Yes, on most lots, once the lot has a home on it. Horses are not allowed everywhere: the association's own answer to "Can horses be housed on all of the properties in Pine Ridge?" is no, and barns may not be built in the Country Club section.
A vacant lot cannot be used as pasture unless it adjoins a lot with a home under the same owner.
Where horses are and are not allowed
- Most sections: horses and barns are permitted, subject to the deed restrictions and Addendum B, the part of the restrictions that covers horses.
- Country Club section: barns may not be constructed on any property there.
- Vacant lots: no horses may be pastured on a lot without a home, except where two or more adjoining lots have the same owner and one has a home. Two lots separated only by an association horse trail count as adjoining. On the pasture lot, fencing is allowed and no buildings are.
Barn rules
- No barn or other outbuilding until the home has its county permit and walls are going up.
- Barns go behind the front line of the home. A barn placed forward of the rear line of the home has to match the home in materials, roof and color.
- Allowed materials: metal, wood, finished siding, or concrete block with a stucco finish. Color is the closest match to the home, natural wood, or the barn red in the association's color book.
- Roof pitch of at least 3/12; a metal roof uses vertical panels. No structure over 25 feet.
- The barn counts toward the lot's outbuilding limit: 2 buildings and 2,000 square feet on two acres or less, up to 5 buildings and 7,000 square feet on more than five acres. The full table is in the Buyer Guide.
- Plans go to the Architectural Design Committee and Citrus County before work starts.
Fence rules that matter for horses
- Forward of the rear line of the home: post-and-board or rail, picket, or cross-buck only, with the top rail between 36 and 54 inches.
- Behind the rear line of the home: up to 6 feet, in wood, vinyl, composite, finished metal, masonry or chain link.
- No-climb wire is allowed behind the rails, not on the outside of the fence. Electric hot wire is permitted, per the association. Barbed wire and razor wire are not.
- Every fence and gate needs an application, and a buyer may apply before closing.
Clearing for pasture
A lot where horses will be stabled keeps a 10-foot tree preservation zone along the property line instead of the usual 15, and still keeps 30 mature trees per acre. On a combined lot of more than an acre the required trees may all stand on one part of the property, which is how owners open up pasture. Approval of the barn or a tree-clearing application has to be posted before clearing begins.
The trails and the equestrian complex
The trails are for horses and people on foot. No motorized vehicle and no bicycle or other human-powered wheeled vehicle is allowed on them. They are open to Pine Ridge members and their friends, and the association requires a member to be with any outside guest on the trails.
The complex has a show arena, a regulation dressage ring, a jumping ring, a trail arena, a round pen and a small cross-country area. The community barn is block built, with automatic waterers, hay storage, a feed room, two tack rooms and four outside wash racks. It can house property owners' horses while they build their own barn. Availability and any fees are the association's to set, so confirm a stall before you count on one.
Other animals
Dogs, cats and equines are the only animals allowed outside the home or a fully enclosed outbuilding. Poultry is not allowed anywhere on a property, and the association lists chickens, donkeys and alpacas as not permitted. No animal may be kept or bred for sale.