MacNair's Country Acres Raleigh, North Carolina

A wonderful experience. As a life-long equestrian, I booked an evaluation ride with Katie and had a fabulous time on Winston. I was so impressed with Katie's knowledge, kindness and the care that they show the horses. There is a solid emphasis on horsemanship and the horses were all so well cared for. Highly recommend!

I am an adult rider and absolutely love this barn. I’ve ridden at a number of locations in a number of states over the last decade and this one is the most organized I have ever attended. I feel welcome and I feel that I have improved in just a few short weeks. The horses seem loved and well cared for. The trainers work to accommodate me in lessons even if I may not be to the level of the other riders. Looking forward to riding here for a long time!

I thought it was a wonderful facility, until I got to know how it is run. The facility is extremely money hungry. The lesson horses are used in multiple lessons per day each, and get at most one day off per week. Not to mention that almost all of the lesson horses are on Equioxx. It is overly priced and everyone is extremely stuck up.

I tried contacting them 3 times before someone finally called me back about lessons. I was told I could have a lesson in one week, but they would call back to confirm the time. One week later, no call and no response to my voicemail about confirmation. Waste of time.

I really enjoy spending time at Macnair's. The facility is nice and the horses were really happy and healthy! They have beautiful pastures to roam and everyone I meet there is really friendly. Definitely recommend!

I have been boarding and taking lessons here since 2012 and love absolutely everything about it, the horses, the people, the facility, and the location! They take excellent care of both the schooling horses in their lesson program and the boarding horses along with the grounds.

Being an NCSU grad and an active equestrian for 19 years I had long been familiar with the name MacNair’s. However, with the commitment of law school I knew I’d need a “new ideal” situation for my best man. Having kept my horses at home for over a decade and them being used to the absolute gold star in care I was nervous about Gabe going anywhere. My experience with MacNair’s has been nothing short of wonderful. Tiffany and Henry have been so kind and welcoming. A fourth year veterinarian student lives on property and she is an equine specialist! Hello, what more could you ask for in case of an emergency? I am a Type A control freak and am shocked by the level of comfort I have experienced knowing Gabe and his fabulous leaser are at MCA. Laura Pendleton is a dressage master and the location in Raleigh is also a perfectly easy distance to my favorite event trainer, Aaron Hill, at Portofino. I would even go as far as to say that Gabe’s mental health (he’s a giant TB with claustrophobia and large opinions) has improved since being at MacNair’s having 45 acres to roam and a mixed herd. Yes he was in perfect sport horse condition at home, but I truly believe he is living a happier, grassier, all around horsier life at MCA. Plus, having an entire crowd of people who love and support your horse surrounding him daily is a blessing in and of itself.

Macnair's is a truly spectacular facility. I've been riding there for the last two years or so. My lease horse is currently in pasture board and is thriving at Macnair's. There are five arenas including one covered and one indoor plus miles of trails! Both the owner and the barn manager live on the property and they have not hesitated to contact me if something seemed "off" with my horse.

