sun city stables

First of all, the horses. They have all been rescue horses that were underweight and uncared for when they arrived. The staff at Sun City Stables loves the horses and the "guides" are volunteers..thus the suggestion for a $20 tip per group. No, there is no grass for the horses to graze upon, hello! this is FLORIDA and we have sand and beautiful FL "scrub land" with Spanish moss hanging from the trees. The horses are well fed now, and none of them show any ribs. I do not know what time of year some of the bad reviewers went, but walking through the woods does not normally "lather" a horse up! My daughter has a Friesian top winning show horse, plus a Halflinger and a Clydesdale that they ride. I had horses myself for over 20 years, and I know horses. Sun City Stables is a rescue place where horses are saved from sure death, that had been previously left out in a sandy pasture with weeds, and no care. Do not expect pure breds here. We take our granddaughters to ride, one 5 and the other 9. We have never had a bad experience. We do always pay to have a "guide" who leads the way. The other horses always follow the guide horse, and so if you wish to trot or canter all you have to do it tell your guide and he or she will make it happen. On our very first visit, the first impression was that this place is not a "high class operation" and yes, the "office" is in a beat up old, REALLY old trailer, but it is only used as a place where they keep the papers and the customers do not have any need to step inside, as they bring the papers and a clip board out to you. There is a HUGE petting area where they have MANY goats, all well fed and all loving to be petted. They also hava a Llama, and pigs with lots of babies! The kids LOVE going there! They had experienced a lot of rain prior to our first visit, and since it was the first time for our 5 yr old, the guide Connie, led her horse and WALKED through ankle high water getting her boots and jeans muddy and wet. She was AMAZING! That same day they facilitated getting a man whose legs were paralized onto one of the horses for a ride in the woods! They have built a platform which is wheel chair accessable to help the disabled adults and children experience the joy of riding. We have had no "spinning" or other problematic behavior from our horses (other than having them snach a piece of low hanging Spanish moss) which I do not consider a problem. Last week when we took our 9 year old who has had more experience than her younger cousin, Connie was not there, so Mercedes was our guide and she rode the lead horse. This time she wanted to trot so that is what we did. Even so, the horses were not lathered. On Valentine's Day this year 2015, they had an unexpected surge larger than ever before. That one day they had 100 riders. And that one day, I imagine the horses got very little rest in between, but that is by far the vast exception! You can not fairly judge the place from what you experienced that day. I have to wonder if some of the other reviews did just that. If so, I can understand. The horses are all turned loose at night, to roam the 75 acres as they please, which beats being confined in a barn all night as many riding stables do. Thank you to the staff who volunteer their time to care for these horses at this facility. A special thank you to Connie and Mercedes!!!

I will start this by saying I have been around horses most of my life. I have owned several and cared for numerous others on a daily basis. My first job was working at a horse ranch in my teens. You won't see me on the PBR circuit anytime soon, but I am a competent rider.We showed up to this place and the first thing I notice is that there is no grazing area within sight for these horses. It's all sand and they are kept in makeshift stallsnwith tents over the top. There is no real office on the property, just a dilapidated ancient trailer that has a rotten floor. The only bathroom facilities is an old port a potty.After checking in, I walked around to look at the horses. Many of them were either lathered or had lathered and dried, from a previous ride, and were in their stalls with their saddles still on. Thenones with no saddles and lathered hadn't been hosed down. Several of these horses were sent back out for other trail rides.Our horses seemed to be a little more fresh, but that's where the good part of our visit starts. They told us that there was 8 or 9 miles of trails to ride. It's actually about 50 or 60 acres, I'm approximating, with endless extremely narrow criss crossing paths through some of Florida's finest dense scrub land. It was wet and mucky through about half of it.Every horse I witnessed, including ours, were barn sour. Every second we were on them, we were fighting to keep them on the trail and not heading for the stalls. Ours were bucking, head throwing and spinning nonstop. Despite our best efforts, the horses make their way back to the stables in about 20 minutes. We had our 10 year old son with us and it was dangerous. The closer they got to the stalls, the faster they went, refusing to follow rein or verbal commands.When we returned to the stalls the first time, several of the people that keft right before or right after us were also back at the stalls. We were able to turn the horses around by dismounting and walking the horses back towards the trails.Our second attempt was worse than our first. There were other riders on horses refusing to move or follow commands up and down the trail. Ours behaved for about 10 minutes and they then refused to follow and commands head throwing, spinning, bucking, etc..In total, we rode for about an hour. We paid for three hours. I was concerned for the safety of my son and we decided to not continue riding. We asked the staff about a partial refund. The staff themselves were very nice. They referred us to the owner. We didn't ask for a full refund, just the two hours we didn't ride. Our efforts for a refund were met by insultsnfrom the owner.We have done trail rides all over. Sunset rides in Nevada in the mountains, mountain rides in Blue Ridge Georgia, etc... We've never had any problems, anywhere. If you're looking for an enjoyable and safe experience, in my nopinion, this isn't it.I feel sorry for these horses.

