[BansheeBreeze]

My bf just got offered a job on Long Island NY. We are weighing the pros and cons and a big concern for me is my horse. My bf will be traveling all over the island to various locations for work and we've decided commuting from the mainland isn't an option, which means if I ever want to see my horse, I need to find a place on the island to keep him.

He has some arthritis and miserable in a stall, so ideally I need a place to pasture board, the more space he has to move around the better. I just pleasure ride, don't care what discipline, would LOVE to have trails or at least a little room to ride besides an arena. We will likely be living somewhere central on the island so the closer to there the better. Budget is also an issue, the cheaper the better(and yes, I realize it's going to be expensive comparatively there).

A big concern for me is safety for my horse. I have a fear of natural disasters and it just seems like my horse would be screwed if anything major happened there (hurricanes, floods, blizzards, etc) seeing as how there's really only one way off the island and that's through NYC, which in a disaster would be a death trap. I know it sounds kind of crazy but it's something I am really afraid of. Having my horse trapped there and not being able to get him off. How do you deal with that?

Thanks for any suggestions! I have other questions and concerns about Long Island (not HR) so if anybody lives there and is willing to answer a few, please PM me.

[ako]

Eh, no need to sweat the natural disasters themselves. Power outages, yes. Ok we have gotten a hurricane recently, but that was WILD for us and flooding happened in places that were essentially at sea level. Most of LI is NOT at sea level, even though it's not exactly mountainous.

Most places of the more affordable places will run $700-1200.

I'm really only familiar with the Western/North Shore area where board is relatively high and many barns don't offer trails. PM me if you want info on barns in the Brookville/Old Westbury area.

Farther East, there's Bobby Ginsberg's place - Rosewood Farm, I believe.

[ChocoMare]

Look for private homes/barns around Connetquot State Park (Islip/Bohemia). The trails in that park are to-die-for-wonderful for riding. Wide, sand paths for a nice canter, wooded trails with natural jumps and wonderful wildlife & scenery.

[SunkenMeadow]

I lived on Connetquot Park for a few years and it was great. Many backyard type barns there with direct access. It is hard to find the good ones because they are in demand. I believe board in that area at a backyard barn goes for 400 - 600 month. I have a few friends there still if you do end up moving I can contact them and see if they have openings. Now just remember the turnout is often small there as you are in suburbia.

Also centrally located is the West Hills area, trails are more rocky, and less of them, but nice.

Blydenburgh is another area with lots of backyard barns and trails. I have heard it is lovely but never spent time there myself, I always enjoyed the trails at Connetquot or Old Westbury myself.

[SunkenMeadow]

Oh, if you want any more info feel free to PM or email me sunkenmeadowstables@gmail.com (I dont get on here all that much)

[PINE TREE FARM SC]

Most of Long Island is at 90' or lower so yes, flooding can be a concern especially on the South Shore.
Pasture board or access to pasture for more than an hour a day is a problem.

The further out you go on the Island the more likely you'll find an arrangement like that.
The downside to that is the further east you go you'll fall into the 'Hamptons' mindset and those showbarns, while they may have turnout available, will cost upwards of 2K a month for basic services.

In Nassau county, Old Mill, the county farm, does have turnout available and access to trails. Price is mid range.
As others noted the Islip/Bohemia area may provide what you want but don't expect much in the way of ammenities.
On the North Fork places like BJ Farm have all day turnout but you have to factor in the commute time if you don't live that far out.
Around Smithtown there will be backyard situations with access to Blydenburgh Park but these barns will be a bit primitive although there may be turnout available.

Nothing is cheap on LI

[Nootka]

Out of curiosity... At almost the end of the Island there was a "trail riding" slash farm that was in buisness. I can't remember the name but I wonder if it is still around? Past the Hamptons.. very near Montauak

[PINE TREE FARM SC]

Out of curiosity... At almost the end of the Island there was a "trail riding" slash farm that was in buisness. I can't remember the name but I wonder if it is still around? Past the Hamptons.. very near Montauak

Do you mean Deep Hollow?
I think they are still there but it's primarily Western. I think they do some boarding or at least they used to.
But the farm is all the way at the very eastern end of Long Island. 120 Miles or so from NYC. After Riverhead it's all local roads and lots of traffic.

[clanter]

used to work out of Ronkonkoma.... seems they were the center of last big snow storm LOL.... eastern end of the island has boarding

oh just been in the 70s around here, oh yes grass is greening...

[morganpony86]

My aunt have lived out on the east end of the North Fork for decades and has had horses in the past. Mostly she's "boarded" at friends' backyard places. Nothing fancy, but as you get to know neighbors perhaps that may turn into an option. Currently she doesn't own a horse, so she does lessons near her work in Sagaponack, where board is more than my mortgage and the horses live better than I do.

[csaper58]

You can live on Long Island, and board in Connecticut and take the ferry acrossed the sound.

[BansheeBreeze]

Thanks for the suggestions so far, the state park sounds amazing!! My horse loves the beach so that would be a huge bonus to be able to ride there. Great suggestions about the backyard barns too, since I don't care about having a trainer or indoor.

[ChocoMare]

I was a private home on Locust Avenue, north of Sunrise Hwy (just a few blocks east of the park) for 4 years. Small 4-stall barn on about an acre. Nothing fancy, but safe & tidy, tucked behind a tall stockade fence. Great people and great care. I just road the few back-streets from there over into Connetquot.

