Our Stay at Horse Creek Stable Bed & Breakfast of Blue Ridge, GA

This past weekend, Bobby and I enjoyed one of the best weekend getaways we’ve had yet. We stayed at a unique bed and breakfast in Blue Ridge, GA called Horse Creek Stable Bed & Breakfast. What makes this B&B so unique? I’m glad you asked…

The Story Behind Horse Creek Stable Bed & Breakfast

Horse Creek Stable Bed & Breakfast is a 35-acre farm/animal sanctuary nestled in the mountains right outside of Blue Ridge, GA. It is owned and operated by Lester and Diane Aradi – two of the most genuine and big-hearted people you’ll ever meet. Lester worked in law enforcement for 36 years before he and Diane retired to Blue Ridge. When they purchased the property where the B&B now stands, it was a foreclosure and covered in waist-high weeds. Despite what the property looked like at the time, Diane had a vision of turning it into a farm full of rescue animals. After about three years of work, the property was transformed into the slice of heaven that it is today.

On the property, there is a carriage house that Lester and Diane gutted and updated and planned to use for when family came to visit. However, they eventually decided to rent it out as a bed and breakfast room. The room can now be booked by those who wish to experience life on the farm, surrounded by the many rescue animals that call Horse Creek Stable “home.”

The Rescues of Horse Creek Stable

Horse Creek Stable is currently home to four horses, three llamas, one donkey, five dogs, and I don’t know how many chickens. All of which are rescue animals. Diane and Lester have partnered with the Georgia Equine Rescue League as well as Adopt a Golden Atlanta, so many of their horses and dogs are fosters or foster-failures from these two animal rescue organizations.

The Dogs

There’s Tricycle and Romeo, two golden retrievers who both have only three legs. They have similar stories of living on the streets of Turkey and being hit by cars. Aside from being able to visibly see that they are missing a leg, you would never know it. They both get around amazingly well and don’t let their disability hinder them in the least. They are also very sweet. Romeo comes by his name honestly… he is a ladies man! 😀

Then there’s Hank, a gentle giant of an English Mastiff. He was rescued from a drug dealer’s home who kept him as a “guard dog.” Hank may look intimidating because of his size, but he is really just a big ol’ teddy bear. He is a senior boy who is living his golden years out on the farm. He’s got it good too! There’s also Blue, an Australian Cattle Dog who was dumped out of a car.

The Horses

Amongst the horses, there are a variety of rescue stories ranging from a retired race horse rescued from horrible conditions after he stopped winning at the track, to a Tennessee Walker rescued from being sold to a trainer who was notorious for using acid on his horses’ hooves to train them to walk “right,” to a gentle boy who has bad knees and requires special care.

The Llamas

Then there are the adorably goofy llamas, who also have a wide range of rescue stories. The newest llama rescue, Carrie, was a neglected female llama that suffered temporary paralysis to her mouth due to heat stroke brought on by improper care. Her pervious owners failed to have her sheared in the hot summer months. She was seized by animal control, cared for, and rehabilitated while a long drawn out court case waged against her previous owner. Carrie is now living out the life of luxury at Horse Creek Stable, and they just recently learned that she is expecting! They are on baby llama watch!

Georgia’s Only Licensed Therapy Donkey

Buckaroo is the only donkey resident of Horse Creek Stable, and is also the only licensed therapy donkey in the state of Georgia! He was rescued from another farm, and now lives amongst the llamas at Horse Creek. He is a sweet boy who loves carrots and loves visiting the residents of the nearby retirement communities.

Hope, the Golden with Cerebellar Hypoplasia

And then there’s Hope… the reason that I found Horse Creek Stable in the first place. Hope is a golden retriever who has cerebellar hypoplasia, like our Sophie girl. I came across a video of Hope on Twitter one day when searching the cerebellar hypoplasia hashtag. I did some more digging and found that she resides at Horse Creek Stable Bed & Breakfast. When I learned that Horse Creek Stable is only a few hours drive from us, I knew we had to make the trip up!

I’ll be doing another post next #WobblyWednesday all about Hope, so be on the lookout!

You can read more about Hope and the other rescues of Horse Creek Stable here.

Free Tours of the Farm

Lester and Diane have such a heart for special-needs rescue animals, and they love to share all about them with everyone. That is why they offer free tours of their farm to anyone who wants to visit. They especially encourage and welcome families with special-needs children to visit.

Due to the increasing popularity of the tours, they do request that you make an appointment first!

The Bed & Breakfast

As I mentioned, Horse Creek Stable Bed & Breakfast has a one-room carriage house that can be rented out to guests. The unique thing about staying there is that they only book one guest/couple at a time. Your stay at Horse Creek includes the beautiful and comfortable accommodations, visitation with all of the wonderful animals, access to the hiking trails around the beautiful property, and a home-cooked breakfast delivered to your room every morning!

The other unique and wonderful thing about Horse Creek is that Lester and Diane don’t make a single penny from their B&B. All of the money made goes directly to the care of their rescue animal residents. Simply amazing.

Our Stay at Horse Creek Stable Bed & Breakfast

Bobby and I enjoyed a wonderfully relaxing two-night stay at this idyllic B&B. We were immediately amazed at the beauty of the mountain farm as we drove in, and we were greeted by the cutest welcoming committee! As we drove down the driveway, two of the horses came running across the field right up to our car. We rolled the window down, and they proceeded to stick their heads through. 😀

Once we reached the house, we were then greeted by Lester, Diane, their son Bill, and the dogs. I was struck by the friendliness and warmth that I felt right away. I didn’t feel like we were guests at a B&B – I felt like we were visiting friends. Lester and Diane were so sweet and genuine and went above and beyond to make us feel welcomed.

We arrived late-afternoon on Sunday, and on the table when we walked into our room were menus of all the Blue Ridge restaurants that are open for dinner on Sunday. We picked one out, and drove into downtown Blue Ridge. When we arrived back to the farm, Diane delivered fresh chocolate chip cookies and milk to our room (which we learned is a nightly thing). What a delicious surprise!

We then got to meet Hope for the first time. Though we have countless friends online with cats and dogs who have cerebellar hypoplasia, I’ve never met another CH animal in person besides Sophie. Meeting Hope was a real treat for me – an unforgettable moment for sure. I was immediately reminded of Sophie when I saw her. They have such similar spirits of joy and determination. I’m not going to say too much about her now though, because I’ll be doing a separate post dedicated to Hope next week 😉

The next day was filled with love and excitement, as we got to meet all of the other residents of Horse Creek Stable Bed & Breakfast. What inspired me the most about all of these rescue animals is that despite some of the heart-breaking background stories many of them have, they were all so friendly and happy. It’s truly amazing what a little love can do.

I could go on and on about what an awesome and inspiring time we had during our stay. The Aradi family are truly incredible people, and they have something extremely special with their farm and B&B. They are living my dream! We will definitely be return visitors, and I recommend taking the opportunity to visit yourself if you ever have the chance.