If you don’t want people knowing what you pay for board, don’t tell them. If someone is so nosy as to look up the website of your barn just to figure out what you pay, they’re probably someone you don’t want to hang out with anyway, and hey, now you know.
It isn’t hard to post different rates online. I’ve seen multiple barn websites list three stall sizes and their corresponding board price. I’ve also seen multiple websites that simply state the board price is $xxx and “Boarder must also purchase minimum $xxx/month in additional services” or something of the like. If it is extremely subjective, like rehab that could include anything from just changing a bandage to hand walking multiple times per day, sure, put something like “Varies based on services, please contact.” However standard board really shouldn’t have a million possible prices. If it does, you’re creating a way bigger headache for yourself outside of just providing information.
There is no need to “feel out a boarder” in a phone call if the board price is way out of their budget. How does this 45 second conversation give you a feel for a person anyway?
“Hi, I’m interested in Full Board, what’s the price?”
“Full board is $750 per month.”
“Oh I’m looking for something around $500, thanks anyways.”
Click.
Saves (potentially) a lot of hassle on both ends for the information to be readily available without a phone call.
It also really isn’t hard to keep your website up-to-date. There’s about a billion hosting websites now that are really affordable and extremely user-friendly.
Sorry to say, there are many facets of the equine industry that refuse to catch up to modern times. Websites are one of them.
