This is a local gem. I called on Saturday morning to see if there was any last-minute availability for a trail ride for 2. Fortunately for us, we got a spot and were saddled up 3 hours later. We enjoyed an hour trail ride on a lovely sunny day. Our trail guides John was very helpful and quite pleasant, along with Kristine and Roseanne. They took extra care personally assuring each rider was comfortable during the ride. We've had a proper instructions before going for a trail ride. Absolutely a friendly energy from everyone we interacted with. The facilities were well maintained, and the horses seemed super happy and healthy. Those horses were rescued and they seem truly cared for and loved and I respect any organization that takes such care of their animals. We felt the positive energy as soon as we stept on the property. Excellent experience! read more

Blue Spruce Farm - Spanish mustang Joy - Horseback Riding Near Me - Monroe, Connecticut

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Farm owner is a kind soul. She is accepting of people with special needs/learning disabilities for hay rides, etc. Great experience. A+

Amazing place to come horseback riding!! The people who work here are so friendly and welcoming and you can tell just how much they love their horses. The trail ride was beautiful and much more than we expected! Would 100% recommend!!! read more

We have 2 kids that we brought to the farm. Our 6 year old jumped right in and had a blast. Enjoy a good family out on the trails at this place. Lots of other places to go in the area after. read more

They try their best but the horses live in mud and squaller. Not all the horses are beginner safe and shouldn't be taken on trails with inexperienced riders. One of the horses used to live on an old rusty trailer in the middle of a mud pit. Feet are filled with thrush and children run the place half the time. read more

Blue Spruce Farm - What the horses live in - Horseback Riding Near Me - Monroe, Connecticut

I am writing to warn other mothers about this place. I had the most shocking experience at this so called farm. My 5 year old daughter wanted to try riding a pony for the first time, so I called this place and asked whether they had ponies there. They said they did and gave me an appointment. My daughter was so excited and talked about riding on a pony for days before going there. It was going to be her first time. So, on the said day we arrived after a 40 min car ride. They had a tall horse prepared for us and no ponies. I tried to explain to my very disappointed daughter that they don't have ponies and she started crying. I was debating with myself whether to let her on a tall horse but she scares easily, so I was uncomfortable letting her. My daughter was getting increasingly upset and crying that she wanted a pony. Out of nowhere, the owner came and told her that she is a brat, and she doesn't deal with brats. She said to her:"Give me the helmet and leave right away!" I was in complete shock. My daughter started crying real tears now. I turned to the owner and told her to never EVER again talk to my daughter this way! Never ever. She however said something along the lines of bye bye, don't come here again. I asked her why did she make me come all the way when she doesnt even have what I asked for ón the phone and what her website says they offer? I told them that they have no business dealing with kids as they don't know how to talk to kids let alone kids on horses. At this point, the son told me that they deal with lots of kids but not brats like mine! I left thinking that these people are dangerous and not in their right minds. Seeing me so upset and yelling and not getting her pony, my daughter was ballistic. There were 4 people there and no one tried to calm her down. You think this is the end of the story?... No! The same evening, the Monroe Police Dept called me. The owner claimed that I got into a physical altercation with them. A complete, complete lie. I explained everything to the officer. Beware of this place. I will never allow anyone treating my child this way. Imagine how they talk to children when their parents are not around? Shocking! We now go to a real farm. read more

Wonderful afternoon for our first visit to Blue Spruce. We arrived early to walk around and see the ponies and horses. We each received individual instruction by the knowledgeable staff so me and my children could get acclimated to the horses before setting out on the trails. Our trail ride was through the scenic acres around the property and our guide gave additional instruction whenever needed to keep our ride enjoyable. My children were very apprehensive in advance of their first horseback ride, but were beaming ear to ear after we left. We are looking forward to returning again soon. read more

This was the worst experience! I made a reservation in January 2019 for my Girl Scout Troop to do an hour trail ride. In the beginning of May I called to confirm with the farm, I spoke with Roseanne, again and she was rude and acted as if I had never made a reservation. After talking to her she did remember and confirmed my reservation and told me I never sent a deposit (because she never told me I had to). I immediately dropped a $150 check in the mail to her. She was going to again send me the permission forms she forgot to send. Two days before our reservation I called again, spoke to Christine who would email me the permission slip, she sent it in an outdated format, I emailed back twice asking for it to be sent in a different format or would it be okay if we filled them out when we arrived, I never heard back. I called again later in the afternoon and spoke with someone else, I asked about the types of payments they take, cash only. When we showed up for our reservation we were greeted by a very flustered and rude Roseanne that acted as if we weren't supposed to be there!! Claimed we cancelled our reservation!! She was very nasty, the horses were agitated, there were young kids working for her that were yelling at the horses. We managed to get a few girls up on some horses before finding out the horses saddles were not on properly, one horse was missing a breast plate and another was missing it's bit!! They put my daughter on a little tiny horse, twice around the ring and the young girl leading her began hitting the horse to calm him at which time the horse reared up and bucked my 8 year old off his back!!! My daughter was traumatized!! Hurt and shaking!! The other girls were upset and wanted to get off the horses immediately!! Roseanne yelled at the young girl but never once was concerned with my daughter nor did she apologize!! I sat my daughter to calm her and Roseanne just sat at the same table like a statue! Like she was the one terrified by a horse!! We paid her not one penny and put a stop on my check that she never cashed!! Not one apology to ruining our event. My daughter will probably never get on a horse again! Please do not go to this place! read more

