La Fleur Stables

Love the place. My horse is well taken care of. The hay and grain is good. Horse's always have hay…read more Nice indoor and outdoor arena. Indoors also has heat for the cold winter days!

Meinpferde Farm

Pam and Phil are the best. I have been a client here for a little over a year now and have had…read morenothing but positive experiences. They put a lot of care into all the horses there. This is a hunter/jumper barn with a great lesson program. Private lessons are offered for all skill levels - beginner (never been on a horse) to advanced. They have ponies for small riders and beginner-safe horses. You don't need to have any of your own equipment, as everything is provided. Currently, I'm leasing a 16.3hh thoroughbred. I love him! This is just one of the many opportunities here for advancing your riding skills. I've been riding for 13 years now, and still have much more to work on. Pam is really great about finding local clinics to go to or even just for fun horse-related events in the area. In the past year, I've done the Racine Pony Club Hunter Pace and a Brad Hall clinic. We also go to the IronWorks schooling shows regularly. Meinpferde Farm is super laid back, which I love. Even though the trainers are primarily focus on hunter/jumper training, they welcome boarders of all disciplines. It's a very welcoming place. There's also a large hunt field in the back, where sometimes we ride. There are jumps set up there too, so it's super fun! In addition to lessons and boarding, they have a breeding program. It's a great place to go pony shopping! Their horses are very sweet and eager to learn.

Wingait Farms

Our daughter has taken lessons at 3 locations in the Dane county area and Wingait has been the most…read morecomprehensive by far. She has progressed further this year than she had in 4 years previous, and she enjoys her time with Anita, Jeff and Carmen. The cost is comparable, but we feel she gets higher quality lessons and time at Wingait

Pine Dance Ranch

4.3

(6 reviews)

I meant to write this review ages ago. This is one of the most supportive and welcoming horse barns…read moreI know of. Great people, beautiful pasture, the trails are so much fun and well marked. My horse thrived when we were there. Adam was incredibly responsive to his well being. I'm not someone who typically does a lot of reviews especially when things are good, I just express my gratitude in person, but I know it's helpful to have it in writing too. 10 out of 10, would definitely recommend.

I can't say enough great things about this barn, how it's run/handled, or the team of wonderful…read moreboarders that help support you! I've boarded my horse at a number of places and some were wonderful but just not the right fit. Fast forward, I bring my fresh filly and my gelding to PDR and I can't express how wonderful this barn is! The people, the horses, the trails- they're all incredible. Adam, and his wife, Debbie, are the most inclusive and caring barn owners I've experienced! I can honestly say, without Adam's knowledge and the PDR crew's support (especially Debbie and Ashley)- neither my horses nor my horsemanship would be making the leaps and bounds they have been! Thanks a million to Adam, Debbie, and the rest of the wonderful PDR crew

Running Horse Ranch

3.7

Nice facility but the barn is just complete drama. Change in…read morestaff as of February made the barn and care of the horses go completely down hill. I had two horses there and the new person put them in a pasture with no access to water with her explanation being that they can eat snow if they need water!! The guy that is there every day is completely incoherent when it comes to making sure the horses get fed properly he also does not know how to put a blanket on multiple times I've caught my horse tangled in his own blanket because this guy didn't put it on correctly. Stay away

Under a new owner as of April 2021.....beautiful facility! Wonderful borders, owners easily…read moreaccessible. Barn staff very friendly and willing to help. Always clean and neat.

Pursley's Valley Stable

1.0

Pros: owners live on-site, repairs generally done in a timely manner, water containers heated in…read morewinter, good ventilation Cons: piles of stuff everywhere (arena, pastures, along trail), UNcomposted manure is regularly spread on pastures, incredibly overcrowded, horses only get actual pasture every 3 days and stand in small mud/manure paddocks otherwise, arena has never had good footing or been properly maintained for dust, rusty metal considered decorative, water containers and buckets dirty, no outdoor arena, trails very limited, hay is poor quality, several horses seen nibbling manure, located along a busy road Maybe ok for a beginner, absentee owner, or a horse that can't be on pasture. Otherwise, look elsewhere for a much more comfortable environment and you'll get much more out of your horse.

