Owning a Boarding Stable - Expenses?

[2ndyrgal]

Why not? Several Hundred Thousand later…

Because you can not MAKE money with a boarding barn. Especially one with a lot of stalls and a little ground. You need to have a lot of ground and a few stalls. Buy a property you like, put up a barn you can afford and do not expect any boarders to offset the costs. By the time you do the math (what is YOUR time worth) you won’t make as much money as you would if you worked at Waffle House. Have a place that ,if it does not have a horse on the property, you can still afford the mortgage. Lower end boarding stables are ending up with horses they don’t want because boarders won’t pay. I have 12 stalls, 40 acres, a 72x184 indoor and real grass in the pastures. It’s because I have 2 horses, one fat pony and ONE BOARDER. One. A great boarder, who is a riding buddy and a friend. I have a boarder for the company, not the income. It’s no fun to ride by yourself. Go to the big show barns, the full ones and ask them where they make their money (I did before we bought and built this place). Sales, Training, lessons. Boarding, for them, is a necessary evil. My thinking when we built this place was I wouldn’t have anyone in my barn I wouldn’t want at my dinner table. I didn’t want to cringe at my own home, when the boarder from hell pulled in the drive. Nope. this is my home, not my business. (don’t tell the IRS though.

[pines4equines]

Hay

Regarding diamonds…

Someone on another thread said: Diamonds are not a girl’s best friend unless they can be pawned to buy a new trailer…or good horse.

[Elmstead]

Just my opinion

There generally isn’t any money to be made in boarding horses. If you are a trainer and can charge for your professional services (training, lessons, riding, showing) then you might want to consider boarding clients’ horses as an additional service to them. But the boarding itself is usually a money loser, especially on a small acreage.

On a side note, the smaller the acreage-the bigger the work load just to keep things in safe and attractive condition. With 20ish horses on 5 acres you will work your BUTT off just too keep the place in decent shape. With that many horses on such a small place it will start to fall apart and look like crap in a matter of a few months. Be prepared for constant upkeep, repairs, maintenance, etc.
ie: lot of EXPENSES!!

[ReSomething]

I first started riding again on a place that could be called a pocket facility. It had roughly 22 stalls on 6 and a half acres, storage buildings, an indoor, an outdoor and 6 turnouts. My trainer eventually left and took her followers with her (19 horses total) because the place was poorly maintained and not well set up. There was about two acres of space lost to driveway, structures, excessive setbacks and distances
between things, junk storage and parking. And the manure pile. . . . .

If the large barn is reflected in the price of the property, based on that experience I do not think you will be able to make it pay for itself. The turnouts were plank and wire and shoes got pulled regularly, which my trainer blamed on the wire, which was large square mesh, not diamond. Horses got cut. The planks got chewed and knocked off. The footing in the turnouts was compacted dirt (but surprisingly enough the mud wasn’t really horrible) so she had lameness and a bow, so there were some vet bills. Anyway, when you have a small area like that, or crowding, or both, the expense goes up and the traffic pattern or design of the place can make it, or break it.
Cherry Hill’s Horsekeeping on a small acreage has lots of plans that will give you some good ideas on what to look for. Congratulations and good luck!

[Woodland]

Which place were you looking at? Just curious as I am roughly from the same area.

Running a boarding stables is hard work with not a lot of profit. If you are a BNT with an established clientèle then you can expect a profit. Build a BIG lesson program for financial padding.

But it all takes up front $$$$$

The concern now is the down economy Horses and boats go first!

I have never regretted my life with horses, however I do wish I had stayed with a Training Only barn and NO BOARDERS!!! Most boarders are great, but the bad apples are bitter and painful to deal with! They spoil it for everyone! :yes:

I’ll sell you my place if you are still in the market - a great little fixer upper that runs in the black 3 out of 5 years. Um those other two years well - YIKES!!!

[Tiffani_B]

It was this property. I drove past it a few times and really liked how it looked - nice older house, nice fencing, good location. But there’s an offer on it.

[poltroon]

That size property and configuration would not be uncommon in Los Angeles. They can even be relatively pleasant places to ride and keep horses. Yes, turn out will be dry lots, and yes, you’ll have to have manure hauled off.

