Cost of Horses

[Callista17]

Maybe this is dumb, I’m sure everyones cost has increased, but my barn is raising board $100/mth, and the owner is basically leasing it out to someone else. Usually increases are $50 or so, the last increase was $25. I’m at one of the best barns in WNY, but…to me, it’s expensive!!! They’ve even said one of the reasons is so people leave, less work.
Is everyone else going through this?
At least 5 horses have left so far. (There was approx 36.)
I was chatting with a friend from the barn, and she said for $10 more a month there is another place with no trainer onsite, no regular turnout, and it’s…SELF-CARE!
Another comparable barn is $250 more a month.

To be honest, I’ve been there for 6 years, and haven’t shopped around during that time.

I’d like to move my retired guy too, but it’s rare to even find a local backyard pasture barn.

I love the barn, fellow boarders, and I’ll probably just suck it up. I know 5 years ago, I wouldn’t be able to afford this.

[fivestrideline]

@Callista17

I was chatting with a friend from the barn, and she said for $10 more a month there is another place with no trainer onsite, no regular turnout, and it’s…SELF-CARE!
Another comparable barn is $250 more a month.

Sounds like your farm has been operating at WAY below market value - barns don’t usually bring in a ton over cost if they even ARE making profit. The fact that yours is less than these other places is likely to be because they’ve been severely under charging.

The comment about “less work” is valid; it’s hard to pay workers or feel like doing it yourself when you aren’t charging enough. Easier to cut down on the number of horses as upkeep costs rise exponentially (feed, labor, hay, diesel, taxes, all of it is skyrocketing).

I’m sympathetic to you and your farm. It’s tough when you’ve budgeted a figure for horses and that goes out the window - plenty of people have seen their board double or triple in recent years. That’s tough to swallow. However, boarding isn’t often raking in the dough, and it’s a 24/7 365 job even with a full staff. If I were in your position I’d start shopping around now, at least to have a backup. The backup may be more expensive, but I’ve seen these types of comments and actions be the final death throes of a barn closing. Better to move or have a plan should the farm close or kick out most/all of the boarders.

[Callista17]

Yeah, I should’ve mentioned they definitely weren’t under charging! Many are $200 less, but the facilities aren’t as nice, or trainers aren’t there. I AM spoiled, but I also pay timely, keep my head down & try not to complain.
That is probably why I’m surprised, and it caught me offguard. You plan on paying a certain amount, maybe more here and there, but…
I certainly hope it’s not the end of the barn! I think it will at least have a few good years…
Worst comes to worse, I do have options.
Some people have 2 or even 3 horses there!

[beowulf]

It sucks. I think this is our new post-COVID norm. In the current market, with inflation, I could believe any barn that said they had to raise board XYZ amount. Just from keeping my horse at home I know his expenses cost me about ~$150 more a month than they did pre-COVID. He’s getting the same feed and care he got pre-pandemic, but everything has gone up: fuel, hay costs, bedding, even stone dust is way more expensive than it was a few years ago.

I mentioned this on COTH already but I recently found a receipt of mine from the feed store that was seven years old. I did a double take at the prices - I remember complaining about Poulin being pricey then but it’s nothing like it is now. I pay about $6 more a bag now. That adds up fast.

[OverandOnward]

It is ironic, but the slower barns are to raise rates and raise them all the way up to market, the more likely that a steep increase is coming. And, that the current barn managers will transfer it to someone else (perhaps sell it) rather than deal with the necessary changes.

This happens in people-housing as well. Property managers who don’t like raising the rent suddenly find themselves with earnings well below market, and increasing costs that are overtaking the income. At that point it is either increase the rent dramatically, or sell out and let someone else do it.

And … that does drive some boarders and tenants out. And, those boarders and tenants often find they have to go a distance to find rates closer to the the former rates.

[Texarkana]

@beowulf

I mentioned this on COTH already but I recently found a receipt of mine from the feed store that was seven years old. I did a double take at the prices - I remember complaining about Poulin being pricey then but it’s nothing like it is now. I pay about $6 more a bag now. That adds up fast.

I just found a 9 year old receipt from purchasing my annual vaccines.

The exact same vaccines cost me nearly $50 more per horse in 2024 than they did in 2015. The cost has nearly doubled in 9 years.

And I wonder why I’m broke all the time.

