this is not the first rodeo for horse related economic cliff dives … buddy whip production was once huge. In the 1980s Purina Mills divested it animal feed businesses because they felt the market for those products had matured (Land of Lakes now has the production and leases the checker board logo)
As the country goes into a recession there will be many who will reevaluate their positions.
This thread resonates with me. On the same day I learned my shoeing bill would increase 40% and my board increased 37% due to increased costs with feed, electricity, shavings, grain, gas, etc. The barn is private and my horse gets greats excellent care and my farrier deserves it as he hasn’t raised costs in over 8 years, but this is the nail in the coffin. I cannot stomach paying that much on a hobby when I have a family I need to support, especially with our living costs are increasing. Its hard to go grocery shopping and not walk out having paid over $100 for even a small amount of items.
I’ve been going back and forth with finding him a home but now it’s not an option anymore. Fortunately I have a friend with resources and time who has been looking at getting her own horse and is going to take him.
I too worry about the big dump that could be coming up soon as prices continuing to increase.
While this is true (that we have had economic downturns before); it is the combination of economics and demographics that is challenging. The generational demographics of farming, which horse operations are a part of, is not healthy. The average age of farmers is close to 60, and while micro farms are increasing; the mid sized farms (which most horse related businesses would fall into) continue to decrease.
I’m so sorry you’ve had to make this decision.
This is so sad.
Words are inadequate
Hugs to you
Very accurate!
Ugh, that is so depressing. I don’t know what exactly the solution is but I do feel that our society is making some poor choices regarding the conversion of agricultural and open land to massive housing tracts. Then everyone complains about increased traffic, pollution, and climate change…hmm.
No but I do ask for a breakdown of amenities and services I will be receiving for my board, otherwise I’m an idiot of a horse owner. And yes, if I’m at a fairly priced barn for the location, level of care, and “extras” provided and the barn owner tells me they’re raising the costs without any justification, I will ask them why. And I will evaluate the new costs against the other, similar barns in my area, whether or not justifications are provided. And I will (and have) moved when barn owners have raised costs beyond what they provide and couldn’t/wouldn’t offer up any real reason. Sure, it’s the BOs perogative to tell me to mind my own business but it’s mine to decide if I want to continue boarding there, all things (including BO attitude) considered.
It is a business … on both sides. When I find out Marketbasket is selling the same can of beans as Stop & Shop for half the price, well, my business goes to MB.
well that is just what my neighbors say about any plans to develop our land…of course they already sub divided their lots years ago now they want ours to remain open so “they can look out their widows to see the horses graze”… I requested and go no ware for a property tax relief for providing parkland views
@ Miss_Motivation your entire original post is by far the best-written summary of the current situation I’ve seen.
Chronicle of the Horse should take this post to the front page. IMO!
As one of the mid-market boarders, this has been on my mind for the past year, and is now more so than ever. Honestly to continue to own and enjoy my own horse I will probably have to take a step down to a simpler facility. Many fewer amenities for training and competing, and so those activities will be cut back as well. Maybe I will be just enjoying my horse in less expensive, less demanding ways, going forward, because that market is costing more and more, beyond what I can afford.
This has been happening all over Texas for the past 25 years. The number of “small” ranches with cattle… well, frankly, they are nearly disappearing. (A couple hundred acres used to be a small ranch. A regular-size ranch was a couple thousand contiguous acres, or more. Very, very few left, fewer every year.)
The boomer generation departed for the towns to make a better living. As their parents passed on, the generational family property was sold. The drought of 2011-2012 was the end of many more as land owners sold their cattle when they couldn’t provide water, and never restocked. And the cycle is continuing with millenials who have parents with land. The millenial children are not interested in living on the rural property.
There is plenty of land still out there in the west, for sure. But it is remote and inhospitable. Not easily accessible to the best and highest-paying employment centers, not in the better-equipped and broader-education school districts. Or as I’ve told people, I can show you large acreage rural land … I’m just not sure that you will want to live there.
Maybe the new move toward remote work will help. Maybe more people will be able to manage and support a rural life with a city income. This is still a major unknown. And still not sure it works out economically for a life with horses and horse boarding.
I haven’t read all the replies because I just don’t spend that much time on the computer here but I am sure I posted somewhere on here after a BO did break the costs down that they have. If a BO is not making a profit then they need to charge what they need to make a profit.
Everywhere else we see prices rise as costs rise so why is that not happening in horse boarding?
Or farm there! I am in Connecticut, so very very different 
but one of the worst trends in land development here is that invariably the best crop land is also the land most easily developed. I just watched several hundred acres (large here) of some of the most fertile soil in New England (CT River valley) get turned into an Amazon distribution center.
I don’t begrudge a single farmer for selling. They often have to, in order to retire. I don’t begrudge their heirs for selling, they often have because of how wills are structured or sometimes they hit the estate tax. I don’t think there is a good answer on this one…unless we as a society want to start paying market value to keep farmland as farms. (No I cannot and will not Donate my land. I can’t afford to!)
@clanter I tried to argue that not only was my land providing scenery for a popular dirt road used by walkers; I was also contributing to the public good because my land is a buffer for a class AA trout stream that feeds a public drinking reservoir. No tax break on that.
To be fair CT does have PA 490, which does give a tax reduction for forest or ag land. Good thing, otherwise I’d be long gone. But it doesn’t help with the inevitable generational sale issues. Maybe nothing can, maybe nothing should…? Bleak though that is.
Then you should read the replies. It is explained quite succinctly. In order to cover all the costs from labor and insurance to hay and electricity, to maintain the facility properly, and then turn a profit, we would have to double our board. Which would then drive out about 90% of the current boarders, thus defeating the purpose.
But you are invited to go ahead and set up a boarding facility yourself, since you seem to have such a good handle on how to run one 
So far there seems to be a disconnect between the posts in this thread and horse prices. At least on the East Coast.
when the city was talking about extending a street on the north side of our property I looked at donating that part of the proposed right away to the Audubon Society for an inner urban bird sanctuary… road was not built since our land was the middle section needed
Update on my situation: I sent out a notice to my clients, giving them a 30 day heads up that with our cost increases, we would be adding a $25 surcharge to their Board bills. We will monitor the situation and make adjustments as necessary. It could go up, down, become rolled into a new Board rate or go away altogether. I have had absolutely no push back. In fact, several clients responded to the email with a thanks for all we do and an acknowledgement that the surcharge was more than fair and reasonable.
Thats the way to do it.
I think the real estate market is out of control, but no one truly wants anyone to give away their farm. But the sad reality and point of this thread’s discussion is that very few people could buy it at market value and hope to generate the income from the farm to make the purchase make any sort of remote financial sense. That is a huge problem for the industry. If real estate prices don’t go down some (not even getting into climbing interest rates), and if taxes keep climbing in areas where the good customers are, then the market rate for board is going to have to go way up or more barns will close. And you will still have a fairly small pool of buyers that will need a lot of money ready for a down payment on the property.
Actually I have asked my electric company to explain why my bill was significantly higher and they gladly provided an explanation.
Cool story.
Did you argue with them about it, or imply it wasn’t worth it?
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