I then moved to another private 4-stall barn on Church Street. That was awesome since an entrance to the park was only 1/8 of a mile down the road.

I could ride could ride for 3 - 4 hours at a stretch in that park. One of the few things I miss about L.I. Have many good memories. (Awesome pics.)

[Kryswyn]

You can live on Long Island, and board in Connecticut and take the ferry acrossed the sound.

Unless the OP has nothing to do but go visit her horse, this is completely impractical IMHO. First it's expensive, $54 ONE WAY for just a car & driver (add $15 if DH comes along). Second it's time consuming. It's 1.5 hours crossing and that doesn't include the mandatory time waiting on line to board.

OP you need to seriously consider how much turnout your horse really needs. I suppose you might find a backyard place that would let him shuffle around a dry lot all day, but grazing pastures like you might find in VA or even CT are not in your budget if you can find them at all. There is a beautiful farm near me in Mill Neck that has almost three acres in pasture divided up into 20 teeny paddocks hardly bigger than a (square) round pen. The paddocks always have grass, which should tell you how little the horses are actually out in them.

I don't want to be a Debbie Downer, but keeping horses on LI is no longer 1/2 of what it was when I was growing up and keeping my horse at home.

[Starhouse]

Agree that taking the ferry to CT is insane. She would pay as much to board in the Mystic area of CT as she would on Long Island, and then she can add the $100+ round trip to get there each time, plus the hour and 20 minute trip one way. No thanks!

I live in RI and my husband is from Long Island - we take the ferry whenever we go visit his parents and the whole trip SUCKS. Plus imagine how stressful it would be to try and get to the barn if your horse was injured or sick.

[PINE TREE FARM SC]

The ferry is a fun way to get to CT from LI for shows. But if you time it wrong it takes less time to drive around via the Throgs Neck Bridge than it does to take the ferry.
Transit time is more like 1 1/4 hours, not 1 1/2 but still way too long for a regular commute.

Mill Neck is very expensive for a number of reasons. Farms there are very tiny and are not representative of what you will find further east.

If you are willing to settle for 1-2 hours a day of turnout there are farms in the Holtsville area that are inexpensive and do provide limited turnout but they may not have access to trails.

You might want to contact Nassau Suffolk Assoc for ideas.
http://www.nshaonline.org/
Islip Horsemens Assoc may also be of use.
http://isliphorsemensassociation.com/

[ChocoMare]

Ditto contacting IHA... they would be the best place to network to find a small private/backyard barn near the park.

[Eventer55]

Sorry I don't mean to pile on the negatives, but having grown up in East Islip and then returning in 2000, (we lived on shelter Island upon returning.) I couldn't wait to get the he%% out of there. Unless of course you love traffic, congestion and strip malls. If you live out east as we did it's a different world, but once you leave the Hampton or North Fork area, you're in congestion city. By the time we left, it took my husband 2 1/2 hours to get from Shelter Island to the Northport VA hospital where he worked. BJ Farms which is out East, I think is the only decent place to board if you can get in.

Out of curiosity what is your bf going to be doing? And if you do move there and live out East I would highly recommend Bryan Dubynski for a vet, he's in North Sea. Brennan's Tack shop in Bridgehampton is also great. Good luck

P.S. The LIE is affectionately known as the largest parking lot in the world

[BansheeBreeze]

Definitely won't be doing the ferry trip. I'm not willing to compromise on the turnout issue, I'd rather have him at a retirement boarding somewhere in the country where I never get to see him than keep him stalled 90% of the time. He doesn't need a ton of room, just to be able to walk around and keep himself comfortable. He lived in a 130x130 paddock here for a year and was fine with that. Still seems I'll be looking at $500-$600 just for backyard boarding.

I have no problem with hearing the negatives, in fact I want to hear them so we can make an educated decision. I'm not thrilled about this whole idea, I'm not a city person and I still think it's going to be far too expensive to live there despite the pay increase. Before this job offer we'd been planning on buying a little land this summer so I could bring my horse home and I'll be really upset if I have to keep boarding.

Eventer55 my bf would be in charge of managing the off track betting parlors around Nassau and Suffolk counties. He worked on the track for the company that handled the betting before (that's how we met, I was working with the horses), we both got tired of moving around so he quit and started a new job in a different field. He's getting increasingly miserable with this job, so he is really excited to go back to his old company in a position where he won't have to move around and will be making more than twice what he is now. I don't want him to be unhappy by staying here but I don't want to be unhappy by moving to LI if I'm going to hate it. So much to consider, just trying to gather info and opinions.

Chocomare your pictures are GORGEOUS

[Eventer55]

If he's going to be making more than twice what he is now, remember you will be spending that and more on rent or taxes if you buy a small house. I don't know if you said you have or have not spent time on Long Island. You should go for a weekend and drive around to where he will be going. More than likely he will be working mostly "up island" nearer the city since he has Nassau and Suffolk county as a district.

BTW Connetquot State Park is an amazing place and you should go see it. It's a little jewel in the middle of chaos! You should talk to a realtor to get a feel for what is available and the prices as well as the taxes. If you're in Texas now, brace yourself!!! Keep us posted, I would love to hear what you think when you visit. And if you do visit, go out East and then keep going waaaay out to Montauk for some of the best sea food.