This post is in response to Gary and Carol Maguirs's comments AND to celebrate my 25 years as a boarder, student, and finally, dressage instructor, at MacNair's Stables. Unlike the Maguires, I was not a first time horse owner and have boarded at several stables previously in two states. The care and concern for the horses at MacNair's is exceptional. As an instructor, I have had the opportunity to visit many boarding stables in and around the Raleigh area. MacNair's stands out with the many opportunities and facility highlights that are available on the 150 acre grounds. While primarily a hunter jumper teaching facility, you will find dressage, eventers, trail and endurance riders, and western.There are many horses on the property that are stabled in two separate barns as well as pasture boarding. There are two indoor riding arenas, one dressage arena, two large sand arenas in addition to large grassy areas and miles of trails. Children can begin lessons at the age of 8 and there are a few riders in their 80's. There are about 200 lessons given on the farm every week with numerous trainers. With that in mind, the Maguires mentioned "arrogance which affects ring use". With 200 students in one week, group lessons will have priority over ring space. One rider, on his own, cannot expect to have a ring to himself. There are many places to ride. The stalls are thoroughly cleaned each and every day as well as the water buckets. If an owner comes hours after the stall has been cleaned, there will be manure and urine there. If not, something is wrong. It the water buckets were just cleaned and an owner comes to the stall , there will be a slight delay as the buckets will be filled one at a time. There will be a short window of time with an empty bucket. This is normal. The Maguires mentioned a bacterial infection with their horse. The horse had a bone fracture and had to have a surgical procedure at the vet school. Any time there is a surgical procedure, there is a chance of infection. This is true with human or horse. Roundup is used, only by the owner, in areas that need weed control. Its use is strictly administered, as directed, for farm use with horses and cattle. As far as the comments from the Maguires about "cliquey, uppity, arrogance, superiority" - I must say that children, friends, family, complete strangers, and many others continue to come to MacNair's in order to participate in the whole horse learning experience that I have come to love over these 25 years.These people have become life long friends and mentors to me. To finalize, let me tell you about our school horses. Some are now in their 30's and continue to thrive under the care of the fine staff at MacNairs. They are healthy and sound. They are well taken care of. They love the job of teaching young and old the special bond between human and horse. And to you, the Maguires, may God richly bless you and keep you as you continue your search for perfection in your next horse adventure. Amen!

I wanted to write a review because after moving my daughter’s pony to MacNairs, I really feel like some of the reviews being left here are unfair and unfounded. Before we bought our pony, my daughter had been taking lessons at MacNairs, beginning with the "Earn Your Stirrups" program. I'd been impressed with the level of professionalism in general, but, having taught many beginner lessons myself in the past, I particularly appreciated the emphasis on learning on the ground before ever getting on a horse or pony. Some other reviewers seemed to view this as a negative because your kid only gets 20 - 30 minutes of riding time. Sorry folks - but that's a positive. Your child needs to know how to be safe, how to lead, how to groom, and how to tack up before they learn to ride and if your kid isn't willing to be patient and accept that, they shouldn't get the privilege of riding a horse. Another reviewer posted that her horse was overused and underfed. When I read her review and then saw the photos, I was admittedly pretty taken aback. But I knew the horses and ponies I'd seen looked fat and happy so we moved there anyway. I've walked up and down the aisles and seen all the horses turned out, and not a single one looks at all underweight. Our pony was a tad underweight when we brought him and yesterday I had to put his girth on the last hole to get it on. The stalls are well-kept and his two water buckets have been full and fresh every time I've been there. I've never been in his stall once when he didn't have hay. All the horses in the smaller paddocks with less grass seem to have plenty of hay as well. I'm not at all trying to discredit this person’s story or experience, but just want to say that, from my perspective, they've either significantly tightened up their barn management OR hers may have been a very isolated and unfortunate incident. I'm not sure how many stalls they have between the upper and lower barns, but it's a LOT. Equine management can be very difficult - especially if a horse has an underlying health condition or is just a hard keeper. I read some negative things about it being cliquey and snobby. I haven't felt that way at all, but then again, I'm an adult and just want to come be with my daughter and her pony. I could care less for barn politics or drama. Everyone has been very friendly and welcoming - even the owner - who has been out there on the property every day I've been out there. The Barn Manager, in particular, was delightful - very professional and accommodating in getting Fisher moved in and set up. To the comment that they "discriminate" against overweight people, I need to point out that, while painful, this is also actually a credit to their integrity as equine professionals. A horse or pony should never be asked to carry more than 20% of their body weight. If you weigh more than 20% of their body weight and you're asking the animal you're sitting on to walk, trot, canter and carry you around over a course of 8 fences, you're inviting injury to both the horse and the rider. Being someone who is trying very hard to not exceed that weight limit myself, I know that's painful to accept - but these are real animals, guys. Thank you MacNairs for looking out for the horses and those that ride them by setting safe weight limits. People have said it's overpriced - to this I say, have you done the research to figure up how much it costs to care for a horse lately? Feed is expensive. Hay is expensive, and LAND to graze them WITHIN CITY LIMITS is VERY expensive. Fairly paid, qualified staff to properly care for horses is expensive. If the owner was "in it for the money," MacNairs would have become a multi-million-dollar gated community years ago. You don't go into the horse business to make money; you do it for love of it. And my gut feeling is that these folks do.

