Tucked among the rolling hills of lovely Middlebury, CT, we found Daffodil Hill Stables to be…read morewonderfully welcoming. This isn't always the case among the 'horsey set', who can be downright condescending about visitors to their premises. We did let them know we were coming and that an older mare we'd sold a while ago had been bought by them and we wanted to check out her new home. 'Well kept' is how I would describe this facility in a nutshell. Stalls, of which there may have been 30 or so(???), were impeccably clean. No smell of urine ammonia or damp moldiness, no excessive cobwebs, no standing water puddles or muddiness, not a lot of flies. Large and very clean stalls with ample bedding and full water buckets. The wash stall with hot and cold running water was another luxurious amenity. Even the bathroom was tidy, with flush toilet and porcelain sink--Not all stables have these, and if they do, they can be downright disgusting! The indoor riding ring was smallish but not claustrophobic. IT WAS HEATED in the winter as was the viewing room upstairs.....HEAVENLY!!! Both of the two outdoor rings were of substantial size, however it was a bit of a challenge to climb the steep paths to either of them. Wouldn't want to have to do this in inclement weather. That being said, a rider needs strong legs, so this was a good stretching and strengthening exercise. Daffodil Hill is a show barn with its own I.E.A. Team and an owner/operator that competes regionally as a hunter/jumper. The stable manager is level-headed and client-oriented (another unusual and wonderful surprise!!!) and obviously loves what she does. While we were there we were pleased to see the horses getting their 'Sunday Treat' of soaked mash which they gleefully slobbered down, savoring every slurp...:-) So happy that our gal wound up at such an excellent facility where she'll be well-loved and a bit pampered by both staff and students. Looking forward to our next visit. If you plan to stop in, do call ahead AND bring a ginger snap or two for 'Cinnamon'. Those are a favorite of hers!!

Excellent boarding facility. Horses are monitored closely, fed regularly, always have water. Indoor…read morearena is dragged regularly; never used for turn out, so it doesn't have slick spots or stink of ammonia. I've done a 'dry stall' board there for the past 3 months. My horse calmer than he's been in the last year. Lessons are low key and well organized. The owner will admit her barn is a tad messy but the focus is on good horsemanship and horse care, and that's wonderful. There's never long handed tools laying around in the paddocks, completely broken fencing, or screaming, running horses. Highly recommend.

Absolutely love this place! My daughter has been going here since she started walking. Thank you…read moreKevin and crew. The property is great. Well kept. Thank you again.

Worst barn ever! I don't know where to begin, there are too many things wrong with this place! The…read moreanimal care is pathetic- an outdoor rabbit that freezes to death, a Flemish giant rabbit that is kept in a very small cage that is not kept clean, disgusting, muddy paddocks that have ditches in them and during winter months, frozen water buckets! There are numerous barns much better than this, please go elsewhere.

Our summer camp program was absolutely outstanding. The kids learned so much from all the different…read morefolks at Hillside. This place is a must to check out. The animals are very unique and friendly so many cool things to see from the baby calf to the goats if you go now, you could even see the baby pig love this place

These guys put on a good party! Buck kept the kids engaged really well. Plenty of horses for…read moreeveryone. This was a great experience for my son. I didn't realize this place was so big...

This barn is beautiful! All of the horses get lots of love and are very well cared for the horses…read morealso have great personality's! The instructors are amazing and take their time with everyone! The people at the barn are also very friendly and welcoming! If you want to learn how to ride or are looking for a new barn I definitely recommend this barn!

These people are crooks. I'm a well-known freelance foraging expert. I led pubic tours on the…read moregrounds from 2008 to 2019, when a new events director, Celine Currier, took over. A true Stacey, she arbitrarily directed me to lead my tour on shady trails, where edible wild plants, which need sunlight, don't grow. My 13-year-old foraging expert daughter scouted out the shady trails in advance and verified this. Feeling responsible to the participants, I led the tour in sunny places, where we found plenty of plants, despite Currier's arbitrary and wrong-headed objections. Nevertheless, Currier hired me and my daughter to lead a mushroom weekend in 2017. She signed a contract, including a statement that if she canceled the event, we'd be paid in full. Then, when it was way too late for me to schedule other events, she pulled the rug out for under me, canceled our event, and hired someone else to do the mushroom weekend, despite the signed contract, causing us to lose a much-needed weekend of work. When I tried to contact her dad, Tim Currier, the owner, with whom I'd been acquainted since 2008, he showed his true colors and ghosted me. Through a laborious process, I took the farm to small claims court. The trial occurred remotely during the Covid lock-down. No one from the farm showed. I won, and they had to pay me after all. Be warned: These people are crooks, and will skunk you if they can get away with it.

What a lovely place to traipse around. We were happy to come in the winter when we could peek into…read moreall the cute seasonal cabins. Wooded hills, tiny waterfall and a broom maker this a magical spot for the young' uns. Our dog was welcome as long as he was on a leash. If you walked all the trails you could make it just a few miles, so a nice 1-2 hour jaunt.

This farm is so much fun! The animals are happy and friendly. The goats ran to greet us when we…read morearrived. We brushed them and petted them. All of the animals were well cared for happy to have visitors. It was a magical day. We will definitely visit again.

I've been to Highwire Deer & Animal Farm several times now and it never gets old! Here's what it's…read moreall about: I would describe it as a small farm/petting zoo/animal sanctuary. The entrance fee is $12 per person (cash only) and animal food is available for purchase ($1 per cup). Once you go inside, the large fenced-in area, you'll find smaller pens, each with different animals inside. Some of the animals you'll find here are rabbits, deer, pygmy goats, kangaroos, a miniature horse, zebra, camel, emus, capybara, peacocks, and several others. Some of these animals you can feed/pet (deer, goats, horse) while others you can only look at (emus, camel, zebra, kangaroos). There are signs that tell you which animals are safe to feed/pet and which are not. The goats are actually free-roaming and so you can sit on the ground or a bench and pet/feed them, play with them, etc. There is also a picnic area where you can sit and eat lunch, etc. No public restrooms on the property, but there is one porta-potty. Overall this is a really cool spot to bond with some really cute animals, and a great place to bring the kids!

This spot is wild!…read more We FINALLY took a trip to Action Wildlife today and it was ABSOLUTELY worth the drive. There are multiple spaces to explore when you come in. First, YES you want the big feed pail. Lots of animals. When you first drive in you come upon the museum, gift shop, and play area. They still had their corn pit set up in the play area and that was a big hit with our little one. What you see out in front of you to access is the walking/driving section. You can choose to take this walk or park your car as you visit the animal areas. It goes all the way from the small capybara enclosure to highland cows and so many in between! If you drive straight back you will get to the big green barn near the blue silos. That bar is the petting barn and where you will do encounters. We did the baby highland cow encounter and got to spend a half hour with Hank. Feeding, brushing, petting, and just enjoying his company. We brought in our 1 year old and she loved it! As you leave that barn there is another play area to the left and if you follow it past the camels you'll see the sign for hayride and drive through safari. You can go right down that small road and it'll lead you to a drive around where you're supposed to stay in the car and drive on the enclosure to see a bunch of animals. We didn't do the hayride but it's back there. It loops all the way back, so no worries about figuring out how to get back. We felt that this was BEYOND worth our time and loved all of the up close interactions. Will be returning!

Who knew you could see animals that I thought could only be seen on Safari right here in CT!! So…read moredarn cool. Zebra camels ! We loved it had such a great time. Beautiful scenery. Beautiful animals that looks so happy to be there. These folks are doing a great job. Would highly recommend!