I am a no value client - was a B/HA a million years ago and have ranched, raised and trained my own ever since - on a shoestring budget. The last PPE I ever did was in 1998. My most recent big purchase was a $4k OTTB. Horses are in a large dry lot with a round bale feeder and mineral tubs. With pasture as the seasons allow. The horses being worked get grain, alfalfa pellets and higher quality hay in nets in the evening. Partner is the farrier. Have my own arena and build my own jumps. The trade off is everything second hand and used, although well maintained.
And the 401K and rainy day accounts are fully funded so can keep going this way for a very long time. Choices about horses are hard. Would I love to show more - yes. But would I 100% own the quality of that ride if someone else put rides on my horse - no. If I bought made horses and showed more - yes lots more fun today, but retirement would severely be underfunded and no horses later in life.
So I live vicariously through everyone elseās posts.
I get what youāre saying here, but Iām not sure I made my point clear in the post of mine you were responding to.
Iām an amateur. I work a 9-5. Today Iām working extra hours because my VP is panicked about something. I got stuck on the highway for an hour on my way to the barn. I need to be in and out of the barn in less than an hour and a half so I can get home in time to see my husband and put my sorry ass to bed. I get to the barn, the fields are a mess of mud because it wonāt stop flipping raining, my horse is hiding behind a tree, and when I finally catch him, itās to find that heās covered in mud on both sides and the beast is grinning at me.
Soā¦ Iām either not riding today, or Iām not riding enough to keep him fit, or Iām riding him without a proper grooming.
Thatās what I mean about people needing to accept a different service menu. And that might not be feasible for the working amateur who wants to actually ride her horse. Itās cheaper to keep him outsideā¦ but there are trade offs. So if the barn owner is offering 24/7 turnout as the primary service model to reduce staffing costs and do less, the business model has to be oriented to be successful with the type of client you want to attract, and maybe that working amateur is no longer the type of client you aim your business towards. (Or, as a boarder, Iām going to have to take a deep breath and culture my sense of humor about my filthy wet swamp creature of a horse Iām not riding.)
I totally get what youāre saying.
But hasnāt this always been a problem? It became basically standard to have two income middle class households 30+ years ago.
Itās not like people are necessarily working more hours in 2025. Did we just have more barn owners catering to the working adult amateur in the past?
I guess you could say that since there are less barns periods, the working adult amateur may have a longer commute to find a facility.
Iām not arguing or invalidating your experience at all- you and many are in the same boat! By why is something so challenging now when itās not necessarily a new problem?
This distinction of business vs lifestyle is a very important one! And to make it even more blurry thereās also lifestyle businesses which a lot of horse businesses fall under. In the sense that itās a business but not necessarily looking to maximize profits.
A number of years ago I had bought a horse with some behaviour issues my current trainer was not interested in working through. When I went trainer shopping I spoke with one who was very frank that realistically as a four figure horse, and training board being around 2k/mo it wouldnāt be worth bringing the horse in for more than just a few months. Basically the gist I got was that horses needed to be able to get with the program pretty quick. I ended up not going with that trainer but a few months later saw he had a few horses in to be started that had similarities to mine, including very similar bloodlines. After 3 months, I saw those horses got moved to another trainer. I suspect they were not easy and trainer 1 had a similar conversation with those owners.
So thatās a trainer with a business mindset, but how many others do we know who will give the horses the time they need even when it doesnāt actually make financial sense? And the vet diagnostics etc? And thankfully so because at the end of the day the horses deserve it. But itās a tricky balance for sure.
This was me as well. I feel like I just barely managed to squeak in. And right away I was getting inquiries about boarding. But the cost to take in a boarder or two doesnāt seem worth it and to make it worth my while I would have to charge as much or more than the established barn down the road with much nicer facilities (like a flush toilet lol).
Totally has always been a problem! But if we are talking about figuring out how to do less and preserve sanity and a working business model, the business needs to pivot in a way that makes sense- which includes considering how the current clients are going to respond to that pivot and whether the remaining clients or the new clients are the ones who fit with the new model.
My original post was talking about the tension between maintaining a cost effective and life effective ādo lessā business model and maintaining a personally- and client-acceptable standard of care. That standard will differ by person and what theyāre looking for and influences the client base thatās viable for that business. I used the 24/7 turnout example as a ādo lessā method- less staff time mucking stalls and doing turnout- that can translate to a change in client base- because if the horse were in a stall, it would at least be dry mud that could be brushed off. 
Totally agree with you that the 24/7 turnout/self sufficient client model caters to a specific person with enough time to groom their horse and clean tack everyday.
But I donāt think itās an either/or. I have some clients that come out daily, pull the horse out of the field and groom and tack for me when I ride it (totally unexpected and very kind of them!) then stay to watch the training ride. I also have other clients that simply canNOT make it to the barn during the week. Those people with the daily visits pay less in training fees because they work their horses themselves a lot. The people that canāt come out during the week pay more so their horse stays fit/schooled. Eventually there will also be a grooming option, but I think itās one thing to show up everyday to a spotless horse and never have to groom or tack (the person I donāt want to cater to), and itās another to have a crazy day/week at work as you mentioned, and just need those services occasionally (I think that happens to everyone, and having a service to help people out in those scenarios keeps clients sticky). I think thereās space to cater to both types while keeping costs appropriate for each person.
