I have been to this Farm many times over the years with friends and it was nice to see the 60acres in tact and the trials were in good shape. Dan helped saddle and tack our horses and at first he wasn't too outgoing and didn't say much. However, on the way back on once we dismounted and returned our horses he was much more engaging and helpful answering our questions. Today I decided to take my family and our horses we had were Red, Freddie, Diamond, & Princess for our unguided morning trail ride. Be sure to come and be honest about your riding/experience level of comfort and whether you want a guide or are comfortable riding without one as we did. Also please rsvp your time and details ahead of time. There is some mud and plenty of trees to explore. The farm has a small creek and a maze of trails to ride. Keep in mind long pants and sleeves are best as sometimes dependent on season the plant grow can include sticker brush and be very thorny. Also, check for ticks and wear propellant and or sunscreen to be very comfortable. They offer boarding, leasing, and lessons as well as summer camps. read more

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I organized a meetup event here with 10 people showing up to do the trail ride. We had reservations at 11am and from my email coorespondence with the Western Rider instructor an hour of riding for the rate of $35 was confusing as we panicked that we were going to be late. Apparently it was really 2 hours to allow for them to get the horses out of the barn/ whatnot and get the riders situated, so it was a good deal. There were kids helping us onto our horses, but it's not certain they did a good job. My saddle rotated and I slipped off my horse while another person's (and mine) stirrups were not high enough - even after we had informed them that we were beginners. The trail itself is simple, good sized in the woods with long straight paths where more of the advanced riders could cantor or trot. We were lucky that I had friends who knew what they were doing and we had a great time regardless. Still, safety precautions should have been excercised better. read more

Silver Bit & Spur Farm - Horseback Riding Near Me - Whitehouse Station, New Jersey

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Some of the best trails in New Jersey. They also have partial and full leasing options. Jenn is an amazing Western riding instructor! The events held at this location are a lot of fun! read more

The people who work at this Farm are always helpful and informative. Looking forward to riding more

I would give this a zero-star rating but unfortunately that's not an option. Where to begin? Some friends and I did a four-person trail ride. We called the day of and were able to schedule a ride without a problem. When we arrived, only half of the horses for our ride were available; two were still in the ring for lessons. After about a half-hour we were all mounted on our horses. I'm not an advanced rider but have ridden horses casually all my life. I feel very comfortable riding and have done many trail and open-range rides. This place struck me as very strange as soon as we were being guided to the trail by kids walking and holding our horses' bridles. We quickly learned there was to be no guide and the four of us (though two were beginners) were on our own. We were to follow a path in the woods and the horses were said to circle back on their own. Only about five minutes into the trail ride my friend's horse became very rowdy. Luckily she has a lot of experience with horses but was quickly finding the horse difficult to handle. This horse was leading the way and led us through a "short-cut" in the woods--this went back to the stable. When we tried to correct the horses and lead them back to the trail, two of the horses refused to move. I had to jump off my horse after several minutes of trying to direct the horse and walk it back to the trail to catch up with the others. All four horses had no regard for commands; they didn't respond to the reins or to the kick to move forward. They just took us back to the barn. We were greeted by more kids and we told them about our horses; that one refused to move and one was too rowdy. Instead of listening, they tried to send us back out to the trail. We had to specifically ask for a second horse for my friend that was more tame. Turns out the first horse's bridle was loose but they did give us a new horse. I, however, received little help with how to get my horse to better follow commands other than having the option to use a crop. As we set out for a second try on the trail, all seemed to be going well at first. After about a half-hour, though, my friend's new horse became spooked for some reason. Her horse took off and then tried to buck her. She managed to stay on the horse but decided it would be safest to walk her horse back to the barn. We stayed on our horses but followed back to the stable. Upon our return, the young girl who greeted us was apologetic about "the mishap." I want to emphasize again that my friend and I do have lots of experience with trail and open-range riding. This place was most unusual to both of us. With no guides, unresponsive horses and no adults that we could see working the stables, it seems only likely there's an injury waiting to happen. read more

We went on a ride here using a Groupon coupon. I've been looking for a place to ride locally. I give it two stars because the trails are actually quite nice on the property. It's too bad that that was the only good part of our experience. I consider myself an average to better than average rider. My wife is average at best. We got there and felt unwelcome the minute we arrived. The man who brought out the horses barely talked to us. We were given our horses and briefly told where the trails were. This is an UNGUIDED ride, so you need to be comfortable with that. I was fine with that, but not fine with the unfriendly way we were treated. They didn't offer helmets, they only asked our riding experience and sent us off. Very disappointing. Nice trails. Not nice people. read more

