Field Board

[luvmyhackney]

In Leesburg/NoVa area I paid 375.00 for field board. I had to switch to stall board though so pony could eat in peace. So he comes in 2 times a day for 30 min to eat his grain. Field board includes round bales all winter, blanket changes, grain 2X a day, and they have a decent ring. Small space for things in the tack room.

My pony is a money maker based on what he eats and requires.

[S1969]

@Guilherme

Again, “it depends.”

If you go the “low end” route where you provide NO services but just a field with fence and water then you can actually do reasonably well because your costs will be very low. As soon as you start adding labor for anything your profit margin shrinks rapidly.

G.

In theory. “Low end” in my area would likely involve people I don’t want to be responsible for, either. Not to mention the risk of not getting paid on time, or having horses abandoned.

It might work out, but I don’t think I would invest in fencing for the chance to find out. If I were the OP, I’d probably wait until I knew I had enough clientele or a waiting list that would make it worth expanding.

[Guilherme]

@S1969

In theory. “Low end” in my area would likely involve people I don’t want to be responsible for, either. Not to mention the risk of not getting paid on time, or having horses abandoned.

It might work out, but I don’t think I would invest in fencing for the chance to find out. If I were the OP, I’d probably wait until I knew I had enough clientele or a waiting list that would make it worth expanding.

No theory about it; it really works!

But your observation is also correct; the client that seeks the absolute lowest end service is likely providing the absolute lowest end care (remember that the owner, here, does EVERYTHING unless they pay the barn to do it). They are also the most likely to default on their contract and you’ll have to be ready to quickly step in and enforce any lien rights for monies owed as the horses kept in this fashion are also usually of not more than carcass value. If you’re a “snowflake” barn owner don’t do this.

Still, we had some owners who were just strapped and did the best they could and stayed within the minimum standards until they either sold the horse or got more financially capable. In truth, the owners attitude had a lot to do with just how strict we were about providing “off contract” services (i.e., doing stuff without charging them). There was, actually, a fair amount of informal “give and take.”

The hard reality is that boarding of horses is a break even business under the best of circumstances.

G.

[S1969]

@Guilherme

No theory about it; it really works!

G.

I guess I meant “in theory” you could make money. It could take many months of good boarders to cover the expenses of putting up fencing and shelter. All you need is one or two of those boarders to be a loser, and you’re in the hole again. If one abandoned a horse, you’d be in the hole for a while.

If the fencing and shelters were already there and you weren’t using it, maybe it would be worth taking a gamble and trying to see if you get a few good boarders. But I wouldn’t incur expenses hoping to make it up with field boarders unless you had a waiting list of good clients already.

[Guilherme]

@S1969

I guess I meant “in theory” you could make money. It could take many months of good boarders to cover the expenses of putting up fencing and shelter. All you need is one or two of those boarders to be a loser, and you’re in the hole again. If one abandoned a horse, you’d be in the hole for a while.

If the fencing and shelters were already there and you weren’t using it, maybe it would be worth taking a gamble and trying to see if you get a few good boarders. But I wouldn’t incur expenses hoping to make it up with field boarders unless you had a waiting list of good clients already.

Again, it depends on economics.

In East TN we don’t need artificial shelters if we’ve got lots of trees. I’ve got lots of trees.

Don’t need an artificial water source as I have multiple streams and creeks.

Putting up electric fence is not all that expensive and if you use chemical means to keep the wire clear then you’re pretty well “golden.”

Clearly this depends on your local climate and conditions.

G.

[msj]

Last year we had a very dry summer and my neighbor’s pastures looked pretty bad by fall so I suggested that we open her pastures to mine as I had no horses grazing them. I’d still need to mow regularly to keep the weeds from going to seed but it would give her 3 horses more grass and I could enjoy watching them graze. I said I wanted to see temporary but safe passage from her place to mine for the horses and I wanted her to cover the insurance. I said I’d provide a tub of water and keep it cleaned and filled every day. I also said I’d probably give them all treats at least once/day as well.

So this year my neighbor and I opened her pasture to 4 of my pastures. I offered this to her if she did the work to join our two properties together. It wasn’t hard as both farms had a gate at the end of the pasture that was ~ 25-30’ away from each other. We figured if we just added more gates into a rounded passageway it would be safe and easy to build and take down as well. I donated 3 gates that I wasn’t using and she donated about the same to give the horses a safe passage from her place to mine.

I told her all she had to do was pay the liability insurance for the year. I looked into Equine Personal Liability in which I “leased” her 3 horses for $250/yr and felt it would work.

She got about an extra 3 acres of pasture for a very good price.

I bought a new manure bucket, tied it to a fence post, and fill it every day. I had a relatively long-handled bucket scrubber that I use daily to make sure no algae takes hold in the tub.

So far it’s working out well.

Her horses graze both properties during the day and night. Fortunately they go back to her barn in the morning most days so she shuts the 2 that she wants to ride in stalls and when she’s finished riding they get turned out to graze.