I hemmed and hawed over whether or not I would write this review, but I think it's really important that I do. I've shared the story with several folks who've encouraged me - so here goes: STEER CLEAR of this place. They are super sweet people, but they are in WAY over their heads. This is a dangerous experience. We went on a trail ride with Blue Spruce Farm, and at first, everyone just seemed a little bit wacky, but harmless. Minor things were going wrong, like the young girl helping me onto my horse forgetting to tighten the girth and my saddle spinning when I went to step up. But the reactions to those minor things made me really nervous - it seemed like these little things were sending everyone into a tizzy, when they should've been easily addressed by experienced folks. We left 30-40 minutes later than planned, as a result of this chaos and disorganization. (This also left me with a freaked-out horse.) Once out on the "trails" (just a walk through pretty woods - no marked trails), we walked by the owner's house. Her husband was working in the yard, and he turned on what sounded like an air compressor as we walked by. Every single horse spooked - mine worst of all, and while I managed to stay on, I did end up flopped over with my arms around my horse's neck, hanging on for dear life. The trail leader tried to make a joke out of it (no one else found it particularly funny) - she even said the man "always forgets" and apparently does this kind of often? Right after that, we walked within 10 feet of the road, and I found myself thanking my lucky stars that no large, noisy trucks were going by. I do have some experience as a rider, but I am not "experienced." I made that pretty clear, so I don't think it was my fault or my own bad judgment. I think these are genuinely sweet and kind people who are just not well-equipped to provide trail rides to the public. I'm concerned that they offer them. They do not have the ability to provide even as safe an experience as one can expect with horses. Also of note: - These are all rescue horses. They do wonderful work here as a rescue barn, but they are not suitable horses for everyone to ride. - I've since been told that, without lessons to riders (which this farm does not provide before a standard trail ride), they are not allowed to offer trail rides in the state of Connecticut. All things considered, they should probably focus on another aspect of their business and give this up. So, stay away. Stay away. read more

we came to Blue Spruce after several unsatisfactory experiences at Goldrush. we love Blue Spruce. not only is Roseanne, the owner so calm patient thorough & generous with her time, but the children are learning to ride English style/dressage beautifully and competently. At Goldrush they were taught Western style by a different teenage girl every week. At Blue Spruce you get the same experienced teacher (Roseanne) every lesson I do not recommend Western style as in comparison it looks sloppy & inelegant Roseanne's prices are very competitive & you will get a wonderful riding experience In about 9 months my children have gone from complete beginners to cantering and they all love this place they have also been welcomed when theyve asked to help feeding grooming & mucking out the horses read more

This is the second year I took my granddaughters to Blue Spruce Farm, as they are from the West Coast and visit yearly. Both times were positive experiences. One granddaughter is now 8 yrs, and the other will turn 4 yrs. very soon. Last year, the farm was quite busy with the day camp crowd but took the time to bring the girls on the trail (supervised, of course). Both girls loved it and wanted to ride again this year. We got to hang out on the farm for an extra hour, as staff was not in yet. The owner and her helper let the girls brush the horse and even do a little cleaning up! I requested this because way too many riders only want to ride and don't bother to learn anything about caring for these beautiful creatures, nor do they take the time to say "hello" to the horse. I must tell you, just spending a little time brushing a horse makes a big difference in the quality of the ride! The girls learned how to get on and off, steer the horse, and stop and go. Only two rides, and they are pretty good, thanks to the kindness and patience of this stable owner. She told us stories of her rescue horses that melted our hearts. I think she is a tremendously wonderful person doing a great job of bringing together horses and riders of all ages. read more

I took my daughter and her boyfriend for a trail ride. The day we went it rained but the staff was great anyway. They ended up taking them on a lovely hour long ride. My daughter had a ball! I would highly recommend this farm to take an enjoyable ride. The owner is very friendly and takes great care of the horses on the farm. They are lovable and very used to people touching them. It's great for a beginner who has never ridden before. I will definitely be back! read more

We recently went to Blue Spruce for a trail ride and it was an terrible experience...They didn't give much instruction of how to ride a horse, and NONE to speak of for the smallest kid in our group. When we explained all of our experience and they assured us we would be fitted to the appropriate horse. They lead the horse by hand of the person in our group with the most experience riding(after getting on the trail a worker explained it was because they were training that horse how to get through the trail). They left our friends little son alone, on a pony he couldn't control, that ran off on the wrong trails, so he was by himself, out of control, panicking! The guides walk on foot with you on the trails instead of on horses, so you only ride at a plotting, walking pace. One of our guides just left the group without saying a word. Another couldn't keep up with our ever slow pace. We left almost an hour late and only rode for about 30 min instead of the stated 45-60 min. They were nice people to the horses but seemed not to care for us riders. All the horses are rescues, which is a great cause. However they are not the horses for trail riding, or for less experienced riders. Awesome they are being rehabilitated but they shouldn't be advertised to be great horses for a good trail ride experience. So sad! read more