Many barn owners would not be willing to “stand back and be OK” with that.
3 Likes
Everywhere I’ve boarded charged extra for 24/7 stall rest. Depending on the place effected the amount each day. The place that gave hay in turnout charged less than the one that didn’t. The biggest thing I’ll say is my horse was on months of stall rest contract said that for the extra amount paid my horse would have her stall cleaned twice a day, extra shavings and extra hay. The problem was the stall never got cleaned twice, luckily horse was neat so if I didn’t get it she wasn’t standing in a gross pit. The manager also complained about having the feed extra hay whenever I was there. I was paying extra everyday my horse was on stall rest the full amount the contract said. Whatever the contract says make sure that’s what the client gets.
In theory I charge extra, but typically boarders pay it off by helping out. I agree that it is a good idea to have in your contract/rate sheet so people know up front.
My price sheet lists that I charge an additional $8/day for stall rest, plus $15 per hand grazing. If I have a boarder on stall rest I insist the horse is hand grazed at least twice per day (assuming they are cleared to do so).
If it’s for a couple days I usually don’t add anything, but anything more than that I do. If the client helps with the stall cleaning I reduce it to maybe $5/day.
This is how several barns in my area operate, and I’ve been surprised at the answers on this thread! I guess I am accustomed to a competition program rather strictly a boarding operation.
1 Like
I just updated my “Additional Charges” List for my farm. I am in the Toronto, Ontario area.
[TABLE=“border: 0, cellpadding: 0, cellspacing: 0”]
[TR]
[TD=“width: 216, colspan: 4”]Stall Rest for “Indoor” Horse[/TD]
[TD=“width: 254, colspan: 3”](includes a buddy horse if required)[/TD]
[TD=“width: 78”] [/TD]
[TD=“width: 96”] [/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD]Monthly[/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] $ 200.00[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD]Weekly[/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] $ 75.00[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD]Daily[/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] $ 15.00[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD=“colspan: 4”]Stall Rest for “Outdoor” Horse [/TD]
[TD=“colspan: 3”](includes a buddy horse if required)[/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD]Monthly[/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] $ 250.00[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD]Weekly[/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] $ 125.00[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD]Daily[/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] $ 30.00[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
1 Like
Exactly my point. But some horse owners would also rather do it themselves and not be nickel and dimed for extra services. too.
Yes, it must be difficult to board to the public. You never know who you’ll have to deal with and I suppose you must be willing to evict those that neglect their horses. :yes:
Oh, man… If I had a horse who needed stall rest because he got hurt at that barn, and then the BO charged me extra for that care, I’d consider that salt in a wound.
I can predict the “Yabbut… it costs more” rebuttal right now. I guess I need to get out of boarding because the modern way of doing everything so a la carte that there’s no room in the budget for anything like emergency care or a horse who eats more than the allotted/planned number of flakes per day.
1 Like
Not sure a rehab facility is a solution. Does that mean the BO who doesn’t want to do stall rest will relax contractual terms about 30 days’ notice and hold the stall because she wants the horse to go to a rehab facility? And have y’all priced out care there? Usually, that care, while good, cost more, not less than at a non-specialized boarding barn. What am I missing?
Except that these costs are not “nickels and dimes” but dollars, and sometimes lots of them. If the client performs some of the services then that should be considered but if they don’t (and the owner with a job, a family, and a life is not going to be in a position to do much of that).
If the costs “wash” then that’s one thing. If they don’t then who “eats” the extra?
G.
3 Likes
for those barn owners who allow the horse owner to assist … How do you handle the worker’s comp on that transaction? Effectively the horse owner has become an employee and exposed to possible work related injury.
I know really not a concern in most of the free world but at least one state is going after every penny and would have a problem with any person preforming work at a business who is not being classification as an employee
Definitely yes. I have my own barn and I know firsthand the extra work for a stalled horse. I would definitely charge for the extra shavings and labor. I would also offer a discount on labor if the owner stepped up to do it.
1 Like
Um that’s because horse owners (in general, or the majority) are not willing to pay what it would cost to have a monthly fee that would accommodate so much extra work, feed, hay, supplies, etc. Barn owners won’t have clients if their fee is significantly more than what there market can bear. Not many people want to pay $200 more per month on a regular basis just in case their horse needs stall rest at some point.
