Location Location Location: ASSFS Blog Hop

A Soft Spot For Stars is hosting a blog hop. The idea is that bloggers share about what life is like in their neck of the woods. So far I've read about California, the mid west, BC and South U.S. I love hearing about other places and thought it would be good to represent the East Coast of Canada.

Cost of Horse Keeping: 

• Hay is mostly timothy and/or a mix with orchard grass. We pay $2.50 for a square bale of timothy which is a steal I know. The down side is that no one delivers in this area so we have to go and pick it up off the field. It's usually the hottest day of the summer. But it does allow me to reject hay bales that I don't like. At most we can two cuts of hay a season which makes it difficult if the weather doesn't cooperate. Some years (like this one) the hay is fabulous and other years not so much. I've never seen fresh alfalfa as an option- I buy dried cubes for Irish over the winter to help me keep his weight on. 
• Boarding- it varies quite a bit. I've paid anywhere from $250 to $500 over the years. There are places that charge a lot more (for very good reasons). I would say that $500 would be the minimum for an indoor and for someone to break even on costs. 
• Property- it does depend on where you want to live in the province. We paid around $145,000 for 20 acres and then added the fencing, barn, garage and riding ring. We also renovated the house. We would sell it for a lot more now (not that it's for sale).

our home. I realized that I needed to take some photos of the property

• Lessons- they vary. I currently pay $65-$70 depending. Clinics are more expensive because of the cost of bringing clinicians in. I spent quite a few years searching for regular instruction and it was quite frustrating. Fortunately I found someone and I hope she'll keep coming for a few years yet. 
• Feed is pretty reasonable. A bag of Fat N Fibre costs about $21 and Irish's rolled oats $14. Beet pulp is around $20.

Weather:

Nova Scotia is a small peninsula stuck into the Atlantic Ocean which keeps our weather somewhat temperate. Our summers are usually 20-25. We have some days/weeks that will get much hotter then that but rarely is it truly too hot to ride. Winters vary in terms of the amount of snow. In 2015 we had a ridiculous amount of snow:

the day Carmen came home (in march) you can see her disbelief as to where she landed

Last winter was pretty mild. I don't know what this winter holds. Typically our temps are around 5 to -10. There's a few weeks in January/February where it is very cold. Riding is very difficult in winter here without an indoor. I don't mind taking Jan/Feb off but hate stopping in December and not being able to start in March. I'd love to build an indoor but I doubt that it's financially feasible.

Riding Demographics: 
NS is a nice mix of English: hunter, jumper, dressage; Western: pleasure, games, western dressage; Competitive trail and driving. In my immediate vicinity it's pretty much Western. I'd love to try to build a riding community (where discipline doesn't matter) in our area, I'm just not sure how to go about it.

The nearest tack shop is about an hour away. The local feed store is pretty good for farm supplies and some basic items.

Shows for dressage are not that far away but I wish I lived closer to others who enjoyed the sport. The community is small and pretty supportive which is nice. Recently there's been interest in some fun shows which is nice too.

I love living in NS- I love the beauty of the scenery and the quieter pace of life. My house is 20 minutes from the ocean:

In the end I don't think I would trade my life here but ask me again in February. My answer might be different.