- A
- A but I do my own shipping
Located in SouthEast
Jesus 
I’m currently keeping my horses home for ~$100 ea/month, but I’m shopping for a barn to send my baby to get started. I’m hoping to find under A but looks like I’ll be hitting right at that edge.
As for showing? This only proves why I’m not. Again, I’ll be looking at A to find someone to campaign my mare for me. I guess. Because I absolutely cannot afford something like that month after month.
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if the items are purchased at the event I can Believe It
I just check the place were we usually hit in Oct, shavings purchased At the event is $18 per Bag.
Also if they want stall fronts removed to have a seating area there is a heavy grounds fee charged for removal and replacing those stall fronts
then add the decorations of imported real grass sod or expensive carpet (got to hang that cut glass chandelier too) and add the big screen TV hooked into the grounds closed circuit live feed of the show yeah I can see a big extra charge per horse
Personally we stopped showing as an exhibitor client of a major barn in 1993 after being handed a four figure show bill, I think we were even charged “our percentage” of a luxury rental car for the trainer’s use
We do have currently relationships with a few bigtime trainers that welcome the temporary addition of our horses to their lineup since usually ours will win or place highly in some major classes that adds prestige to their wall of ribbons/trophy/cools . For these stalls we just pay the normal cost of the stalls as they are stalls in our name that are adjacent to that stable’s stalls, we do all the work for our horses plus help with the others, nothing is added for Show Expenses. (plus we walk the stalls afterwards finding what was left behind as others high tail it out)
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I show at that level with a similar set-up. Again, even $18 per bag shavings = 10 or 11 bags ≠ $600. And I’ve never seen a show charge for removing stall fronts.
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That’s sadly not unusual. I know of PNW trainer who charges every client $1000 per week as trainer fees, no matter how many horses go to the show. This trainer does not own a horse, FYI. So that’s just income I guess.
Well, it depends, I think. I have had backyard barns, leased a farm, and now have a 130 acres farm and indoor in CT - So building and utilities have gone up, but I am old now so it’s ok- But not being able to buy in bulk hurts my costs of hay and bedding and though I do all the barn work myself, I do have someone come in weekday mornings to do stalls and feed- But it easily costs me as much to keep my 3 horses living in luxury as much as it would to board in a show barn in the area. And of course tractors and other farm equipment, field maintenance, taxes (even thought the fields are taxed as ag land) add up - I find it is worth it as I choose to train alone and without fighting for the wash stall and kids lined up on crossties and wondering if my horses are under 24/7 care.
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What? Even if she owned horses, any incoming money from clients directed at her owned horses would still be income and thats the point of operating a business.
See the problem with this thread is everyone expects or accepts that this is the way it is or has been. The pool of people not concerned about what things cost or what they are being charge for is changing. Obviously there will still be folks with f……u money that don’t care. The only way the industry changes is if people start putting their foot down and stop paying for this nonsense. 
When I look at show bills past I cry a little inside because horse showing prices are rather ridiculous now. 
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I keep mine at home between hay, grain, msm, flax, shavings, and not counting my time I spend doing all the chores it’s around 175.00 for one of my easy keepers, 300.00 for my harder keeper. Hay is the expensive thing for me. My electric bill even with fans is around 125.00 a month. That’s not counting property maintenance and if I go out of town the farm sitter is $125.00 per day. I do buy things in bulk, I buy my hay in the summer, shavings by the pallet, and it helps cut cost by a good chunk.
If I had to pay someone to do the work, it would definitely save money boarding.
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SoCal (Zone 10)
I don’t currently own nor fully lease, but if I did the price sheet provided works out at:
B. ~$2,400/mo full board with combo lessons / training rides as I am a working AA and can only really swing riding 3x- 4x a week and typically my rides need 5 or 6 days of work a week.
I would never show for 2 weeks out of a month (I show like once every 5 years), but let’s say I did…
C. if in SoCal (Thermal) or Central CA (idk like Paso) or D for sure if not within a short day’s drive or depending on splits …
So for me in reality: A - as in $0 - $500. I like to clinic!
I am definitely not at the fanciest of barns - those 15 mins down the road would be ~$3,000 - $4,000+ full training board.
A for both.
It costs me under 1k for TIEC a week with my trainer riding 3 jumper classes on my horse, including stalls, grooming, shavings, and show fees. It helps that his farm and my farm live six miles from the park.
He’s a super guy and very talented. He’s done all the big shows too and now focuses on the young jumpers though he will ride the big classes.
I asked him to make my jumper a baby sitter and he did just that. 
