Austin Horseback Riding

[love roses]

I live sort of close to there and never hear of much coming from there. I know some people who live out in Bastrop, next to Elgin and they've never mentioned high crime.

[TexasHorseLady]

I'm trying to find a link where you can research the crime in Elgin yourself with actual statistics. But I've not heard that.

[GregTex63]

There are numerous state parks in Texas which offer thousands of acres to "trail ride" on. Several close enough for day trips from the Austin area.

Generally speaking grass is more plentiful on the east side of I-35 w/ blackland soil. Sometimes harder on a horses joints and ligaments. West of I-35 is hillier, rockier, and more "Western" in appearance. The grass is "stronger" which means more protein & mineral content.

Generally speaking criime is higher east of I-35. Definitely around the Elgin, Manor, Bastrop areas.

Schools are better west, but you mentioned you don't havfe kids as yet, and will homeschool when you do.

The further you get from Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, or Forth Worth, the more affordable land is.

Aubrey, Texas is considered the more horse friendly city in the country.

Stephenville is also very horse friendly. Both are about 2-2 1/2 hours north of Austin.

If your interested in competing there are competitions state wide regularly. Not just barrels, but all sorts of horseback competitions. A lot of girls rope here, and guys encourage it too.

Forth Worth offers more Horseback events than probably any city in the country. There is literally something every single weekend.

Lastly, if you are stuck on the Austin area, Round Rock has two brand spankin' new, state of the art hospitals, and a 3rd that's very nice too. Less riff raff than Austin, and barely to the north. Georgetown too has a nice hospital. Temple/Belton has several nice hospitals as well.

Any questions specifically about horses, things in this area, or horse related, you can email me at [EMAIL="gregtex63@gmail.com"]gregtex63@gmail.com[/EMAIL].

Regards,

Greg

[BubblingOver]

Are you here yet?? Tons of hospitals between Austin and Temple, about 1 hour north on the main highway (IH35). My hubby's a doc at Scott & White Hospital in Temple, and I was share-boarding my 4 horses with a Certified Nurse Anesthetist who just finished her training in Chicago, moved here this spring, but is moving already to Dallas cuz of her hubby's new job. I am looking for a horsewoman friend to get involved.

I brought three of my horses down from Chicago in Feb. ('07). Boy were they shocked!!!!! They said Yeee-ha by running and kicking up their heels. What a sight!

The Bell County Expo Center, which sits on IH35, has horse events of all sorts. There are a number of horse organizations in Central Texas. Not all clubs require you to join them. And there are lots of people who ride but don't belong to any club. Reading thru these various threads, I see lots of other helpful suggestions from people.

[rickibobbi72]

Here is my 2 cents of unsolicited advice.
As a newcomer I spent the last 5/6 mo searching & combing
the place for pretty much the same reasons & goals.

Here is what I found out:

The good the bad & the ugly

THE GOOD

Food: this is BBQ heaven, can't get any better than this

Weather: 9 out of 12 with mild weather (middle of Nov and still in T shirt)

Outdoors activities: result of the above reasons

Plenty of HORSES and HORSE OWNERS so if you want to mingle many people with common interests
(People run cattle everywhere even on 5 acres...)

Affordable horse property. But 190K won't get you acreage & house unless you want a singlewide or be 20/30 min from everything.

If you are into barrel/pole and are willing to drive there are some events now& then
all others events are more sporadic(except wildfire ranch, if you rope...)

Firearms: it's easier than other states to hunt and own guns

THE BAD

If you're familiar with western states (NM,CO,WY,MT,NV,CA) you'll feel that there's nowhere
to ride around here. While back there is not uncommon to ride straight out of town
and have 100 miles of free unrestricted trails encompassing mountains canyons etc
HERE YOU WON'T FIND ANY OF IT. You'll have to haul EVERYWHERE. and not for 10 min...
Everything is private here and every last bit of land is fenced and crossfenced = NO PUBLIC LAND.

Parks: yes this is TX but to my surprise only 5/10% allow horses .
I can throw many names at you but If you want real trail riding in the area it boils down to this:
Parrie Haynes Ranch. i don't know what you're used to so it's hard to say...
it's mostly flat to very low rolling hills, some of it rocky and millions of low cedar trees.
Again the place is good but if you're used to the beauty of the BLM and 100s of miles you might be disappointed. Because of the nature of the terrain after 3 hrs you'll feel you are doing laps (even if you aren't) and can't tell one trail from the other. Some trash also present (cans, plastic bottles) on the trails, which, on the other hand, are VERY WELL MARKED.
Badera trails are 170 miles away (it's like going to Dallas) and 2:30 min to 3 hrs on empty roads and no traffic conditions so to me they are not to be considered part of the area (unless DFW also is).

No riding freedom (consequence of the above). Bigger/better rides are tied to other people
schedule, presence, timing, restrictions, permissions: you gotta be part of a group and can't do what you want.

Horse friendliness: again depends on what you're used to. Lots of western states are WAY friendlier IMO. Norco, for one has hitching posts out of stores and public officials encourage use of horses within city limits and city streets. Plenty of portable corrals in parking lots and few extra long parking slots for truck & trailers. I still have to see any of that here other than Cabelas in Buda.

Property taxes (2%).


THE UGLY

June to Aug: IT IS BRUTAL. There's nothing to do but hide: you need to be in AC 24/7 (almost 80 days
of above 100Fcan make you go crazy) In the middle of the night, the coolest hr feels like a hairdryer
is blowing on you. The sun on you during the day- other than blazing heath- feels like someone is piggyback riding on you

Moderator cut: off topic


Consider these things too because they can get to you a lot more than you think as time passes

Let us know
Good look