Equine Stable @ Ken Caryl Ranch (Denver, Littleton: appointed, insurance, school)

[lovingcolorado123]

Hi - we are planning on relocating to the Ken Caryl area and are bringing our two horses with us. Does anyone out there board at the KC stable or has anyone heard good or bad things about it? Do they do mostly English or Western riding? Are there "Fun Shows" to enter? Any info is most apprecaited! PS What are the going rates for "outdoor pasture board" in the Denver area?

[Supertuck]

I lived around the corner from KC stables and it looked like a good place. As an avid horse person I would always walk down and see the horses. The horses all look like they are taken care of well. However, you are in a very wealthy area so board is out of sight and the people are rather snobby. The facilities are nice. The indoor looks big and footing seems good.
There are also some nice barns up C-470 just a little bit that may be worth checking out. I would look around a bit first and see which barn you think would be the best bet for you and your horses. Soda Lake Stables I think it's called is in Morrison and it's great. It backs up to Bear Creek Open Space so the trails are unlimited. Their indoor is very large and nice. They also had a fabulas dressage trainer last time I was there.

Good luck!

[Stan Penton]

Yes ken caryl is great. It is open only to residents of Ken Caryl.
Rates are subsidized by homeowner dues.
You may look into Normandy Farms.. Only other quality stable
located nearby.

[d-luxe]

I would agree that KC is an excellent stable. So is Cottonwood Stables in Littleton.

If the above post is from the same Stan Penton, he has FAILED to disclose his OWNERSHIP in Normandy Stables.

[EvergreenCharm]

I am also moving to the Evergreen area the end of the year and I visited many horse stables to board my horse in August. Ken Caryl had very nice facilities and when I was in contact with them in Aug they said that they were full with a wait list and you had to be a homeowner in the community to board there. Normandy Stables also was very nice but they don't have access to trails like Ken Caryl. I was very disappointed in the Soda Lake Stables. The footing in the arenas was not good and it was hot and smelly in the barns. I was most impressed with Swede Gulch Farms in Golden (expensive), Bridlewood Stables in Evergreen (moderate $ but full), and Table Mountain Ranch in Golden. I ride English so most of these places catered to dressage and / or jumping.

[smelend]

Soda Lake Stable has replaced their footing in the indoor arena and it is lovely. The horses are WELL fed and there are miles of trail riding in Bear Creek Lake Park. There are riding instructors of several diciplines and it is a friendly atmosphere. I would reccomend Soda Lakes to anyone looking for affordable in town full care facility. As far as it being smelly... it is a horse barn and smells just like any other horse barn, including Ken Caryl....

[sunsprit]

Due to many operating costs these days, all of the facilities that are kept reasonably safe and healthy for your horses are getting expensive for the operators.

As a boarding equine facility owner/operator in another (much less expensive) area, with an indoor 110x280 arena, outdoor arenas/dressage rings, indoor stalls and outdoor stalls/corrals/runs, spectator areas ... facilities for about 80 horses, tack rooms, wash racks, classrooms, reasonably nice bathrooms and laundry ... I am shocked at the prices charged in the SW Denver area for equine boarding and care, and yet I know that they must charge that much to be able to provide the care and pay their overhead expenses, taxes, insurance (GL, property, and special equine operations with guest coverage, and an umbrella for the worst case situations). As expensive as some of them are, I still wonder if they are able to make any money or a decent ROI. I know I couldn't in my local area at top of the market rates ....

Anyway, having ridden extensively since the early 1970's in the foothills around the KC area (thanks to friends with stables at their properties), I can highly recommend boarding there if you can and if you like trail riding. I'm only a trail rider, so I can't comment on the other riding disciplines ....

Normandy Stables would require you to trailer your horse some distance to get to good trail riding, so is not a good choice if that's your riding need. This is also true of some of the stables along C-470, where they don't have very good access to trails anymore due to recent subdivisions landlocking them.

[corinne lettau]

I teach horseback riding lessons out of a beautiful facility in Littleton - we have quality school horses available, too. Please visit my website for background information, location and pricing details. Thank you! Corinne [ mod cut ]