I have boarded my horse at Winthrop Farm for over 10 years, and the quality of care and attention…read moreis unmatched. Anne is patient and profoundly knowledgable, with the philosophy that each horse is an individual with individual needs, personalities, and plans for diet and care. The facility is clean and safe, and it is the quietest, most peaceful barn I've been in. The community is warm and friendly! I can't imagine having my horse anywhere else. I can rest easy knowing she is in excellent hands when I'm not there!

I have been riding and working for Anne at Winthrop Farm for almost 20 years. The care the horses…read morereceive is second to none. WF treats every horse as though they are their own. Everyone gets individual, specialized care as needed. The "School" horses are the most well cared for School horses I have ever encountered, they are far from over worked most don't work more than 1 lesson per day and they are definitely not your typical cranky lesson horses. Each School horse has their own saddle, most being top of the line dressage saddles. Whether you are looking for lessons, boarding or work I can't recommend Winthrop Farm enough!

Horses are spiritual animals as I immediately turned calm when I saw them. Came here for my kid who…read moreenrolled in their special program. She was able to feed, comb and rode Freddy(ie), the horse she handpicked. At the end, she was given a horseshoe as a parting gift. Ironstone has specialized programs but would be beneficial if prices are listed. I sent them an inquiry regarding a program that I am highly interested but I haven't heard back. Huge place for horses to roam around.

I love this place so much. My ASD child started last January and it has hands down been the best…read moretherapy they've ever had. Calming, supportive, kind and flexible instructors, who really got to know my kid and found the perfect balance between therapy and learning new things. This has been a lifetime high point for them. Bonus points that it's therapy for me too - as my blood pressure drops immediately as soon as I arrive!

If I could give the volunteers and fellow boarders 5 stars, I absolutely would. They are the only…read morereason this place functions and they are the ones who truly care about the horses. Unfortunately, the actual business practices and treatment of clients were some of the most unprofessional and unpredictable I have ever experienced. The financial terms of our contract were changed behind our backs and behind the backs of multiple boarders. When we questioned why we were suddenly being charged double and asked about the changes in the contract language, we were told not to question her authority because she's "the business owner" and that we should just pay because we are "wealthy and have fancy cars" (see pic). "60 days" you are asked to pay when leaving turns into 90+ days upon departure- its insane and if you contest it- that's when things turn very nasty. The people giving 5 star reviews will see at some point what this place is and who management is if you contest their fraudulent practices. The lesson company on the property, Valara Equestrian Academy, was also charging our credit card through a completely different company (The Peaceful Equine LLC) that has been administratively dissolved since 2023 (and isn't even filed as a riding/training business) That is ILLEGAL We asked for the legal business name multiple times and it couldn't be produced. I'm not sure how that works with liability insurance but I wish I had looked into this sooner but initially we were naive. We had no idea because the company name processing the charges was different from the one listed on the paperwork and branding. We only discovered it later after going back through records and statements. . We slowly uncovered fraudulent, unethical, and deceptive business practices at every turn. Beyond the financial and business issues, the conditions & care for the horses were less than satisfying and safety was a big concern. Our stalls constantly had manure left in them even after they had supposedly been cleaned the pic was before the horse was even turned back into the stall). And honestly, this was not the workers' fault. Expecting one person to properly clean that many stalls by 2pm was unrealistic. The staff work hard -- management cuts corners at every chance they get for example getting rid of "night check" so the last time the horses have any forage is 2pm UNLESS the boarder provides more hay and is on property to fill and hang hay bags. Plan to spend a lot of additional money from buying shavings that won't hurt your horse, a ton of hay and additional fees to store said hay. Having horses go from 2pm- 6am with no forage is not good care. One of our horses ended up with Ulcers- (this was also not cheap to treat ) due to stress and limited access to adequate forage and the other lost a ton of weight. see pic Top- week we bought him and brought to ST. Middle - Week we left ST (he had been there only 4 months) Bottom- taken today at new barn 4 months later We couldn't be happier with our new barn and the care they get. We also had to spend our own money making both of our stalls safe and habitable because of rotted flooring and sharp boards sticking out from the stall walls. Boarders should not be expected to repair dangerous stalls themselves just so their horses can safely stand inside them. Boarders were expected to pay out of pocket for repairs and safety fixes to their own stalls, despite the facility itself not being properly maintained, because we were repeatedly told "the barn can't afford it." The shavings were also unsafe (see pics), I don't know if I would even call them shavings. On several occasions there were loose wires hanging in the paddocks and in the dirt causing one of our horses legs to get caught. The manipulation and toxic behavior from the trainer -- especially within the group of teenage girls -- was also incredibly unprofessional and honestly pretty disturbing to look back on after leaving. The texts I have uncovered from trainer to my daughter and having her call her at all hours. Very un professional. Their response to another negative review on Google should tell you all you need to know. (See pic). Looking back now, there were red flags everywhere. I genuinely wish we had left far sooner than we did. I have heard from many people/boarders past and present that years ago this was a beautiful family run establishment but unfortunately has gone down hill under more recent management. Dont be fooled by positive reviews. I wish we hadn't been. I wish we paid attention to the mass exodus of boarders leaving when we first arrived.

Amazing barn amazing people I have been here for a year and a half my daughter and I took lessons…read moreand we leased a horse and now boarding it's beautiful the horses are treated wonderfully everything's above expectations

We were up in Milford, New Hampshire visiting my grandchildren. My granddaughter has learned how to…read moreride and how to take care of the horses at the Serendipity Stables. We were very impressed with the owners of the horse riding academy, Nicole and Nick Semales. They love horses and people so they are in the right business. You can see that they are very passionate in everything that they do. Your children are in good hands with them. I could see that my granddaughter has gained more confidence and respect for the horses with every lesson. If you are in the area you should stop in to see their operation and perhaps have a riding lesson. Safe travels and be happy!

