[Loriperrette]

Does anyone know of any horse farms in Ocala that give tours? Having company and they expressed an interest in doing this.

[Two Bills]

Loads on Google search. Most closed because of Covid-19

[kathyspear]

Gypsy Gold Horse Farm. The animals are amazing and Dennis Thompson's story of bringing the Gypsy Vanner horse to America is fascinating. Highly recommended for all ages.

http://www.maitaitravel.com/GypsyVan.../01_braids.png

http://www.maitaitravel.com/GypsyVan.../02_horse1.png

http://www.maitaitravel.com/GypsyVan.../03_horse2.png

http://www.maitaitravel.com/GypsyVan.../04_horse3.png

http://www.maitaitravel.com/GypsyVan..._1week_old.png

http://www.maitaitravel.com/GypsyVan...s_Thompson.png

kathy

[Loriperrette]

Thanks so much. Will look into it.

[Villages Kahuna]

You can always go to Ocala Breeder’s Ssles across the street from the Ocala airport. There’s no admission and you’ll see thoroughbreds in their stalls, walking to the track for excercise, getting their daily bath, etc. Then next door is the Breeder’s Hall of Fame.Those visits take the better part of an afternoon. You won’t see many foals with their mothers this time of year. Call ahead to see if an auction is scheduled at OCS while your guests are here. Auctions make really interesting viewing.

[Jim 9922]

What you want is Farm Tours Of Ocala. Local Ocala horse-connected person takes you on a tour of the Breeders Assoc, training track and 3 or 4 farms. Tours are done personally in groups of 6 to 10 people in a Ford van. Cost is about $50 for a 3 1/2 hour tour. WELL WORTH the money and time. She varies the farms during the year so as not to wear out her welcome. Each tour usually includes a stud farm, a training farm and a "nursery " farm which has many colts. Over the years we have taken 5 or 6 tours and have been treated to behind-the -scenes operations of many different farms. In several instances the farm owners meet with the tour to personally explain their operations. She also points out notable farms and local horse history while driving around the back roads to visit the farms. A great tour for adults and kids. We took our 6 year old granddaughter on one and the visit to the breeding farm was "toned down" to a very acceptable level for that age and yet conveyed fully how the operation was run. Usually the tours include feeding carrots to the horses at a couple of farms which really makes it especially great for kids of all ages. Google the name and it will lead you to the web site. Who knows what the operations are now during the current C-19 panic. I do know that Winter tours are usually booked a month in advance. Summer tours seem more like 2 weeks with lots of visiting families participating.

[Snowbirdtobe]

Have been on both tours and loved them both. Best time is Feb or March when they have newborn colts in the barns. You will possibly meet a billionaire that running a breeding farm has turned into a millionaire. The owner that came out to show us around his farm still had billions left.

[vintageogauge]

Search Grand Oaks Resort, very near to TV and lots of equestrian stuff going on, great vintage carriage museum too.

[Susan1234]

There is a horse farm in Bellevue, they have Gypsy Vanner horses is which are absolutely beautiful you can get a private tour or a group tour it was really nice. Dennis is the owner but the name of the farm escapes me.

[Dlbonivich]

Grand Oaks Cariage museum is closed I believe the

[RRman77 retired]

This place is amazing!

[Jim 9922]

Originally Posted by vintageogauge

Search Grand Oaks Resort, very near to TV and lots of equestrian stuff going on, great vintage carriage museum too.

Not much going on there currently with the CV-19 panic going on. More importantly, the museum was liquidated 3 or 4 years ago. It was a fascinating 2 hour or so, look back into another time of transportation. It's liquidation was a real loss to the local area.

In normal times some of the horse and dog events can be fun to watch, especially the annual carriage driving competition held in February. Most of the events are open free to spectators. Now the current owner is trying to convert it into a wedding/social event destination and an up-scale RV resort.

[Chloe Girl]

There is a horse farm in Alachua for retired horses. They were open on the weekends and folks could feed apples, etc to the horses. I don't know if they are open now because of COVID-19.

[starman215]

Is that 50$ per person ? How many can she accomodate on one tour ?

[MandoMan]

Originally Posted by Loriperrette

Does anyone know of any horse farms in Ocala that give tours? Having company and they expressed an interest in doing this.

This is definitely the quiet season for horses in Ocala. Most of them summer up north and come down for the winter. They are “snow horses”! My girlfriend has brought her horse to Ocala for the winter a number of times, to two different barns, one of them pretty large. Here’s my impression.

These are working barns. The people there (except for me) are either owner/riders, trainers, or people who run things. They are friendly people, but they are not set up for having visitors stop by to pet the horses, especially little children. There’s a limited amount of things to see, except to watch one or more beautiful horses being ridden. This time of year, you could watch guys on riding mowers and other maintenance people.

What I recommend for a lot of people is HITS Ocala, which runs from mid-January to the end of March. This is a daily horse competition, some days busier than others. You can watch a hundred or more horses competing in various events and at different levels, some of them outrageously hard. A lot of really gorgeous horse flesh. There are also lots of little shops and places to eat. They LOVE visitors. They also have grand stands where visitors can sit and watch.

My understanding is that next year, a huge new version of this will be complete. My girlfriend is really excited about it.

Even though I don’t ride, I enjoy HITS a lot. So much great riding, most of it in arenas. I also go to what are called “three day events,” but the cross-country parts of those are exciting, but hard to see, as they are spread out. You only see parts of it.

Here’s a schedule and contact info:
HITS Ocala Winter Circuit :: HITS