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Florida + Southern Living

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  • #81
    ok 1 more fl girl born and raised.. iv been a lot of places but i will alwas love FL.. i livein south central fl... sarasota area and i love it.. granted the snowbirds.. locals dont realy like... least the realy old one that cause traffic probs... lol anmd nya love bug season SUCS but then agan it rains every afternoon so u get a free car wash!!! loll ya summers may be grossly hot but since the days are sooo long right after it rains its usaly really nice outside everything green and wet. its gorgous! and great time for a ride, and there lots of places u can ride even during the day tha offer shade.. and the best part about a mid day ride in the heat is getting to go swiming with your horse!! and sometimes jump up bareback and ride in the rain just to splash through the puddles! fl summers.. ya they may be gross but u get used to it.. al u need is a fly sheet really good fly spray some electrolytes, maybe some wieghtbulider if your horse sweats alot his first summer.... and probs ih fett, and good hoof dressing.... hay sumtimes sucs price wise but drive just a lill ways its nt toooo ad.. (though still sucs!!) alfllafa 15-16$ T&A 9.95$ and coastal is 5.. and there NOT big bales lol... oh and then if you dont own ur own llad, finding a place to board can well be a pain in the A**.. 180-250 for partial and up to 550 for full. but then the winter iding makes up for all of it.. u can ridng anytime f the da always have a fresh happy horse u can dress comftorablly and not get to hot while your riding.. and then there are still days you cn give your horses a bath in the MIDDLE OF WINTER ! its great lol!! all-in all FL is great i love it and i dont know if i could move.. ya the hurricanes scare the liveing crap out of me, but thats is just b/c if my horse cant leave neither will I and the thought of poss. getting hit and something happening to hm is scary, but there are ways aroung it.. they have ben doin it for 100's of years!! dont let everyone scare you about FL its a great place to live, a lil busy...but its still nice and you'll get used to it, just like everything and anything you and your horse will adapt!! ( and im sure hed llike the sum mmuch more than 6 feet f ice cold snow!!!) good luck!!!! and maybe visit during the summer and visit a barn .. lesson and riding do go on.....
    Posted with my Android smartphone.

    Comment

    • #82
      North Florida is great! We're in Tallahassee, the "Red Hills" area. Actually it looks more like Atlanta than Florida. Traffic isn't bad. Lots of gorgeous Live Oak Trees with Spanish Moss hanging, canopied roads, plantations, a little more of four real seasons, and some of the best foxhunting in the US!!
      We're three hours from Ocala, Jacksonville and Pensacola (all have nice shows). We only have local shows, but a nice smaller horse community. Four and a half hours to Atlanta's shows, five to Tampa and seven to Wellington.
      Have a great Horse Trails here in March (Red Hills). Plenty of places to ride, and only 30 minutes from the Gulf of Mexico.......
      prices are getting up there for land, but still some in the neighboring areas available.within reason....
      www.flyingcolorsfarm.comHome of pinto stallion Claim to Fame and his homozygous son, Counterclaim. Friend us on Facebook!https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Fl...04678589573428

      Comment

      • #83
        This is such an informative thread. I appreciate especially the advice of those of you already in north central Fl with your horses. Could you when you have the chance go more into detail about what the storms are like and how you managed through them? Thanks ahead of time

        Comment

        • #84
          Well, I am native Floridian (actually, second generation native - how odd is that?? LOL). My mother is from the St Pete area, I am from the G'ville area. I have also lived in Jacksonville and Panama City, and now am living near Marianna (up closer to the AL border and Tallahassee). I like where I am now the best (G'ville was GREAT and will always be "home" but everyone is right, it is outrageously expensive now, and we are running out of "farm land" - of course land in FL in general is expensive!).

          Here are the "pros" of FL (IMHO): Close to the beach, great winters, fall and spring and showing for all disciplines in the winter/fall and spring, just enough of the "south" to mostly have southern hospitality (I'm excluding "miami" which is it's own world, and orlando which is too touristy), but still have some culture and big cities etc, EVERYTHING grows in FL - in abundance (see cons LOL) so grass can be LUSH if you rotate properly etc, I'm sure that I'll think of others.

