Agree to disagree. I only have 4 stalls; I have a waiting list and offer one of the lowest rates around for one of the nicer setups. Hay prices have gone through the roof in the last year. When I told our most recent boarder there was a horse price (hers) and a pony price, she had zero problem with it.
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When I had my small farm, max seven boarded horses, I had a flat rate for care services, and the cost of hay and grain was extra. Boarders could choose to provide their own hay and grain, or have the cost added to their board fee and I took care of getting it. Therefore, boarders ultimately ended up with different rates. No one ever complained. For a small number of horses, I had no problem keeping track. It is common for BOs to price board like this in my area from what Iâve seen, though I certainly wouldnât have done it for 10+.
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I like this model and wish my barn offered that. My gelding is an easy keeper and isnât on anything the barn provides. CalTrace Plus, flax, and beet pulp are out of my pocket and while itâs not the end of the world, it does add up over a years time. He doesnât get as much hay as the average horse there either, however, hay is grown onsite which is HUGE these days and since I have been there, they usually have enough left over to sell as well. Nice to be able to bring in some extra from that Iâd imagine! The care is good and the trails are the best in the area so it is what it is. I donât think that model is common in my area, but it sounds nice!
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When you add up the actual costs of keeping a horse: feed, hay, bedding, facility maintenance, utilities, and subtract that amount from the price of board (based on average in my area), the remainder comes out to an average of less than $10 per day left over. Thatâs without paying for labor.
It floors me that anyone thinks itâs reasonable to pay someone just $10 per day to care for my horse.
This is not directed at anyone who has responded to this thread.
I keep mine at home and know exactly how much it costs to feed them. I donât board at all at my farm, thereâs no way it would be worth it.
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My farrier has always been very good about traveling a long distance to trim my 4 old horses. Her work is excellent, sheâs reliable and just a really great person.
When one horse passed away, she only charged me for 3 horses. I continue to pay her the same amount as when I had 4 because sheâs still traveling the same distance using the same amount of gas and wear and tear on her truck to get to us and spending almost the same time to do the trims.
I always find it interesting how some people arenât willing to pay a decent rate to the caregivers some of our most prized possessionsâŠour horses and children.
And many of the people that complain about board increases have never mucked a stall, stacked hay, scrubbed troughs and buckets or run a boarding facility or cared for their horses at home.
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This can make sense in places that split stalls (and the horses owned by the same boarder split one stall, one tack locker, etc.) but personally I hate boarding at places that do that.
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Well in reality a boarder is paying for those things are they not?
I do have a question about mortgage, taxes, insurance and other expenses that would normally fall on anyone who owns their own property.
If you --as the property owner are also living full time on the property as a residence , are you expecting the boarding income alone to cover ALL those expenses in addition to boarding costs? Are you getting a salary in addition?
Not just this poster but other BOâs here. Just wondering how much the boarding covers.
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Having kept my horses at home then boarded then home again⊠Iâm fairly sure about 0 of the barns in my area are making enough money to even touch the costs of purchasing the property.
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Iâve never been offered a multiple horse discount, but I have had some barn owners charge me a slightly cheaper stall board because my horses are all quite old and I never use the indoor or outdoor rings, so less wear and tear on facilities. They are also kind to fences and very tidy in their stalls.
I very much appreciate the kindness, but I would never dream of asking for a discount, either.
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Sometimes in blazing heat and humidity or blizzard conditions and polar vortexes.
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Everyone aims to have their work cover their mortgage/rent, food, medical care, occasional vacation.
Its never struck me as particularly fair that people boarding horses are expected to have a full-time job to pay for their personal living costs because âI shouldnât have to pay for their property costsâ. I felt that way before I owned a farm too.
I laid it out earlier. In my case board covers the cost of feeding hay/grain/bedding to all 6 horses, of which 2 are mine, property insurance for the year and a tank of gas for my truck each month. (before the gas price shot up) If we didnât do all the work ourselves, weâd have to stop boarding.