Excellent equestrian facility with fantastic trainers!

Our experience with boarding our horse at MacNair’s was TERRIBLE! The following are facts which support our negative review: 1. The quality of the horses’ drinking water at MacNair’s is bad. Some of the horse owners chose to install water filters for the horses’ drinking water as MacNair’s refused to do anything about it. 2. MacNair’s sprays Roundup, a known carcinogen, on grassy areas where horses could feed. Given the amount of Roundup that is used, we are sure it is going into the ground water as well. 3. Our horse contracted a bacterial infection at MacNair’s. Four types of bacteria were involved in this infection, with two of the four being nonresponsive to antibiotics. 4. Several people that have left MacNair’s and now board at other facilities have told us that their horses are healthier and they are receiving much better training at their new stable. 5. Numerous people have left MacNair’s because they were not happy with the training they were receiving. You are not allowed to bring trainers into MacNair’s; you must use their trainers. 6. Be prepared to check on the conditions of your horse’s stall. Many times our horse would have been lying in his own urine and feces if we didn’t clean the stall ourselves. Also, at times, our horse had no drinking water available in his stall. Other Google reviews mentioned that the people at MacNair’s are “cliquey” and “uppity” and we definitely experienced this during our time at MacNair’s. There is definitely an arrogance and superiority which affects using the rings as well as being included in any trail riding. Also, please note that a recent 5-star Google review posted about a month ago was made by the Barn Manager at MacNair’s, who is also living with the owner of MacNair’s so take that into consideration when reading that review. MacNair’s Country Acres is ALL about their profit and NOT about the horses and the horse owners. The price to board at this stable is quite expensive and definitely not worth the monthly fee. So if you’re looking for a stable, we would not recommend MacNair’s!

I have been riding at MacNair's since 2012 and it is my home and paradise. The staff works incredibly hard to take excellent care of the horses (shout-out to Beatriz, Tiffany, Henry, Logan, and so many more). I am very excited to take a lesson with the new head instructor, Margaret. I can't say enough about the quality of dressage lessons from Laura Pendleton. As a 4th year veterinary student, I feel completely confident entrusting MacNair's with the care of my leases. The 300 acres and numerous arenas are very well maintained. Side note, I have personally tested the water and it is perfectly fine.

On Sunday, October 6, 2019 I picked my horse Tuscany up from McNairs Country Acres. He was loaned to their schooling program while I am living in Charlotte to keep him in shape and off our rich grass for the summer. We had a wonderful experience in 2013 with McNairs and thought nothing of it when we decided to allow McNairs to use him again. Unfortunelty, Tuscanys time at McNairs was completely different than his last and the condition of which he is in and the events of this past weekend have led me to write this review. Before handing Tuscany over to McNairs they were told he would have a weight restriction for the people riding him, we did not want anyone over 150 lbs. riding him and he was only to be used as a schooling horse for their riders. Throughout his time at McNairs (5 months) we were told that he was being ridden lightly and settling in nicely as a school horse, it wasn’t until finding an Instagram video of a man well over 150 lbs. jumping Tuscany that I knew our wishes were not being followed. I arrived at McNairs on Saturday, October 6, 2019 to check on him and make sure I told them again in person the stipulations of keeping him in their schooling program. I walked right past his stall when I was looking for him as I did not recognize the skinny and sad looking horse as my own. His body condition was so dire that I could see every one of his ribs, his hip bones back and tail bone. He looked like a horse that one would pick up in a feed lot. I was devastated that someone would do this to my horse, any horse for that matter. I immediately called the barn manager and received her voicemail, I have yet to here from her. Next I called the trainer who used him in lessons. She answered and immediately defended the way my horse looked and even went on to say that he had put on muscle while in her program. She also stated that she was not aware that the riders riding Tuscany had a weight limit on them. Tuscany was being fed one scoop a day, 1/2 scoop in the morning and 1/2 scoop at night, in addition to hay. I was told they had been giving him more but those were not the instructions on his stall door. After looking around the barn I came upon a schedule that had Tuscanys name in it and it was a schedule for the IHSA team, he was being ridden by the IHSA riders in the condition you see in the photos. On several occasions throughout the week it was two times a day and that is not including the private lessons that he was also being ridden in. They never had permission to use Tuscany for their IHSA program. My horse was extremely overworked and extremely underfed, something both the trainer and barn manager are responsible for. The owner of the barn did tell us, after denying everything at first and standing by the way Tuscany looked, that the trainer and barn manager were being reprimanded for allowing Tuscany to get in such shape. However, it is a little too late for empty apologies at this point in time. This never should have happened to being with, no horse should be worked to the point of starvation. I am writing this in hopes that no other horse experiences what Tuscany has had to endure. I hope the trainer and barn manager further their education when it comes to horses and what a healthy body condition is. If this is beyond their intellectual capacity they need to resign from their jobs as they should not have horses in their care. Posted are photos of Tuscany from last winter and early this spring, in addition to the photos of picking him up from McNairs after being in their care for five months.

