When it’s time for a foal to appear, a barn-cam doesn’t get a worried horse owner close enough.

That’s when Susan Fronk and Bill Thiel dash from their house to their stable to help with the birth.

Living in Saddlebrook Farms I subdivision with their Saddlebrook Appaloosas stable 500 feet away, it takes only a minute to get to the side of a laboring mare.

The equestrian lifestyle, with houses and horses in the same development, is a subdivision concept that’s gaining popularity across the country, developers say.

In Oconomowoc, Saddlebrook I and II, started in 1993, are complete, and the third Saddlebrook, in Mequon, is under way.

Developers are finding that equestrian subdivisions also appeal to people who don’t ride or own horses but like the idea of having them around as part of the scenery. Only 40%of the Saddlebrook homeowners have horses.

Located just off Highway P, the Saddlebrooks occupy 700 acres crisscrossed by more than eight miles of fencing reminiscent of that in Kentucky’s bluegrass country.

The subdivisions’ 21 houses, originally priced at $1 million to more than $3 million, plus the cost of the land, sit on lots ranging from 3.5 to 70 acres. Ashippun Lake borders the development to the south and the Ashippun River forms a natural barrier between the two developments.

The Mequon development will lie immediately east of the Milwaukee River and south of Pioneer Road.

It will follow the pattern of the first two, with miles of fencing and million-dollar homes on lots of at least three acres.

Fifteen of the 30 sites have been sold, developer Jon Spheeris said.

For horse lovers, or those who just enjoy the countryside and water views, it’s a nice place to kick off the boots.

Fronk was one of the first to build in the Saddlebrook I development, buying the 35-acre original homestead in 1993 for herself and a few animals. Now, she and Thiel share a house, three kids, 15 horses, two dogs, two cows and a singing show pig with a local fan base.

The barn-cam came online when the couple’s professional commitments started to conflict with animal husbandry.

Fronk, a business consultant who’s often on the road, couldn’t bear to be out of the loop when mares in the couple’s growing herd foaled. Thiel rigged up the barn-cam so she could drop into the barn online no matter where she was.

Friends and family started watching, and now the world does, too.

The barn-cam is part of the Animal Planet Web site, providing a window on Saddlebrook Appaloosas to viewers around the world. The Web site is animal.discovery.com/cams/horse.html.

Fronk says her neighbors aren’t dazzled by the close proximity to owners of celebrity animals.

Maybe that’s because they’re not the only ones with high-profile horses.

Andy and Lynda Freseth, also Saddlebrook homeowners, run Hollow Haven Farm, a training school for American Saddlebred show horses. They bought the main barn in 1999 and built on their 40 acres three years ago.

Hollow Haven horses have won national and world championship titles in numerous performance and riding skill divisions.

Their clients range from experts across the country to the little girl across the street who takes riding lessons.

Still, developers have found that the equestrian market is too narrow a niche to sell a whole subdivision, so they also sell animal ambience to the non-horsey set.

The Lestina family moved from Delafield and enjoys the rural atmosphere without the responsibility of caring for any 1,000- pound animals.

"What really piqued my interest was the prospect of owning a 4- acre lot with 200 feet of water frontage," Jerry Lestina said.

He and his wife, Betty, were searching for a retirement property when they found Saddlebrook eight years ago.

The allotment of land among horses, houses and common areas depends on local zoning regulations, but equestrian developments do require a lot of space, says Steve Cordell, a real estate agent in Boise, Idaho, who represents the Maggard Equine Estates.

Maggard has only six lots but is zoned so that owners can build stables on their own property.

"One reason you don’t see this type of thing a lot is they’re trying to squeeze as many houses as possible into a space. An equine development isn’t as popular just because of the space needed to do it right," Cordell says.

La Ventana development, just outside Austin, Texas, represents another twist on the idea.

It offers 220 two- to 10-acre lots, of which 25 are earmarked "equestrian."

Those larger lots have room for stables, and cowboys can mosey down common riding trails that wind throughout the development.

Copyright 2005, Journal Sentinel Inc. All rights reserved. (Note: This notice does not apply to those news items already copyrighted and received through wire services or other media.)

Copyright 2005 Journal Sentinel Inc. Note: This notice does not apply to those news items already copyrighted and received through wire services or other media
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company.

All rights Reserved.

CARRIE TROUSIL