Oh crap!! The bathroom sink and doors??? 
I also grumble repeatedly every time I find yet another thing wrong or a “fix” that was attempted. This place was held together with duct tape. I’ll have to send you some pictures of a fix in the barn. It’s kind of like modern art. I found it when I put a light in.
I’m starting to feel like this is a villain origin story…shaking my fist at the sky, cursing out the former owner’s name 
I think we are living the same life at the moment. 
Ok, I know this isn’t what you asked, but is straw economical? I get the draw. A deeply bedded straw stall is luscious. But it’s adding volume to your manure pile, requires a lot of storage space, and I can’t help but wonder - if you switched to shavings, especially bulk delivery, or pellets - maybe that would cut down on your manure removal frequency AND maybe lower your labor/time of stall cleaning?
You can’t care for boarded horses exactly as you would your own horse. And if you owned ten horses you could not care for them as you would one or two horses. The cost and time over runs that don’t matter much on one horse multiply quickly with multiple horses. And you should not be subsidizing your boarders.
You do need to sit down crunch the numbers and make sure you are at least breaking even on feed, bedding, and labor. Otherwise you need to evict everyone now.
The straw is, if treated right. Once my fencing is up, we will be able to have our manure pile work for us. It is taking up volume, but I grew up in the UK where straw was common - I know how to use it and use it well.
When I got here, the stalls were brown and wet in shavings - definitely never clean. They would throw one dry scoop on top of the wet stuff and the stalls were not well picked. It took me months to dig them out, they were that bad. I’d prefer not to do that again…ever.
To make a long story very short, I cannot trust that the current worker would keep them clean as she migrates back to her “old ways” routinely and I have to remind her that “we don’t do that” now. The break from shavings to straw keeps that from happening, it’s better for the horses (I have asthma and several of the horses have respiratory issues), and it is economical when done correctly. It takes me over 20 minutes to clean a shavings stall to my standards and less than 5 to do a straw stall.
It’s a good question - but I’m sticking with the straw 
Evicting everyone now is definitely on the table but…
The only thing this property has going for it is the standard of care I’m giving to the horses and it’s proximity to the city.
I don’t have an indoor (yet), and I don’t have huge pastures to throw everyone in. It’s a city boarding stable. So, my choices are, keep the standard of care so low that it’s affordable (what the previous owner did), raise the standard of care so that it becomes what we are known for, or kick everyone out.
#1 option is not acceptable to me, because we have invested a considerable amount of money just buying the place, and my personal horses are here.
#2 is the option we have chosen, and it’s working except with some of the previous boarders. I have some who wouldn’t bat an eye at the cost difference when I raise prices and some who would. One of those who would has a horse who is ancient and blind, and would not be able to adapt somewhere else. This horse is really causing me issues because it’s the reason I can’t do some upgrades that would help the business, but the owner is really stuck otherwise. He’s almost 40 (the horse). So chances are this will resolve soon. This owner is actually my biggest most vocal complainer.
#3 is on the table. And it may be a combo of #2 and #3 where I clean house and only invite a few back.
But yes, that’s why I have spreadsheets. I know the payback on capital expenditures will be long, that was expected, but I need to stop the short term drain.
Since you are boarding, are you able to write some of this off? A great accountant might be helpful.
I know this isn’t what you asked, which can be super annoying. But echoing what a lot of others have said- you can’t keep hemorrhaging money into other people’s horses.
I don’t know your boarders, but it doesn’t sound like they were getting premium care before. You don’t need to be offering them premium care now, even if that is your ultimate goal for your facility.
There is no shame in taking an easier route to reduce costs. The way I see it, you have two “easy” options (though they may not be personally, emotionally easy on you): a) stop offering “premium” care at a loss and cut the horse care corners everyone cuts; or b) raise your rates again to match the care you want to offer, inherited boarders be damned. It sucks for the boarders, but at the end of the day, it’s your business, not theirs.
Sorry to offer a totally unwanted opinion on a question you didn’t ask. You just sound like you are wearing yourself threadbare! This is why barn owners burn out so easily.
If you are determined to continue to beat your head against the wall in self punishment, raise your rates.
We chucked it, and quit. Sold out, moved away, have a very self sufficient and adequately remote farm now, and have none of this stress any more. Highly recommend.