I knew I made a huge mistake as soon as I arrived at the run down "ranch". There was no buildings on the property. The operate out of a trailer with a rotten floor. The animals are kept in tents. It only got worse from there. The Horses are so spooked we couldn't even get out of the holding area without wasting 20 minutes going in circles. The horses are very aggressive toward eachother and the staff is very poorly trained, and claimed this was unusual. The staff were in complete denial the entire time, I overheard them saying the same kind of thing to other people who were attempting to go for a trail ride with unruly horses before us. They expect thier clients to aggressively kick the horses and use strong tactics to keep the horses in line. The horses are constantly trying to turn back to the base area for "water" but actually the trails are horrible, the land is a swamp and the horses are constantly avoiding deep water and mud while running the riders into tree branches. Do yourself a favour and find another establishment for a trail ride.

The first mistake I made was to go there without checking trip advisor first. Apparently I am not the only one who had an unfavorable experience with Sun City Stables. I responded to their website which advertised that you can use a guide or go alone, walk, trot or gallop. That should been a red flag because all stables I have been to insist on a guide, and walk only especially for beginners. The website advertised $30 / hour. When my daughter and I got there, the price was $86 for both of us. The $30 is only if you call in advance. OK - we were there already. The office was a run down trailer and I asked about 1 hour trail ride with a guide. We identified ourselves as beginners although both of us have been riding for years. The man said he would go with us. After I paid the money. a young girl (barefoot) got our horses and identified herself as our guide. We went about 500 feet from the stables and the guide's horse would not walk through a puddle. She got off the horse, tried to pull him through the puddle (the barefoot guide is now ankle deep in mud) and the horse broke loose and ran back to the barn. I asked the girl if she was going to get another horse. She said no as was going to walk with us. (barefoot through the mud). When my daughter's horse saw the other horse ran back to the stable, her horse ran back also. The horse would not respond to a stiff pull on the ropes. My horse decided to follow however rather that walk along the muddy trail, my horse side stepped off the very small trail and I cut my face on tree branches. When we got back, I thought they might get us other horses but no. We were unable to ride the horses they gave us. We just got off our horses, the staff returned them to the stable and our ride was over after about 10 minutes. No hint of a refund or even an "I'm sorry". The so called trail was a very narrow hard to identify walk way through mostly dead brush. No care was taken to trim low branches which were mostly dead sticks. I learned later (from the website) that the guides are volunteers that work for tips. They expect $20 per group. Also, helmets are for rent if you want one. I never went to a stable that charged for helmets or specified an expected tip for the guide. I never wasted $86 so quickly. I will never go there again. Professional horse people would be aware of the diseases you can contract from walking barefoot around a stable or horse trails. Mud, horse droppings, not to mention rusty broken horse shoes, rusty nails etc can be a major health risk for the barefoot traveler. I realize that I signed a waiver that the stables is not responsible for anything so I guess it is just my bad luck. However, I think if they were a reputable business, they have some responsibility to see that I get something for my $86 other that than handing me two horses that we could not ride.