His training board is super affordable too.
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Holy moly! I recently had to change barns and look for a new regular trainer for my horse’s training rides and lessons. I felt like $75 for 1/2 hour lessons and training rides was a stretch.
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I had a couple of stalls at a medium-sized, high-end facility in Southern California last year. Board was $1000, which included stall cleaning, hay thrown 3x per day, and watering. Hay is NOT included in the price, which is not normal for the area - you can either buy from the facility at an inflated rate per flake or have your own hay delivered. A friend and I had our own hay
Grain, feeding grain, turnouts, care etc are also not included. This is basically the trainer’s rate/dry stall cost. Full care and training with a resident trainer would be around $4k.
I’m in NYC area and no show barns are <3k/mo and most closer to the 3.5 number for training board.
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Eh, I’m in NYC area too, and there are plenty of sub $3k options in NJ for full training.
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Same, I would be looking at probably 4x my cost around here if I boarded, maybe more. I don’t factor my mortgage in because I would be paying a mortgage regardless, and probably about the same (house prices v land prices are weird) and my utilities are actually about 1/4 the cost I was paying in town.
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I’m in Ontario, Canada, one hour north of Toronto, and board at my non-show barn is $1250. Everything is provided, but there are extra charges for hay cubes, wet hay, and unlimited use of a BEMER set.
I’ll play from the really green grass of the way other side (as in - i left HJ land far far behind). Our only horse in training right now is our futurity rope horse.
We’re in N TX & this was our total bills and expense from the ARHFA Red Bud show in OKC.
Full Board/Training - $1250
Training Bill For the ARHFA Red Bud Show - $1350
Entries for ARHFA Red Bud (Open Division, Limited & NP) - $1511
This doesn’t include our own travel & lodging, dinners, or our trainers hotel, which he doesn’t require.
Our horse also only showed on Sunday, but we did go up early to watch our barns other horses go since he was there.
We didn’t win any money back despite being in the top 10 in the NP.
However, had we won, first in each division paid out was:
Open - $12,949
Limited - $2,800
Non-Pro - $4.080
Not to mention go-round pay outs and such.
So while I was surprised when I switched to Western events that it wasn’t just a ton cheaper, the payouts are definitely better in some western disciplines.
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This is happening in my area too, not completely there yet (midwest) but more and more boarding only barns are closing or selling to someone who requires you to be in their program, which can vary (so far) from requiring a lesson per week to requiring full training and numerous extras which one can’t question. I am currently at a good full care barn ($900 per month) that requires weekly lessons from one of several resident trainers. My long time instructor is fortunately one of the lesson options ($90 per lesson).
I typically do 3-4 recognized weekend shows a year, 2-3 days each. I am and prefer to be a DIYer. I have a trailer (which of course was not free) so I haul myself, bring hay and shavings, do my own care and braiding, etc. My instructor is also a judge, so is often not available to come. If she comes she charges her lesson fee for the days’ coaching (1 or 2 classes). If she is not showing herself her students split her expenses (get her a room at the same hotel where we are staying, pick up her tab at dinner, and cover mileage at a standard rate if she drives, though if not local she usually rides along with one of us. If she is showing she pays her own stall and entry fees etc. We typically pitch in with the care of her horse since she is coaching as well as riding, but there are some things she prefers to do herself, including braiding. If she is not there I may stall with friends who are often students of my instructor also. We typically share a tack stall among 2-4 horses, and set up our chairs etc. in front of the tack stall. This typically costs about $1000 per weekend, or a little more for a 3 day show if it is further away (more gas) or motel costs are toward the higher end. I have gone to larger shows over longer time periods in the past, and yes those are more expensive even for the do-it-yourselfers. I probably will not do anything more than a weekend show within a half day drive in the foreseeable future. My horse and I would not be competitive there, and it is just not worth the time and trouble or the cost to go there and be in the bottom half of the class.
I cannot imagine my instructor presenting me with an un-itemized bill for many hundreds of dollars, but I know of several programs in my area where this is exactly what happens. People are expected to smile and say thank you and perhaps add a “tip” rather than ask questions when they hand over any amount that is asked. I also would have a hard time being expected to pay hundreds for care, braiding, etc. which I prefer to do myself. Or a fancy set up with sofas, plants and mulch, a large TV, or decor beyond stall banners, although it seems like most of the larger programs now do all of this.
I guess I am old and out of touch with reality, but I am still having fun at my level.
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Comforting to hear this. So appreciate your intel.
From an ammy who just loves her horse and wants to enjoy the sport