My daughter decided that instead of a traditional Sweet 16 party, she would rather ride with a group of her friends that are all experienced riders. This was a different place, so for something different, different scenery and different horses, we chose here. We had to reschedule due to snow, and I probably annoyed Dan the owner, with the amount of times that I called him because I just wanted everything to be perfect, but he was always nice, answered all of my questions, and reserved an instructor for me since none of the girls were 18 to go off on their own. The staff was very nice, and accommodated my girls with exactly what they wanted to do. The trails had ice on them, so they came back and rode in the ring so they could canter. They had a lot of fun! Thank you everyone for making my daughters sweet 16 so special! read more

First, they are extremely rude whenever you try and call to make a reservation. They do not answer and when they do they say they are booked in full. I tried to book a time and then he said they had no guided tours even though it is advertised that they do have them during the time we requested. guy mumbles on the phone so you cant hear or understand him. had to refund our groupon for something else instead. read more

This barn is a gem. It's hard to find and affordable and non-pretentious place these days, but Silver Bit is it. We had a great trail ride - the horses are clearly well-kept, the trails are beautiful, and Ray the guide is terrific. We'll definitely be coming back! read more

The horses were great, and the trail was beautiful, but the customer service was... odd? We showed up for our session and a group of kids were standing around with the horses, but no one greeted us or even made eye contact to acknowledge that we were there. After finally getting the attention of one of the older kids, we were able to get on our horses. It was kind of weird that they didn't provide helmets or adjust our stirrups or even tell me the name of the horse I was riding. Honestly, I can't get over how the staff just outright ignored us when we showed up. The whole thing felt very unstructured. The trail ride itself is beautiful and relaxed, but it's probably not for inexperienced riders. read more

I wish I could give them no stars. Absolutely terrible! I literally just left, and I knew I had to let people know how bad this place was. I came and waited a while to be attended. Then they put me on a horse named bitsy. Poor thing she was exhausted already. I went with her anyway, they didn't give me a choice. Then I was out with her for about 5 minutes, she was not listening to me at all no matter how hard I kicked her (yes I've ridden plenty of times before). She rammed my knee into a tree bc I was trying to turn her and she didn't want to go. We then went back to the barn where she started trotting, keep in mind the whole time she was basically dragging her legs. Then I came back said that I needed a different horse, then they immediately thought I was inexperienced, put me on a better horse though his name was red. Then the lady told some little 12 year old girl to go with my boyfriend and I. We then started again and wanted to trot, btw these trails are horrendous. Idk how a horse hasn't broken a leg already. Anyways are we started to trot on the little trail that was decent, she started yelling at us telling us to walk. Like are you kidding me? It was so ridiculous. Please do yourself a favor and save your money. It was the most frustrating ride I ever had, I didn't even finish the whole hour bc I was so pissed. read more

I had a groupon for a 2-hour trail ride. My horse, Dallas, was awesome! Many thanks to our guide (I think her name was Sam, sorry I've forgotten) and her horse, Shorty who offered to go with us. That helped calm our nerves and made the ride much more enjoyable. Highly recommended! read more

I took my grandsons who are 9 and 11. They loved it! I like how we started off in the ring and a trail around the corrals before going into the woods. He wanted to make sure they were able to handle the horses before we went on our own. By the way, no one answered the phone so we took a chance and just went there. The manager was not very engaging, I felt like I was putting him out at first. But in the end he was nice enough to take photos for us. read more

I really love this family owned facility. If you know how to ride, you won't have any problems here what so ever. I enjoy the fact it's unguided- can have a nice time with a friend or even have a nice solo zen ride. Horses are all bomb proof, Red is my favorite. read more

whoaaaa called over a dozen times to book a ride. left messages never called back and when we reached him was so rude and always made excuses as we had a gift certificate. when i called him on it he said i dont need this ****** and hung up. if you call back with cash he will make it happen but still super rude. my son likes their one horse but will have to go elsewhere as we are tired of dealing with this person. read more

