Orchard Equine Retirement

Leading the Way for More Than Thirty Years

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Conveniently located in Central PA within 15 minutes of I-78 and I-81

Designed to meet the specific needs of retired horses and provide their owners with Peace of Mind, Orchard Equine Retirement has set the standard in equine retirement for more than thirty years and continues to provide owners with a facility they can trust to care for their beloved horse.

Our History

In 1988, Christine Reese started Orchard Equine Retirement to provide not only her horse, Prince, a caring, trusted equine retirement facility, but also the horses of owners from across the country.

At the time, boarding retired horses was a novelty, and today, we’re proud to have been at the forefront of boarding retirees. In the decades since, we’ve been the inspiration for numerous retirement farms in the United States, as evidenced by the phone calls, emails, and visits from people interested in starting a horse retirement farm.

Today, Orchard Equine Retirement remains a family-owned and operated retirement farm for horses. Together, Christine, with her husband Jack and daughter Sarah, provide loving, personalized care for 15 to 20 retired horses.

Our Values

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At Orchard Equine Retirement, we firmly believe that a horse retirement facility should be constructed with the same attention to detail and concern for the horse's safety as a facility built for valuable performance and breeding horses.

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Because of our commitment to retired horses, as well as our past experiences with stables specializing in everything and anything, we focus solely on horse retirees, providing you and your horse with compassionate care that’s tailored to their needs.

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Our Location

Our horse retirement farm offers a convenient location for horse owners across the East Coast, as well as those traveling from across the U.S. and Europe. We’re located on twenty acres in southern Schuylkill County in Central Pennsylvania -- only a few miles from the Appalachian Trail.

We’re also 45 minutes east of Harrisburg, home to the PA National Horse Show and Harrisburg International Airport. Our farm’s also two hours west of Newark International Airport via I-78 and two hours north of Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport via I-83.

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All our owners are welcomed -- and encouraged -- to visit their horses at any time.

Three hotels are located within 15 minutes of the farm at the I-81 exit in Pine Grove.

Our Climate

Our Central Pennsylvania location shares the same USDA hardiness zone as Virginia, Missouri, and Tennessee. While every region offers advantages and disadvantages, we’ve found through our more than 30-year history of boarding retired horses, aged 4 to 40, that the facility’s management practice often play a more critical role in their comfort and health than the climate.

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In our experience, horses of all ages enjoy rolling in snow with their buddies -- much more than the heat and insects that come with warmer weather and southern climates, which is the reason a few of our boarders chose to retire their horse in Pennsylvania.

​Our Approach

At Orchard Equine Retirement, we believe in choosing the best horse retirement farm for your horse, which is why we offer not only information about our facilities and care but also factors to consider and look for when comparing equine retirement farms.

If you’re interested in learning more about horse retirement farms in general, browse through some of our essential resources, which include Selecting A Retirement Farm and #HorseRetirementIs before selecting a retirement farm for your horse.

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All the facilities used by the horses at Orchard Equine Retirement are pictured on our website.