I would set the new price at a high enough rate so that you can easily make up for any hit that you are taking in the first 90 days, and so you don’t have to raise board again in six months when hay goes up or bedding goes up or you have an unexpected repair that cannot wait. I think 90 days will go pretty quickly for you, as well as for them, and you’ll be busy getting the new routines in place and making repairs. I myself would not offer more than one tier of boarding, because I think that’s an administrative and logistical headache. But, that’s just one opinion. I would tell people now how much you expect board to be, and be gentle but firm. Put in writing a schedule of improvements and, on your end, be prepared and have done the research to stick to the schedule. Be pleasant and use humor, but be firm and communicate clearly, and the rest is up to the boarders.
I am with Sharon. I would figure out how much the additional hay per horse during the loss leader months will cost you and bump up the board the rest of the year to cover it. If you decide that it will cost you $100 per month for those two months just add $25 a month to your new board price for the remaining 8 months and that should cover it. There is no reason you should have to eat those costs. And at the end of 8 months you will probably be spending more than what you budgeted anyway so no need to reduce board at this time. Stuff rarely costs less as time goes on unfortunately.
That gives them 2 months to find a new boarding place or pay the increased price until they can find something cheaper.
I didn’t read every response. You could give everyone a 30-day notice and state if it becomes a hardship to come talk to you.
I think it depends on what you consider a significant price increase. If it is in the $100 range, I don’t think you need to give as much notice as if it is over that. How much of a price difference are the other local barns? Could you do a $25-50 increase for 2 months, then jump to the total increase so you aren’t losing as much money but also being considerate to them?
I just thinking… let’s say board is $400 right now. Other nearby barns are in the $500 range, and do not have many spaces. You increase board to $700 in 60 days. If people aren’t able to find a place that they can afford in that time, $300 could be food on the table, you know? If people are boarding at the cheapest, rundown barn, they probably aren’t made out of money. Do you have any people with multiple horses? They may have to sell or find a place an hour away.
I appreciate that you are considering them and a 90 day transition time. I think that is very nice of you! I also know that if I were one of your boarders I would be so anxious right now and completely devastated when I hear the price increase that means I have to either find a new barn or sell my horse.
It sucks to have your cheap board go up but horses are a luxury not a necessity. A barn owner does not have any obligation to subsidize another person’s expensive hobby. I think she is being very understanding by phasing in the upgrades and increased rates. People would be very angry if her horses got all the amenities and theirs were only getting the leftovers.
I have been in those shoes where I was carefully pinching the pennies and dealing with a barn owner’s whims. Which is why I made some big sacrifices and eventually was able to have my own place. And yes that means I have had an hour plus commute each way to work for years. So maybe they can’t really afford multiple horses.
No actually, we reviewed the terms. The boarding contracts as they exist are month to month and they do not have an escalation clause. We were permitted to view a blank version but they did not permit us to view a filled out one.
So really, it is at our discretion. We are under no obligation to even allow any of them to continue to board.
No worries, things are changing on the daily over here through this sale as real estate transactions do 
It’s hard to know what I’ve updated and what I haven’t.
For sure. That’s the other scary part of real estate on the whole! I just heard that in my area people are buying properties with no appraisal rider in order to make sure they beat out the competition for the house. I sure hope they understand the implications of that particular decision!
Just thought I’d update this thread in case anyone was wondering how it went when we delivered the news.
Some boarders were totally awesome and welcomed the changes. They were looking for better care and facility upgrades anyway, and this for them made sense.
Some chose to leave graciously (this was fine, and totally expected). I reached out to some other places to help them.
Others, and this always surprises me even though you know it’s coming, the ones whose horses both cost the most to keep and required the most specialized care chose to complain. Working on getting these folks right out the door.
My opinion. Clean house and start over. You do not want a few disgruntled old boarders hanging around and stirring things up simply because they did not want to put effort into finding new accommodations for their horses. They will surely bad-mouth you around the local horse community, but they will be doing that even if they stay as you raise fees and change their comfortable environment.
The good news is, I think, that it’s only one, and after a “I’ll happily find you somewhere else” talk, we came to an understanding.
We shall see if it bubbles up again, though I doubt it will.
I just want to say it sounds like you have gone above and beyond to be fair! You are better than I am.
@mvp - I was half way thru reading your post (which I was enjoying, though clearly you must have realized that things were past that point now and that is why you deleted it) and it poofed right in front of my eyes.
90 days might be a little too fair. 60 days gives people a little more incentive to get up and go if they don’t have the funds to stay.
As a barn owner, I can’t imagine how stressful your situation is. My barn had been empty for years when I bought it. Just moving in, making updates and repairs and getting set up with my regular clients was stressful. People who have been settled in long before you are bound to have some feeling of ownership and “how we’ve always done it”. Gah.
Best wishes for the upgrades in facilities and care. It sounds like you’ll have a wonderful place to keep horses
Sounds like you have a plan in place. If I were starting the process and knew that a substantial number of boarders likely wouldn’t want/couldn’t afford the new level of care, I would probably use a stepped model.
First month is at original rate with notice that rate is going to increase (and schedule to boarders). Second month is an increase, probably about a quarter to a third of anticipated hike. Third month includes half to three quarters of the rate hike. Then you are at full rate. Rates may be adjusted depending upon how many of the amenities and services are yet available.
To me, this allows the boarders some time to find new places but enough incentive to move before 90 days. And it provides the BO some money to improve facilities and services during the transition.
I went through this as a boarder and was okay with the process. BTW new BO offered free trailering within a certain distance during that time which helped trailer-less me!