I absolutely love MacNair’s! I’ve been riding at MCA for almost 15 years now, and couldn’t be happier. I grew up in the wonderful 4H program, and now ride on NC State’s IHSA team that practices at MCA. The horses are well taken care of, staff are awesome, and it’s a 2nd home for me. Highly recommend!

This stable is outrageously expensive, and the instructors have an uppity attitude. There are more friendly places to spend your time and money.

They discriminate against + size riders. 2 years of being a loyal customer and lessons are not available anymore because of a new weight policy.

Very pleased with camp. The counselors are teen girls and friendly but in charge. The kids spent time learning about horses and care, learned to saddle and bridle, learned riding positions, and even bareback riding. The location is ready to get to, the grounds are well organized and clean. Excellent place for kids horse camp.

I’ve been riding here for 9 years and MacNair’s has been like a second home to me, the people and staff are exceptional and always welcoming. The horses are well kept and taken care of, and the facility is always kept clean. This is a great place to ride and would highly recommend you to!

I’ve been riding at MacNair’s since I was 8 and throughout the years I’ve been provided with so many great opportunities that I would not have at any other barn in the Triangle. MacNair’s has an amazing atmosphere and I’m incredibly grateful for the trainers and other riders here.

Terrible service, overpriced lessons The tack shop is very overpriced Staff is the rudest i've seen and the only thing they care about is living their pockets.I took 6 months of lessons before saying farewell as I could not bear their snakiness anymore.

Over priced. Horses teach 2-3 lessons a day. Horses aren’t fed meals on certain days as a way to “save money.” The girls are stuck up and “clicky.” Trainers have little experience and tack is cheap. It’s more of a “get-em-in get-em-out” situation in order to make the most money. I highly recommend looking elsewhere!

I think this place is amazing. My daughter loves it. The horses are trained very good. You should go there. You would love it too.

I Love this barn!!! The horses are well take care of, and the people are so kind!

Four years ago I bought 4 private lessons for my then 7 years old son as a birthday gift. First was introduction (only 20 minutes of horse riding), second my son spend almost 40 minutes waiting for the instructor when she was on the phone. Third was half an hour lesson when she asked him to start jumping. Fourth... there was no fourth, because we quit. My son was so scared when last time she left him alone in the box stall with the horse and she was on the phone again. Now I'm looking for horseback riding class for my daughter but not here at MacNair's.

This place sucked. The horses are the nicest there. The people treat you like bull $h!#. You should never go there ever. They want money. That's all they care about. You customers are better than you know! Make good choices???? Other horse stables are Smokemont; whispering hope;oak wood;tow shoe;paramount show stables;triton;end of the trail riding stables, and horse world. These are all lists of other horse stables in North Carolina. These people are the worst. If you like this place.....well then that's good for you but others may not. Reply if you agree or have something to say.

One of my friends goes there and she loves it. She does horse riding things there.