          Cons: everyone wants to come visit you, summers are brutal (but the trade off is three other decent times of the year and I would rather deal with HIGH humidity/heat for 3 or 4 months than 6' of snow LOL), hurricanes (that is why I am more inland now, have chance of tornados, but am safe from flooding from the hurricanes), EVERYTHING grows in FL (and in abundance LOL) - you will be overrun with weeds, grass, flowers, trees (ugg.. mimosa and popcorn trees..), insects and other flora/fauna, and yes, horses (esp those not used to FL weather - for some reason those born here do a little better) do develop the most interesting creepy crud...

          As for all the rest of the bad things: FL has a drug prob yes, right now it is METH (and I'm in the capital of meth manufactureing) and there are areas that you prob don't want to go as you may stumble across someone's stash on accident, but LE is getting better and really not many people die that way - and let's face it drugs are a natiional prob, not just FL. Hurricanes, BIG prob I agree - esp the last two years - but it is something that can be planned for and you prep yourself/home/barn as much as possible. I would FAR rather deal with a hurricane that I know is coming that an earthquake that occurs out of the blue in the middle of the night! Plus everywhere has their share of natural disasters - midwest has tornados, floods, west coast has earthquakes/fires/mud slides, southwest has tornados, flash floods, the entire east coast has hurricanes, blizzards up north.... you just have to pick which type of disaster you would rather deal with IMHO. Gators/wildlife. Yep, we have them. I have NEVER seen one when on a trail ride. I HAVE swam in waters that have gators in them, and have never been bothered by them - you just have to use common sense like everywhere else. Don't go to Lake Alice where the gators are routinely fed by hand/humans, don't get close to them or threaten them in any way, don't get anywhere CLOSE to a nest... Again, we all have wildlife that we have to respect and watch out for. Bugs - this is prob the one thing that I can't defend..... YUCK@!!! And we have some BUGS... flying roaches (palmento bugs) that are HUGE, reg roaches that are HUGE, spiders that are HUGE (banana spiders - luckily not poisionus), etc....

          I personally love FL and love living here. I like my little corner of the world, although there are things that I would change. I agree in an ideal world you could winter here, and summer elsewhere, but then I am not one of the "grass is greener" kind of gals - I've lived too many places as a military brat to think like that!

          edited to add: hay prices are cheaper in NW FL than they are down south! I get VERY nice coastal delievered to my house for $4 a bale, Peanut hay (the Alfalfa of the south and is just as good) for $4.50 a bale, I can get T and A for around $10 - $15 a bale if I want it, just don't). As for feet probs, right now my land is so dry that my horse's have NO probs with mushy feet, in fact that has only happened once in the 9 + years I've had horses in FL. But then I live on high and dry ground...
          Emerald Acres standing the ATA, Trakehner Verband, sBs, RPSI, and ISR/OLD NA Approved Stallion, Tatendrang. Visit us at our Facebook Farm Page as well!

          Comment

          • #85
            NOT TRUE!

            Originally posted by Playing Games
            As for giant roaches with wings...Those are palmetto bugs...They are quite freaky, but they are not in the roach family...

            ...

            sorry,, you posted something that is one of my pet peeves. I'm an entomologist, and those "palmetto bugs" ARE in fact roaches, the American cockroach (as opposed to oriental or german or browbanded). Roaches have an entire order, THEN split into families and they ARE blattaria (the order)

            The state of florida called them "palmetto bugs" for a tourism reasons, but in fact, they are no different. For more information, if you don't want to take my word for it, go here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palmetto_bug




            also, has anyone taken the time to actually analyze the temperatures and weather data in florida? I did this before we decided to move to Florida, turns out, here in maryland the record highs the entire month of July range from 100-112 degrees!! Tampa area NEVER got over 96! in fact, the average temperature in TAMPA is only 2 degrees MORE than Maryland in that month! Its just hot, LONGER. Not that its THAT much hotter. There are FAR less temperature swings than up here.
            www.freewebs.com/teamtangerine

