Maybe moving East with my horse?

[capecodcathy]

The further inland you go, the more humidity you'll get. I live on the coast and I'd say we had fewer than 5 days where the humidity was on the high side. Also, the closer you are to Boston, even though on the coast, you'll find very high humidity. In July, I started out from home at about 75 degrees and by the time I hit Middleboro it was already 90 and very humid. Driving through Boston the temp exceeded 100. It's usually 10 to 20 degrees cooler on the south coast and Cape Cod.

[kjdh]

Hi There

I live in Massachusetts and also have horses. I live in the small town of Hampden with lots or horses in town. Hampden is a small village a little over one hour west of Boston via the Mass Turnpike. Part of Hampden is on moutainside and stays pretty cool. There are loads of trails, and always somone to ride with. The town has a small village, and MA Audobon holds a lot of the land, so development is not overwhelming. We are not too far from Boston, and very close to Bradley airport for travel. THe schools are good, and we have many private schools closeby. The town is adorable, yet still close to the city, and just over 25 min to Bradley airport. The best of all worlds.

We have just bough a new home in Hampden to have more pasture acerage, and have a small horse farm for sale with a lovely house. It has just under three acres with an additional abutting lot which would give just under 6 acres total. The pastures are fenced, and four stall barn is perfect. Let me know if you want any info.

Good luck in your travels

KJDH

[RRedstone]

Originally Posted by capecodcathy

The further inland you go, the more humidity you'll get. I live on the coast and I'd say we had fewer than 5 days where the humidity was on the high side. Also, the closer you are to Boston, even though on the coast, you'll find very high humidity. In July, I started out from home at about 75 degrees and by the time I hit Middleboro it was already 90 and very humid. Driving through Boston the temp exceeded 100. It's usually 10 to 20 degrees cooler on the south coast and Cape Cod.

Hi CapeCod Cathy-
That was helpful info about the humidity being worse when you go inland. I'm starting to think that I'd better wait until I get a chance to really look around the area before I think at all about buying a property.

[RRedstone]

Originally Posted by kjdh

Hi There

I live in Massachusetts and also have horses. I live in the small town of Hampden with lots or horses in town. Hampden is a small village a little over one hour west of Boston via the Mass Turnpike. Part of Hampden is on moutainside and stays pretty cool. There are loads of trails, and always somone to ride with. The town has a small village, and MA Audobon holds a lot of the land, so development is not overwhelming. We are not too far from Boston, and very close to Bradley airport for travel. THe schools are good, and we have many private schools closeby. The town is adorable, yet still close to the city, and just over 25 min to Bradley airport. The best of all worlds.

We have just bough a new home in Hampden to have more pasture acerage, and have a small horse farm for sale with a lovely house. It has just under three acres with an additional abutting lot which would give just under 6 acres total. The pastures are fenced, and four stall barn is perfect. Let me know if you want any info.

Good luck in your travels

KJDH

Hi kjdh-
Thanks for your response. I'm not sure if I had a brain fart or what when I wrote my initial post, but I didn't mean I was looking for an area with lots of horse farms. What I meant to say was that I was looking for an area where there are lots of horse trails - like state parks or conservation land or some such.

I don't think I'm ready to purchase a property yet, but if you have details on your place that you're selling, and maybe photos, I'd love to see them!
Thanks!

[scarletfire]

There seem to be a lot of nice trails in Wenham. Here are some folks who can probably tell you better than me about the specifics: Essex County Trail Association (broken link) or Horseback Riding - The Trustees of Reservations

Callahan State Park, Framingham, MA has more than 100 miles of land with horse trails and walking trails. Many properties in the area are large enough to have 1-2 horses although some people board theirs at a place down the road. I think it's on Edmands Rd. Last time I checked they had a waiting list.

You can also order local horseback riding trail guides at Books - Horseback Riding Trails

[scarletfire]

RRedstone - On another topic, can you recommend a good restaurant in Marin? We're visiting my brother-in-law there in a few weeks and wanted to take him and his family to dinner. Also, do you know of a decent rental car place? Last time I went to CA I used some small company at the Oakland Airport and it was a pain. They advertised that they had a fleet of hybrids but when I got there they gave me some huge tank of a car.

[scarletfire]

Sorry, brain meltdown - I meant Mill Valley! I don't know why I always get those two confused!!

[scarletfire]

And if you're considering Cape Cod:


Brewster is beautiful and has a very nice park for horseback riding:
Nickerson State Park

My folks have a summer place in Brewster and really love it. Some people might find it a little too quiet in the "off season" and, like much of the Cape, it gets trafficky during the summer but there are lovely beaches, a great bike trail, a nice little organic market, attractive historic homes and antique shops, access to good shopping in nearby Orleans, many community activities, and a very nice large library.

[RRedstone]

Originally Posted by scarletfire

Sorry, brain meltdown - I meant Mill Valley! I don't know why I always get those two confused!!

Hi Scarletfire-
Mill Valley is a town in Marin County - so you're not really confused at all. People in Marin County usually just say Marin when they're talking about the whole county - it's not that big.
It's been 12 years since I did much dining out in Marin, so I'm not sure what restaurants are still there that I used to like - but there are soooo many good places to eat. tell me what kind of food and I'll let you know if I can think of any that I'd recommend.
Re- the rental car. I only park my car at the Oakland airport - never need to rent - so I'm no help there either.
Sorry!

[SWBL]

Hi. This is an excellent area for horses. Our small farm, 14 acres in Topsfield (may be on the market next spring), is located across from Bradley Palmer State Park with miles of riding and walking trails. We have an active trail association (Essex Country Trail Association) which helps to maintain trails throughout the area and works to preserve trail access, and trail riding includes riding on the beach fall through spring in Ipswich, Ma. The Myopia Hunt is an active drag hunt; Groton House Horse Trials in Hamilton are held every year (levels novice through intermediate) as well as smaller local events. There is also the Fidelity Jumper Classic in the early fall, a national level jumper show with a $75,000 Grand Prix. I am less familiar with what is available for western enthusiasts, but as you can guess, there is just about something for every sort of horse person.
The summers are mostly lovely, we get some hot days (high 80's-90's) with humidity, but it doesn't last long. The commute to Boston is approx. 25 miles, and includes a commuter train that runs through Wenham. All in all, it is a very nice place to live.