TBH, I have not read all the replies to the OP, nor do I know what part of the country he/she lives in.
However, as someone who owns my own farm and occasionally offers boarding to a few others, I fully understand why “this is so hard to find”…
Cost: so many people add up the cost for a few bales of hay, a couple bags of grain and bagged shavings from TSC, and are affronted to find out that my monthly board fee is quite a bit more than that. Farms, especially nice farms that have the things that everyone wants (great turnout, nice arena, safe stalls and fencing, etc) are $$$$ to buy and maintain… It literally costs thousands of dollars/year to fertilize fields, pay people to pick/drag manure in turnout areas, maintain safe fencing. Arenas need regular maintenance. Weedwhacking or leaf blowing are constant. Barn help does not work for free (and if BO does the day-to-day work, their time isn’t free either). So if you’re looking for a fantastic barn that has the amenities and flexibility you’re looking for, you’d better expect to pay top dollar for it. And complaining to the BO about costs, or frequently being late with the board check is a good way to convince a BO to give up.
Look at the 43,000 posts on this forum about boarding: it’s a loss leader, break-even proposition at best. Most “programs” make their money on lessons, sales, and showing, and those subsidize the horse board bills. If you want something that’s not lessons/sales/shows, then the monthly charges need to be high enough to make it worth the owner’s time. (and it ‘costs’ a lot of time to organize farrier/vet, source good hay, find someone to come service the tractor or fix the plumbing, and do all those night checks)
Crazy boarders: My farm is my home. I don’t want people out at all hours, making a racket or leaving a mess. I don’t want to come out to quickly check a horse for XXX and get tied up in a hour long discussion about Dobbin’s behavior or new blanket requirements. And, don’t get me started on people with 12 blankets that ALL have front buckles and leg straps and need to be changed 100 times a day. Sure, that blanket with all the buckles only takes an extra 5 mins to take on or off, but you’ve added an hour to my week and just try to multiply that by 12 horses and you’ll see the problem. As a horse owner, I know that they never hurt themselves at a convenient time, but having my doorbell ring when I just sat down to eat, because you have a question gets old.
Nothing burns out a BO more that destructive horses owned by people who don’t value or take care of the facility. There are two ways to handle that: A: bring in a trainer with a mandatory program, so they can micromanage the horses and owners, or boot all the boarders and just enjoy their own farm. As land gets more expensive, shipping costs transfer to the consumer by rising prices on hay, grain, etc,
and it’s harder and harder to own/operate a farm.
It’s good that your recognize that you might “not be the easiest”. But keep in mind, that while you have “strong feelings” , if the BO doesn’t have the same general horse-keeping philosophy as you do, you’re always going to have conflict. Find a barn that has the same basic care/standards that you do, or buy your own place and run it exactly the way you want to.
(full disclosure: For MANY years I was a boarder with “strong feelings” too. I got angry or frustrated about different care or facility maintenance standards. I’m sure I was difficult to deal with, even when I was 100% right and the BO was 100% wrong. But once you have your own farm, and you fully realize how much it all costs (mortgage, tractor, storage buildings, fencing overhauls, mowers/whackers/augers, power, water, grass seed, and on and on and on) you’ll realize that your expectations were unfair, and you’ll gain a new appreciation for those souls that do offer your horse a home, with all the stress and budget worries that accompany that.)
I now board 1-3 outside horses to help offset my costs. But I screen carefully and try to ensure both horse and owner are compatible with my horse-keeping style. I charge enough to not just subsidize their horse-owning experience, and I am clear upfront about what services I offer and what I don’t. Luckily I have a full time job that pays most of my bills, so I can afford to be a bit picky. But even with my cautious approach, I’ve had a few pairs (it’s usually the owner, not the horse) that’s high-maintenance and frustrating to deal with. Luckily, I am low-drama, and can tell the owner that we’re just not the right match, recommend a few other options locally that might be a better fit, and see them out the door with (mostly) good feelings.
