Bedding Use Conundrum

[Miss_Motivation]

Hello COTH’ers,

I run a boarding stable that is overdue for an across-the-board (pun…) price adjustment to cover increased operation costs, especially in our labor, utilities, and bedding increased costs. I will be making this adjustment shortly.

My current conundrum involves bedding: in the process of evaluating all operating costs, we have completed a month-long study tracking every standard load of shavings put into each stall, each day we bed, and discovered that a handful of horses require, due to their potty habits, double the bedding as our average boarder, or triple the bedding a tidy horse uses.

These ‘heavy consumers’ of bedding also increase my labor costs and disposal costs proportionate to the increase in bedding.

Am I out of line to charge extra (at my cost, no profit) for the horses that are exceptionally hard on their stalls and need far above our barn’s average amounts of bedding?

Math for COTH Horse Finance Wonks, which is all of us… !
Allowance for bedding is 20 huge wheelbarrows a month (wheelbarrow load is 13 cu ft, measured with bagged shavings of known amount) which is 260 cubic feet, or 32 bags of 8 cubic feet (the larger size from Tractor Supply for USA relevance) per month, added to already-bedded stall. Figures presume a stall is bedded to start; this is shavings added to base per month

Our average horse (average calculated without ponies and without the very heavy users) is 15 wheelbarrows a month, so I’m padding the average by 33% up to 20 wheelbarrows to be fair.

The very heavy users are at 30 wheelbarrows/390 cu ft/48 large bags of Tractor Supply shavings per month. If the owner kept that horse at home and bedded the amount we do with shavings at $5.79 a bag at Tractor Supply, with local sales tax, they would spend $300 a month on bedding, with no labor and no disposal. That horse’s bedding cost is $100 a month more than the allowance, and $150 more than our average boarder, using Tractor Supply pricing to make it relevant. (Our bulk shavings cost less but the relative increased costs for the heavy users are the same.)

(This is starting to feel like an SAT math word problem…!)

We have a very generous allowance built into our pricing model for feed and bedding. Our boarders have not been bothered paying extra if their horse requires far beyond the allowance for feed (up to 40 lbs of forage a day is included so only a handful have ever needed extra) but is that same model acceptable for bedding?

What say you COTH’ers? What have you done, or experienced, in a similar situation, with wildly variable bedding consumption?

Thanks!

PS- thanks for comments. Edited to indicate that an overall increase is already planned, but that overall increase will rise for all boarders if it has to cover the very high bedding consumption of a few.

And yeah, it would be a billing hassle to charge extra for the few, but it is a cost difference of more than $100 from my bedding allowance to these couple of heavy bedding users per month. Should all boarders have to subsidize that difference for the few?

[Ready_To_Riot]

Is your bedding bagged? That would be the only way that I feel you could justifiably charge more from one horse to another. As in “at this rate I will provide X amount of bags per week. Anyone who wants more will be charged X per bag”.

If your shavings are delivered in bulk, it’s really hard to make it tangible item to your clients. If it were my barn, I’d take how much bedding I’m using every month in the entire barn (assuming your barn is full and you have no more room for extra horses) and divide it by the number of horses you have. It’s much easier to explain that due to inflation, the cost for my barn to break even has risen by $20 a horse than telling a couple clients that their board will rise $100 because their horse uses the bathroom to much. The latter also makes for a billing headache. And what if that one horse you’re charging extra eventually cuts back on how much it pees and it’s actually using less than the other horses who you never uncharged?

If shavings are bagged make it X amount for extra bags, if not, raise the price for everyone.

[Alagirl]

Frankly, if the barn is operating on such a narrow margin that you don’t get paid and the mortgage isn’t, (and the bedding isn’t in full)
It’s time to raise the prices.
Across the board.

As to the bedding thing, and I understand that in today’s system it’s a no-go, I hear deep litter is more economical.

I am guessing you are not in mushroom country, where you could use straw and have the growers come and take it…

I have long wondered why pee spots are such an issue here, and I never encountered it back home.
But - slow as I am, only took 20 years - I realized that the barns back home have a drainage system that leads pee away from the facility, keeping the bedding dryer.
not like you could just put one in…just musing over my morning tea.

[clanter]

[QUOTE=Miss Motivation;8918302]
Hello COTH’ers,

I run a 50 horse boarding stable. I try to operate at break-even with board income calculated to = feed + bedding + labor + other maintenance, equipment, and repair costs. The barn pays me no wage, pays no part of the mortgage, and pays no part of property taxes in the break-even scheme.
![/QUOTE]

gee-whiz I would file for 503.c status especially since you said the barn is “in an expensive, suburban real estate area with fewer and fewer stables”… a side question about your operation …What has the IRS said since this is not a money making operation?

