Ridge Valley Stables

my husband and i went for a trail ride last sunday. yes i was a little nervous when my horse went up the hill to eat but the guide did tell me he would do that and it was ok to let him eat. i am new at riding and have only gone on a few trail rides. once the ride started my nervousness went away. the trail was beautiful. the horse was very well behaved. we plan on doing another trail ride there this weekend. i would definately recommend ridge valley stables.

Overall a really fun experience, but there is definitely room for improvement. My friend and I went on an hour long walk /​trot trail ride this afternoon. There were three other riders who we didn’t know, and the instructor.
Being an intermediate English rider I didn’t have many complaints personally, so these suggestions for improvement are based on the experience of my friend who was a first time rider.
Check in process: we showed up about ten minutes early so we walked into the office and paid. The instructor told us to feel free to walk around the barn and wait for our ride. When the time came to start we overheard confusion as to why all the riders weren’t in the correct location. If we’re expected to wait in a certain area that should be made clear from the beginning. It would probably help with punctuality.
Horse /​rider matchup: my friend who has never ridden is 5 feet tall. I made that clear on the phone and stressed in person she needs a mild mannered, smaller horse. When we toured the barn I saw several horses all tacked up that would have been appropriate for her. She was put on a tall quarter horse with bad manners. He was problematic while we waited to start the ride, and the whole time on the trail. He was on autopilot and didn’t respond to her reins. He kept trying to bite the horse in front of him, and we actually had to change order because of it. These behaviors don’t make him a «bad» horse and they can easily be fixed, but it’s intimidating for a first time rider.
Lack of direction: like other reviewers mentioned once you are mounted on the horse they automatically walk to the head of the trail and start eating the grass. I can understand why this is very scary for inexperienced riders. The horses aren’t very responsive to the rider, and there is no staff to help. There should be an instructor already up there so when the horses take off in that direction people don’t get scared.
Basics of riding: I understand this isn’t a lesson, but some things needs to be said to the group BEFORE the ride starts. Steering, using your leg, whoa, go, appropriate and inappropriate behaviors, distance that should be left between riders, body position for terrain inclines, declines, and trotting. Just basics that would ease the mind of someone who has never been on a horse.
This place has a lot of potential, but the management needs to take a step back and really think about the experience they are giving first time riders. Being on a horse is extremely fun, but if it’s not done right it can be just as scary. A better orientation and more education would go a long way.

My friend and I went for a group trail ride on a Sunday afternoon and had a great time. The staff were very friendly as well as the horses. I had an amazing time and would definitely recommend the stable to others!

This was a lot of fun and the staff was super courteous — especially Terry. However, being a novice to riding, me and my girlfriend were hoping to get some training /​instructions. However, there wasn’t much of that — nowhere near enough. Nevertheless, we both enjoyed the rides but there was always a slight discomfort that we were riding some what on our own with no training as such. Also, at the very end, I tried to get my horse (Athena) closer to my girlfriend’s and my horse suddenly shrieked and tried to bite her horse (Flicker). We were fortunate that nobody got hurt, but my girlfriend was quite shaken. I see another reviewer having a similar and worse experience. I think RVS should note this and try to be more cautious. We were also left unattended (8 riders) for 15 – 20 minutes on our horses quite a ways from the instructors and my girlfriend’s horse was wandering the barns far away — kind of a disconcerting thing to see when riding for the first time.
Nevertheless, the ride was a lot of fun and I highly recommend it. :)

Ridge Valley Stables helped create a magical day for my 7 and 5 year old cow girls’ birthday party. Terry and his crew of 3 arrived on time with 20 children engaged immediately at the unloading of a horse and pony that they had trailered to Brookline. Within no time the children were taking turns riding the animals around my small property that for a little over an hour had been transformed into a ranch. Some parents even got into the act and rode their kids on the horse. Terry and his crew were all professional; made sure each child was safe and cleaned up after the event. Several children commented that it was the best birthday party that they had ever been too, which felt good, but not as good as the smiles on my daughters’ faces that I will cherish forever. Thank you!

My wife and I had an excellent experience celebrating our wedding anniversary with a half day trail ride at Blackstone Valley. Our guides were Linda and John. Both were very nice and helpful. They also shared some funny stories along the way. Just ask if you’re curious! Together, the four of us traveled through woods and fields. The scenery was beautiful; I am a fan of Lord of the Rings, and several parts of the trail reminded me of the fields in the Shire and the woods. A caution for the naïve: Animals may not always act the way you’d like them too. In the beginning, my horse Robin liked to test the boundaries with me by constantly going for the grass. But I didn’t give in and soon things were smooth.
All in all, if you like the outdoors, horses, and/​or a little challenge, this is a great experience. I would recommend Ridge Valley Stables to any of my friends.

