Retirement Daydreams - Pictures - Pictures - Horse Community, Horse Pictures, Horse Forum and Information

Posted : 12/18/2012 7:26:26 PM

Wow, the DSL connection at Tops just blew my socks off! Over a hundred pictures uploaded in less than half an hour !!

Yeah baby, that's more like it!!

Okay, we've been discussing a retirement community for horse people geared specifically (though certainly not exclusively) toward people who drive their horses. What can one expect for the Recreational Equine Driving list, right?

The whole concept is based on the Cluster Development idea in this treatise:
http://ohioline.osu.edu/cd-fact/1270.html

Also the resort communities of Gayla (Ky.) and Black Prong (Fl.).

In this case however, the development would be more like a stable one lives at. The barns are all attached to the residences and the facilities, hotwalkers, bullpens, washracks, arenas, etc, etc, etc... are all shared in common. Also, this Village would be set within a large tract of land using as little of it as possible. This way one would have trails, and roads for driving, riding, and hiking. One would have all the advantages of living in the country on a large estate without the isolation and overwork usually associated with living out there.

So far we've come up with a possible three villages and perhaps another later geared towards assisted living for the elderly.

The primary residences would be grouped around a courtyard of about two to three acres. Each would be a small house of under a thousand sq. ft. Each dwelling would have a two-stall Shedrow barn attached to a small Carriage house. These would both be Duplexes but neither Duplex would share with the same neighbors. That is to say, your roof is common to one neighbor and the barn is shared with the other. Hence it ties the whole community together.

The second Village is situated on somewhat larger lots and surrounds a courtyard of about the same size, perhaps somewhat larger if need be. In this Village, the lots are 1/4 acre and are allowed more variety of animals or more horses (four to six instead of two). These houses naturally wouldn't be Duplexes however the barns would. There would be considerably more variety, however the house size would still be limited to less than twelve hundred square feet (I would like the house size to be the same, others feel differently).

The third village is not equestrian at all. It is a community of townhomes and condos for those who don't feel they can maintain a house and etc. anymore. They will be able to keep horses in the first village's overflow barn at a slightly higher cost than the other residents as they will be provided with feed as well (the other homeowners will be required to feed their horses themselves). This village will also be arranged around a several acre courtyard (plaza or Village green). Included will be the Town Hall, possibly a few small businesses (perhaps a cafe', crafts store, sewing store, a secondhand store, etc...) and the community feed store.

There will also be residents of the community that don't reside in any of the villages. These members will reside in larger lots of an acre to possibly five acres (I would like to keep it no larger than an acre). They will be situated between the Villages along the community's roads.

There will be a Homeowner's Association run by an elected Village Council through a Town Hall meeting system. No decisions or meetings will be allowed the Council unless they are public and the whole community has the opportunity to participate. Such participation won't be manditory, however cooperation with said Council and HOA will be. The hope of doing the system this way is to avoid the fiasco that most HOAs have become, and the unfairness that results from it.

Okay, that's the gist of over 175 posts and comments. Here's a few illustrations, elevations, and a floor plan that I've thrown out for discussion. I'm going to try loading these as thumbnails as many of them are quite large. If that doesn't work... well I'll do what I can, LOL!

You might need a magnifying glass in that case!

Edit:
Okay the thumbnails didn't work quite as I would like. If you wish to see the pictures at full size; they are located here:
https://picasaweb.google.com/101819196409529558537/RetirementDaydreams?authkey=Gv1sRgCNSQy-W9qo-ZqwE#
Let me know if it won't let you in. If that's the case, I'll just post the full-sized pictures.

Well, that's enough to be getting along with. I thought some of the people on this forum might enjoy seeing this. In all we're looking at between two hundred and two hundred-fifty residences. If we can succeed in getting Gail Austin (the owner of Gayla) to take this seriously, then the process will be far and away much easier. The question is weather she would want such... bluecollar residents attached to her facility. Otherwise, the cost might be considerably higher per resident. Then again... who knows? Right now the whole thing is so many eggs in moonshine. But it's a nice daydream anyways...

Connie

Posted : 12/20/2012 10:35:25 AM

so many eggs in moonshine

a phrase I am not familiar with.

Love the plans. Small homes are fine. Large tack rooms are more of a necessity. Would this be near your 'neck of the woods'? or on the East coast? Affordable housing and facilities for those on a fixed income is a super plan if it is workable.

Love your smileys. I keep getting them and then, periodically, have to reload them.

hunterseat

Posted : 12/20/2012 12:57:29 PM

I skimmed so I hope I didn't overlook this. Two things that came to mind. The first being medical staff available, and possibly a "dispensary" on premisis. The second is the sheer volume of people you're planning for. That's alot of potentially elderly.

I met a wonderful lady who had her horse on her property and kept healthy by caring for the horse. She was a WWII prisoner as a child.

Might build in the possiblility of some kind of volunteer program - 4H? Community service? something that might benefit kids shoveling manure and painting fences.

studeclunker

Posted : 12/20/2012 11:44:31 PM

Well, the idea is such that a medical staff and dispensary likely won't be necessary. At first anyway. If we can attach these communities to the edge of Gala or Black Prong, then it's entirely possible that the surrounding metro area will provide those services. However, one of our members on the RED list suggested attaching an assisted and nursing facility later. That way, these horse people can remain close to their beloved horses in their twilight years, as it were. It's definately something to consider.

As to 4H, if one can get them interested, that would be a great idea. The 4H'rs in my area aren't much interested in horses, let alone driving.

All of the possible locations are presently south of the Mason-Dixon line. Currently we are considering four venues; Southern Pines and Aiken, in the Carolinas as they have vibrant driving communities. Also we are considering the Gayla driving centre and conservancy in the Georgetown Ky. area along with Black Prong in Florida. The two driving centres have the considerable advantage of already having miles of driving trails and roads available and set up. It will also save the community the cost of buying hundreds of acres of land. It's likely, if those centres cooperate, the individual cost to the villagers will be quite minimal. The biggest problem is getting the local Bureauacracy to cooperate. They have a tendency (nationwide I'm afraid) of being rather pendantically hide-bound and will be put-off by the size of the villiages and the population they will contain (both in people and horses). Thus there are some formidable challenges ahead. The question is, will this fly?

"...so many eggs in Moonshine." To be a flight of fancy, an imaginary and highly likely unworkable exercise in wishful thinking. C.S. Lewis was the first to use this rather obscure British saying in literature (to my limited knowledge). Several characters use it in the story Prince Caspian, but most notably the black dwarf Nickabrick, who uses the saying to ridicule the use of Queen Susan's horn.

Connie

Posted : 12/21/2012 12:16:25 PM

...so many eggs in Moonshine.

I wasn't thinking of the glow from the moon when I read this. I immediately thought of the stuff people make to drink.

I live near State horse trails. There are over 100 miles of horse trails and a lot of "truck trails". Very hilly countryside, low population density, and not far to a small hospital with one of the top orthopedic groups in the state. There are State trails to the north of us and the south of us. Would love to see a planned horse community spring up, but I would imagine our winters would discourage those looking for a place to retire to....unless, like Rob, they have a gorgeous team and a bobsled. A lot of Amish have moved into the area so folks are getting more accustomed to seeing buggys using the roads and hitching places are springing up.

Hope your dreams become reality.

studeclunker

Posted : 12/29/2012 7:33:46 AM

Okay, here's a few shots of the central courtyard and facilities. My software is being rather flogged to do only one third of the village, and at that, only part of the inner circle of homes.

Here's same location with some trees added seen at eye level.

Looking down the asile towards the gate:

From the other side of the courtyard: