If you are looking for a family-run, friendly, barn/boarding stable with large pastures and snug,…read moreBIG stalls, this is the place to be. My horse Rusty and I came to Guarded Heart in 2018 and we stayed until I needed to move for a new job. I love this place! Quiet, safe, great personalized care from people who really, truly love horses. They have both English and Western boarders. A nice arena with sand footing and lights, a perimeter-of-the-property riding trail that is fenced and safe for younger riders to use to build confidence, and an obstacle course in the making to allow you to work your horse from the ground or the saddle. Have a small round pen, too. In the spring, the grass is amazing. The barn has a large breezeway for tacking up, etc... Lockers, too. Clint, Heather, Lexi, and Michael took such great care of my horse that I left him with them for over 6 months while I got my new place ready for him to occupy in another city. They have been more than I could ask for when it came to loving and caring for Rusty in my absence, even taking him to the vet for me when necessary!! My horse required special care for a medical problem and they came to my rescue. No group of people could be better! We are happy in our new place, but we miss our barn family more than I can say. Rusty and I had a lot of fun and made amazing friends during our time at GHF. My endorsement is wholehearted. Best Barn Ever!!!

Great place for boarding, learning and loving all things horses. The barn manager is super…read moreknowledgeable and amazing with horses. the owners are top notch and care for both the horses and their owners. lots of room for horses to run and a large barn if needed. My only regret is not having more horses!

My wife and I had a great trail ride at White Fences. I haven't been on a horse since I was a kid…read moreso I needed some good instructions . The owner, Silvia, and one of her trainers were so patient and helpful getting me on my horse and making sure I was totally comfortable before we took off. The trail ride was wonderful and my horse was amazing. It took me back to my youth! I also took a tour of White Fences after my ride and it's absolutely beautiful and well kept. If I had a horse I would definitely board it there. I would highly recommend White Fences! Trey Sheffield

We had our horse at White Fences for many years and were very happy with the service and facility,…read moreuntil last year when the operation was bought by one of the boarders. Since being taken over by the new management in the last part of 2017 under a new business entity White Fences Equestrain Center, LLC Our experience has been painful and frustrating, and finally we decided to leave to because we did not feel our horse was being properly cared for. The old White Fences was run by a world-class trainer with an enormous number of accolades. The jumping instructor was well accomplished, had many awards and recommendations. There seemed to be nearly 100 horses at the barn and a waiting list to get in. In the six months since new management has taken over, the number of horses seems to have dwindled and some people have left the barn. The new 'instructors' appear to be less accomplished, in our estimation. Some of the new instructors appear to be riders who seem to have become instructors after taking a seminar or simply being long-time riders. The owner does not appear to have owned a barn before and seems to have frustrated some of the vendors/labor team, and some appear to have disconnected from the barn. We experienced issues with billing, where invoices showed a different price than what was originally quoted to us and a lack of timely responsiveness when issues were brought up. We hand issues with blanketing our horse in the winter, we had issues with watering/filling water troughs, and issues with horse kicking/contention. When these issues were brought up, the responses we received contained statements like, "I am new at this and learning." I recommend you examine this and any other barn you might use carefully. I highly recommend anyone considering boarding here (or any place else), review the pedigree and experience of the instructors for proper fit to your needs, and read the boarding contract carefully. You should ensure that items are explicitly stated in the contract to protect your needs (you should do this with any contract, not just White Fences) such as: 1. Use of quality water, supplements, and food and frequency provided. 2. A guarantee to maintain a healthy weight. 3. A guarantee to protect the health and wellbeing of the horse. 4. An obligation for timely notification of incidents (8 hours). 5. A a commitment for proper blanketing and other care. 6. A statement not to use images without written permission. I also strongly recommend asking for terms for pricing and services to ensure that your understand how they might change. Ask qualifying questions like: 1. How long have you owned this business? When did you buy it? 2. Have you owned or operated a horse barn before? 3. How many horses have you owned? 4. What certifications, qualifications, training do you have to be an instructor? 5. How many days/hours of formal instructor training do you have? When we left the owner agreed to pay us a pro-rated refund. She paid a partial amount of the refund, but and withheld a portion of our refund, because we asked her to remove any images of us or our horse that she had put on her website without our permission. Be careful and do your homework as you should with any major purchase.

Today was the first day of equestrian camp at this location for my son. When we arrived at the…read morecamp, we were greeted by a student who was working on learning how to care for and train new riders. After a brief introduction, my son then went right into his lesson. When I arrived to pick my son up at the end of camp today, he was filling a horse trough and helping with the grooming of Skittles; the newest horse at the stable. This camp/ stable provides lessons without the "fluff". Sydney (the owner) is very direct, open and honest about what it takes to learn to ride and care for a horse. Within the first day, my son learned how to care for a horse as well as was able to trot on a horse without an equestrian saddle. *COVID protocols are followed during the pandemic

I love Idylwood Stables! Sydney is a wonderful human being and has so much passion for horses and…read moretraining. She truly cares about her students and boarders. The number one priority at Idylwood is the happiness and health of the horses. They are treated like royalty! Her training style is very positive and encouraging. She will continue to challenge you, ultimately making you a more confident rider. I have tried almost every barn in the Austin area but none of them have that "barn family" feel like Idylwood! Feels like home.