I came to the conclusion that there are two ways to keep your head above water with a boarding barn… 1) Cater to billionaires, charge more than everyone else and have the fancy place with chandeliers in the barn and fully dependent “clients” who are not horsemen but like to dress the part, and are happy to be charged more than anyone else because they believe that the more they pay the better it is, and they have no monetary limitations like regular people do. Or 2) run it on the cheap with a level of care I can not accept.
It’s very difficult to find a “happy medium” between these two options. Good luck!
Speaking as a long term boarder, both in England and several states here, and having had my own private barn for 20 years, you’ve got to stop subsidizing and enabling these people!
Some thoughts:
Around here, grain is considered “supplements.” Almost every barn i have been in has provided excellent and plentiful hay, and its the boarders responsibility to provide everything else, baggied and ready to be fed. (Barn owner normally has a bag of alfalfa pellets or something around so the horses of the forgetful get something at feeding time.) There are always exceptions to the baggie policy, someone who travels, sick, whatever, but grain is “supplemental” and not included in the price of board/charged extra. (And frankly, I suspect there are often exceptions to the pay extra rules, but that’s none of my business and not discussed. Oversharing with boarders is A Bad Idea.)
A “you break it, you bought it” policy. Over the years I have replaced multiple cross ties, buckets, fence rails, water troughs, etc., because either I or my horse was a bozo and broke something. Fair wear and tear is different.
If the place is tidy and spotless and smells good and you have consistent hay and water, you will not get a reputation of being a bad or stingy barn owner.
And lastly, from one English woman to another, stop being a doormat! Use that accent Its your business, not a democracy, you pay the bills and have the stress, so you get to be the benevolent dictator.
Oh, and get rid of the old staff. She’ll be a big part of your boarder relations issue.
This was my experience, as well, back in my boarding days, at the middle of the road places (in other words, not a high end complete training program, but clean, safe facilities with decent fencing, turnout and an arena).
Barn owners typically fed twice per day, and extra services were charged. For example, the labor to feed another concentrate meal daily (in addition to the concentrate being provided by the boarder) was $15/month. Some services were $30 or $45 extra/month. I never felt that I was being nickled and dimed, as I have always had non-destructive, easy keepers with agreeable personalities, and I went to the barn every day (twice or more, as the years went on, as one of my horses was elderly) and could readily feed an extra meal myself if desirable (or make arrangements with a fellow boarder).
Of course, this type of set-up does require space for boarders to store their grain. Usually, this was in metal trash cans.
Also, when we bought our own place, we found out that getting a flatbed trailer was a money-saver. The ability to pick up quantities of feed, hay, lumber, whatever, without incurring a delivery charge – and being able to get hay, especially, direct from a producer – has been very cost effective. Of course, that means we unload and stack our own hay, which we will eventually no longer be able to do, and adequate convenient storage space is necessary.
Best wishes for you. I appreciate that you are trying to do your best for these horses, while being considerate of your boarders.
Yes. If the old barn help cannot be trusted to work to your standards then fire her.
You will not start marketing to higher end clients until you get your indoor arena. News of your top notch care will not spread by word of mouth from your deadbeat retirement owners to show horse people because their paths do not cross.
Right now you are not giving your clients what they want, first rule of business. You are giving them what you think they should want. Client wants acceptable but not fancy care for an aged horse and is highly budget conscious . I’ve been there, I just turned her out on a field.
Right now you are burning yourself out and putting yourself in the hole financially by trying to dry run your high end care on a group of legacy clients that can’t afford it and don’t want it. Running decent care is good for your business reputation but running insanely high end care does nothing because those clients don’t even know you exist until you have an arena.
Edited to add: I don’t know where I ran away with the idea you are building an arena, I can’t actually find that in your posts now. So substitute whatever upgrades for arena in what I said.
I say this gently, but what do you get out of paying to feed these horses out of your own pocket? It sounds like a huge stress generator. You’re taking money from other farm improvement projects to keep these horses afloat, and they don’t even belong to you.
If there’s value to be had–maybe it makes you happy, or it leads to good chatter about your barn–maybe it’s worth it. But it sounds like it’s making you miserable, and that you have a unique enough property that it would be entirely possible to fill these slots with better paying boarders. Even if they just go away, that’s a net GAIN.