Kathy and the crew are awesome. I learned how to ride with Kathy when I was about 12 yrs old. I am…read morenow 65. She taught me English and Western riding. I was able to attend horse shows with her and had the most positive experiences. Love ya Kathy. It's a family at the farm. MeriEllen from Massachusetts and now NH.

As we all get older, we create bucket lists. My wife and I sat down and put together a bucket list…read more One of her items which she considered to be a simple one was for us to go horseback riding. She had been horseback riding as a kid and really wanted to relive that experience with me. I on the other hand had never been on a horse before. I didn't want to tell her that I was feeling nervous or that I had some concerns about getting on a horse. But I did tell the lady who owns the farm privately and she helped me get comfortable. She helped select the horses from my wife and I, and although my wife had experienced as a child, the owner stated our older bodies are much different now and she picked a nice gentle horse for my wife and I. She took extra time to show me how to properly sit on the horse, keep my feet in the stirrups and hold onto the reins. In talking with friends they explained at most farms you normally get led by a human being around the circle a couple of times and that's horseback riding. At Spring Tide Farm they took us out and we rode the horses! The owner was a patient woman who was so kind to her animals as well as us humans. She explained she's been doing this for 50 years and the horses are like her children. She explained that her love for horses, not only extends to her horses, but those that she boards. The time seem to fly by, my wife and I had a great experience together. Time for the next thing on our list.

I have been to Sons of the Wind twice at their Loxahatchee, FL location. Once last year and again…read morethis year. I had such a great time last year that I returned this year and brought 3 friends along. .. Unfortunately, this year's trip was not as positive as last years. On the positive side, the facility is beautiful, and the horses are wonderful. Where things fell apart a bit this year was in the lessons. There are three instructors, Vitor (the main instructor), Maggie, and Vincent. Vincent taught one of the group lessons (3 of us) and did a wonderful job. Clear and concise instruction, well balanced, and very informative. I took lunge lessons with Maggie and they were also excellent - exhausting but well worth it. Vitor struggled a bit more with time management - especially in the group lessons. In at least 3 of the lessons, he focused 80% of the time on one of the riders while the other riders just walked around. Then they got a few minutes at the end. In another lesson, he took a student off their lesson horse to show them how to do something on that horse and then spent at least 20 minutes schooling that horse (still not getting it do really do what he was asking) before getting off and having that student get back on to just walk around the rest of the lesson (the poor horse was completely fried by then). When he is focused on you and gives instruction, it is generally very good. That said, what really got to me was the response when I voiced my frustration with basically 30% of my lessons being pretty much a non-lesson. At the end of my last lesson, my frustration was pretty clear. When Maggie asked what was wrong, I expressed my frustration with the 3 lessons that were basically me auditing while sitting on the back of horse, the response I got was "I am sorry you feel that way" followed by "You don't need to come back". That just blew me away - instead of taking the feedback and saying "so sorry that happened, thank you for letting us know and we will work on that" - I basically get told to go find someplace else to go. That lack of concern and empathy for the people who have come here was disappointing to say the least. While they did reimburse me for the three lessons, that wasn't the point and not what I requested. This did nothing for the other individuals who were impacted by this. Unfortunately, based on this experience, I cannot recommend them anymore.

I have nothing but the absolute best to say about Vitor Silva, everyone that works for him, and the…read morefacilities at Sons of the Wind (SotW). Riding with Vitor has been a transformative experience for me, not just because riding one of his Lusitano schoolmasters is like nothing I had experienced before, but because I was finally able to begin to take what I'd learned by watching for so long and do something with it. He presents information in a way that is easy to understand, is patient, and I feel completely comfortable asking about anything I do not understand. And when you ride one of the SotW schoolmasters, it is evident how much time has been spent with each horse so that they too have something to teach us and as a result, you are able to get the most out of your ride. The facilities at SotW are simply wonderful and although I could spend several paragraphs elaborating, I'll instead recommend checking out their website where all of the facility details are available in detail. I also want to highlight the SotW staff who are uncompromising when it comes to providing exceptional care to the animals as well as the maintenance of the facilities. Their overall attention to detail and their ability to work as a team is second to none. I have been a boarder here and I have the utmost confidence in the care being provided by SotW. You hear many stories in the horse world and I am glad to be somewhere that is filled with dedicated professionals who do not cut corners and who take great pride in everything that they do. I wholeheartedly recommend SotW and urge you, whether you are interested in learning about classical dressage or in need of training for your horse, to contact them for more information.

This is one of the lesser known barns that I have been to. They do a great buisness with kids and…read moreteaching them how to care for the horses. I used to work there myself and have seen many changes myself. Their prices aren't half bad and the scheduling can be very flexible which is nice. Some things that aren't so nice are that the teachers will change alot and the lessons might get repetitive. They might be hard on you so be aware. Also, the staff number may be limited or at least when I was there, so working there isn't the best option. But who am I to judge. Try it for yourself.

Iv never been to such a barn where the horses are quiet and contented. Have great trainers,…read moreHusband/ Wife Team. Yes like all barns in Ma. The board is right up their, but your horse gets 110% of the stable hands attention, they are well versed in all aspects of horse care! Loads of Trails to explore, Cross Country Fences under you nose, Indoor Arena, and on occasion Guest Trainers. Check Ledyard out, you will love the place!