Columbia Horse Center, Laurel

I personally love columbia horse center because of their fantastic schooling series. I love competing there with my horses. Their outdoor rings and jumps are always very nice. This past fall I was competing their with a few friends. We went walking through their barns admiring all their horses when we noticed a horrible smell. We thought nothing of it until we came across a dead horse. A DEAD HORSE. They were having a show and there was just a dead horse in its stall! When I got home I looked up Columbia horse center on the Internet and came across an article about an equine herpes outbreak at CHC in 2005. It was said to be spread through contaminated food. 5 horses died. I love CHC's shows but, I don't think I will ever be going back! I love my horses too much to lose them!

I love Columbia Horse Center. I have been going here for many many years and it has yet failed to please me. The instructors are great, the horses are great and the atmosphere is great. Everyone is always smiling and there are many opportunities there. The rings are water daily so dust is maintained and there is an air conditioned/heated lounge. Everything is so well organized and everything is at your disposal. if you miss a lesson, no big deal you can pop into another one without a problem. Also there is a horse for every person and a person for every horse. CHC has a very large variety of horses and they are treated well they get appropriate amounts of food and lots of time to be out in the fields. Columbia horse center is also very clean. there are people cleaning the isles daily. CHC also has a very good summer camp program. Children and Adults have a blast and there are so many fun things to do there. Overall Columbia Horse Center is a good place to ride and i would suggest it to anyohne who asked me about it.

I've been taking lessons at CHC for two years now. I love my tuesday night lesson group. My instructor is knowledgeable, and I have learned a lot, despite having ridden for 16 years in total. I like the flexibility if I have to miss a lesson-scheduling a makeup is never a problem. The lesson atmosphere is fun, and relaxed, but with teaching riding skills still in mind. I have several favorite horses out of the herd. The price for lessons is very reasonable considering the area it is in. So shame on all of those who give the Columbia Horse Center a bad rap.

It amazes me when people post neagative comments, because they really do not know Columbia Horse Center. I have been at CHC for over 7 years. I started as a riding student eventually fell in love with one of the school horses and purchased. I am now a student and a boarder. The horses are very well taken care of and the staff is knowledeable, caring and always polite. I have seen the amazing things they have done to new horses coming in. Some of these horses come in in pretty poor shape. The staff works very hard to get the horses healthy and happy. In return the horses become great teachers and may eventually get bought by one of the students, like I did. The horses could not be happier! Columbia Horse Center you are doing a great job with the horses and your students. keep up the good work!

i kept my horse there for a while and i particularly hated it. people are so rude and inconsiderate. The horses are not treated well at all and it is wayyyyy to expenisve.

I have read a lot of the posts. I am struck by the sweeping generalizations, inaccuracies and ignorance in the negative posts. Columbia Horse Center's horses are loved. At Christmas, Valentines Day or any other major holiday, you only have to walk down the school aisles and see the drawings, decoratons and treats left by kids who have fallen in love with the horse or pony they ride in their lesson. The poster who complained the horse bolt out of stall when the gate is opened. Well sure - occasionally a horse will see an oppportunty to escape. But many (most) will stay completely still even if you walk away. These are prey animals with individual temperaments. They are naturally unpredictable. The person who finds this alarming knows little about horses. And, yes, there are mice in a barn. It is unavoidable. The staff care a great deal about rider and boarder experiences. There are clear ways to bring a problem to management attention and get to a solution. This is a busines based on providing a happy , safe and productive experience. But, in case anyone should forget, riding horses is an inherently dangerous sport. Horses are big, unpredictable - not mean by nature - but always ready to flee from perceived danger. Accidents and scary rides will - and do happen. Riders are warned and taught to recognize when they are in a vulnerable situation and when to address it. It can even include being dismounted for safety. I have personally seen this happen. Anyone who claims this barn is not safe has not paid close enough attention. The horses are happy and well fed. They are groomed and their feet picked regularly, A sick or injured horse is identified super fast and dealt with quickly and well. I recommend this barn to anyone interested in learning to ride.

School horses are turned out on the weekdays in the morning and sometimes on the weekends as well. Horses who are used a lot get their days off. We sponge off every horse after their lesson if they are hot before entering their stalls. Our saddles do not cause swaybacks - they come with them. We use primarily full cheek snaffles on all the horses. Other bits include eggbutt snaffles and a few Drings. Nothing more than a snaffle is allowed. It is the instructor's job to get the horses fly sprayed - they're found on a fence in every ring and if it has been removed, there is a huge container in the tack room as well as in the office. Horses are groomed daily. We have multiple outdoor hoses. Punishment of the mouth is never appropriate. Some of the little kids have to kick through the saddle pads because their legs don't reach past the flaps. Any staff who deals with customers speak English.

I would just like to say people need to stop saying that boarders are snobbing and get most of the attention when the school program is given way more attention and does not have to deal with as much as the boarders are asked to deal with on a regular basis. Otherwise its a great place!

CHC needs much improvement on stressing safety during lessons, communicating and enforcing barn policy. One thing goes for some students and not others and rules seem to change on the fly. Additionally, many of the school horses seem unhealthy and overused.

Columbia horse center is an awful place for horses and people. the horses ARE way overused. (well, the "popular" ones, the others are just sent back to auction) the horses get minimal rat infested feed. school horses are hardly, or never turned out, if they are turned out its in a small, overcrowded paddock with no grass, moldy green slimy water, sand and dirt, horse droppings all over the place, and occasionally random ,possibly harmful, objects. the stalls are small and dark. not ventilated, the barn is extremely hot. horses are often found drenched in sweat in their stalls but are still used in two or three lessons in a row. The tack is filthy, doesnt fit the horses which causes swaybacks, back pain, and awful sores. some horses have unneeded harsh bits. lesson students are not told how to use these specific bits which causes the horses pain and bit sores. girths dont fit, are dirty, and never washed. bridles aren't cleaned. the leather leaves rubs ont the horses delicate faces. fly spray is rarely ever available which is extremeley irritating for horses and riders. lesson horses are hardly groomed before being tacked. hooves are hardly ever picked. many horses have thrush. most cases are not treated. dirty horses get saddlesores from the dirt left on their backs. Some instructors are inexperienced, and teach riders bad habbits (kicking horses, yanking on the horses mouth, etc.) The facilities are inadequit. theres only one wash stall. Lockers, stalls, the lounge, feed rooms, the kitchen, everywhere is infested with mice. A huge muck pile right behind the barn makes the barn hotter, and is also a fire hazard. Workers open horses stalls and let them run out to their turn out paddock. this teaches bad manners. The horses run out of thier stalls when children open them. horses are left saddled for hours. Random vistors come see and feed all of the horses, including boarders. Rules are stated but not inforced about visiting the barn. The atmosphere is unfriendly and unhelpful. Some of the staff do not speak english. Students are yelled at, disrespected, and sometimes even embaresed in front of their friends. prices are extremely high. boarder horses are basicly treated like school horses. the owners are not imformed about changes that effect their horses. Which could be very harmful for the horses health and well being. Overall this barn is not a good place to be.