That is it. I havenât taken out electricity, fuel, labor time, improvements or anything else.
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I think most BOs donât know how much to charge. Its not really covered in most business courses .
That is not a reflection on anyone here.
There doesnât seem to be a set formula .
I suppose if BOs charged enough to make a profit on it, most people would think that was too high and wouldnât pay it.
Some probably couldnât.
The multi horse discount was in the 1990s if I remember correctly. I believe the BOs had just purchased the property and had a lot of empty stalls to fill .
The living was easy and the credit limits were high.
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The other problem is getting in and finding out what the market can/will bear without the inevitable person(s) sneaking out without paying and unexpected breakage etc. After several years of this, I know that it takes at least 4 man-hours per day for the routine work. 4+ for one person and half if we tag team it, but thatâs still the same number of man hours.
If we included the actual labor time at the $15-20/hour it would take to attract and keep someone to do the work, or pay ourselves, in the board bill? It would double the board for everyone, even taking out the time spent on our two.
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I didnât realize until I read this thread that people who board their horses are getting the group rate .
The only way I was able to afford two horses was because I was able to board.
There would have no way to support two horses on my income and try to pay a mortgage as well all the other expenses insurance, property taxes, etc.
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There is definitely overhead to consider.
There are many boarding barns who stop boarding altogether because the overhead is growing at an exponential rate. Then you have some barns on the other end of the spectrum who realize their best bet of making any profit is to cram as many horses as possible onto their property, even if itâs at the expense of the horseâs QoL.
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I think it depends on the size of the operation. But for a person whose farm is legitimately their business/job, boarding should at a minimum cover their mortgage, taxes and all expenses to have the horses on the property. That includes feed, labor, maintenance, depreciation, etc.
All the extras (training, lessons, sales, showing) are how people generally make any money beyond paying their basic farm expenses.
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If someone is running a boarding barn as a business and their full time occupation, why wouldnât the business be expected to cover the living expenses of the business owner? Do you expect someone to run a boarding barn AND have another job to pay for mortgage, truck payment, groceries, etc? I donât understand the expectation that barn owners should offer boarding at cost and not actually draw a salary for their labor and for the inconvenience of allowing strangers to enjoy their property.
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Depending on how the business is legally organized, the owner may be required to take a âreasonable salaryâ per the IRS tax code.
There is also the issue of âhobby lossesâ with the IRS as well as whole host of other personal finance issues where showing a reliable income is important (as well as not being things that need to be divulged to clients, no matter how much they moan about the price)
Signed: an accountant with boarding barn clients
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I read ALL the responses, but no one mentioned the issue of âperceived fairness.â
Barns are also communities, customers interact with each other and form a family of sorts. That makes them different from the regular consumer-provider examples given. People understand there might be different costs, but just want to know they have been treated fairly within their group, and I think a good BO should be sensitive to that and be responsive to that.
In my case I am paying $850 and others in identical set-ups are paying $500. Why? Because the others are long time customers and I am the new person. Rates in my area are $1000+, so to an earlier posterâs comment, I am content with what was being offered for the price. I also understand the BO has to stay current and is likely losing a lot with their large base of contented long time boarders, so they might need to charge newcomers more.
So, there is a logical reason, although I never asked.
I think the OP should be able to ask the barn owner, but I also think the barn owner should be receptive to the OPs question and be able to explain why. BO doesnât have to explain why, but a general overview is helpful.
I learned a lot from this thread about the costs of field board. Out here, field board is less, but after reading some comments, maybe it shouldnât be that much less, and maybe her field board has been lower than it should be.
0.02!
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I donât care for this model at all.
If the long time boarders are not paying enough to cover actual costs, then
- The BO is covering the deficit out of the goodness of their heart; or
- The BO is cutting costs somewhere potentially to the detriment of horse care; or
- The boarders at a higher rate are subsidizing those at a lower rate.
I know someone who follows this model and also constantly complains how he/she is not making any money. Canât have it both ways.
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