Jumper community. In Texas, there are many different boarding options depending on budget, and with trainers and barn, there is room for all different goals and budgets.
Texas, not just for cowboys or Western riding, has some really nice Hunter/Jumper barns. They don’t always LOOK that nice, in fact, some may even look quite scary, but overall the people and horses are more reflective of the actual Hunter/Jumper “quality” of the region.
Atmosphere is barn dependent. Super snobby, gossipy barns aren’t necessarily the bigger A show barns. Lots of room for the super laid back, do whatever, wear whatever, look however rider, and those aren’t even the backyard, Open show barns. When it comes to riding horses in Texas, there are lots of choices that don’t mean sacrificing quality for sanity.
So, good for Texas.
That being said, I hate Texas. Don’t move there.
The Rocky Mountains, or basically, Colorado
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One of the most interesting areas of the American horse world. Actually more “cowboy” than Texas, it is also more laid back than anywhere else I have been.
The show community is unusually laid back with a very, very informal air. More of an emphasis on riding, having fun, and reaching goals than material objects, who you know, and talking bulls**t. Most importantly, even the well-to-do’s didn’t act as such and were always very respectful and helpful to those who weren’t.
That’s not to say there isn’t politics, backstabbing, and gossiping in Colorado. I mean, come on, we’re talking American women in the horse industry, right? But in Colorado, the great thing is one CAN actually stay out of snarky environments, where in many other areas it’s unavoidable on some levels.
One Rocky Mountain caveat though; lots of spoiled rotten California girls sent to Boulder for school with their “Colorado” horse. Yeah, I said “Colorado” horse. While not every one of these girls is intolerable, most of ‘em are not horse people, and more importantly, not riders. Simply the California influx into Colorado are good at sitting atop well schooled, very nice horses. Their numbers are growing exponentially.
All in all, the Rockies are a great place to ride and show horses. Outside of the West Coast transplants, the Colorado riding community is definitely a draw, but the drive to the barn is an absolute chore.
Pacific Northwest
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Saddest state of American horse world. Completely divided quality, care, facilities, and amenities. No such thing as middle ground. Lots of money in hoity-toity A show barns, also lot’s of scary, backyard places. Middle places trade off amenities. 40 acres of great turnout, no ring. Huge indoor, terrible footing, scary turnout. Wonderful outdoor (six months a year), 80′x40′ indoor “arena”, no turnout.
Atmosphere in any case is completely intolerable.
Maybe it’s the influx of California blood. Yes, that is a huge negative. Even more-so than Colorado, The Pacific Northwest houses tons of spoiled California girls who suddenly aren’t in California anymore.
It rains a lot in this area, and older barns have not held up well. The strangest thing about the American Pacific Northwest is the amount of horses; they’re everywhere. Barns are everywhere, but, the knowledge is questionable at best. This poses a problem when you don’t mind being at a barn that isn’t “pretty”, the care isn’t all that pretty either. Not a good mix.
Can’t emphasize how much there is no middle ground in this region. You either are at THE Hunter/Jumper barn where you and your horse are only measured by your monthly budget (which better be large), or you are at a sh**hole.
New England Horse World
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When I think of the east coast, I think HUNTER JUMPER CAPITAL USA! Barns here are very established, very limited new construction. Also like the Pacific Northwest, barns between A show crazy and backyard boarding are almost non-existent, but horse care and knowledge is much better.
Most all horse people in New England are nice, straightforward, and to the point (Citizen Horse doth appreciate highly!)
I see a lot of lower level Hunters with a bit of an uppity-tude. But generally, New England barns seem to lack a lot of personality, not in a bad way. There’s no air of anything in particular at most barns. The New England atmosphere is simple and uncomplicated, much like the people. There are horses, and barns, and people, and riders. Very little B.S. in this area.
Also, more part-time riders in New England; more leased horses.
Also, there is a FANTASTIC vet in Vermont. Lorie alone could make New England rule, but for the most part, the no-nonsense nature of the North East leaves it tops on my list.
As I said before, I’ve lived all over the place and shown competitively in even more spots. Based on my own personal observations on American horse boarding, showing, training, and environments across the country, your mileage may vary.
That’s YMMV in “intertube” speak.
July 2nd, 2008 at 11:37 am
You hate Texas?! I was born and raised in Texas - Dallas to be exact - so, you know, once a Texan, always a Texan…
I boarded in Dallas for 15 years at an excellent barn. It wasn’t fancy, but the horses were WELL looked after and fed, stalls kept super clean. You could absolutely count on them to care for your horse whether you were around or not.