Part of running a business is knowing when to cut your losses. Are you running this barn as a business, or as a charity? If you were reading this thread, and not neck deep in the situation, do you think you would recommend a different path than you’re taking now?
I know it’s hard to disappoint people, and tougher to see horses go somewhere else where you fear they might not receive the care they need. But paying to board horses that aren’t yours isn’t going to keep your business going.
For horses on plenty of grass hay that need condition, my first choice is to add some alfalfa. I don’t know what kind of Senior feed you’re using, but IME one flake of alfalfa does not equal the calories/condition in a day’s ration of Triple Crown Senior unless it’s a big flake of a very big bale. More like 2. Perhaps one plus a bunch of oil like you mentioned. I do think that giving them some alfalfa in a minimal waste manner and then reducing the waste of grass hay in turnout seems pretty solid.
I find compressed bales to pretty much suck. The leaf is like dust and the flakes disintegrate easily while handling. Watch your help feeding them or your waste will occur before the hay ever gets in front of the horses. YMMV
Good luck
I’ve never used straw bedding here in the PNW because wood waste products are super abundant and straw isn’t even produced.
I am pretty sure my mare would eat her clean straw bedding. I had to switch off pure pine shavings because she was snacking on them: yum, fence chips!
If your horses are filling up on straw overnight they may not need or want the low value grass hay.
My big saving on bedding is that the horses have stalls with runouts and both mares are conscientious about pooping outside. They sometimes do pee inside. Your biggest bedding savings will be to leave the horses outside as much as possible. Most horses prefer to live outside in a herd setting and thrive on it as long as they get enough food. The big downfall in herd pasture settings is poor management either the grass dies off or the caretakers skimp on hay.
In a pasture setting the most economical feed is a good roundbale in a hut. The price of a roundbale is so much lower than square bales. Horses will eat peacefully around the circumference. And while you need a vehicle to get it out there you only need to do it say once a week. The hay is much cheaper, and you save a crazy amount of time not trudging out to the field twice a day with flakes.
Get set up for roundbales and your initial investment in a second hand hut will pay off quickly.
Leave the horses out all night if you csn, maybe bring them in for 3 hours to feed tgen back out. You will need to drag the field for manure or rotate fields over time. A grass field seems to absorb and use up manure while a dry lot gets disgusting fast.
You should invest in the equipment thatets you save money on recurring costs. A hay elevator is really cool. I’ve never operated one myself. I did see an old one for sale on Craigslist in the past decade for only about $200 CAN. I don’t know what good used is worth. But get it now if it gives you a savings on hay.
Buying hay through feed stores is the most expensive way. Getting in bulk from a hay dealer is cheaper and picking up and loading your own even cheaper.
Anyhow, I was doing math in my head last night and I figured at 30 cents a lb ($600 ton) each additional pound per day is $9 a month.
$500 ton is 25 cents a lb, so each additional pound per day is $7.50 per month.
With one horse it makes little difference. With ten horses, overfeeding or wasting 1 lb a day per horse is close to $100 a month.
At $600/ton your price per lb is 30 cents. At $500/ton your price per lb is 25 cents. So $100 difference in ton price is 5 cents difference in pound price.
20 lb feeding is $150 month at $500/ton and $180 month at $600/ton.
Not a big deal on one horse but $30 extra for ten horses is $300 a month.
If you can source the equipment you need to be less reliant on retail markups on hay you will save money long term.
Completely unsolicited advice. Kick them out or raise the board until they leave. You can’t have your “real job” subsidizing others hobby. It’s not fun and this should be your hobby. And fun.
In a metro, with some networking, I guarantee you’ll find a couple of folks more than willing to pay for location and recognize the price of great care. Let them dribble in over time. We do exist 
So first - thank you all. I so appreciate that so many of you are either on this path, have been on this path, or appreciate this path.
Secondly, I recognize that yesterday I was feeling pretty crabby. It’s winter, and in the best of times that burns us all out, in the worst of times everything seems pretty dire. Analyzing finances, no matter whether I’m in the black or the red, always also makes me cranky. Oddly enough, when it’s not my money I have no issues with it
Thirdly, there are enough people, I believe, who will pay for the care needed. I’ve done some market research here and the people I have attracted who came in after I bought it all get it. I consider them friends now, and they are awesome. It’s the previous clientele that need to go. I’m still feeling kind of badly about the elderly horse BUT I’m also letting him (and his owner) hold me hostage. I recognize that.