Terrible. Tried to use Groupon. Extremely difficult to make reservations. Spoke to Dan 4 times. Not a very friendly guy. When I was finally able to get a reservation he informed me they don't have guides and my 10 yr old son was too young. The Groupon does NOT indicate any of this. He never told me in previous conversations about age limit or that we would go out alone! When I asked him why he didn't tell me this the past 4 times that we spoke his response was "you didn't tell me you had kids". He got very rude and snippy with me. Well dude, you never asked. I contacted groupon and they told me in the fine print it said that they only have guides on the weekends. I called him back again and then he told me they don't have guides in the Winter. Again, would been nice if he told me the first time I called. The groupon expires on February 3rd so that did not help me. I don't know why anyone in their right mind would let people go out on their horses without a guide. The groupon is extremely misleading. I traded it in for a much better farm in Flemington And that groupon is good for a 190 days so I can use it in the Spring. read more

DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME. The owner is a complete and utter jerk. I purchased a groupon and attempted three times to schedule a reservation to come on a Sunday when the groupon actually works (make sure you read the fine print). He wants you to call at 8am because supposedly he fills up fast. Oh but wait you can only come at the times he dictates so make sure you are available all day. Oh I forgot to mention you have to call 3 days before you want to come. If you call before or after those three days at 8am (he also might not answer) you won't be allowed to come. I contacted groupon and they were very happy in transferring my groupon to another farm which turned out to be the BEST experience. read more

My husband and I visited the farm for one of their hour-long trail rides. We were both very excited, although have minimal horse riding experience. I had told the woman when booking that we were both beginners, and she assured me that this would not be a problem. Apparently it was. We could not get the horses to go anywhere except back to the barn, despite all the kicking that the manager had instructed us to do. My husban's horse backed him up into a tree and then took off (trotting, but much faster than he expected the horse to go), all the way back to the barn. This happened three times, which after the third time we gave up. Our hour ride only last 45 minutes, and the "riding" portion was probably only ten, since most of the time was spent sitting on the horses going nowhere. Will not recommend. read more

My girlfriend and I went there for horseback riding in May 2013. we got a good deal on Livingsocial (2 persons for 50 bucks for one hour) The man and lady on the phones sound scary but reasonable. You can make a reservation on the day you want to ride between 8-9 am. You just can't expect them to smile...at least they didn't yell at me on the phone, just scary mean. I was aware of good and bad reviews (through google search) so I prepared for the worst but still hoped I could get a good horse if I knew the names of the horses I wanted. We got there 15 mins late and had to sign in total of 30 mins. they counted every minute from your appointment. So, don't be late. I got the horse named 'Thunder'. I HIGHLY NOT RECOMMENDED HIM, he doesn't obey, wanted to eat only grass, I kept kicking him as they recommended to make him walk. He still didn't want to move. the girls told me that I didn't kick hard enough. that's all my 30 mins spent. I was able to ride one trip around horse cases...I couldn't go to a trail because the horse kept eating grass. I told one of the girl 'our time is up already? we have been on the horses for only 30 mins' the girl said 'yup! (looking at the watch) it's two o'clock on my watch' There was no warning not to be late or anything. They could have been nicer to us considering they were plenty of horses available....oh....please take note, it's UNGUIDED. if you want a guide, that's 40 bucks extra per hour. I hoped to get either Bitsy or Rosa. Unfortunately, they were busy with private lessons. At the end, I saw one poor about 8-year-old girl on the uncontrollable horse who started running with parents running after holding their heart and took a deep breath. I don't think this place is good for kids. I think if I got better obeyed horse, the experience would have been much better with this farm (regardless of all the mean girls working there, who cares? you just want to ride a good horse with good price...) oh...at the end, my horse not only ate grass, he ate his own poop, too!!!!!! I would say, it's fair from how much we paid. There are a lot of horses to see, beautiful view on the way there. I wouldn't go there if I paid full price for this unguided mean horse trip. read more

4/27/2015 - I purchased a gift certificate for my niece (Christmas 2014) and I have been trying to call them for a reservation for the past two weeks. Left 4 messages so far (voice mail) and wrote to them via Facebook twice. Someone replied from FB right away with two numbers to call. Again, called and left voice mail but no one called me back. Wrote again and I was told to "keep trying" the two numbers. What a bunch of crap! I'm thinking I wasted my money on the gift certificate. Will post again if they ever call me back. read more