Still suffering from a back injury from the recklessness of the employees here. Don't put yourself or your family at risk. They let people ride alone, the horses have no spirit. Shame on the people here for creating such a dangerous area for people and calling it an attraction. Animals are in filth, horses are miserable and frustrated, place is a dump - and don't ever expect your money back even if they are at complete fault. I look forward to the day when this place is shut down for good. I've already filed complaints with the BBB of Tampa. What's worse is they don't even see it for what it is - if they do then they'll get to answer to the man above for it later for putting human lives and animals at risk for serious injury. I've spoken with at least 3 others who have been seriously injured here and I'm thankful they can still walk. BEWARE OF THIS SCAM!

We made 10AM reservations for six to ride in late December. We weren't sure how many would ride for 1 vs 2(3) hours. Rita said we were booked for 6 to pay for 2 hour rides and that there was no way to change the reservation once we were on the property. I said that we had left it open as to how many would ride for 2 hours (3rd free) and that the website said reservations were not required. She finally conceded and let us split the group into 1 and 2 hour rides. Then, they didn't have enough horses and we were told we should have horses "within the hour" . The two of us who did want to ride for 2 hours went out for an hour and came back then had to wait another 30 minutes for the rest of our group to get horses. They said they could not give discounts for the delay. Jeremy and the other trail guide were quite helpful and kind to our kids, and to the horses. I appreciate that they are a rescue stable, and the kids thought the petting zoo was fun--but the surly behavior about payment when they could not even honor the reservation was not appreciated.

So let me stay of by saying. .. when we booked the appointment they stated that if you pay for two hours you get a free on. However when we got out there they were pushing us to come back after 2 hours, despite us instigating that we wanted the full 3 we were promised! The horses were stubborn and wouldn't go out to the trails.. wanting to turn right back around to return home. We ended up having to pay for a guide after the would not listen to our instructions and returned home twice. I would also say they were not safe. The one we had would kick his back feet and the other began to buck after it was given instructions it did not want to follow. The second time we returned to the stables we inquired about different horses. They told us there were no others available, despite at least 10 still in their caged area. The trails were thin and we were constantly hitting trees and brush!

Let me begin by saying that I have been riding and caring for horses for 11 years. I consider myself an experienced and advanced rider. I have been trail riding in Florida, South Carolina, Jamaica, St. Maarten and many other places as well as formal riding instruction. But let me tell you, trail riding at Sun City Stables was the worst experience I have ever had in my 11 years of riding. I arrived with my riding partner at the "stables" even though you can hardly call it that. The horses are kept in pens all day without shade and without water. Many are even kept tacked up in the hot sun. I am aware many trail riding places tend to do this but it is not fair in any way to the horses. The horses were skinny and overworked. Their hooves were cracked and many have awful rain rot. On top of the terrible mistreatment of the animals, the place is a dump. My riding partner and I wandered around for a little bit without anyone stopping or showing us where to go. There are no signs anywhere. None when you walk in, none on the trails, none around the facilities. The staff is just a bunch of teenaged girls who do not know anything about properly riding or training horses. There are many informed, responsible and knowledgable teenagers out there that ride horses but the girls at Sun City Stables have none of the previously stated traits. The "office" is a disgusting, run-down trailer. I told the girl that helped us that my riding partner and I were both experienced so we didn't want a guide. She came back with two horses and told me that mine was high spirited but she thought with my experience I could handle her. "High spirited" was a complete and utter understatement. This mare was 100% green and would not listen to any of my signals. I have ridden many horses in my time but this was the worse behaved horse I had ridden. The girl ripped off a tree branch and told me I could use it as a crop. Obviously, this did not work. As the trail ride went on, the horse became worse and worse. I was afraid to take her into anything more than a walk or easy trot because It was nearly impossible to get her to slow back down or turn the way I wanted her to go. She felt as though she was going to bolt for the barn at any second. The trails are nothing more than overgrown weeds with little paths to walk through. Nothing beautiful about them. One of the teenaged girls told us that they let all of the horses out to wander the trails at night. This caused the trails to be very narrow and winding and ultimately the trail consisted of only 3 or so circles. I paid for 3 hours but ended up coming in after only about 45 minutes as my riding partner and I were not having fun and were scared as my horse was misbehaving. I did not come to your facility to pay to train your green mare. These horses will come back into the stables after an hour no matter what you do. No matter how hard you pull on the reins or squeeze your legs, they will just ignore you if you don't use enough force or try to buck you off. Do not plan on actually riding for more than 45 minutes to an hour. You will lose your money and will not have a good time. They refused to give us a refund and offered a half hearted apology. It was only after the fact that I read a review online saying that the exact horse I rode sent two people to the hospital on different occasions! I have told all of my equestrian friends to never try this place and to never send anyone here. Sun City Stables is not beginner, intermediate, or even advanced rider friendly. I would not recommend this place to even my worst enemy. It has been one of the most disappointing experiences of my life. I received it as a christmas present and feel as though i have been robbed. I cannot stress this enough: DO NOT GO TO SUN CITY STABLES!!