And I guess I had kind of a āduhā moment because honestly, what youāre saying is the crux of the whole debate.
Once upon a time, barn owners and horse professionals could make a living catering to a variety of people. Now costs have risen so much that they canāt; they have to change to find something sustainable. That means either dropping services or pricing a portion of the population out.
Do you think thatās not the case anymore? I think the solution to catering to a variety of people is having experienced and talented staff that you can put in a variety of positions. Admittedly those are expensive staff but if you have enough clients that want more services, they pay enough for you to have those expensive staff on hand to do more medial tasks for the clients that donāt have the bigger budget.
For example, if you only have clients that do everything themselves, then you probably can only afford someone to clean stalls. However, if you have clients that need their horses groomed or ridden, then maybe your base board goes up a little because the person cleaning stalls and riding horses makes $40 an hour.
@Demerara_Stables: this is so true. Please charge what you need to in order to stay in business.
I have had this discussion more than one time with barn owners and farriers. Tell me what it costs. If I want the service, Iāll find a way to pay it. People like me, horse owners, donāt come out ahead when you donāt change enough and then decide the @ell with it and [stop boarding, stop shoeing, ā¦].
My farrier just went through this. He fired all of his shoeing clients - he does not make enough doing shoes to make it worth his rig and his time. He kept me and a few others: trims only.
Horses have always been expensive. I think the difference now: everything else just got so expensive, so fast. Houses, cars, insurance, ā¦
One aspect I thought of reading this article is that time is money. And while many have mentioned their ability to pay or not pay determining if they are a worthwhile client, Iād say you also have to consider the client that āgets with the programā.
What I mean by that is Iāve seen time and time again where a client wants to use their own farriers, use their own vet, etc. What ends up happening, in my experience, is a breakdown in communication between care providers, trainers and owner, which causes stress to the trainer who feels a responsibility for the horseās care. Not to mention the chaos it causes in the day to day schedule of the barn.
When I say time is money, and in the spirit of ādoing lessā, accommodating this type of client aināt it. The trainer spends so much time working around these accommodations that those following the program are not receiving the service at a level for which they are paying, or they are, but the trainer has now lost time to balance their work and life.
I know there are many people on here who will say, āBut I need to use my own farrier and my own vet!ā And thatās fine. Then this will not be the program for you. But I do think that there are trainers who accommodate to a fault, and that really is whatās costing them in the long run.
I think this is true for a trainer who HAS this whole program, where they provide all of the services, or schedule them with their own people, and then the client signs whatever check is called for each month. But there are other ways to deal with it that are absolutely not onerous for the trainer and allow the clients more agency and control for their horses.
My trainer doesnāt care which vet or farrier you use, but if she or one of her staff has to hold a horse for you for shoeing, etc., regardless of who you are using, there is a fee. If I schedule the vet for something and canāt make it out, one of my barn friends will help out or I pay a barn worker (or my trainer) to cover for me.
For example: we have three farriers who routinely come to our barn. Everyone is either in charge of scheduling that OR they pay my trainer an extra fee for her to schedule, hold, etc. We all use the same vet practice, but if I wanted to bring in a totally different vet it would not be a burden to her- I would deal with it.
I think the other key to this is that she has a very good core group of boarders and she trusts that we are going to loop her in to the important stuff so she knows what is going on with each horse. We have all been with her for several years and she has no trouble weeding out clients who donāt fit into the barn. Obviously in a program where the fee structure is all-inclusive this isnāt going to work, or where the clients and the trainer are not on the same page about horse care- but we mostly like being involved with our horsesā care, and the one or two clients who are more hands off pay extra for that choice.
I am a teacher, and totally wish I could do this. What does she do about health insurance?
I used to know a place that had a similar mode of operation.
There were 2 barns thereāone newer one attached to the indoor, and an older barn a short distance away.
Stalls in the new barn were for full care including farrier/vet etc., and tended to be the more actively showing group.
The older barn folks could schedule their own farrier/vet etc., but were rsponsible for having someone there to hold/bring in horses, and it was made clear to the providers that the billing was direct to client and the facility was not responsible.
I am going to say a wildly unpopular opinion out loud regarding show based trainers, not a local boarding etc. A lot of trainers have done this to themselves. So excuse the long post. I attempted to break it up to make it more readable.
Iāve had to make hard choices in my own career to stay financially and mentally stable. Trainers need to do the same. If the model theyāre running isnāt sustainable, itās on them to make smarter, more realistic choices BUT
- Some of the issue is trying to balance two competing priorities: running a client-based business and building their own competitive careers. These goals can pull in opposite directions, and the struggle to do both is a reason trainers are stretched thin. Iām not saying itās impossible for trainers to do both, but itās rarely sustainable. The difficulty they face is, in many cases, the result of a model theyāve built themselves.