I was worried going here after reading the bad reviews but I figured id give it a try . My boyfriend and I called on a Sunday morning to hopefully to setup a time for a trail ride later that day ; the guy whom answered said to come In an hour and it was no problem. When I got there, Jen set us up quickly, explained the basics and we were off! The horses were awesome and well trained, the trails were very nice, and the staff was friendly. Apparently these guys are under new management. I would definitely recommend this place if you're looking for a new and exciting experience. What I would NOT recommend is coming here for a trail ride if you've never been on a horse before( there are no guides- so it just you and the horse) I am by no means an expert, but you need to be confident and experienced enough to control the horse the right way or you'll probably have some difficulty. Overall a great experience - we will be back ! read more

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We found the people to be very nice and helpful and facilities were excellent. My son is a beginner and they were extremely patient and willing to help in any way possible. There seem to be quite a few expert riders but also raved about the stable. read more

I find it funny how many negative reviews this farm received. My husband and I went horseback riding this morning. When we arrived, we were a little confused as to where to go to get our ride started, but we never felt unwelcomed by any of the employees. We were told where we could find the owner. We found out the owner wasn't actually at the farm yet (we were told he would be a few minutes more), but were told to take a look around. So we headed to the stalls and met up with a man and his daughter who frequent the farm a lot. He guided us around until the owner came back. When he arrived, we told him we were there for horseback riding as we had called that same morning to make an appointment. We paid him and were given our horses, Bitsy and Rosa. My husband got to be the lead horse and Rosa and I followed behind. We were a bit surprised we were able to go off on the trail alone, but we thought that was great! We had a lot of fun being out on our own with the horses. Did they get stubborn? Sometimes. But we learned how to get them moving again. I'm sorry to read the disappointing reviews because we were really satisfied with our ride and definitely want to make the trip back to the farm again. read more

Been sending my kids there to camp every summer for several years. Depends on what you're looking for. It's dirtier than other stables, the horses are older, but the kids really rode A LOT. They've been to other riding stables that didn't do as much as this place. They decorated cute horse shoes each session and still cherish them. Wish they'd plant some trees and grass...make it a little more appealing. read more

My children and I went to the farm today for a trail ride. What a great experience!!! We are all beginners, yes rode horses before but not experienced. Jaime showed us the basics and off we went. The horses know there way around on the trails. It was a beautiful fall day, the leaves were falling and we got to see the beautiful wildlife (deer) and the horses were not at all interested in the deer crossing our paths. There were 5 riders in our group and all the horses great, none of us had a problem. Highly recommend read more

I'm going to reiterate the sentiment that its a shame that "zero stars" is not an option here. I've rode the trails here a few times, and I have the same sort of complaints. Like the staff is rude. Also, there is this one stretch of trail that is wide and straight and all of the horses take off down it, which can be very dangerous for beginner riders, but that's not what I'm here to talk about. So, they offer "professional trailering," and my friend has used it twice, and it has to have been the most unprofessional operation. Gene Eggeman is the driver, and probably one of the rudest people out there. The first time we used her we went to the Horse Park of New Jersey, and she was very late. The Horse Park is a big place, its well marked and its hard to miss. But, she drove past it because she was talking on her CELL PHONE. She was talking on her cell phone whilst being paid to drive a big freaking trailer with our precious cargo on board. The second time we tried to use her, she had a family emergency and couldn't do it, so she sent "a friend" who we assumed was a professional as well. He wasn't. He was a very nice guy, but that was it, he was a guy with a trailer who did not know how to load horses, and he barely knew Gene, the woman who recommended him. Needless to say, the horse would not get on the trailer, and we never made it to the show. This last time, Gene was again late. Then she yelled at my friend to stay away from the trailer while she loaded HIS horse. And once we got on the horse on the trailer, I noticed that all of the pins that should be used to secure the latches on the ramp at the back of the trailer were missing, so I asked her about it. "Its fine" she barked, and peeled out of the driveway. She is a professional, and that is unsafe. What if a big bump in the road knocked the latch loose? Or the horse kicked it? Or God forbid something his the trailer? A professional should also take some pride in what they do and have some attention to detail. During the show she fell asleep on the bleachers, which prompted a few people to ask me if she was drunk. But I'm not going to allegate that she drinks and drives. When we were leaving, we had some difficulty loading my friend's horse, and she wanted to get a whip and beat on him until he got on the trailer. So I got my trainer to help, and the whole time we were convincing the horse to get on, she was on the phone, yelling about how this horse is never getting on and "he's too far gone" and that she has places to be, etc. Don't complain about your clients in front of them. If I had my way, she would not have gotten paid. read more