Just adding to the kudos (now ex post facto) for your approach. Don’t coddle the griper(s), and honestly, you’d be smart to part ways with her the first opportunity you get.
Sounds like you’ve arrived at an uneasy truce but that’s not likely to last. It’s like when an employee gives notice and the company keeps them by offering a pay raise. Rarely works out-- might be fine for a couple months but the employee soon realizes that the new salary doesn’t fix all the other reasons that made them want to quit, and the company soon realizes that they’re not getting anything more/different/better from that now-expensive employee.
The truce was not really any “giving” on my part. She got an explanation and a “I’m happy to find you a new location” and it went fine.
I’ve already got people on the waiting list at the new price, so I’m not sweating it. I haven’t even built our website yet lol
I haven’t read thru all the comments, but I went thru switching from a full care show level barn to more self care, lower board place before. I loved the show level barn and everyone in it, my best friends in the world run it, and my mare was put down and buried there in the end I love it that much. But for awhile in my life the lower cost of board and me doing more of the actual buying her feed n doing the maintenance helped me immensly with finances.
At the lower board place, I ended up cleaning people’s stalls because I felt horrible for the horses, and the flies pissed me off lol. That should never be an option to not have stalls cleaned daily, period. That being said, it may be good to meet with the boarders and evaluate a case by case situation when creating your levels of boarding cost.
Case in point:
My mare had no teeth, so her grain was bought by me, special senior feed. She did not eat hay, I bought her beet pulp and hay pellets, so no cost to the BOs for feed or hay right there. She quid grass, sucked up the juices, spat the grass out and her pasture mate still got to eat it. She could go out with anyone as long as they did not bully her. Her stall was beyond easy to clean, 3 poops n a pee in the corner, I was there at least 3x a week, and would usually clean her stall before they got to it. The most they had to do was let her feed soak while dumping grain for the other stalls and pick her stall in less than 5 minutes.
Honestly, I paid only half of their normal board cost, and less than their lowest level self care cost because my mare only occupied a stall, she was neat in it, did not cost them anything in hay or grain. I wormed her, vet shots were done whem the whole barn was done, she could be trimmed in her stall or pasture, lead rope around her neck and she would just stand there for it.
Yes she left some small hoof marks on the pasture lol.
I realize that is a very rare situation and I was very lucky to find those people but in case any of the current boarders have a situation like mine… just saying, talking with each individually and working on cost and levels might be a great idea to start with.
Also will you have ft employees to feed and clean stalls during the week? What about boarders who want to stay and work off part of their board by feeding and / or cleaning stalls on weekends?
Granted yes, they would have to be reliable, on a schedule, and do the work in a timely manner, but that is money you don’t have to pay out, and money they save as well. I have worked to save money on board and it was awesome, x amount of $/hr off and I just gave them my hours every month when they did the invoices!
Ok, I am awake n have coffee now, gonna stop writing novels n go read the other comments now lol. Have a great horsey day everyone!!!
There’s more to a board cost than just the grain/hay/handling/pasture maintenance. It’s nice that those people did that for you - hopefully they were factoring in their insurance costs, facility costs, water & electric, and all the other costs associated with having a stalled horse.
There is a part time employee here already. She was being paid a pittance to clean all the stalls, and subsequently the stalls were not clean. When I got here the horses were standing in wet manure because the previous owner had not procured bedding, and of course “couldn’t afford” bagged because his boarding model allowed for no wiggle room nor repairs to the property. Everything was done super cheaply. The board rates were set at the same board rates as pasture board 40 miles outside of the city that everyone complains about.
The boarders were a happy crowd, as those who are underpaying for services typically are. I heard wonderful tales of how the former owner helped them. Except that the horses were all ~200 lbs underweight, hooves with almost slippers, being fed 2 anemic flakes of hay per day, and standing in dry lots all day that had never been cleaned. There was mold in the feed, the barn roof leaks, the troughs all leaked, the arena wasn’t maintained, the paddocks never picked, the fences…oh my god the fences. Of course board rates were low.
And no, I will not do partial care. There was a boarder here who was doing partial care in turn for a board reduction so that she could commit disability fraud. I discovered this, of course, later, but inconsistent care, feeding, and handling are not worth it - particularly when said person complains about everywhere else she can afford being “too far” from this metropolitan location and the care being pasture board only and crappy. That was a fun conversation yesterday and I’m surprised I was as patient as I was and that my eyes didn’t roll back so hard into my head that they turned right around. This is the same person that wanted special treatment and to change my processes for feeding and care. Heck to the no.
The property has been falling apart for the last 3 decades because the previous owner chose to subsidize their hobbies. He was understandably burnt out and resentful.
At best the farm, even after board is raised, will break even. I will not be able to draw a salary. Which is fine until we get some of the repairs done, I recognize that I’m working for free. But these boarders will never understand the unit economics of taking care of their horses.
I’ve got a waiting list of people to come in. I want people here who are going to add to the barn environment and use the facilities and program that we’re building up because that’s the only way I’ll be able to ever turn any sort of profit. I’ve got a few people who get it - they are so happy that their horses are getting appropriate care. Everything we’ve done so far has been appreciated. They can stay. I don’t mind when they ask a question about “can we do this” or “are you thinking of doing this”.
But the others can go pound sand. I’ll be happy when they are someone else’s problem. I paid for their horses for two months out of my own pocket, offered to network to find them places to go, graciously let them out of contracts and some of them still groused. I’ve been nice, but I’m not a pushover like the previous owner. It’s a harder adjustment than I was expecting because a lot of these issues were hidden before I got here - not all, but a lot.