Adding: yet ironically, I pay the same for lessons and trims as I did 9 years ago. Feed costs, though…

[fivestrideline]

@OverandOnward

It is ironic, but the slower barns are to raise rates and raise them all the way up to market, the more likely that a steep increase is coming. And, that the current barn managers will transfer it to someone else (perhaps sell it) rather than deal with the necessary changes.

Absolutely. One barn I know had a yearly 3.5% increase in board built into the contract, but even they had to do a bigger markup recently.

We’ve had at least 3 well established, thriving farms suddenly sell - the reason finally given was they were no longer profitable and the old owners didn’t want to deal with the hassle of raising prices to match their costs. Easier to let someone else do it - one place kicked out a massive high end HJ program that had been there for ages. Luckily the trainer already owned a second location, but a few owners had to scramble to place multiple horses when they chose not to follow. I know one place is still operating but the board has doubled, and I’m not sure about the other.

Backup plans are good no matter what. I know my BO isn’t raking in cash from us, so I try to help out as much as possible - just last night I forgot to hook the hose back up to the hydrant and it’s been bothering me

[Obsidian_Fire]

@fivestrideline

We’ve had at least 3 well established, thriving farms suddenly sell - the reason finally given was they were no longer profitable and the old owners didn’t want to deal with the hassle

And a lot of owners have gotten older, are retiring, their kids (if they have any) want nothing more than to sell off Mom & Dad’s land to a developer and keep the cash.
No amount of board increase can fix that.

[Impractical_Horsewoman]

Never a barn owner, but as someone who has worked 24+ years as a freelance writer, the older you get, the higher you price having your peace disturbed by clients. I’m sure this is 1000% more true working with horses.

[NoSuchPerson]

You’re lucky your board only went up $100/month. The costs of everything (feed, hay, shavings, fuel, labor…) have gone up astronomically over the past couple of years. This winter, rather than raising board again, my BO added a hay surcharge, with the hope that it will be temporary and we will have a good hay year in 2024.

The last time we had a board increase, the BO sent us all an email showing how much prices had increased for the various feeds, fertilizer and herbicides for the pastures, fuel for tractors, and such. It was pretty stark seeing it all laid out together like that. So much so that I asked if she was sure she was raising the price of board enough.

[Texarkana]

@Obsidian_Fire

@fivestrideline

We’ve had at least 3 well established, thriving farms suddenly sell - the reason finally given was they were no longer profitable and the old owners didn’t want to deal with the hassle

And a lot of owners have gotten older, are retiring, their kids (if they have any) want nothing more than to sell off Mom & Dad’s land to a developer and keep the cash.
No amount of board increase can fix that.

Yup. This is anything new, it’s been happening my whole life. But as the number of farms dwindles, we feel each loss more than the last.

I feel like with the horses, my biggest price increases have been with all things infrastructure and care-related. Vet costs, vaccines, dewormer, supplements, hard feed, fly spray, other consumables-- all of those have really shot up in price. Also things like bedding, fencing, stall mats, buckets, troughs, hardware, building materials/structures, tools, vehicles, etc… And to a lesser degree, tack.

I have my horses at home so I haven’t felt the pinch of boarding. Hay always seems to increase each year, but thankfully in my area the price creep has remained steady and predicatable. One bad growing season could change that, though.

[trubandloki]

@Callista17

but I also pay timely, keep my head down & try not to complain.

These are all great things and I am sure the barn owner appreciates them but they do not cover the cost of a load of shavings or a load of hay.

@NoSuchPerson

The last time we had a board increase, the BO sent us all an email showing how much prices had increased for the various feeds, fertilizer and herbicides for the pastures, fuel for tractors, and such. It was pretty stark seeing it all laid out together like that. So much so that I asked if she was sure she was raising the price of board enough.

Smart on their part to show you all exactly what they were up against.
I was going to list all these things so the OP would understand that this board increase is not the barn owner being a jerk, it is just the barn owner trying to stay afloat with the new increased cost of everything and anything.
Heck, the cost of the cat food I feed my barn cats has almost doubled.

[Simkie]

I keep my horses at home, and the cost of doing so has risen just a gobsmacking amount. I went from 4 to 3 horses in 2022 and my expenses didn’t change. It’s crazy just how quickly the cost increased.