I really don’t understand the “salt in a wound” feeling about this. Horses are horses, they get hurt. The horse owner is responsible for dealing with injuries and what it entails to manage the injury, and if that means a higher board fee, then so be it. It’s not the barn owner’s job to spend more time caring for your horse without compensation, or pay out of their pocket for more supplies, when your horse gets hurt. Do you expect a vet to give you a free visit because your horse colicked or got hurt the day after a regular visit for vaccinations? Is the farrier supposed to come and pull a shoe for an abscess for free in between regular appointments? If your horse has a particularly rough week and you decide to ask for an extra lesson from your trainer, do you expect it to be free? No. So why should a barn owner provide additional services and not get paid for them?
7 Likes
I could not agree with this more - I do not make money boarding and my boarders are aware of this. They are paying a specific (and very reasonable) amount for a specific service. If the service has to change significantly then so does the price.
As it is my board contract does not include things like blanket changes, vet/farrier holding, and administration of meds. In reality I’ve told my boarders that if their blanket bins are clearly labeled, we share a vet/farrier appointment, or meds can be put into food - I’ll just do it. But it’s a matter of expectation setting. I make zero money boarding two horses, on a good month they cover the feed costs of my two, and I have never once taken a paycheck from that account.
I’m not about to say “well I had to meet with the vet after Pookie tore open his leg so you owe me one hour of wages”. The hard costs of shavings, extra feed, and consistent extra work though? Come on. So yeah, I don’t like nickel and dime-ing it either, but I can’t be out an extra $100 in shavings and extra time each day and just swallow that.
3 Likes
I’m sure every market is different, but in our market we have a rehab facility nearby that doesn’t cost more than the average full boarding facility. Their program is built on rehabbing. Limited or no turnout. The rehab facility staff handwalk and wrap rather than turn in and turnout, maintain fields and riding rings, etc.
We have a sales barn and we’ve sent more than one of our own horses out to a rehab facility when it made sense because hey were able to provide the appropriate care at a better cost than we could.
The rehab facility was merely a suggestion. It is a good alternative budget-wise in our area. Might not be true for all markets.
1 Like
As someone who suggested sending the horse to a boarding/rehab place I can tell you my answer: I would cut board down to what I charge for a dry stall. Dry stall rate at my barn plus costs at boarding barn are about the same as what I would charge for stall rest. Small hassle of moving the horse, bonus of not annoying the mostly patient barn manager (me). Because I am running a very small operation I would happily pro-rate to the day the horse leaves, so that the boarding barn doesn’t put the boarder over budget any more than staying at my place would.
(I will also note that the boarding barn seems to always have a stall available for this sort of thing, they have plenty of horses who don’t come in at night and other things like that, so while the stall isn’t actually available for a new boarder they will take short term stall rest boarders mostly as a favour. And yes, boarders are welcome to then stay at said barn if they give me notice, but no this has never happened because I have much better turnout.)
A boarding facility absolutely should charge extra for a horse on stall rest or requiring specialized care. The best way to figure out that cost is to do the math. How much extra time does it take to do a second stall cleaning and clean and refill buckets a second time? Approximately how much extra bedding will you be using? How much extra hay? How much time for any other care the horse requires? Also, depending on the inconvenience, I think it is fair to charge a certain amount of markup on those items. For example, needing an employee to stay late or having the BO/BM provide services in the evening after hours to get the extra work done costs a business more than if that work was able to be done in the middle of the day.
I can’t help but roll my eyes at comments about “nickel and diming.” I can’t think of any other type of business that is routinely expected to give out extra products or services for free. Providing correct care to a horse on stall rest takes actual work and resources and requires extra responsibility to make it happen in a reliable manner. Some barns may charge higher prices that already include a cushion to accommodate a certain amount of layup time, but this is not something to expect. A good BO will charge a fair rate for a service. Try to imagine what you would want to be paid for the same amount of work/inconvenience.
5 Likes
I see both sides. When my mare was on stall rest I cleaned her stall every morning and offered to buy extra shavings. She won’t eat more than 20 pounds a hay a day and that’s the thresh hold for my barn.
When I was working in barns, it wasn’t a big deal to me to clean the stall more than once. Stalls got picked at the end of the day anyway. I can see the extra expense of shavings and IF the horse eats more than whatever threshold the barn has for hay due to no turnout.
Handwalking, wrapping etc absolutely should cost more of the owner can’t come out to do it.
I don’t board but when my crew has to spend more indoor time I not only use more shavings, and hay but there is more labor involved in not only cleaning the stall but disposing of the dirty bedding. The manure spreader that might have to be spread every 4th or 5th day now is full in 2 or 3 days. That takes more time and diesel fuel just to dump it more often. If the barn owner is paying for manure haul-off that can cost more. One or two days - I think maybe it can be overlooked depending on what the barn owner is charging but significant stall rest can add up pretty fast.