Raise the rates maybe some of the fifty head will relocate then you could reduce your overall operational costs

I am still amazed that many boarding facilities current rates are about the same or less than what we paid in the very early 1990s …makes no sense to me

[js]

Considering you are operating at a flat line if not loss, I would raise boarding across the board, doesn’t have to be a lot if you don’t think its needed buy $25 or more would certainly help your business.

I would also set a limit on how much bedding is used per stall daily and if additional bedding is required additional fees will be added or boarders can bring and add additional bedding themselves.

[theresak]

Please don’t…

I’ve been at a barn that wanted to charge everyone with 17+h horses extra because they “eat more and use more bedding.” Never mind I was a weekend worker at the barn and knew the BM’s horse was getting 2x the grain my horse did and a 15h horse that was a stall walker requiring a complete strip everyday.

No matter what you do, those affected by the extra bedding fee are going to find it unfair. And I’m afraid you are starting down the slippery slope of nickel and diming for horses that need extra bedding, more grain, lots of hay, etc.

Increase board for everyone enough to cover all of your overhead. As a customer, I like to hear a barn say “no problem” if I ask them to feed more hay, etc. Then when the price of board goes up for all boarders every few years, it’s not quite as hard to swallow.

[arlosmine]

I’m with the others: raise the rates across the board.

The only thing that I have seen work out in the “charge-by-item” realm is this: barn agrees to provide up to 35 lb/hay per day, up to 5 cups dry (dry measure) beet pulp and up to 6 lb grain per day. Anything over is charged a sur charge of something like $20/month.
This covers all but the most extreme cases…and if some one has a rescue horse, an 18 hand three year old TB or some other “extreme eater”, I think it’s reasonable to ask them to cover the overages.

If the owner prefers to use grain other than what barn supplies, the owner provides at no reduction in boarding fee.

[Foxglove]

I’m with the others:raise the rates across the board --otherwise, would you be willing to give me a discount because my horse is exceptionally tidy and uses very little bedding . . .

[CupcakeTough]

I dunno… If your bedding is bagged pellets or Shavings its pretty easy to keep track of. You could word it that “board includes # of bags per week, extra bags are $x (at cost) per bag and will be added to monthly board bill.”

This also gives the tidy horse owners the option to purchase extra shavings. For example, I had a horse on stall rest with an injury, I double bedded his stall so he would be extra comfortable laying down; same thing with my old-man, he was old and creaky and laid down a lot and I wanted him to be extra comfortable.

[betsyk]

And, consider that next month the individual horses could change - with a facility that size I’m sure you have boarders coming and going. Plan for an average with enough cushion to withstand some changes over the course of a year.

[SharonA]

As a boarder… Please, just charge one price for all horses, that is enough for you to stay in business without skimping on bedding, or skimping on anything else. Boarders do not want gaps in management’s business knowledge to create drama/negatively affect care.

Horses are individuals. You can’t make everything a la carte for each of them, and stay sane or stay in business. Just charge everybody the same, but charge what you need to charge in order to quietly and successfully accommodate all the horses, without having to raise board again in six months. If some boarders protest, well, that is unfortunate and yes, perhaps unfair, but, your business plan is your business plan.

Have you had a chance to put together a business plan that acknowledges changes in hay, bedding, grain, labor, equipment expenses? Taxes? Property management?

[clanter]

@SharonA;8920146

Horses are individuals. You can’t make everything a la carte for each of them, and stay sane or stay in business. Just charge everybody the same, but charge what you need to charge in order to quietly and successfully accommodate all the horses, without having to raise board again in six months.

and some individuals should be charge higher rates… that is what occurs in health insurance, you smoke you pay higher rates

if a horse (we have one here) is slob, it is very easy to determine the additional costs in material and labor (takes about three to four times as long to clean her stall) … so why should a good keeper pay for a slob’s habits?

My concern with OP’s business model is their only seeking a break even point.

[SharonA]

Very true about the smoking/drinking/being overweight thing, but there are whole separate companies devoted to medical billing, whereas most BOs/BMs are on their own for billing and collecting.

I suppose it is up to the OP to decide whether she has the time/energy/bandwidth to have different pricing tiers for bedding, which could lead to different tiers for hay, turnout, handing needs, etc. I may not think it’s particularly “fair” for a 14.2 Arab to pay the same board as a 17h draft cross who eats twice as much, but, life isn’t fair. I’m okay with alittle financial unfairness if it means that the barn staff is able to like their jobs and boarders better.

[Pennywell_Bay]

[QUOTE=SharonA;8920263]
Very true about the smoking/drinking/being overweight thing, but there are whole separate companies devoted to medical billing, whereas most BOs/BMs are on their own for billing and collecting.