I feel your pain, but I also really feel for all of those people running boarding barns out there, who are probably operating at a loss and trying to figure out how to stop the bleeding. It sucks all around

[Callista17]

I am more than aware of the costs, but I also know they are charging many than most, but you also get what you pay for.
I know he’s not being a jerk, but it’s strange to me the way he’s raising board, and also turning things over. He was having personal financial problems a few years ago and asked if we’d all sink in more money, and I think most of us did. I did.

[trubandloki]

@Callista17

I am more than aware of the costs, but I also know they are charging many than most, but you also get what you pay for.

I thought you said up thread that they were charging less than most.

@Callista17

I was chatting with a friend from the barn, and she said for $10 more a month there is another place with no trainer onsite, no regular turnout, and it’s…SELF-CARE!
Another comparable barn is $250 more a month.

I kind of look at these things with basic numbers.

Just looking at shavings (in my area). In the last couple of years the price has gone up more than a dollar a bag. How much shavings are they using in your stall every day? Half a bag or a full bag? Lets just say half a bag. So at the end of the month that is a $15 increase in expenses, just for the shavings.

Do this again for the hay and grain. Then labor.
$100 vanishes very quickly.

[fivestrideline]

@Callista17

I know he’s not being a jerk, but it’s strange to me the way he’s raising board, and also turning things over. He was having personal financial problems a few years ago and asked if we’d all sink in more money, and I think most of us did.

Yeah… those are yellow/orange flags that the business may see some major changes. Or cease to exist all together.

I’m not saying it’ll happen - but I’d start making plans in case. When a big 30+ horse barn shuts down, it’s rare that there is space for everyone in convenient and affordable locations. The people with established contacts and a plan will be better prepared to move asap vs jockey for the spots that remain (if any do).

I hope everything works out and settles down for you though!

[beowulf]

Honestly. It’s gob-smacking. I just had the first set of my spring shots done last week. My vet is cost conscious and wonderful. Even then, the first set cost ($210/ea) what both sets cost me in 2018.

I’ve had some serious back-and-forth the last year or so about whether I can truly afford horses… and I keep my horses at home. I’ve been considering moving but… where would I even go? It’s expensive everywhere.

My round bales mercifully have stayed consistent but good hay has gone up about ~$4 a bale. Shavings are about $3 more. Grain is anywhere from $4-10 more, depending on what you get. My horse used to cost me $120/mo to feed, and now he costs me about $290/mo.

I don’t even want to start on real estate taxes. My assessment doubled from 2023 to 2024, and my taxes jumped up a gut-twisting amount. No work done on the property - this is just the market in my area. My assessment falls in line with current real estate market (as it should), so this is not a gripe about my local assessors. While someone might read this and wonder “what do RE taxes have to do with anything?” – they have everything to do with boarding, because the more expensive living gets, the more expensive rent gets, the more expensive boarding gets because boarding is not a property’s “highest and best use” and boarding barns will be priced out of existing sooner rather than later in light of this. Boarding is almost always proportionate with rent cost[s] in a given area.

And my house insurance (which includes various umbrella policies). WTF. It went from $2,200 a year to $4,600.

Callista17, I don’t know what part of the country you live in, but I keep my horses at home in the definition of a ‘self-care’ type deal. I got a pretty good pulse of what it costs to feed and keep a single horse on a property. $100 doesn’t even cover the increased cost[s] I’ve seen post-pandemic. I know it’s not the answer you want and I really commiserate with you on increasing costs… It’s just everyone is feeling the pinch, everywhere.

[Texarkana]

@beowulf

I’ve had some serious back-and-forth the last year or so about whether I can truly afford horses… and I keep my horses at home. I’ve been considering moving but… where would I even go? It’s expensive everywhere.

I haven’t relocated in this post-pandemic economy, but in my experience, it can be pretty tricky predicting the horse budget in a new location. Cheap land/real estate does not necessarily equate to cheap horse-keeping.

[NoSuchPerson]

I am planning to move this summer so I’ve been looking online at boarding facilities in areas I’m interested in living. I have been finding a lot of places have gone to something they call partial board, in which they still do all the work, but you buy your own feed, shavings, and hay.

I prefer full board, but having your boarders buy their own stuff definitely makes sense. If an individual wants to switch to cheaper feed or hay, they can do it. And by shifting the rise in costs directly onto the owners, the BO can avoid trying to keep up by raising board.

[trubandloki]

I can see the good side of that, but the logistics of dealing with endless people having to store stuff and have stuff there in a timely manner seems horrible.

Also, if I am paying for my own bedding, I know there are some people I would not want cleaning my stall.