Co-op barn... can it work?

[cnvh]

I won’t bother posting under an alter; I board with at least one fellow COTHer that I know of and there might be a couple more who lurk…

Anyway, when I moved Horse to barn last spring, we had a barn worker (BW#1) who lived on-site and did the barn work (feeding, turnout, stalls) in exchange for housing and a small stipend. Things were great, loved BW#1, Horse was happy, etc., etc. Long story, but BW#1 quit and moved away at the beginning of this year, and we had another live-in barn worker (BW#2), with similar payment arrangements. BW#2 lasted about 2 months before leaving, so we have been without a barn worker for about a month.

For various reasons, finding a live-in worker is not an option at this point. The property owners aren’t really involved with the operation of the barn at all; you might as well say we just lease the space from them… so at the current board rate, we really don’t have the $$ to hire a full-time barn worker unless we raise the board significantly. Obviously none of us want to do that if at all possible!

So, for the past month, we’ve basically been operating as a co-op… stall-cleaning is DIY, and all the boarders take turns doing AM and PM barn duties for the whole 14-stall barn (feeding and turnout/bring-in). Needless to say it’s been a challenge.

Is anyone else out there in a co-op situation? If so, would you be willing to share about how it’s working out? Any tips/tricks to make the process work smoothly?

[BuddyRoo]

My very first boarding situation after moving away from home and our own farm was a co op.

Basically, person A leased the barn/property from the owner who was very hands off. She and her husband essentially “ran” the barn, organized hay deliveries, etc.

I had 3 horses, barn manager lady and her daughter had 2-3 depending, another family had 3 and another gal had 1. So a pretty small operation.

The rules were pretty basic–you paid X in board to rent pasture and a stall/run in. You paid for your own feed. Stalls were to be cleaned daily. Turnout was kind of coordinated.

We all helped each other out as needed with the day to day stuff but generally speaking, it was each person for his/herself.

We also did all of the maintenance together. Being this was in TX, we had pipe fence that had to get repainted periodically, brush hogging to do, cob webs to clean, yada yada.

Some of the BEST parts of this arrangement were that you knew there were going to be several people out throughout the day/evening. At least twice, this saved the life of a critter. (He was HYPP–BM’s horse).

It was also nice because everyone was so involved so you always had people to ride with or hang out with. Most Sundays, we BBQ’d and had beers after evening chores.

We showed together. We did stuff outside the barn together. Except for the husband of one guy who was a total a-hole, everyone got along GREAT.

BUT…I think that was a really ideal situation and each person was carefully interviewed before being “let in” by BM who was herself a very knowledgeable, reasonable and responsible horse woman.

I have seen coops go very poorly when there aren’t serious ground rules. Like:

1. when do stalls have to be cleaned?
2. how does feeding/turnout work? (timing)
3. what vaccines are required?
4. what kind of farrier care is required?

The reason I think this is sometimes the case is that a lot of times, co-op or self care is “cheaper” than other boarding options and therefore, may attract people who just aren’t in a position financially or timewise to do what needs to be done. For a coop to work well, everyone has to be committed and on the same page.

I LOVED boarding there and would’ve never left had I not had to move to another state.

But I am not entirely sure I’d feel comfortable with another coop situation unless it was on my own property and I was the one running the show.

[KPF]

I boarded in a co-op for a while. We had six stalls, so for each horse, owner pulled one day of “duty” (turnout/in, stalls, water, feed, hay etc) and then we rotated the seventh day. So, for instance, if I had one horse I’d do am and pm duties on Thursdays, and every sixth Sunday. On the extra day (Sun. in our case) we had to mow grass, sweep loft/tack room etc.)

It worked out well when there were capable people in it. A few people left and new people came in that were nice but fairly clueless as to horse care, so I left and went to a full care situation. I just didn’t feel comfortable with the new people and I’d have had to have come out on their “days” to double check things. So BR is right-- a co-op’s success largely depends on its members.

[Lucassb]

Hmmm. The only time I have done a co-op type arrangement was in a situation similar to the one you describe (as in, originally signed up for boarding at a barn that ended up losing the barn workers, and tried to make a go of it by splitting up chores among the customers.)