Something to keep in mind for this property as well as any other boarding type stable, is that you should assume that the business just breaks even. And that ‘just breaks even’ would be on the current expenses, not necessarily covering the note you would pay on the appreciated value of the property.

[Woodland]

That is a very nice place I have been there. Well maintained. I would say follow your dreams where ever they lead you. But in this economy take off the rose colored glasses and do a great business plan! Also NEVER EVER buy anything with a Fiancée! A husband yes, but a Fiancée is not permanent. Relationship issues are not resolved and it is too much stress to add to running a hard working break even farm. Also buying an established business gives you the right to examine the books - see if they are break even , making $ or losing $

Good luck - even though I do not have a lot, I have enough and I love my simple life as a BO

[Tiffani_B]

We’ve decided to wait until the house is paid off, and make a decision then (8 years). We do need a larger house, but we can live happily, albeit squished, in this one. At least that way we’d have one heck of a down payment for the new place, whether it’s a hobby farm or a boarding stable or just a retirement home in Vegas.

[2DogsFarm]

For the same asking price, why not consider this listing by the same agent?

http://www.kayfeldmar.com/real-estate/searchdetail.cfm?PageNum_Search=4&PropertyID=13507077944,13507022739,13506867220,13506828973

With six stall you can take in a couple boarders and not kill yourself managing the place.
I know it doesn’t have the indoor, but you might look into a Coverall or similar if zoning in that area allows.

[Tiffani_B]

Because we could only afford that price with 20 boarders to pay the mortgage. That’s why it’s not happening - we don’t want to have that requirement hanging over our heads!

And an indoor is a MUST HAVE. We can always add one, but the property has to be priced where it’s affordable to do so.

[Galloway_Farms_L.L.C]

Hi and congrats on your engagement!

My husband and I bought a fixer upper on 15 acres 10 years ago, nice area, 18-stall barn with indoor. But it needed tons of work. I learned quickly how to use a number of power tools.

As far as making money, that all depends on how you run it. I have found the only people that really make any money at this game are the ones that are the Trainer/Owners. They cover all the expenses by their lesson and horse show programs. If you are looking at it as boarding only, you will pour more money in to it than you make, for sure.

Also your feeding program will dictate how much money you will spend. Along with what kind of horses you have in your barn…Big Warmbloods and Tb’s that need a large amount of hay and expensive pelleted grain…and that also trash there stalls and need it striped and bedded everyday, or smaller easy keepers.

One of the most important things is DO NOT buy a barn that you can’t clean yourself. Finding someone that will come everyday is not possible. We walked away from a better deal on a 60-stall show barn because of that reason.

Putting all that aside you will need to screen all the people that you are allowing to board at your farm. Handling the horses is the easy part handling a barn full of Woman is a whole other story. One drama queen can start a downward spiral in your barns dynamics. One “No it all” can make your decisions hell when they don’t like the way you run things…and one extreme Novice can make it hard when your sitting down for dinner and the phone calls start about things that could wait until they see you…but they still want to keep you on the phone for an hour.

The last thing to keep in mind is that your life will no longer be your own. You will now be responsible for every horse in your barn. I once had to walk a colicing horse in an evening gown on New Years Eve in the bitter cold for over an hour. If you decide to have children you will have to find people quickly to watch them if you need to get down to the barn fast. Also your own riding time will be put on the back burner for more important things, like barn maintenance.

I don’t want to make it sound like I’m poo pooing your dream, because we share the same dream. The only difference is that I have been living it for 10 years and it’s not what you think in the begging. I came from full service H/J barns that did everything for me, not realizing what went on “Behind the scene”. You are a smart girl asking people opinions first and doing your research.

Wishing you the best of luck and have a blessed wedding.
Christy

www.galloway-farms.com

[Woodland]

[QUOTE=Galloway Farms, L.L.C.;3776162]

One of the most important things is DO NOT buy a barn that you can’t clean yourself. …

One drama queen can start a downward spiral in your barns dynamics…

www.galloway-farms.com[/QUOTE]

Truer words have never been written :lol::lol::lol:

[Patch_Adams]

This is very interesting. I am looking at the same situation here in Ohio. The owner is able to use 7 acres next door, and some of the horses don’t go out. BUT - for me as a potential buyer - what if the neighbor doesn’t want ME to use the pasture? Then I have 20 horses on 5 acres. And the current owner does have the manure hauled away, so there is that. She actually showed me her tax returns and some months there was enough left over to pay the mortgage, some months not (after paying the interest on the loan). I am not sure what I wish to do either, although I think the having a few horses boarding to pay for mine is probably best idea.