It was one of those “do your own thing” barns - nobody looked down on how you rode or what you rode.
Most people didn’t show, but some did. Little bit of everything - about 50 horses, long waiting list. Everyone who had ever boarded anywhere else always said it was the best place they’d ever boarded. Board was extremely reasonable as well.
The only reason I left was because I got the chance to keep my horse on my own property.
Altogether now - The eyes of Texas are upon you, all the livelong day…….
July 2nd, 2008 at 12:29 pm
LOL!!!! I was born and raised in Texas too! Fort Worth. So, I’ve got your back Suzanne! I have had many people tell me they hate Texas. I can’t hate it, it’s home. I have been moved away now for……17 years!
My husband absolutly despises it. I enjoyed the horse community in Texas very much and miss that more than anything. I was lucky to be able to keep my horses at home when I lived there. But, I showed and trailered in for lessons to a few different barns.
Now I live in the Portland metro area and have lived here for 8 years now. I hear ya, it’s a whole different place. You say Texas is a Country unto itself, I think Portland, OR is a Country unto itself. Texas actually has some individuality within the horse community, which you apparently saw when you were there. You can fit in just about everywhere no matter how or what you ride.
Portland on the other hand has been strange. Lots of natural horsemanship people. I guess as a woman growin’ up in Texas, I can stand on my own two feet, speak my mind, and call bull@$#% when I see it! Portland is all “touchy feely”. I have run into one very spoiled California horse person, she was only in the barn for about a month because it wasn’t good enough for her we were all glad to see her go :). It’s mostly middle aged insecure women who can’t make their own decisions to save their lives! So they follow…….
I lived in Arizona in between my life in Texas and now in Portland. Arizona was a difficult place to ride. It was very hard to find a good barn and board was pretty expensive. I did find a great place that offered partial board (I cleaned stalls, bought shavings and grain). It was more of a western barn, I think there were only 2 other english riders besides me. Most people didn’t ride very much so it didn’t really matter. I ended up buying some property and moving the horses home. I never found a good trainer to take lessons from. So I just fumbled on my own.
I’ll probably never move back to Texas because of my husband, but it will always be home for me.
The eyes of Texas are upon you, you cannot get away……
July 3rd, 2008 at 12:25 am
I have lived, ridden and showed in Oregon, California, BC (Canada), and Missouri. I think I had the most fun and best time when I lived in Missouri–everything was so cheap, I ran my own barn, and it was easy to get along with people and get good horse care for not a lot of money. However, there’s no beach there AND there is the tornado season that–thanks to global warming–is getting worse and worse. BC is probably great, but I was at boarding school and the cattiness was inevitable. California is one place I will NEVER go again–there is absolutely NO TURNOUT TO SPEAK OF, horses eat HAY CUBES and not real hay, and the price of board is OUT OF THIS WORLD.
I was born and raised in Oregon and I absolutely love this land. My family came here on the Oregon trail and I am really attached here. However, the riding community is becoming increasingly unstable. When I was younger, it was relatively easy to find a place where you could get decent horse care without a ridiculous price and without having to be in a training program. Something happened between when I left for boarding school and when I came back after college. Now, the places I rode at as a kid, have all shut down. All the places with good horse care require you to be in training with someone.
I really desperately want to open a barn for people like me in oregon–I even know the place I want to buy and how I’m going to run it. However, I have to finish grad school before I can get the funds for it. So, 4 more years probably. Oregon is such a beautiful place and it’s such a shame that it’s become what it is. Half the farmland I rode on as a kid is covered with suburban sprawl. The farmers can’t compete with the developers and they have to sell out.
I’ve always wanted to spend some time riding on the east coast and see what it’s like to live back there. If I don’t get into grad school this year, that may be an option. However, the cost of board back east scares the crap out of me. It’s $200 more expensive than I pay here.
I’m moving to another barn in Oregon soon–my 4th in a year. This is a western barn and I’ve always had better luck at western barns than english barns of any kind–the western people assume I’m nuts because I jump and basically leave me alone and let me do what I want. Plus, when it comes to flat work and teaching a horse to respond to leg and hand, they have some pretty good tips!
July 3rd, 2008 at 1:58 pm
I board at the university barn for the big 10 college here, Its great and not to expensive and more importantly its laid back with FANTASTIC care!
So that could be an option depending on where you all live.
February 2nd, 2009 at 7:38 pm
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