We had a wonderful trail ride at Sun City Stables. The guides are knowledgeable and the horses are beautiful and well taken care of. It was my second time. I took one of my daughters and her three children one time and my other daughter and husband the second time. The horses are suited to every riders needs and are very well behaved.. Just a reminder - mosquitoes after heavy rains - take plenty of bug spray!! Will definitely go again and again!!

Awesome riding experience for anyone looking to get out & enjoy some horse back riding. The owners are great & knowledgable about there horses. I very much recommend checking it out!

I went horse riding here a few times during my vacation. I don't know why the person before me says the horses are abused!!!! This is absolutely not true! I found that the horses were treated with a lot of love. The people there knew every horse personally, could tell us about it's personality etc....You could tell that the horses were happy and well fed. They were not overworked. They were given time to rest and drink. And if a horse wasn't feeling 100% that day it was given a day off. The guide was very helpful. The guides there were good with the horses! You could tell they had a lot of experience with horses. And it\s true the horses sometimes like to eat grass/leaves along the way. Which horse doesn't enjoy some fresh green leaves once in a while?! But they stop when you tell them to. I rode on a couple of different horses there. My little boy was given a big gentle horse (Apache) with buddy stirrups. He loved it. The horses have a place to shelter when it rains. Their stalls are clean. Yes, it frequently rains in the afternoon during the summer in Florida. And there tend to be a few more mosquitoes this time of the year. You need to take that into consideration when you plan to go horse riding. Take along bug spray. Spray it all over yourself and you'll be fine. I'm sure there are stables that are fancier, but if you are looking for a good place to ride for your dollar then treat yourself to Sun City stables. My family and I had a wonderful time here and we'll go again when we come back to Florida next year!

Not sure why this place has such bad reviews we had a great time all the animals were well cared for the petting zoo was fine the staff was great. Will return again.

Jeremy and Ann (stable volunteers?) were accommodating and very knowledgable about the stable and the lovely horses. Ms. Rita was kind and also a pleasure to speak with also. I rode a retired race horse named Olympus...all I can say as that he still definitely had some 'race' in him! Great time altogether, and we will definitely be back!

I went riding this past Monday with my own children and elderly parents. We did the 2 hours and 1 for free. The staff was great help from the time we arrived at the stables. We were on our horses swiftly and were off to the trails. All 7 of us had a wonderful time and the ride itself was extremely relaxing and peaceful. There were a couple spots in the trails we were told we could run if we wanted ( Of course we ran...i have 4 children eager and ready)!! I myself didnt want to go too fast nor my parents so we directed our horse as told to do so and they picked up the pace as much as we let them, on the other hand my kids were “Gone with the Wind” Afterwards we stopped by the petting zoo and it was enjoyable for everyone as there is shaded areas with benches for the adults and open area to browse and chase the animals haha.Great place i would certainly recommend and there prices are very reasonable. We will be going back shortly!

Have been coming to these stables off and on for the past year and every time I have had a fun and enjoyable time. I will definitely be back in the near future and would recommend riding at these stables to my family and friends! Really like the horse called George who hangs out his tongue and Diamond is great too. I like how these stables match the horse according to your riding capabilities. The riding trails are through native Florida type vegetation which is very beautiful. I had the opportunity to either ride with a guide or without and decided to take the guide as he was very friendly and informative. I find that the prices are very affordable and actually a lot cheaper in comparison to other stables.I will look forward to riding at these stables again soon.