In smaller situations, where the owners are all pretty like minded about feed, care, turnout etc… I think it CAN work.

In situations like yours, I’d admit to some concerns.

First of all, how many of the current customers want to keep paying the same rate, AND take on regular chores - probably for the full barn?

It’s one thing to pitch in in an emergency, or until a replacement barn worker is found… but I would think that most who board out want someone ELSE to do the feeding and the mucking. Others wouldn’t mind it, but simply cannot do that kind of work regularly because of professional or family responsibilities… that is why they sought a boarding barn in the first place.

You also have to come up with a person to be in charge of things like ordering bedding, feed, etc. What happens if the hay delivery is late, or the supplier brings crummy hay, or three people want to buy their own from now on?

You also have to figure out how to “police” the schedule, for want of a better term. If the person doing the Thursday evening feeding doesn’t show up… who notices/fills in? What about dealing with turnout issues? A horse getting hurt? Stalls not mucked out to your satisfaction? Someone using a ton of shavings to bed all the horses… costing more than the budgeted amount, and causing the barn to run out before the next load is scheduled to arrive?

Lots of stuff to work out, for sure. At a minimum, I think you’d need to negotiate a lower rate from the barn owners if they are no longer providing the care that you originally arranged for (although what a great deal for them! They lose the expense of the worker and have the customers doing it for free instead!)

But my guess is… the better option would be to raise the board enough to keep good help, or find somewhere else to go.

Good luck.

[PiaffePlease]

Ive seen it work but the key is to have really good reliable boarders. Ive seen boarders not show up to feed and that understandably pisses people off. Also, some boarders wont measure your horse’s feed correctly, so he maybe get more or less than he is supposed to. Or they might forget to add his supplement. You can always fix this by having your own feed bin and making several meals for him and stack the buckets in the bin. Be careful and check references for new boarders.

Ive noticed that co-ops often draw financially stricken people. So, having a rule about farrier care, vet care, etc is a good idea. This way there isnt a horse that hasnt been trimmed for 6 months at your barn.

[mtnjen]

Really easy version that worked well for us:

Person 1: ordered hay and shavings. Monday through Friday, AM and PM, fed horses and put them out/in. One day a week, also cleaned stalls. Free of duties on Sat/Sun.
Persons 2 and 3: One weekend day, am feed, turnout, barn chores, pm feed. Summertime when horses were also out at night, person 1 put horses back out in evening a couple of hours after they cleaned up their hay. Two days a week (weekdays), cleaned stalls, set up feed in feed/tack room, etc., so at night all was ready for person 1.
Persons 2 and 3 kept track of all shavings used and chipped funds in for Person 1 to order. Hay used was divided up among all 3 and all 3 paid for it (we had similar ‘taste’ in hay type and quality, so it worked well).
Three adults, one horse each, no drama, no excuses. All horses were on regular vet/farrier schedule. All of us chipped in on pasture and fence and barn and arena care (labor - property owner covered cost of materials as it was her place).
Listening to the Met opera broadcast on “my” day on the weekend is a cherished memory of that time. It really worked well for us, different personalities and riding disciplines, but the clear-cut duties and absolute schedule just worked well.

[Bogie]

I’ve been at a co-op barn for about 10 years. It works really well . . . but only when we have the right people.

You need to find people who:

1. have the same standards of care (more or less) as you. A couple of times we’ve had people with radically different ideas and no flexibility. Didn’t work. If one person wants the horses fed at 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. and someone else believes in more flexible hours . . . or one person wants to feed free choice hay and another wants to ration it . . . it causes resentment.

2. Have basic knowledge of horse care and illnesses. We had a woman who was pretty clueless. When her pony foundered, she was very resistant to calling the vet. You need someone who knows when a horse is foundering, colicing, or is otherwise in distress.

3. Reliable. We had a few folks who “forgot” to feed on more than one occasion. We stick to a regular schedule to reduce confusion. We all pitch in and “sub” for others if need be but it’s the regular’s responsibility to remind that person about the feeding schedule!

