I wants heard the great architect Philip Johnson tell a graduating class of architects that the way to be successful in that profession was to marry a rich wife. It seems that boarding Barns can do well if one partner has a high income from some professional field and can support the other
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I am no longer offering boarding or keeping lesson horses. Switched to just teaching people that have their own horses that I go to them or they haul in to me, and I give clinics. Quite honestly I got sick of never having a day off, working 16 hour days , and being on call 24/7 for after expenses I make less than I would working part time at a minimum wage job. I always laugh when people say well you canât count your time. Uh ya you have to. That is time you could be at a job that pays better without the expenses.
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Donât think lucrative and horseâs ever goes together.
Iâm sure you could make a living at it, just not a lucrative one.
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Itâs kind of funnyâŠas I keep thinking horses are SO DANG expensive. But whoâs making the money?? Feed companies? Tack manufacturers? Insurance companies? Vets? Farriers? SmartPak? 
(I love you, SmartPak!) I guess a little here, a little thereâŠadds up.
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Maybe the CPAâs on the BB can jump in, but this is more of a concern if you have an LLC or DBA or similar pass-through entity. If you are incorporated, the business accrues NOLâs which are used against future earnings of the business.
Can you make money owning a boarding facility? Sometimes. But usually the answer is ânot so muchâ. Horses are like vineyards. Lots of people get involved for the love of the industry, not for the money. This means you are competing against owners, some of which are well heeled, who require very little or zero return on their investment. As a business major, Iâm sure you can understand when an industry has a ROC that equals zero or some number close to zero, a lot of operators will fail.
On a slightly different topic, if you operate a show facility, the economics can be a little different. Lessons, training, sales and other related services all require more expertise. There can be less competition offering these services and an opportunity to make a better return. Even so, I wouldnât call these careers âlucrativeâ in most cases. And your success will be dependent on the professionals (trainer) you bring on board.
On the financing side, working for only 10 years in the business world with the dream of opening a equine facility might be a little ambitious. In the equine world, you generally donât make enough to buy healthcare insurance or put money toward retirement funds. It might be wise to consider calculating what funds you will need to retire and how long you will need to work in the business world to accumulate those funds. You are unlikely to accumulate retirement funds running a boarding operation.
If you enter the situation with all your debts paid, including your mortgage; if you have your retirement paid for and a clear line of sight for maintaining your healthcare coverage; and you can pay your living expenses on minimum wage or something slightly above that, you can probably make it work.
In between now and then, consider volunteering at your local barn. Offer to do paperwork and bookkeeping. This experience will likely give you a lot of useful insight into how little a boarding facility actually makes after all the expenses are paid. And the knowledge you gain will be invaluable in helping you decide if you want to run your own boarding facility. Be sure to check with your university. Bookkeeping at your local barn might qualify for credits toward your degree. Win-win for all involved.
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I know of one boarding only facility that does wellâthat means providing a modest, decent living for one person.
The scenario is pretty unique: facility is a nice shared paddock/shed set up, no indoor in area of relatively high board costs, and owner is totally hands on. She knows the life span and cost of a manure fork when an employee cleans vs her, if that gives you any idea. The business is how she lives her passion, and sheâs ok with 24/7/365 and keeping track of every penny. But thatâs what it takesâŠ
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I think this again really depends on the costs of land in your area and the going board price. If you can only get $300 then you are going to need to have a lot of horses to break even which also means paying for labor. On the other hand, if you have a nice enough place in an area where board is 850 or 900, then the economics are better.
It also depends on how you do the accounting. Some people determine âprofitâ differently than others. It also does depend on if you have a spouse with other income, whether you are doing the business as a pass through, etc.
The start up costs are substantial. That part is true. You will need a lot of money to get into it.
Indeed.
G.
Iâm glad that itâs true but I donât get why you say itâs sad. What do you think is sad about being able to attend college and get a degree in business management in an effort to make sure you can have horses all your life? Sounds like a good reason for being glad!
Explain your sadness, please.
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What I mean by that, G, is that, for example, my business turns a profit because I pay the business the hard costs for my own horses that are there. If the business had to also cover my own horses, it probably wouldnât be profitable. However, this is moving money and cash flow around on paper, which you can do any number of ways to change the numbers.
for example, I can count the portion of the mortgage for my house as an expense the business has to cover, or I can exclude it and now the cash flow has just changed by $2000/mo without doing anything.