For many trainers, the dream isnāt just teaching lessons or managing client horsesāitās making a name for themselves in the show ring. But the need to teach and train to get clients to buy them horses, then they have to ride or teach or train THEM ALL.
- Trainers have increasingly gravitated YEAR ROUND toward high-cost-of-living equestrian hubs like Ocala, Wellington, and Lexington. These areas offer top-tier competition, premium facilities. For professionals trying to establish or maintain a reputation in the sport, being physically present in these high-profile regions has become almost a requirement to remain competitive.
However, this concentration in elite locations creates a cycle: the cost of living and operating a business in places like Ocala is extraordinarily highāboard, housing, land, and labor are all more expensive. As a result, trainers are forced to charge premium prices just to stay afloat, and even then, margins are tight. Boarding, lessons, training rides, and day fees at shows can all rise to levels that exclude many middle-class riders, even those with competitive horses.
I understand the complaint, the issues etc. I see it, to some extent, as a self-made issue. And one that all professions struggle with? It isnāt just the horse industry but the average person, even well off, is certainly being priced out (maybe off topic- just my rant).
This affects the whole sport more than we care to admit because thereās simply nothing we can do about it.
I could bike myself to the 2 barns I rode at in the 90s. My mom could also drop me off after school, go back home to fix dinner, and come back to get me. Both those barns are now subdivisions.
So when itās 30+ minutes there and 30+ minutes home, thereās not time to drop off and come back. Now parents are sitting in cars in the driveway, killing time through the lesson, and grumpily staring at the clock for however long it takes the kid to put the horse away afterwards and that kid definitely isnāt staying late to tidy up a mane. Itās no longer cost efficient to run the kid out to the barn because Poopsie needs a bandage change when the staff will do it for $5. The barn is never anywhere near any of the other places they need to be, like siblingās soccer practice, or the 16 other extracurriculars the rider is enrolled in (also a new thing). Itās not near the office, so the amateur canāt run out at lunch and pull blankets off. Itās basically a 3-hour daily commitment to be a DIY owner of a competitive show horse, and daily 3-hour chunks of unscheduled time are hard to come by.
Weāre really spoiled here on COTH with the wealth of old school horse knowledge, but the general boarding public is not COTH. In almost every situation Iāve seen where the trainer tries to lower costs and accommodate a more DIY model while also being a competitive show barn, itās devolved into chaos. The standards rarely align and itās the trainer that picks up the slack, 'cause itās their show curtains the horse will be seen with.
I honestly donāt see a way back and itās depressing. Iāll also echo the self-inflicted inflation weāve subjected ourselves to in the name of equine comfort during a 12-month show season. Bemers, chiros, injections, insanely priced custom saddles that seem to be standard for each and every horse these days??? (plus a $200 thinline to go under it), theraplates, magnawave, fancy footingā¦ GUYS there is a $250 pair of horsey ear plugs. The effing helmets are $600. People are literally putting children in $1700 show coatsā¦
Right. Gonna stop now before I really ruin my day.
Just wanted to echo what a special community this is. I for one am grateful for the experience, knowledge and perspectives shared here. I recently browsed through another horse community on a very popular discussion community and then just noped on out.
But that said, the perspectives here are a small part of the greater horse community. I believe there is a lot of room for equine business models that donāt cater to showing, the sport horse disciplines or even riding.
Iām not 100% sure but I believe she has insurance through her husbandās job.
As the costs of everything else continue to rise, I believe this is going to open up some trainers schedules a little bit by its own nature, but they can probably only choose to keep that flexibility if they can afford to lose that business.
If board alone is already up a few hundred extra dollars than it was 5 years ago, that will eat into peoples training/lesson budgets and the majority of people are really going to feel that pinch if they arenāt already. I expect board rates to only continue to get bumped up moving forward.
This landscape is certainly bigger than just the horse world. Everyone I know who works in corporate America at least, is essentially being forced to do more with less with no additional compensation. At least working for a big company provides healthcare and retirement benefits. Small business owners have to pay and plan a lot for those two things alone and that isnāt getting any easier or less expensive to do either.
I agree with your points. And I think that gets to the point of the article. What do you as a professional want in your program? What are you willing to have managed by customers vs. yourself?
Itās great when it can work. On the flip side, I can also say Iāve seen it where the customer uses a sub par farrier, or the trainer thinks a vet should evaluate the horse for xyz, and the customer says they will schedule it, yet weeks later there has been no progress addressing whatever the issue is because the customer is busy, yet they are also frustrated because the horse is not going as well as it could be.
There are so many flavors of how one can run their operation given the facility and what their goals for business are. Given the specific situations Iāve seen, it would seem there is too much distraction from what could make the situation not only more successful, but less stressful for all involved.
I donāt see a way around the average income person being priced out. I was years ago. Iād love right now to be one of those people who has a plunker of a horse and takes one lesson a week with not a goal in mind, just riding for the joy of it. But those days are long gone, no one wants to bother. I feel sad for the little kids whoāll never get to experience what I did āback in the day.ā Now this old boomerās going to take a nap instead of ride.