4. Are willing to work. There is always work to be done around the barn. If you have one or two people who don’t pull their weight, it becomes harder for everyone else.

5. Are great communicators. You have to be able to talk to each other and also come up with a system for communicating about barn issues. It can be as simple as a bulletin board but everyone has to participate.

Here’s a blog article I wrote a few years ago that goes into more depth.

http://equineink.com/2008/12/04/keeping-a-co-op-barn-cooperative/

[Roxyllsk]

I did a co-op situation with a good friend for years. And it worked great until the BO who had nothing to do with the care started to get weird on us.

I fed in the mornings, and both feedings one day on the weekend. She fed evenings, and teh other day on the weekends. We set up buckets ahead of time - so it wsa just a matter of dumping a bucket of grain (incl any supplements), checking the water, and throwing hay. We each had an account at the feed store, so one or the other would call in for delivery and tell them what went on which account. We also went halfs on the hay, since our guys were out together. We both went and picked that up and stacked it. We each did our own stalls, except on the ‘day off’ on the weeknd, when we’d do each others.

It worked great for years. We tried adding a 3rd person several times, but it never quite worked out. When barn owner got weird, my friend moved her guys home, and I moved to a boarding farm. We are still great friends, and that says a lot !

So yes, it can work, but you need to have all of the details worked out ahead of time so there are no ‘grey’ areas.

[cnvh]

Well, it sounds like we’re basically off to a pretty good start…

We have a Barn Manager who has been running things for quite a few years-- she has 3 horses but only pays board for 2 of them. in exchange for the one “free” stall, she is the liaison between us and the property owners, and she manages the barn finances-- collects board, orders feed/hay/bedding, makes sure everything gets done (mowing, rings dragged, tractors maintained, broken stuff fixed, etc.) She also works tirelessly at the barn doing all sorts of stuff-- sweeping aisles, watering the arena, cleaning stalls for people who can’t come that day, fixing fence, you name it. On top of all that, she also has a part-time non-barn job, too. (I don’t know where she finds all the energy-- but she’s extremely capable and probably more than a little Type A personality, lol… she’s an excellent BM, all things considered.)

Right now, there are 8 boarders (including BM) and we’re all taking turns doing either AM or PM barn chores. It averages out to 2 “shifts” per week-- morning person gives hay, feeds, turns out and sets up PM feed (we have a big cart with containers labeled for every horse, and there’s a big dry-erase board in the feed room with what every horse gets-- very simple). Evening person checks/gives hay and water to stalls, brings horses in, feeds, and preps feed for the next morning. AM shift takes about an hour, PM shift takes about 1 1/2 hours.

Every boarder is expected to clean their own stalls. We have a weekly list of which horses’ stalls are being done on which days, so if someone can’t make it out on a particular day, another boarder will (hopefully) sign up to do their stall. Most stalls are getting done on most days; the unspoken rules are, no stall should go more than a day without being done, and if you’re there doing your own stall, be nice and do someone else’s too.

There’s a big dry-erase board in the aisle where we leave notes re: special instructions, Jane will be out of town this week, Pookins threw a shoe so leave in for the farrier, sawdust is being delivered on Wednesday, etc., etc.

Luckily we have a pretty good bunch of boarders right now, but there are occasional tensions which I hope we can work through. We’re having monthly barn meetings so we can all talk about how things are going, suggest new ideas, etc.

As for board rates, it’s kind-of in the middle… it WAS super-cheap for full care (since we didn’t have to pay the barn worker very much, because there was a live-in agreement with the BO’s), but it’s on the expensive side for self-care; the board rate hasn’t gone down, not sure if it will or not. I’m sure the cost issue is going to come up at our next meeting (which, coincidentally, is tomorrow).

[Kafue]

I’m so glad to find this thread as I’m about to move to a co op boarding situation with my small barn. I’m still trying to iron out details and really would like to have some sort of written agreement so we are all on the same page. This is the situation and I’d love comments and suggestions.