My husband and I love spending time doing «outdoorsey» activities especially when the weather starts getting warmer, but when friends of our suggested going horseback riding at Ridge Valley Stables this past weekend we were not sure what to expect. Neither my husband nor I are equestrians by any stretch of the imagination so we were unsure of how much «experience» we would need to at least look like we knew what we were doing.
What first struck me when our party of six arrived at Ridge Valley Stables was its appearance. What I envisioned– driving down a long fenced driveway toward sprawling green pastures containing galloping horses — was quickly extingished. Located on a busy stretch of roadway right off Upton Street, there were no rolling hills nor green pastures, just a parking lot, a stable, and several fenced in corrals with a variety of horses milling around.
However, in a «don’t judge a book by it’s cover» moment, I am glad that I kept an open mind and let the afternoon play out. Despite its appearance (which might be off putting to some), Ridge Valley Stables is a place where novice to experienced equestrians (or wanna be’s in our case) can come, get saddled up and be lead on a group trail ride lasting from 60 to 90 minutes.
Our horses were matched to each persons skill level, but as we headed out on the trail, I realized that the horses have been trained to follow each other at a leisurely pace. At no time did I ever feel uncomfortable on my horse (Athena) and even when we changed from a walk to a «slow» cantor, I never felt a loss of control.
Our trail ride lasted about an hour and during that time we traveled across several regional trails (including portions of the Grafton Land Trust) and rode across a variety of terrians.
A great way to spend a Saturday afternoon!

I would say that this is a great place to take your first trail ride. I definately will be returning.

I had a really great trail ride here in early summer. The horses were well cared for, the guide (Mariella, I think?) was really nice, and the scenery was very pleasant. The owners were friendly and helpful too, and the price was reasonable for a 1 hour ride. Come ON, people: activities involving animals can be unpredictable, and if something makes you uncomfortable or fearful, then speak up & ask for help, or bow out. It’s a shame when someone gets injured in any activity, but personal responsibility for making informed decisions & assuming risk seems to have gone out the window in our litigious society. If you want to ride a horse on a trail ride, this is a nice and affordable place to do that. If you want a completely safe, risk-​free activity that virtually guarantees nothing could go go wrong, go to Redbox!!!

I’m giving Ridge Valley Stables one star since Unilocal doesn’t have a zero star rating. We went here today for a trail ride and I cannot stress how unsafe and unprofessionally they run their rides.
Our trail ride group was comprised of myself and my husband, and three other women whom we didn’t know. After our 5-​person group was saddled, they made us wait for others who were supposed to join the group. They left 5 inexperienced riders at the trail head at the back of the property alone for 25 minutes. The horses were all ravenously eating the fresh grass and not taking any direction from their rider. Suddenly, one of the horses attacked my horse by rearing forward and trying to bite and kick her. The horse’s hoof made contact with my right calf. All I saw was a flash of teeth and then sudden pain in my right leg.
The others in our group were screaming and yelling for help but no one came. The trail head is a good distance from the barn. Again, the horses weren’t taking direction from any of us and were just concentrating on eating, so none of us could get our horse to move closer to the barn. It was a full 5 minutes of our group yelling for someone to come out of the barn area before a woman came out and led my horse back to the barn so that I could dismount.
When we arrived for the ride, I counted at least 4 people who worked there. There is no excuse to put 5 inexperienced people on horses and then leave them completely alone at the back of the property. If something worse than me being kicked (say, someone being thrown from their saddle) had happened, there would’ve been no experienced person there to prevent the horses from causing further harm.
Overall it was a very scary and painful experience. We left the stables 40 minutes after our supposed start time with a bag of ice for my leg, our money refunded, and apologies. The rest of the group was still sitting on their horses at the trail head, waiting for their ride to start, and were once again left alone!
Please do not give these people your money. They clearly do not have each person’s safety in mind.

My SO and I went on their local horse back ride. We had a great time. I think we were mostly focus on the horse back riding aspect vs. Ridge Valley Stables. Basically any time you get out in nature and get to ride a horse, how bad can it be.
I enjoyed the trail they took us on. We crossed many different type of terrain, got to pick wild berry’s, had some really pretty views. Our leader was really nice, though since we were in a line, it seemed hard to talk to to eat other.
The staff was really nice in general. And they let us spend some time with the horse after the ride. We purchase the 60 minute version, but our experience was much long. The Bath room wasn’t clean. The farm has some high voltage power lines running through it, if such things worry you.
I recommend any first timers or individuals wanting to treat their SO trying Ridge Valley Stables.