I am currently at a barn where the husband is the trainer and his wife manages the barn. They work nonstop. Ostensibly Monday is their day off, but he ends up doing paperwork on that day. It truly is a lifestyle not a job. I recommend a good job and stay an ammie.
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I am currently manage/own a boarding business but I lease the 26 stall facility. I am unable to charge more than $375 for full care because the property is in significant disrepair. I am renegotiating my lease and wonder if $3000 per month plus utilities is out of line.
There are a lot of details that are needed before this question can be answered. How much is your insurance and your taxes? Who will be required to maintain the facilities? Do you have a tight contract that is crystal clear about who will maintain the ring, the paddocks, the stalls, etc.? Where are you located.
We wouldnât be able to come close to break-even renting out dry stalls for $115 a month, but full care board in our area is closer to 1K per month and at least some owners have a second job or a working spouse.
Iâd turn back âŠDorothy !
- wonât allow me to use color ?! otherwise this ^ would be in Bold Red âÂą
If you are thinking of staying in the Atlanta area, I would caution that the real estate costs are insanely high. Most places that offer boarding (only) are at best, covering or at least mitigating the ownerâs expense for their personal horses, or subsidizing the improvements they wanted for their own use.
Board here is âexpensiveâ at the top end - before I bought my farm, I typically paid $1500+ per month, per horse. That was for full care, not full service, in case you are thinking it was the type of situation where my horses were groomed, tacked up, laundry done etc. Nope, it was just feeding, mucking, turnout - but at places with nice amenities (covered arena, nice barn, safe fencing.) But they were run by trainers, who made their money with sales and training & show fees. Someone who had to hire a trainer would lose their shirt.
There are more moderately priced places where one spouse, usually the wife, works as a trainer while the other spouse has a âregular jobâ which helps pay their mortgage, provides health insurance, perhaps retirement savings. They seem to be able to manage, but I sure wouldnât call the barn situation lucrative.
If you are really serious about this, I suggest working with a financial planner to create a business plan and help design a path toward your goal. Like others, I suspect that working for ten years will not be long enough to create a large enough nest egg, but with careful planning, you may be able to devise a strategy. Good luck.
Always figure what your pile of money may bring you if invested in something else than what you have in mind.
A good financial investor can help you figure all that to the last cent.
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Define âlucrative.â It MIGHT be, if:
(1) Youâve inherited your land and taxes are low (location, as G. said!)
(2) Youâre in a target-rich environment for the kind of customer you want (location, x 2!)
(3) You have a business degree to go with the one you got in equitation.
(4) You have a business plan where you know what your expenses will be, what you need to make, what you need to charge, and where your profit points lie.
(5) You have a lawyer, accountant, and insurance person who understand the business and can advise you.
(6) Expect subsistence doing what you love. More than that is gravy. Forget designer duds, overseas travel, time off and having a life unless you also have platinum help and a large inheritance. Like the clergy, this is a calling, not a âcareer.â If you want a âcareer,â get an MBA and become an investment banker.
(7) By age 50 roughly 50% of all equine professionals live in pain, abuse substances, have zero retirement funds, no friends outside the business, and are âland-poorâ to the max. The way around this is having a good investment specialist, staying away from a bad diet, and being pro-active about bodily wear and tear. Strong helpers are key, and a golf cart is PRICELESS. Anyway, youâve been warned. Party on, itâs a GREAT life if you NEVER WEAKEN. Wonder how I know . . .
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You are studying business and will likely have several assignments to write business plans, analyse business performance and dig thru balance sheets. Find some examples in the horse world to use for these assignments and come to your own conclusions.
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Iâm willing to be candid for the sake of education. My farm grosses about 42K a year. That is income in the form of boarding, apartment rentals, winter stall rentals, and AirBnB. Out of that, I spend about 8K feeding the whole farm (my horses included), around 9K on the farrier (again, my horses included) another 2K on utilities, 13K in farm maintenance (including part-time help to mow/fix fences, bi-annual spraying, fertilizer, equipment maintenance and repairs, farm diesel, etc.), and an additional 2K on ancillary supplies. That leaves me with 8K in net profit, almost all of which goes straight to the taxes. I have a good business model, do not carry a mortgage, and am fortunate to have other means of income that pay for the rest of my life. So in my case, the farm pays for itself, but I do not turn a dime of net profit!
ETA: I have a graduate degree in business.
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