[Pferd51]

I may have a job opportunity in San Francisco. We now live in NC and have 2 horses. Can anyone tell me what owning/boarding in the general bay area is like? BTW, I don't know anything about CA geography, so if you name a town or region please give me some idea about where it is. Thanks.

[vali]

Board can range hugely depending on east bay (Oakland, walnut creek, Martinez, castro valley), or the peninsula, and also if you want show facility with covered arena or pasture type board. Generally the East bay range is around $300-750, and peninsula is more like $600-1100. www.bayequest.com is a good resource to check out.

[Bethe Mounce]

Board can be very expensive in the east bay area. my horses in training are in Brentwood, a straight shot down highway 4 from the city due east about a 45 min drive depending on traffic. Brentwood is so much cheaper. On the peninsula it is costly. Depends on your discipline and what amenities you want...welcome to San Francisco....it's a fabulous city and the horse people are delightful!

[poltroon]

Everything is much much more expensive here. Those board prices are just board, not counting any lessons.

If the job opportunity is in San Francisco proper, the best strategy seems to be to live near the horse and ideally set yourself up to use BART to get to work.

San Francisco is a beautiful city and I love this area, but your housing will be more and in general many living expenses will be higher than you are used to. Even if the job comes with a raise it might not be a higher standard of living than what you have now.


There are many people in the Bay Area interested in eventing. There's a major competition facility in Woodside (http://www.horsepark.org), down near Palo Alto on the peninsula, and there are little eventing barns scattered all over the Bay Area. You will have to travel several hours to compete anywhere else.

http://www.areavi.org

The good news is that Ram Tap will be resurrected as Fresno Horse Park, and Twin Rivers is also a great place to event.

[IronwoodFarm]

It has been a while since I lived in the Bay Area, but I still travel there often and have friends in the city and on the peninsula. It is a lovely area. However, land is scarce and everything is going to be much more expensive than NC. So be sure that any new job opportunity includes a very substantial pay increase.

Others have told you about boarding, but I can assure you that housing is quite expensive and things generally costs more than other areas of the country. You may be in sticker shock after NC prices!

One recommendation would be go out there and visit a bit to see if this is a good relocation for you.

[vagabondrider]

Keep in mind that your horses are likely to live in a stall or a stall with a run nearly 24/7. There are virtually no places with all day large grass turnout like you can find (and are the norm) in the mid Atlantic. Most horses adapt to this way of living but it is harder for some. If you find a barn that offers turnout, it will almost certainly be in a small dirt paddock for a half day or less.

[Pferd51]

Thanks for all the information, everyone. I will certainly make use of it.

[Xanthoria]

There's pasture board available in Pacifica, 20 mins from the city, and on the coast horses don't need to be in stalls at all - the weather is 10 degrees warmer in winter/cooler in summer.

The place has stalls too, an arena, hot water and great trails. It's less fancy than other barns but for me the pasture is the thing you can't get anywhere else that makes it SO worthwhile. PM me for details if you want.

[jenm]

Everything is much much more expensive here. Those board prices are just board, not counting any lessons.

If the job opportunity is in San Francisco proper, the best strategy seems to be to live near the horse and ideally set yourself up to use BART to get to work.

San Francisco is a beautiful city and I love this area, but your housing will be more and in general many living expenses will be higher than you are used to. Even if the job comes with a raise it might not be a higher standard of living than what you have now.


There are many people in the Bay Area interested in eventing. There's a major competition facility in Woodside (http://www.horsepark.org), down near Palo Alto on the peninsula, and there are little eventing barns scattered all over the Bay Area. You will have to travel several hours to compete anywhere else.

http://www.areavi.org

The good news is that Ram Tap will be resurrected as Fresno Horse Park, and Twin Rivers is also a great place to event.

This is all good info. I currently board in pasture at the Horsepark, and pay $450. As an eventer, I love it, and my horse is so happy in pasture! If you want a stall at the horsepark, you have to be affiliated with a trainer.

Prior to boarding at the horsepark, I was at the Stanford Red Barn in Palo Alto. Much more expensive, with limited turn out opportunities and a heavy focus on H/J.

If you are looking for casual boarding, there is Portola Pastures in Portola Valley and Pagemill Pastures in Palo Alto. Pasture board is less than $300 at each with stalls/paddocks in the $450 range.

These places are all on the Peninsula, about 30-35 mins south of SF.

You should really do a search in the forums here, because threads like this have been started in other forums such as dressage and hunter/jumper.

Feel free to PM me if you want more info!