[Mukluk]

I once boarded at a small facility (friends place). 20 acres about 6 boarders Owner had about 5 or 6 horses. It was very nice. Everyone got along. BUT having 20+ boarders would likely be a nightmare (to me at least). If I chose to have a boarding situation, I would keep it very small and not be in a position where I needed to rely on the board income for anything.

[gumtree]

@Galloway Farms

Hi and congrats on your engagement!

My husband and I bought a fixer upper on 15 acres 10 years ago, nice area, 18-stall barn with indoor. But it needed tons of work. I learned quickly how to use a number of power tools.

As far as making money, that all depends on how you run it. I have found the only people that really make any money at this game are the ones that are the Trainer/Owners. They cover all the expenses by their lesson and horse show programs. If you are looking at it as boarding only, you will pour more money in to it than you make, for sure.

Also your feeding program will dictate how much money you will spend. Along with what kind of horses you have in your barn…Big Warmbloods and Tb’s that need a large amount of hay and expensive pelleted grain…and that also trash there stalls and need it striped and bedded everyday, or smaller easy keepers.

One of the most important things is DO NOT buy a barn that you can’t clean yourself. Finding someone that will come everyday is not possible. We walked away from a better deal on a 60-stall show barn because of that reason.

Putting all that aside you will need to screen all the people that you are allowing to board at your farm. Handling the horses is the easy part handling a barn full of Woman is a whole other story. One drama queen can start a downward spiral in your barns dynamics. One “No it all” can make your decisions hell when they don’t like the way you run things…and one extreme Novice can make it hard when your sitting down for dinner and the phone calls start about things that could wait until they see you…but they still want to keep you on the phone for an hour.

The last thing to keep in mind is that your life will no longer be your own. You will now be responsible for every horse in your barn. I once had to walk a colicing horse in an evening gown on New Years Eve in the bitter cold for over an hour. If you decide to have children you will have to find people quickly to watch them if you need to get down to the barn fast. Also your own riding time will be put on the back burner for more important things, like barn maintenance.

I don’t want to make it sound like I’m poo pooing your dream, because we share the same dream. The only difference is that I have been living it for 10 years and it’s not what you think in the begging. I came from full service H/J barns that did everything for me, not realizing what went on “Behind the scene”. You are a smart girl asking people opinions first and doing your research.

Wishing you the best of luck and have a blessed wedding.
Christy

www.galloway-farms.com

Bumping because this topic come up from time to time and I think the writer did a great job of explaining things. It was written 8 years ago. I wonder if they are still in business? The writers last post was in 2012.

As I and others have written on the subject. IMO no one should buy a property that NEEDS boarders to help pay the mortgage and over head. Unless this is going to be the their sole means of livelihood, their business. Or if they have the means to shut down the boarding operation at any given time. The “dream” can and will turn into a nightmare for most people. The farm will most likely become a ball and chain.

[yaya]

@Tiffani B

It was this property. I drove past it a few times and really liked how it looked - nice older house, nice fencing, good location. But there’s an offer on it.

I’m confused. That listing says 40 acres, not 5.

[yaya]

@2DogsFarm

For the same asking price, why not consider this listing by the same agent?

http://www.kayfeldmar.com/real-estate/searchdetail.cfm?PageNum_Search=4&PropertyID=13507077944,13507022739,13506867220,13506828973

With six stall you can take in a couple boarders and not kill yourself managing the place.
I know it doesn’t have the indoor, but you might look into a Coverall or similar if zoning in that area allows.

Must be my computer. That links to the same 40-acre, 26-stall property the OP linked.

[furlong47]

@yaya

Must be my computer. That links to the same 40-acre, 26-stall property the OP linked.

This thread is ancient and that link from the OP is 8 years old. The property was surely sold long ago and listing deleted. It’s redirecting to the front page of the realtor’s website where you’re seeing the current featured property.

[yaya]

Oh duh, I didn’t even look at the date!