Boarding barn tradeoffs

I am a barn owner. I am slowly putting mats in my aisle. wish I could justify the paver expense. I like the look of it plus it helps with dust.

I would then do footing in your ring. We did a complete redo of my ring two years ago and it made a huge difference.

My next project is an outdoor washrack, no need for an indoor one here. It will have hot water as it is right outside my tack room where the hot water heater is located.

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This was my reaction too. I’d prioritize upgrading the arena, but if you can make tack room more inviting now, then do it. A new or prospective boarder would see that you are actively planning and doing, which makes talk of future improvements more believable.

Grey

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Good call.

I have a pretty groovy vibe going on here now, and I would like to preserve that. Most of my boarders save a few with the elderly horses, come out daily. They may be more or less serious with their training (some show, some don’t) or riding goals but the big connecting factor is that they are super interested in learning - so we bring in different learning opportunities as we can - and we like to go to clinics etc as we can.

We are all mature women - no kids, and our youngest rider is in her mid-30s.

Because we don’t have a specific trainer here, they tend to be rather independent. We are mostly dressage riders with a few casual riders sprinkled in.

That’s why footing sticks out as a biggie but no one really has made it a huge deal. It’s a tough one!

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I get it - which is one of the reasons it’s on the list. People see it and count us out, but the slope and the drainage make it fantastic. If it’s safe for the horse to be outside, the ring is rideable.

I’m from the north east coast - so our area doesn’t get serious winters from my perspective :joy: but I recognize that everyone might have different opinions about that.

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True - and there is a big if on the can we do it the way we want to at all. Of course, when we bought it, the house wasn’t known to the authority (had been here since the 90s!) so clearly no one was into permitting then.

I’d label each task, figure out the cost of each, the timeline of each, and the impact to boarders during the reno/upgrade for each.

Is the reno/upgrade cosmetic (ie. tack room)? Is it going to create a healthier environment for the horses (ie. covering/replacing stone dust aisle)? Is it going to be nice to have on the rare occasions it’s needed (ie. wash stall)? Is it going to be a draw for new clients (ie. arena footing and cover)?

For me personally I want horse health first - so that stone dust aisle is probably my #1 because of the dust, poor ability to be kept clean which means mold growing. I have a horse with heaves so that is colouring my answer.

I want to ride so the arena footing and cover might be my #2 depending on what it’s like now, and how long it’s going to be unusable during construction.

The wash stall might be #2 as treating injuries, cleaning up and similar uses of an outdoor wash stall will be much more pleasant indoors during the cold and wet season. Rarer usage to be sure, but beats a prettified tack room (see next point for caveat).

If my tack/gear is safe and secure, and there are things that could be done to improve the environmental health for my horses, I would be unhappy/displeased/annoyed/irritated/frustrated/etc by the “waste” (this is personal perception!!!) of resources spent on cosmetic upgrades to the tack room.

Timeline is definitely a factor to consider. For example the arena upgrades might drop lower in my priority list if it’s going to impact my riding for weeks.

That said, I really think you should be listening to your boarders. You could ask formally or in a casual “I was thinking of finishing that indoor wash stall or maybe redecorating the tack room - what do you think?” sort of conversation.

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The aisle is definitely one of my low hanging fruit kinds of things. As is the tack room.

It’s an expense, but not huge compared to the capital improvements of cover & ring. (About 1/4 the cost of footing renovations, even with pavers, and the last arena quote I got was $350k just for the building - not construction, so we are probably looking at a half million for the actual renovation. Ugh).

As I was explaining to my husband - it may help if the facility looks equivalent to the care given. Right now, it doesn’t.

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I’ve spoken with the current group quite a bit and they love all of the ideas but there is no consensus. I will say that despite the interest in learning etc they do all happen to be more fair weather types. It is not uncommon for riders to give their horses a few weeks off in the summer here when it’s hot and even though the ring is totally rideable, I’m usually the only one out when it’s cold. Again - I grew up on the north east coast and was an eventer - so cold and snow are nothing for me.

We keep our aisle takes and watered to prevent dust and grossness but it’s definitely dustier than concrete. I thought about concrete but wanted to keep it easy to pull up in case we need to deal with the water line, which is newly replaced and runs the length of the barn. So pavers are my current option.

I’ve dealt with heaves before - no fun - I wish you good luck with your horse!

Do you have space to add a smaller covered/indoor arena? My barn has just a 60’x120’ indoor plus an outdoor almost as large as yours. It works really well to have the extra indoor option at times - like when someone is working with a young or difficult horse the quieter enclosed space is an advantage, or when there is a jumping lesson or something going on in the outdoor. And it’s big enough to school in when the outdoor weather/footing doesn’t allow riding. It seems like something like that would be a big advantage, but not as expensive as a large covered arena. Many of us (my barn sounds pretty similar to your clientele) prefer the option to ride outside after being stuck in an office all day, so covering the main arena has a downside if that takes away the outdoor schooling option.