            "wise men never play leap frog with unicorns"

            Comment

            • #86
              Someone I know from another BB recently moved from PA to FL and is just finishing up her new horse farm down there. She's been posting drool worthy photos of huge lush pastures with scattered mature trees...looks like equine heaven to me.
              However...FL isn't for me. For three very good reasons:
              1) My MIL lives there.
              2) Place your hand on the computer screen and take a good long look at it backlit by the soft COTH glow. Now picture it with a bug under it that you've just slapped...and your hand isn't quite large enough to cover the whole bug. Thanks, but no thanks.
              3) My MIL lives there.
              You jump in the saddle,
              Hold onto the bridle!
              Jump in the line!
              ...Belefonte

              Comment

              • #87
                makes me glad I AM an entomologist... That bug is what I by CHOICE go chasing after!
                www.freewebs.com/teamtangerine

                "wise men never play leap frog with unicorns"

                Comment

                • #88
                  What a cool job! I don;t mind bugs...very few things make me squeamish. (I don't like sharks, go figure, LOL) But some of those FL bugs making a kamikaze dive at my head can make me not so happy...especially since by the size of them I can only imagine a single FL mosquito bite could make me look like a prune.
                  Got an entomology question for ya: Those B52 Bomber sized nasty horse flies that come out mid to late summer, what in heaven's name works to repel those things? Thaankfully they're easy enough to slap and kill when I'm with the horses, but I have yet to find a fly spray that repels them.
                  You jump in the saddle,
                  Hold onto the bridle!
                  Jump in the line!
                  ...Belefonte

                  Comment

                  • #89
                    Originally posted by Just My Style
                    Florida bugs. http://chronicleforums.com/images/cu...ilies/dead.gif You will all love this: Right before I moved to FL, I bought a convertible. Yep. Dream car. A VW Cabriolet. I couldn't wait to get there with my great car to be with my then fiance so we could walk the beach hand in hand (cue the romantic music in my head). http://chronicleforums.com/images/cu...s/winkgrin.gif

                    Guess what happened when I took the top down on the car? I'll give you a hint- It was "love bug" season. Yep. Love bugs everywhere. In my hair. In my car. You name it. Attack of the love bugs! I also figured out that rain showers pop up nearly everyday with little warning. That equals wet car and passengers.

                    Guess what? I sold the car about 4 months after I moved there for a truck that could handle when the streets flood over during any amount of rain. So much for my tropical dreams. http://chronicleforums.com/images/cu...milies/lol.gif

                    ROTFLMAO!!!! OH THAT IS SOOOO TRUE!!!!!! And the little buggers eat your paint away off your car if you dont' wash them off!
                    Emerald Acres standing the ATA, Trakehner Verband, sBs, RPSI, and ISR/OLD NA Approved Stallion, Tatendrang. Visit us at our Facebook Farm Page as well!

                    Comment

                    • #90
                      Originally posted by MistyBlue
                      What a cool job! I don;t mind bugs...very few things make me squeamish. (I don't like sharks, go figure, LOL) But some of those FL bugs making a kamikaze dive at my head can make me not so happy...especially since by the size of them I can only imagine a single FL mosquito bite could make me look like a prune.
                      Got an entomology question for ya: Those B52 Bomber sized nasty horse flies that come out mid to late summer, what in heaven's name works to repel those things? Thaankfully they're easy enough to slap and kill when I'm with the horses, but I have yet to find a fly spray that repels them.