Fourthly, in this part of the country usually hay/grain is included in the cost of board. I haven’t wanted to charge extra for the overages because I knew those people wouldn’t pay it and I didn’t want to go through having to call people to get more feed etc and have to make decisions not to feed the horse when they ran out. I would similarly not do self-care board.
When I got here there was more than one horse with a BCS of less than 3. I didn’t want the ASPCA to come knocking and to be blamed despite the fact that it had nothing to do with me. So, I bit the bullet and fixed the problem. However, that means that the people who boarded here were ok with that level of care. I’m definitely not.
So - long story short - raising rates and getting rid of the existing staff is necessary. The staff part is tough because she lives on property and has been here for more than 30 years. At the same time, I’m paying her quite a bit (and comping her rent) so I shouldn’t feel badly about what I’m asking her to do. Today the husband and I did the work and the barn is so tidy it made me smile.
An indoor or cover of some ilk is on the table whether I have boarders or not. It’s just not a “today” project, but it’s on the list. The outdoor is decent sand and huge but it needs an additive and not to be used as a turnout for the blind horse (the reason I can’t fix it at this time).
I may not end up with actual chandeliers but the goal is to turn it into that type of bespoke facility. Everything has to be redone anyway so I might as well make it as beautiful as possible. Each horse will have an individual run, the stalls will be 20x15 (several are already that size), and it should, in theory, appeal to the moneyed in this town (and there are many) who want good care and access to a quality dressage trainer (including myself we have two others with similar ideologies but different specialties that all teach here). We have a great place for deep educational events and are within easy access (less than an hour) to two world class show venues.
Which is why I agreed to buy the place in the first place. Now I just have to stop the bleed so that I can get the projects done
Thanks again all - if I missed a point made I apologize, long day of cleaning, teaching, and training. But I feel better, and I feel like I am supported which is huge. Thanks for listening to me vent about that part, and all the great suggestions!
I agree with everyone else, but want to throw a few things out here:
Re: 40-year-old blind horse and heavily complaining owner. This may be an unpopular opinion, but if the owner loves him so much that she is willing to keep him going in that condition, then she should daggum well be willing to pay whatever she needs to pay to have him taken care of. He’s requiring skilled care and extras . . . and all feelings about him aside, he’s not your responsibility to subsidize. Really, none of them are. These type people will always take advantage of nice people like you. Not saying you’re laying down and letting them walk all over you, but they’re not treating you with respect and thankfulness.
Re: the current barn worker. This is a business. If I’m not doing my job at work, I’m going to be fired. It doesn’t matter if I agree with it or not, I’m being paid to do my job. If you and hubby are comfortable and able to take care of the barn yourselves (for the immediate future at least) and she still won’t 100% do what you want without flack, terminate her. Rent that house out for extra income or make it your private hideaway.
Third thing: it’s petty, but I’d care for my own horses at the level I wanted and not raise everyone to that level. When they complain, shrug and say “that’s a $700/month level of care. If you’d like your horse taken care of in that manner, I’ll be glad to do it. I’ll add the extra to your next board bill, just ket me know!” and end with a big smile 
I get you. I think I’m just continually stunned that someone would complain fully knowing that their horse needed special care. If I had an elderly horse I’d be bending over backward to make sure he wasn’t causing trouble for the barn owner and I’d be darned grateful that someone was soaking his very large quantity of senior feed and putting in his meds and that he had a safe place to be turned out.
Just continually blows my mind.
But I get that not everyone is me!
I have been tempted to do the petty route but there’s no way I could get the staff to follow suit and I already got comments about my horses getting the larger stalls. But it is my property and I’ve invested a significant amount of money in it (again…who makes comments like that? 
)
I’ll just raise rates, and take my lumps. Every “less horse” is money back in my pocket and that makes it more doable for the husband and I to do the work ourselves. Plus then it’s an empty stall that I can do some of the improvements to without having a horse in the way. I’m really looking forward to some of these projects and having the place be a place I can walk into and feel really proud of instead of apologizing for the 20 years of neglect that went prior.
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