I give this business one star. Went and looked at the place and just didn't like…read moreWhat I saw. Really no place to ride outside unless you want to ride right pass the road. The path is less than 100 feet from The road. That's like my only complaint from going to see the place but there are more reviews from some other places and I wouldn't have looked if I read them first.

Dawson Pointe Stables

3.7

Dawson Pointe Stables is a beautiful facility with acres of riding trails along with indoor and…read moreoutside riding rings. It appears as though the animals at the stable are well cared for. So, you may ask, why a one-star review? For starters this review is written from the perspective of a person who leased an animal at the stables. Leasing is a great option for those who know how to ride but need much more than the guided trail rides most commonly found. So when we found a stable near where we live that leases we jumped at the opportunity (actually my wife, an experienced rider, was the one who leased.) She contacted the owner of the animal (in this case a lovely mule), went to the stable and after meeting Molly (the mule) decided to sign a lease with her owner which allows you three days a week to ride. The stable has rules, which are common. Riders must wear a helmet, the proper footwear, and follow procedures. Anyone who accompanied my wife must sign a waiver. And, from the list available at the stable, if the person leasing the animal brings a riding guest they must also be properly set up. This is all fine. As for the lease, the stable isn't involved. That transaction is between the owner and the leasee, and the owner is supposed to provide you with a copy of the lease. In our case that didn't happen. Now for the one-star part. My wife took our granddaughter out to the stable the day before Thanksgiving to see Molly, and to take a short ride. (We hadn't seen our granddaughter since the outbreak of covid). She is 14, and has actually been riding a friend's horse for several months. She isn't an expert by any measure, but is confident on a horse, or in this case a mule. We made sure she had a helmet, boots with heels, and proper clothing. My wife drove out with her to the stables, and took the mule into the indoor riding ring. They stayed for about an hour. While my granddaughter was on the mule during some of the time my wife trotted alongside, even holding the reigns. But in general they each rode Molly allowing her to walk and trot. If she cantered my wife had my granddaughter bring her back down to a walk or trot. They were the only ones in the ring and had a great time. That day the mule's owner called us at home to tell us the lease was being cancelled. During the call she was unable to give us a reasonable explanation as to why. She vacillated from telling us that rules had been broken to beginning an explanation that the mule's back was sore. While unsatisfactory it was what it was. A few days later my wife drove out to get her riding helmet, where by coincidence the owner of the mule was present. Still confused about the reasons for the cancellation and asking for a reason the owner then explained that the stable manager had called her, WHILE MY WIFE AND GRANDDAUGHTER WERE STILL IN THE RING, to tell her to cancel the lease because (as the story now went) they were acting in a "dangerous" manner. This is why I rate this as one-star behavior. What kind of a stable manager, on witnessing "dangerous" behavior occurring right in front of their eyes runs to the phone to resolve such behavior via a phone call? What kind of stable management doesn't have the common sense, or courtesy, to instead approach the individual in question to either inform them that they were doing something wrong and thereby educate them and fix the situation, or even tell them personally that they are being expelled from their lease immediately? My wife, as mentioned, is an experienced rider. She is also a senior citizen and loves our granddaughter. There is no possible chance she would ever endanger herself or our granddaughter by allowing dangerous behavior to occur while riding. And, if somehow what she was doing was being perceived as being "dangerous", there is no way she wouldn't have ceased such behavior immediately if so informed by the stable manager. Who, by the way, was never available to answer our phone calls after we were told that our lease was being cancelled at Dawson Pointe's demand. Perhaps Dawson Pointe Stables treats horse owners who board their horses with a bit more respect than they do those who lease. Perhaps if they observe a horse owner not behaving within a certain behavior they actually have the professional courtesy to talk to them about it, as opposed to allowing such alleged behavior to actively continue while instead running to make a phone call. The bottom line is our experience with the managing staff at Dawson Pointe Stable was that they are extremely unprofessional. Maybe they don't like to be bothered with those who lease an animal during a holiday down time. Who knows? All I know is I'd think twice about leasing there, make sure if you do that you get a copy of the contract before riding (our mistake) and don't count on guidance from management. Our experience was confusing, groundless and a huge emotional downer for my wife.

