Gorgeous barn and endless trails and pastures to explore. Well loved and cared for horses. Kids learning responsibility WITHOUT staring at a phone. Well-run shows and great support from trainers ensuring that riders meet their personal riding goals. A great place to spend time with horses and friends. read more

This post is in response to Gary and Carol Maguire's comments AND to celebrate 25 years as a boarder, student, and finally, dressage instructor, at MacNair's Stables. Unlike the Maguires, I was not a first time horse owner and had boarded at several different barns in two states. The care and concern for the horses at MacNair's is exceptional. As an instructor, I have had the opportunity to visit many boarding stables in and around the Raleigh area. MacNair's stands out with the many opportunities and facility highlights that are available on the 150 acre grounds. While primarily a hunter jumper teaching facility, you will find dressage, eventers, trail riders, western, and endurance. There are many horses on the property that are stabled in two separate barns as well as pasture boarding. There are two indoor riding arenas, one dressage arena and two large sand arenas as well as large grassy areas and miles of trails. Children can begin lessons at the age of 8 and there are a few riders in their 80's. There are about 200 lessons given on the farm every week with numerous trainers. With that in mind, the Maguires mentioned "arrogance" which affects ring use. With 200 students in one week, group lessons will have priority over ring space. One rider, on his own, cannot expect to have a ring to himself. There are many places to ride. The stalls are thoroughly cleaned each and every day as well as the water buckets. If an owner comes hours after the stall has been cleaned, there should be manure and urine there. If not, something is wrong. If the water buckets were just cleaned and an owner comes to the stall, there will be a slight delay as the buckets will be filled one at a time. There will be a short window of time with an empty bucket. This is normal. The Maguires mentioned a bacterial infection with their horse. Their horse had a bone fracture and had to have a surgical procedure at the vet school. Any time there is a surgical procedure, there is a chance of infection. This is true with human or horse. Roundup is used, by the owner only, in areas that need weed control. Its use is strictly administered, as directed, for farm use with horses and cattle. As far as the comments from the Maguires about "cliquey, uppity, arrogance, superiority" - I must say that children, friends, family, complete strangers, and many others continue to come to MacNair's in order to participate in the whole horse learning experience that I have come to love over these 25 years. These people have become life long friends and mentors to me. To finalize, let me tell you about our lesson horses. Some are now in their 30's and continue to thrive under the care of the fine staff at MacNair's. They are healthy and sound. They are well taken care of. They love the job of teaching young and old the special bond between human and horse. And to you, the Maguires, may God richly bless you and keep you as you continue your search for perfection in your next horse adventure. Amen! read more

Our experience with boarding our horse at MacNair's was TERRIBLE! The following are facts which support our negative review: 1. The quality of the horses' drinking water at MacNair's is bad. Some of the horse owners chose to install water filters for the horses' drinking water as MacNair's refused to do anything about it. 2. MacNair's sprays Roundup, a known carcinogen, on grassy areas where horses could feed. Given the amount of Roundup that is used, we are sure it is going into the ground water as well. 3. Our horse contracted a bacterial infection at MacNair's. Four types of bacteria were involved in this infection, with two of the four being nonresponsive to antibiotics. 4. Several people that have left MacNair's and now board at other facilities have told us that their horses are healthier and they are receiving much better training at their new stable. 5. Numerous people have left MacNair's because they were not happy with the training they were receiving. You are not allowed to bring trainers into MacNair's; you must use their trainers. 6. Be prepared to check on the conditions of your horse's stall. Many times our horse would have been lying in his own urine and feces if we didn't clean the stall ourselves. Also, at times, our horse had no drinking water available in his stall. Other Google reviews mentioned that the people at MacNair's are "cliquey" and "uppity" and we definitely experienced this during our time at MacNair's. There is definitely an arrogance and superiority which affects using the rings as well as being included in any trail riding. Also, please note that a recent 5-star Google review posted about a month ago was made by the Barn Manager at MacNair's, who is also living with the owner of MacNair's so take that into consideration when reading that review. MacNair's Country Acres is ALL about their profit and NOT about the horses and the horse owners. The price to board at this stable is quite expensive and definitely not worth the monthly fee. So if you're looking for a stable, we would not recommend MacNair's! read more

These people steal money from you and do not respect the customer. I bought two lesson package after moving to the area and only used a few of the lessons. I started up school in the fall and told them I would not be able to ride again until the summer. When summer came around, I was excited to get back up on a horse! I received an email that stated that my lesson package showed that I still had lessons available and all I needed to pay was a $25 new year registration fee. When it came time for the lesson, they told me I actually owed $50 for the lesson and that all my left over lessons expired! I was never told there was an expiration date and I feel like they just took money from me. Riding is supposed to be fun and relaxing, but these owners just use the beautiful sport to take money from people. I will never ride there again and I hope people take this review as a warning to watch your money if you ever do ride there! read more