                      There are some that can withstand any flyspray you put on.. your best hope is ethyl alcohol, but, since you are putting it on horses, that may not work The best flyspray that I have found is Flysect Super-7 which works for an hour or so. not much relief, but some. Other things to try are the internal repellents that make them taste not so good to the bomber flies which I think you can find in suppliments... for the life of me I can't remember what it is (bee pollen? no, that doesn't seem right......) but I'd try Dover or that other herbal company.. springtime?
                      www.freewebs.com/teamtangerine

                      "wise men never play leap frog with unicorns"

                      Comment

                      • #91
                        I was hoping for something external to just keep them from landing, or to repel them after they land and before they bite. I'm guessing their bites are very painful since both my horses start galloping and bucking like lunatics seconds after one shows up. My mare knocked her pelvis out of whack from trying to escape one, she threw herself on the ground hard to roll it off. The rotten part is, if the horse take off to get away from them, you can see the huge bug following right behind or over them.
                        Our current system is when a big biter shows up, my two horses zoom in fast circles bucking and start hollering for me in the house. I run out to the paddock and both gallop right up to me and stay in one spot crowhopping so I can whack it. Even the slightest tap and they flop on the ground, where they get stomped. The second it's killed me two go instantly back to being quiet and normal. Hubby and I have joked about putting up a huge frame and screening in the sacrifice paddock for them, LOL!
                        You jump in the saddle,
                        Hold onto the bridle!
                        Jump in the line!
                        ...Belefonte

                        Comment

                        • #92
                          Florida has good and bad points - Thumbs up overall.

                          I ride year round - it does get hot in the summer but I have a full sized dressage arena with lights (1 pole at "B" with lights facing both directions). That way if it's too hot to ride when I get home from work, I feed the horses, eat dinner myself, then when the sun goes down I ride.

                          I live along the coast so almost always has East to West winds - thus keep barn open and have high eaves to allow hot air to escape and not settle on horses.

                          I turn out during the day year round. Many people turn out at night during the summer. They should have shelter to get out of the heat, lightening storms and occassional hail - whether they're out at night or during the day. I use Flysect for mosquitoes and horse flys - which are not too bad around here (although a swamp is across the street from me but the county sprays for mosquitoes during the summer).

                          The barns are NOT air conditioned, at least I've never seen any. Airconditioning is not good for the horses to get accustomed (cool then have to deal with the heat) but many barns do have fans in the stall so horses can stand in front of the fan to keep cooler.

                          We have shows year around - more in the winter. In fact have a show in 3 weeks and another in July I may go to. Makes it great for keeping horse in shape and schooling year around - would uch rather ride at 9pm at night when sun goes down in 85 degree heat than -30 degree cold with snow on the ground.

                          There are parts of Florida better than others. Ocala has beautiful farms, reasonably priced BUT not normally any sea breezes. Coastal areas (Sarasota, Melbourne, Daytona, etc.) have coastasl breezes but ar more susceptable to hurricanes. You should have a horse trailer to haul out with. If you do not and plan to board ask them what contingency plans they have for hurricanes. I stayed when the 3 hurricanes hit us - but my husband's relatives built our barn so I knew it was solid. (County Inspectors said they looked twice at the permit to be certain it wasn't an apartment building - it has so much steel and concrete in it.) I was still scared but at the time had 4 horses and a 3 horse trailer. Sold my baby soon after that - never wanted to be in that position again and she was bred to sell - but wasn't going to leave 1 horse alone through major hurricanes.

                          Do have back up plans - I have contact information for several places to take a horse during a hurricane - all within state.

                          Having moved here from PA years and years ago I have to say it's been good - and I liked Pa. (cold wasn't too bad there). But if you hate the cold Florida is good. California has the best temperature year round - but I'd rather deal with a hurricane that I know is coming over an earthquake - plus I just could not afford 6 acres in California - so I guess Florida is where I'll be living the rest of my life.
                          Now in Kentucky

                          Comment

                          • #93
                            I just need to find a barn!!
                            we still don't knwo where we are going to end up, Tampa, orlando or Jacksonville..


                            anyone have any recommendations in this area?
                            www.freewebs.com/teamtangerine

                            "wise men never play leap frog with unicorns"

                            Comment

                            • #94
                              I moved to Jacksonville (south Jax, north St. Augustine area) a year and a half ago and I love it. I hate the cold. We're only 7 miles from the beach so it's warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer, most evenings we have a nice breeze at the barn (which is right near the intercoastal). So far we've only had a few really hot days and riding in the evenings has been really pleasant. It does seem to be hotter when we go inland like to rocking horse. Since we didn't get much rain the bugs have not been bad at all, last year they were pretty bad with the gnats at dusk. When it gets really hot I just go to the pool or the beach. I was able to show all summer last year and it was hot but I survived. It's not any hotter in the summer than in NC, the heat just lasts longer. Board where I live is not cheap b/c it's so close to the beach ($500-650), but on the west side of Jax it is cheaper. The cost of board was an adjustment but then again I don't pay state income tax so had a 6% raise when I moved here.