This place has been in really bad shape but it will all be changing soon. My name is Jonathan Carr…read moreand my family and I just purchased the ranch and will be making a LOT of improvements over the next 12 months. We would love for everyone to come and give us another shot. Our values are: Excellence, Joy, Transparency and Loving your neighbor. We plan on injecting all of those into every aspect of what will now be called HORSEPOWER RANCH. We hope to build a place where the community can flourish and would love for you to come and help us grow it. Thanks for taking the time to read. -Jonathan

By all appearances, this place looks great. But then you board there and you realize it isn't…read more 1st thing is we signed up our horses for the farrier arranged by Joel. They offer to bring the horses in for the trim and put them back out afterwards. Days after a farrier visit I called Joel to follow up on an issue and told him we were on the way over and he informed us one of our horses was limping, but it was no big deal, the farrier trimmed her short. I was surprised this was not mentioned to us prior to this time, so I immediately hung up the phone and called the vet who came right out. As we started to bring our horse out, from 50 feet away the dr says to me that is not a limp from a short trim. Our horse could barely walk and to bring her in we had to walk over the 40 foot long pile of manure that had been dumped outside the barn. Her issue turned out to be serious and unrelated to a short trim. We then had to pay for a stall with special bedding, she was put on pain meds. The next day, it had rained and we get to her stall and shes standing in a pool of mud water, feces and pee. We switched stalls, but every stall available was wet and our horse specifically needed several inches of dry bedding. This problem was very stressful as every place he put her would get wet. We gave notice at the end of the month and told Joel we'd be removing the horses within a couple weeks. With 30 days notice required, we gladly paid the full month's board for both horses. But, around the 1st the round bale was basically gone. We asked Joel when they would be putting a new one in, he said within a couple days. A couple days passed and there was no round bale. We asked again about the round bale and was told another excuse and that by the weekend they'd have a new one. A few days later, we see they tossed part of a regular bale of hay into the pasture. But no round bale. A few days later, again no round bale and Joel again told us he would be putting a new in one in shortly. Long story short, he NEVER gave our horses a round bale. I guess because we were leaving our horses didnt deserve to be fed properly. In the 4 days that passed from our last visit, till we came to move them, our draft horse had lost a significant amount of weight, her backbone was showing and it was clear they had not been receiving adequate food. The water was dirty and sometimes green and we had to stay on top of that too. We asked Joel numerous times for clean water. The pasture had no grass, it was dirt and full of rocks all over. The small flimsy tin lean to was not enough shelter from the sun. The other reviews about the inconsistent feeding schedule are also true. In addition, the persons feeding the horses really didnt know who was supposed to get what, as we talked to them directly when one of our horses was suddenly bloated with excessive gas. Turns out they were feeding both our horses the same food even though they were on totally different diets and we provided 2 completely different types of feed. Upon being confronted over this, Joel claimed that is what we had instructed, originally. However, it was not. We were treated poorly in my opinion and I was very disappointed in Joel and the care or lack thereof, our horses received while boarding here. On our way out, the new barn manager asked if we were leaving due to the food issue, because she could fix that, if that was the case. I thought so you are aware of a food issue and what exactly was she offering to fix that she wasn't already doing? Apparently she was fully aware something wasnt right with feeding. She was fairly new at the stable and she wasn't friendly with us, so I thought it was a bizarre remark for her to make to us, out of the blue, as we were loading our horses to leave. It took awhile to forgive myself for the lack of food our horses received in the final days, they obviously suffered and nothing will ever change that fact. I will never trust another stable again.

Drama Free facility with amazing leadership who truly puts the horse first…read more I have boarded my horse with Deirdre for going on 5 years now and in training for going on 6 months now and can think of no where better to be. Deirdre and her husband combine their strengths to make the dream team. They are constantly educating themselves and working with other subject matter experts in the equine facility to ensure the horses get the very best care. Nutrition, vet care, farrier work, body care, etc. Keeping the facility organized and providing clear communication to boarders and clients. Even holding barn meetings prior to implementing changes or upcoming seasonal changes. Deirdre is amazing with the horses. And while her focus is Dressage, she works to bring in jumping, western, & even equine vaulting trainers. Her clients range from casual owners up to those who show. But do not let that fool you, they do not tolerate drama. They do an amazing job of nipping it in the bud very early. From my going on 5 years of experience with them, they do an amazing job keeping it a "farmily" environment and caring for my horse.

Great trainers and barn environment. Everyone is friendly and welcoming and the horses are well…read morecared for.

New facility of an experienced professional. Great for lessons, fun birthday parties.read more

Celebrated my son's 5th birthday sunday 12/1/24 and had such a great experience! First of amanda…read morewent out of her way to have a team large enough to cover my large amount of kids on this day! I don't believe I saw a kid on a device, rather they were playing games, riding or on the trail rides, or painting a horseshoe:) We had food, cake, a pinata, and a signed cowboy hat by all the invites! Everything went smoothly, and for this to be my first time hosting an event like this, it was awesome! Amanda's team answered all my questions, and everyone was so polite and helpful.

Horsey Heaven! I…read morehave been boarding & riding her for over three years. You won't find a better place to board your horse and at reasonable rates! Great facilities for riding too. I have been taking lessons with Debbie Seymour and have found them to be very helpful in improving my riding! Feel free to send me an message if you would like any further information.

If there was a benchmark for how not to do business and how not to treat your customers Tom and…read moreCheyenne Horse Ranch would be it. Tom made promises that he did not keep, such as feeding the horse twice a day, letting the horse out of his stall, cleaning stalls daily etc. He's not a horse person, and really is just in it for the money. Which would be great if he actually ran a business and fulfilled his promises. If we did not pay on the very first of the month, he would be calling and harassing us, to the point we never felt comfortable going out to see our horse. Don't let this happen to you, stay away from this place.

Cheyenne horse transportation has a beautiful trailer and took such good care of my horse during…read moretransport. I had absolutely zero issues and was very satisfied and absolutely would recommend using him to friends and family!