I have a 6 stall barn with ( currently) three of my own horses, a mare and foal and another retired mare. The foal is for sale and his Mom will be boarded out at another barn for the winter in order to wean. In the I past I’ve had three boarders, two have left for other boarding barns, one wants to stay and enter into a co-op boarding agreement with another lady who has three horses. I am going to supply bedding and hay, they will supply their own grain. So there will be six horses, two of my own, three belonging to one lady and one to another. I really do not want to do much of the actual labour during the winter besides general maintenance as I have developed severe arthritis in my hands which is aggravated by the cold so how do I arrange the division of labour… what is fair? The horses are on outside board in the summer and good weather and inside during the winter or severe weather.

[Trakehner]

Can it work? No comrade, it can’t.

People will steal your grain/hay. “But I was out and needed it” followed by, “Fine then, I’ll pay you for it!” Which is sure handy when that means you had a time planned for it to last and now you’ve got to spend your time getting more. Time you prefer to spend riding your horse.

Some will take more bedding than others, some will steal your bedding, making a justification they’ll replace (but never seem to get around to it).

Nope…won’t work, human nature and selfishness always triumphs.

[Bogie]

[QUOTE=Trakehner;7774731]
Can it work? No comrade, it can’t.

People will steal your grain/hay. “But I was out and needed it” followed by, “Fine then, I’ll pay you for it!” Which is sure handy when that means you had a time planned for it to last and now you’ve got to spend your time getting more. Time you prefer to spend riding your horse.

Some will take more bedding than others, some will steal your bedding, making a justification they’ll replace (but never seem to get around to it).

Nope…won’t work, human nature and selfishness always triumphs.[/QUOTE]

It will work provided your find the right people. Our co-op is going strong after 13 or 14 years and we’ve only had to vote someone off the island once.

At our barn, we buy hay together and split the cost evenly. Everyone is responsible for buying their own grain and bedding. Nope, none of us steal from the others. Yes, occasionally someone will run out of something and borrow enough feed to last until the next delivery.

We each feed a certain number of meals/week and that involves turning out, changing blankets, etc. depending on the season for ALL horses (we have 5). Each boarder is responsible for maintaining their own horse’s stall and for helping to pick out the communal pasture.

It works if you are all adults (no age limit to being a child), that everyone agrees to split costs evenly and not try to measure down to the last flake how much each horse actually eats every day, that you all have the same ideas about horse care and cleanliness, and that you get people who will work. They are out there.

It’s also important to find people who have enough horse care experience to recognize issues when they come to the barn since they are going to be the one putting eyes on the horse when you’re not there.

Good luck!

[AmarachAcres]

[QUOTE=KPF;5609844]
I boarded in a co-op for a while. We had six stalls, so for each horse, owner pulled one day of “duty” (turnout/in, stalls, water, feed, hay etc) and then we rotated the seventh day. So, for instance, if I had one horse I’d do am and pm duties on Thursdays, and every sixth Sunday. On the extra day (Sun. in our case) we had to mow grass, sweep loft/tack room etc.)

It worked out well when there were capable people in it. A few people left and new people came in that were nice but fairly clueless as to horse care, so I left and went to a full care situation. I just didn’t feel comfortable with the new people and I’d have had to have come out on their “days” to double check things. So BR is right-- a co-op’s success largely depends on its members.[/QUOTE]

This is how the Co-op we were in ran and it worked great. If anything everyone was so hard working we often felt the slobs, even though I’d spend all day there on my day!

There were 7 stalls, for each stall you had you did one days work. Feed am/pm, turn out, water, clean barn, etc…

Way better than self care if you ask me. That is exhausting.

[QUOTE=Trakehner;7774731]Can it work? No comrade, it can’t.

People will steal your grain/hay. “But I was out and needed it” followed by, “Fine then, I’ll pay you for it!” Which is sure handy when that means you had a time planned for it to last and now you’ve got to spend your time getting more. Time you prefer to spend riding your horse.

Some will take more bedding than others, some will steal your bedding, making a justification they’ll replace (but never seem to get around to it).

Nope…won’t work, human nature and selfishness always triumphs.[/QUOTE]

I’m sorry you feel that way. There are bad people in every walk of life, the key is proper vetting. I’ve never experienced any of those issues at any barn, but I always chose barns where BO’s were willing to turn people away and didn’t just fill stalls with any horse owner who walked in the door.