                              It is definitely getting more developed fast but I love it, we have St. Augustine nearby which is lovely, downtown Jax is fun too, lots of good restaurants and some night life in both those areas. I just need to learn how to surf!

                              Comment

                              • #95
                                Florida

                                Let me just say I was born & raised in Florida & I am not in my 20's or 30's but older & I can't even think of living anywhere else. We ride year round no matter how hot you just deal with it. As far as the bugs & other critters, you just learn how to survive.

                                Comment

                                • #96
                                  What critters???

                                  Let me just say I am petrified of cockroaches, palmetto bugs, whatever you want to call them. I used to board at a barn that had so many of them I still cringe just thinking about it. Picture this... I slid my mare's stall door open and sensed a dark cloud above me. Jumped back just as a shower of roaches rained down right in front of me. In the middle of it was an albino roach. You don't know gross until you see an albino roach. This particular barn was located not far from a landfill which I think is why they had such a healthy roach population. (Suffice it to say I didn't last there too long!)

                                  But, it's not like there is a roach epidemic in Florida. I have never seen a roach at the barn I board at now nor did see any at the barn I came from. I think it's a matter of carefully securing feed and keeping things clean. In the 11 years I've lived in So Fla, we've had maybe two roaches in our house, and we don't have a full-time exterminator.

                                  I always laugh when I hear how anti-Florida so many people are. I've lived in NY, Rhode Island, London and have travelled throughout thoughout the US and have yet to find that perfect place. For me, nothing beats winter in Florida. It's just perfect.
                                  If I wanted to hear the pitter-patter of little feet, I'd put shoes on my cats.

                                  Comment

                                  • #97
                                    I know I have posted this link before but try this site http://www.findyourspot.com/. Leave yourself open to other possibilities and search for a place based on what is important to you.

                                    I was born and raised in NH and moved 10 years ago to Mississippi. We average 10 degrees cooler than southern Florida and probably about the same as GA, Al and Dallas Fort Worth area of TX. I would guess MS and Al would give you your biggest bang for your buck as far a real-estate but it all depends how you make your living.

                                    I too could not take the winters any more, now all I have to deal with is 2 to 3 months of heat and you can get around that by riding early Am or in the pm. I may get a thin layer of ice in a bucket once or twice a winter but no more. We occasionally dip down to 20 degrees at night but snow is very rare and amusing; everything closes down!
                                    No hour of life is wasted that is spent in the saddle. ~Winston Churchill

                                    Comment

                                    • #98
                                      I'm thinking of going to UFL at Gainesville. I've talked to Maxxtrot about board, but how does the climate and hurricanes compare to the rest of the state? How likely am I to get blown away, smashed, flooded, eaten alive by giant bugs, etc?
                                      Somewhere in the world, Jason Miraz is Goodling himself and wondering why "the chronicle of the horse" is a top hit. CaitlinAndTheBay

                                      Comment

                                      • #99
                                        Good point 411...I think one of the reasons I'm anti-FL is the weather/bug situation. I've been to FL twice...both times in July or August. Apparently NOT the time to be visiting inland central FL. It was too humid/hot to do anything outdoors during the day...and at night mosquitos that would show up on radar made night time outdoor activities miserable. First night out in FL in mid August...while walking on a sidewalk I saw and *heard* a mosquito coming at me and actually ducked hollering, "what the **** was THAT?" I've never been in north FL and have never been to FL in more climate friendly seasons. I've seen farm photos of places down there that look stunning...and I've browsed some real estate sites and many areas are easily affordable. However...there's still the issue of my MIL living there. Makes it too close to being Hades for me, LOL!
                                        You jump in the saddle,
                                        Hold onto the bridle!
                                        Jump in the line!
                                        ...Belefonte

                                        Comment

                                        • #100
                                          Another Floridian checking in.......