I just moved my horse here and so far so excellent. Management is on top of things, boarders are…read morefriendly and helpful, and the place is just so well thought out.

Orchard View Equestrian Center

wonderful atmosphere and the people managing the barn are very friendly. They show both western and…read moreenglish and are very involved in showing horses. 10/10 would recommend this barn to anyone that likes riding and a great barn family

Liberty Stables

2.3

Liberty Stables is an absolute disaster. The owner is awful to work with, and has been involved in…read moremore lawsuits than I can count. I watched around a dozen staff members turn over in less than a year's time due to not being paid by Mandy, so there was no consistency in the care of horses, or instruction of riders. They also have a skinny horse problem for sure - none of the horses were at an ideal weight that I saw, and many were horribly trained to top it all off. I've been a life-long rider, and I signed my daughter up for "horsemanship" lesson to get her involved. Every lesson horse was lame at one point or another over the course of the 10 weeks. I have personally been at many barns over the years, and have never seen lameness and injury issues like this. For several of my daughter's lessons they didn't have enough safe, un-injured horses for the students to ride that, so they put her on an advanced horse that was FAR too much for her to handle - I was very concerned, and we have not ridden there since. The instructors for their "horsemanship" classes are well-meaning, but hardly the professionals that are advertised - they are just boarders with, at best, intermediate riding skills, and many of them are other children! Hardly worth the nearly $400 to put my child on an unsafe horse with mediocre instruction. Finally, the facilities are a mess. The "paddocks" are complete mud pits that Mandy refuses to invest in fixing. The pastures are over-grazed, and fencing is falling down - I saw several broken gates during our time there. The indoor arena has VERY minimal footing that I saw several horses slip on, and the outdoor is literally built on a hill. The stalls in the lower barn are depressingly small, and they had 1-2 horses in them that just simply did not fit - they could barely turn around appropriately, and were asking for injury if they tried to lay down. AVOID. Go literally anywhere else. There are amazing barns and amazing trainers in the Madison area that actually care for their hard-working horses.

As an adult who is just learning, the horsemanship class has been great to learn to ride, but also…read morelearn to groom, tack-up and care for horses. After talking with some of the parents of the children in the course before mine, it sounds like the youth horsemanship courses are just as good. I am about half way through the session, and I have improved so much. Friendly, personable, and knowledgeable staff are very flexible and adjust the course material to both the horse and the rider. Miriam has been an absolutely fantastic instructor. They take the time to try and pair you with a horse that you will really connect with. Every horse I have worked with has been very gentle and safe. The barn has a port-a-potty instead of a bathroom with running water, but it is well taken care of and fairly clean. I thought I would just take one session of classes, but I am definitely going to sign up for more!

Goodman Pool

3.9

(14 reviews)

This pool is everything. Especially on a hot day in Madison!…read more This Sunday we went here on a whim for the first time. It was so nice! So much space for all people. There's areas for lap swimming/more adult centric activities, and kiddo friendly sections. And it has a slide!!!! No need to wait for hours at a water park to go down a slide. This slide gives you the thrill you seek, with no wait. Less the kiddos also waiting for their turn! The chairs are ready great quality for a public pool. They aren't the most comfortable thing in the world, but they are sturdy and do the job. Water was clean. I saw one hairball in the drain, which was a little gross, but for a public pool I felt safe. I didn't venture into the bathrooms this time so can't speak to those. My partner went to see the snack station and said there were plenty of affordable options should you get hungry. You are allowed to bring in food and drink, but there is a designated area to eat them. I saw a full season for residents is $85 and a daily was $6 (at time of writing this review). It's worth checking out for how reasonable it is. I'll definitely be back again!

We love Goodman pool. There are concessions back now - Ice cream, chips and candy plus sodas and…read morewater. Big community pool with two fun slides and two diving boards. Lifeguards do a great job. Tons of deck chairs plus lawn to sit on. Zero depth pool for the little ones. Super family friendly. Diverse attendees unlike pretty much every other pool in Madison. All inclusive swim and dive team and morning swim lessons too. We love it here!

Wild Waterdome