[Coanteen]

I was at a large co-op, but on a military base - so if you had an issue, there was the option to put pressure on the military member associated with the horse.

But the care was pretty basic, no turnout, no blanketing. There were 2 people on duty per week, they would feed hay (in the seasons that required it, while horses were in the winter pasture only), check water in the pastures, stack hay/straw once a week. If they couldn’t make it, they had to find a replacement.

If you wanted your horse brought in, fed grain, fed more often, blanketed, whatever - that was DIY (or get together with a like-minded group and trade chores).

Buying feed and bedding, stuff like that, was also “central” - there was an executive group dealing with those larger management issues.

[Abbie.S]

Can it work? Sort of. Sometimes.

I’ve been in two. One worked pretty darn well, for the most part. But we were responsible for almost all of our own care, securing our own hay/grain/shavings, own t/o (horse’s were otherwise all in walk-out stalls) and PM feeding. The only thing that we didn’t do was AM feeding.

The second was an utter disaster in pretty much every regard.

The difference? Had nothing to do with the “boarders” persay, but the central management.

In a co-op, there still needs to be some sort of barn manager, whether that be someone brought in from the outside, or the person who owns the barn. That person needs to take care of all the managerial things: taking board payment, creating the board contract, enforcing whatever barn rules have been set forth, making sure all the boarders are on and STAY on the same page as far as care goes, organizing repair and maintenance of the barn (if boarders are expected to be involved in that), yada yada yada.

In my first co-op, the gentleman who lived on-site did just that. He did basic pasture maintenance, mowed the laws, kept up the fences (several of us pitched in to replace fencing over a couple of years time), did a night check, and did the AM feeding. He kept the peace if there was a disagreement, but we all were responsible for our own horses. No one had to take care of someone else’s unless there was a mutual agreement to do so (say, in the event someone took a vacation).

In the second, the “barn manager” was also the landowner, who was really just interested in having “boarders” in a “co-op” so that she could have her horses at home and get them taken care of without having to pay someone or do it herself. We rotated chores so each person had a couple muckings and feedings a week: she played favorites, she refused to address imbalances in care, she didn’t enforce rules (in fact, she regularly broke many herself), and she had a sloppily-written boarding contract. She only kept up the pastures her horses grazed on, and refused to fix any fencing that did not confine her horses. I could go on, but I think you get the point.

I can tell you it can be, and usually is, SIGNIFICANTLY more of a PITA in general. Trak is right in one respect: people get comfortable over time. In both co-ops, there were issues with a bag of shavings “going missing” here or there, or a load of hay “not lasting as long”. When it finally came out who was doing the “borrowing”, the excuse was usually, “well (s)he said I could borrow a flake once” or “we share stuff our stuff all the time” or “I really didn’t think they’d mind”. These folks honestly don’y think it’s a big deal, after all, we’re all chummy, right?

It sounds like you have a pretty good BO, which is a good foundation. But the other stuff will crop up at some point, I can pretty much guarantee it.

[M_Owen]

I’ve been at a co-op barn for 2+ years and it works very well. Each person buys their own hay, shavings, and grain and we all have separate storage spaces. Each person is responsible for doing their stall each day or ensuring it gets done. Paddocks must be cleaned a minimum of 1X per week. We each have 1 shift per week of either AM turnout/ feed or PM turnout/ feed. The PM person is responsible for sweeping the barn (although pretty much everyone sweeps up after themselves). Barn owner (who is also the manager) does farm maintenance. Some jobs are “paid” and give credit toward your board, examples are extra chore shifts, dumping manure wagons, and mowing. It works out very well because the BO/ BM screens new people pretty carefully and she has pretty extensive rules and requirements.

[Trakehner]

I’ve been at 2 co-op barns…one had bad grain/hay thieves…as in “where’d my grain go, I just put 50 lbs in the can”…one worked OK since a husband/wife team lived there and oversaw everything (and there were pretty adult members)…once the couple wasn’t involved, it devolved into a theft fess with no way to prove who the stinkers were (but we all knew). Pity, an 80% nice group of people.