I suppose it is up to the OP to decide whether she has the time/energy/bandwidth to have different pricing tiers for bedding, which could lead to different tiers for hay, turnout, handing needs, etc. I may not think it’s particularly “fair” for a 14.2 Arab to pay the same board as a 17h draft cross who eats twice as much, but, life isn’t fair. I’m okay with alittle financial unfairness if it means that the barn staff is able to like their jobs and boarders better. :-)[/QUOTE]

My 14.1 Arab accepts the challenge to eat more than 17 hand draft (and he may win…)

[Hej]

As a long ago boarder and current BO/BM, I completely agree with the plan to do a flat rate increase. Plug the messy horses’ costs in your average and raise your board accordingly.

Think of a motel/ restaurant model instead of healthcare.

If you spend a night in a motel and leave the room and bath neat and relatively clean, you still pay the same rate as the guest who dirties up all the towels, tracks sand into the room and pukes in the bathtub.

If you go to a buffet restaurant, you pay their flat rate whether you eat a salad and a coke or three plates of food and two desserts.

Both businesses have priced their services at a point that allows them to make a profit overall, even if their margin is less on some customers than others.

[Guilherme]

[QUOTE=Hej;8920382]
As a long ago boarder and current BO/BM, I completely agree with the plan to do a flat rate increase. Plug the messy horses’ costs in your average and raise your board accordingly.

Think of a motel/ restaurant model instead of healthcare.

If you spend a night in a motel and leave the room and bath neat and relatively clean, you still pay the same rate as the guest who dirties up all the towels, tracks sand into the room and pukes in the bathtub.

If you go to a buffet restaurant, you pay their flat rate whether you eat a salad and a coke or three plates of food and two desserts.

Both businesses have priced their services at a point that allows them to make a profit overall, even if their margin is less on some customers than others.[/QUOTE]

Concur with the above in general. Of course the motel has no need to feed, dress, and “turn out” their guest! So the model must be modified at least in part.

So set the base rate to provide for “everyhorse” but keep in mind that this is a range, not a specific number.

If you have a horse with a clearly defined, individual need then you can “surcharge” that horse. I’m thinking special feeding instructions or medication needs and the like.

One size does not fit all, but in boarding one size has to fit almost all. Otherwise you will end up in endless discussions over individual items. That is a recipe for ulcers and fist fights.

Raise prices across the board to get to a profitable level. This might mean that you will have to do it in multiple, small increments over time. And you have to think about the competition and what your local market will bear.

Good luck as you move forward.

G.

[BeeHoney]

I think it is problematic to do a different rate based on bedding. First of all, there is increased work to keep track of the bedding each horse actually uses each month. Secondly, since boarders are seldom supervising the stall cleaning, the extra bedding that they are paying for may seem invisible to them or seem like an arbitrary charge. Thirdly, many horses cost you extra in different ways. Feed and hay, wear and tear on the facility, and the communication level the owner requires are things that can vary quite a bit. So it could be a bit random to choose bedding as the thing you charge extra for.

Here’s my suggestion. Increase your rates–this just has to happen. Also, you are using a lot of bedding and I think you need to cut back. Yes, it’s a nice look to have stalls deeply bedded, but unfortunately, it is very expensive. I think it is going to be very difficult for you to make ends meet if you are spending $250-300 per horse per month for bedding. It’s true that every boarder wants to see their horse in a deeply bedded stall, but very few are willing to pay an extra $100-200 per month for it (which is what it actually costs). It may even cost more than that when you factor in additional labor for cleaning and costs for disposal.

It boils down to a practical business decision. Bedding is hugely expensive to purchase, clean out of stalls and dispose of. Unless you have very deep pocketed clientele, if you increase your rates enough to cover very deep bedding, you will in all likelihood price yourself out of the market.

[mjhco]

Raise the rates across the board

I have been in the situation of paying for EXTRA shavings. Didn’t get them.

I have been in the situation of paying for EXTRA hay. Horse didn’t get the extra hay.

Trying to nickle and dime doesn’t work.

[arabiansrock]

I would like to board at your barn. My barn only allows 6 bags per month (same size as you are referencing)!!! I have to buy my own to keep stalls the way I like them. Well, not the way I would really want them, but if I bedded them up too much, they would complain about how hard it is to clean so… a compromise level.

Raise rates across the board to keep all stalls looking good.

[ArabDiva]

Did anybody else read this and think, “Whoa, that’s a lot of bedding”?

I go through 6-10 bags per horse, per month. Of course, my horses are outside 16 hours/day unless it is raining hard or blowing snow. Perhaps that’s the difference?