When my husband and I moved to Texas with our fifteen paint horses we looked long and hard at many different areas before deciding on our ranch along the Colorado River in Bastrop. One of the criteria for the choice we made was that we were NOT wanting to be in a development of any kind.  We were looking for unrestricted property with an newer upscale home and horse set up and pastures so we could put up our own feed.  But for many horse owners developments that are horse friendly have a great appeal and having lived in an equestrian development, functioning as a Realtor specializing in that specific area as well as being the HOA president I do understand the appeal.

Here in Bastrop County there are  choices for horse friendly properties that include La Reata Ranches,  The Colony, and River Crossing and I am very familiar with all of them.

Here is a short list of some of equestrian and horse friendly developments in the areas surrounding Austin.  This is only a basic list of some of the developments, keep in mind there are lots of other choices.  Some of these developments have community  barns, arenas, trails, and others promote individual horse ownership and care.

Austin:

Polo Club at Rooster Springs

Driftwood:

La Ventana

Dripping Spings

Kirby Springs Ranch

Elgin:

Timberline Estates

Florence:

The Vineyard at Florence

Salado Creek Estates

Georgetown:

Twin Creek Farms

The Ranches of Sonterra

Hutto:

San Gabriel River Estates

Kyle:

Indian Hills Ranch

Jarrell:

Spears Ranch on Salado Creek

Liberty Hill:

Sundance Ranch

Chama Trace

Spicewood:

The Reserve at Lake Travis

Madrone Ranch

Meadowfox Estates

Westlake:

Angelwylde

If you are looking to buy or sell horse property in and around Central Texas be it in an equestrian development or a big Texas style ranch give me a call 512-237-1342.  I would love to put my expertise in Real Estate and my experience as a Horsewoman and Horse Property Specialist to work for you!

]]> http://www.horsepropertyspecialist.com/equestrian-developments-around-austin/feed 0 http://www.horsepropertyspecialist.com/the-green-battle-against-flies-in-central-texas http://www.horsepropertyspecialist.com/the-green-battle-against-flies-in-central-texas#comments Sat, 26 Jun 2010 13:25:39 +0000 admin http://horsepropertyspecialist.com/?p=340 Recently I have begun to shift my ranch here at Ponderosa Paints to a more green and Eco friendly operation. I am also looking for ways to save a few dollars here and there. It is fly season here in Central Texas, just a fact of life when you own livestock. One of the ways I battle them is by ordering fly parasites that are shipped monthly to the ranch. These little bugs actually lay their larva in fly larva in manure. Awesome because the fly larva never hatch! The parasites are shipped to me monthly and they arrive in a sealed package of shavings and mouse droppings and hatch over the next few days. Once I see the new hatch lings I just take them out to the barn area and spread them around. This really is effective and well worth the investment.

The other thing I have started doing is brewing up home made fly spray to save money and be a bit more eco conscious. There are a number of recipes out there but the one I am testing now was published in Dressage Today and also on Equisearch.   Simple to make at home it takes one more to do item off of my list by eliminating the need to run in to the local feed store to buy spray when I am out.  It smells fairly pleasant and is non toxic. I am still on the fence about it’s effectiveness to deter mosquitos but it seems to be effective on the horses but those pesky bugs are another subject to address later!

Here is my edited version of the recipe:
Take 2 cups of apple cider vinegar and 2 cups brewed tea ( get creative and try green or chamomile ), about 20 drops of eucalyptus and citronella oils, ten drops of lavendar, tea tree, and cedar oil and 20 drops of emulsifier ( like polysorbate 20 )

Happy Horsekeeping! Keep me in mind if you or anyone you know is looking for a horse property in the Austin area. I would love to help find just the right place!