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It sounds like a great facility!

I’d agree that sprucing up the tack room might be an easy upgrade. Prospective boarders might also see that as representative of the level of care that you offer in all areas. The room doesn’t have to be fancy, just well-lit, clean, orderly, maybe with a couple of chairs. Is it heated in the winter? It is nice to have a place to sit and warm up after a winter ride.

One unusual feature that my current barn has is a bookshelf of books that people can take home and read and add to with their own books. Many of the books relate to horse care and training, but there’s a whole shelf of mysteries and some paperback literature. This may not be to your (or your boarders’) taste, but it’s a nice touch that visitors often comment on.

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I think I was the type of boarder you are looking to attract before I bought my own farm; prioritized proximity and care and willing to pay for it. On the other hand, I’m from the Deep South so I know diddly about the challenges of riding in real winter. I am absolutely a fair weather rider so I would fit in lol.

Perhaps the footing can be amended at a price point that’s less heart stopping than a cover will be.

Here’s more of my thoughts behind prioritizing the tack room and wash rack (since you already have lights). One the cost and time needed are pretty small compared to an arena cover. Two, the boarder is going to use the tack room multiple times at each visit most likely; even if horse is lame or otherwise off work the boarder will be in and out to fetch grooming supplies etc. Three, it is nice to have a nice place to store one’s spendy tack. The wash rack seems like an optional luxury until one has some sort of injury requiring daily washing and it’s inevitably January. :slight_smile:

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The aisle and the tack room sound like little life improvers. Particularly, the tack room sounds like it could be done at a low cost and would better present the type of operation you run.

Stone dust is dusty and difficult to keep tidy. Even if you just matted over it, instead of paving, that would help.

I also think an indoor wash rack with hot and cold water is a HUGE benefit and that would be next on my list. It would top the list if not for the fact that the tack room would be an easy win from what you say.

With the cost, and the type of clientele you want to have at your barn, will a covered arena or footing improvements yield any return on your investment?

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If you decide to do the more costly projects first, look into a dust control spray, like Arena Rx, for your isle in the interim.

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Footing and a covered arena would be my priorities.

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A friend of mine who has a small boarding barn put a roof only over half her arena. Made a huge difference to year round usability and comfort and didn’t cost anything like building a complete indoor.

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I also love rubber mats in the aisle. My joints don’t mind holding for the vet and farrier as much on rubber.

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We don’t have enough space for both without buying additional acreage, which has been on the table but again - expense. I’ve thought about adding a covered round pen inside the arena to serve as double duty riding & longing/young horse. Probably cheaper and easier to get by the code folks as a “gazebo”.

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I love the book idea and have a ton of them! It is not at present heated but has a fireplace so I could put an electric insert in and keep it cute and cozy. We redid the roof of it (it’s a separate building) since when we got here it leaked and there were huge holes in the walls. It really has been a renovation project all the way around.

Thanks for the ideas!! Our current boarders love us, so it’s about the smaller things now I think.

Yes - I could do the footing alone and that would make me happy, but I’m not sure if others feel as nutty as I do about footing, and I would hate to tear it up if we were going to cover the arena after I did it…but - maybe that’s a longer term project and the footing would be enough. And from your posts in the past, I think you would fit right in here!

I chuckle at the fair weather riders because I spent time on the north east coast, where we would ride in the snow and to 17-19F, and the UK where we rode in rain. Here, we always seem to have an excuse not to ride! :joy:

In all seriousness - I hate the heat so I get being a weather weenie, I’m just on the other side of it!

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The footing probably yes, but the cover, I’m not sure about. They are terribly expensive. We could in turn charge more for board etc and make it a luxury barn, but I’m not sure if I want to go that whole way. I mean, maybe in my dreams, but I prefer a tidy, pleasant, safe facility to a fancy one. I’d like one, which is why I thought about the covered round pen, but I’m not burning for it.

In terms of our market, there are a ton of low cost (~$400/mo) barns a bit further out - 45-60 minute drives from the city. But care isn’t good there, and many of those are closing and going for development.

Then there are a good few higher end training barns where you have to be in a program and it’s more than $900-1200/mo after you add in all of the expenses. Many of those are selling too now and going for development.

I see us as having a niche for the dressage riders who maybe were once hunters or eventers. We know what we are doing, lesson frequently, show occasionally, and want that decompression from work and life. We are in between the weekend warriors and the serious show folks. Kind of a weird niche.

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