                                          We moved to the Clearwater area in 1985, shortly after moved to Tampa & spent all but the last 2 years there. We bought our 15 acre farm in Spring Hill (about 45 min north of Tampa) in 2004. We're about a 20 min drive from the coast. I have a serious love/hate relationship with the state!

                                          Three-fourths of the year, the weather is heavenly. The summer & early fall are simply brutal, and the hurricaines are NO FUN!!! We got hit by Francis & Jeanne, and didn't have electricity for 11 days total during the time frame of 1 month.

                                          As bad as it sucked not having AC & our modern conveniences, the worst was that we are on wells, which run on electric. That meant us trucking in water for 8 hot & thirsty horses for all that time. We lost a huge chunk of our 8000sf pole barn's roof, and to this day haven't found anyone who will fix it. Thank heavens we were left with enough roof to shelter the horses, it's just REALLY ugly and flaps terribly in the wind. At the time I worked in a hospital in Tampa, they had minimal effect from the hurricaines like we did....folks were griping & moaning about losing their cable TV for a day or so or getting some screens torn out of their lanais (WAAAAAHHHH!!! My heart BLED for them, HA!!!!). They did get used to me coming in early to shower there before my shift, looking very tired & being smelly because the heat & humidity were so bad, we just couldn't get much sleep.

                                          Pros to lliving in Florida & this particular region: Super weather for much of the year. Lots & lots of horse shows if you're into that. Tampa is good if you are H/J fan, lots of action at the Fairgrounds esp. in March with the WInter Equestrian Festival, then the American Invitational. Lots going on horsey in other areas such as Ocala & West Palm Beach. Whether you like to watch or participate, lots of horses in Florida! The scenery is lovely in many places. My farm has lots of grandfather oaks which are many centuries old (go to my webpage in sig line, go to Triple H Equestian Center, and you can see some of them plus my old pole barn).

                                          Cons: Obviously, summer & hurricaines. The sandy soil in many areas is a problem. I have lots of grass, but now with the drought, what grass is lost becomes sandpit. The Tampa area is the lighting capital of the world, with the most strikes being recorded. Plenty of horses get killed here each yearfrom lightning. And yes, the bugs. I personally don't have much problem with roaches, but the spiders, OMG, the spiders!!!! We are simply infested. During the summer months, I kill several black widows a *day*. They just love the nooks & crannies in the barn, under bucket lips, you name it, they'll hide there. I confess to killing them with glee. Lots of the huge wolf spiders. Harmless but I still hate them. We have several varieties of banana/garden spiders. One kind in particular shows up in one place on my farm at the same time each year, and they literally are the size of a small tarantula. Land prices are soaring. Good if you own land, bad if you are looking to buy! It's getting very crowded in places that not too long ago were rural (like here!). I bought a farm on a rural road, 2 years later there's 800 houses going up right across the street from our lane. Hay is very expensive. I pay $9.50 a bale for decent T & A. Salaries down here aren't great compared to the rest of the country. I could make a lot more $$ in my profession up north.

                                          To whomever was asking about boarding in/near Tampa.....unless you are a H/J shower, it's pretty slim pickings. Horses are being pushed out, the real estate values are too high to have agriculture. There are some reasonable boarding places on small acreages, but realize that the turnout will be on sand pits, very little grass turnout available in Tampa. Lots of fancy H/J show barns, nice but pricey. If that is what you do, there are some good choices of active barns with good care who frequent the shows. Very few 'wide open spaces" to ride anymore for pleasure/trail riders. Outside Tampa things get a little better.

                                          Hope that gives some insight! I personally would like to move back north. My hubby is about 8 years from retiring, and he'd like to go back to his home state Pennsylvania and spend his days fly fishing. I say as long as I get a small farm, that's fine.

                                          Gracie's Mom
                                          www.julhar.com/

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