Service fee for standing wraps?

[beowulf]

@enjoytheride

How do we know that owner hasn’t called the vet, who suggested wrapping to see if it helped before coming out?

@threar

Horse has started stocking up for unknown reasons – she doesn’t feel it merits a vet call, but is taking the blitzkrieg approach of doing everything she can think of to treat it.

(it’s in 2nd post by OP)

[enjoytheride]

@beowulf

(it’s in 2nd post by OP)

I saw that and was unsure if by call it meant having the vet actually come out or just calling and seeing if the vet wanted to come out.

[Guilherme]

@mmeqcenter

“May be able get out once in a while” is pretty ambiguous, doesn’t guarantee she will, and can make tracking your time spent tricky. Not to mention, if she texts you some morning to say she can wrap them that afternoon, then at 3pm texts you and says crap she lost track of time and can’t, now what? Did you make plans for your afternoon/evening and now don’t have time to wrap the horse?
For something that is daily, and long term, a monthly fee is just easier and the most fair for all involved. If she can come out occasionally to see her horse, great, she can just spend time with him and know that his wrapping needs are taken care of.

Also, charging per day can actually make it more expensive for her. It may feel strange to have a fee of, say $2/day. Many people would round up to $5/day because we tend to like our dollar amounts ending in 0s or 5s. That’s $150/month just for wrapping. Seems steep.

I charge hourly for these services, if they’re needed more than once or twice (happy to help out in an in-frequent pinch), and for long-term services would charge a pre-determined amount at the beginning of the month based on an educated estimate as to the time needed. So, if it’s a good horse who stands perfectly for wrapping, and you do all four once per day, let’s say you spend 10 minutes per day. That’s 6 hours per month (30 days) at your desired hourly rate. $10/hr = $60/month, $15/hour = $90/month, and so on. If horse proves to be difficult and I’m spending a considerable more amount of time on the wrapping, the fee would increase.

Yup, do it on time. That is fair for both parties.

G.

[Sansena]

A hard schooling session makes wrapping necessary IMO. That is not the case for the OP

ive seen horses wrapped simply to keep their legs clean…

[ladyj79]

I agree with the 100-150 a month charge, because yes, it is a pain. You aren’t just wrapping, you are wrapping, unwrapping, rerolling, rewrapping (laundry?) I think if my horse was stocking up in box–barring diagnosis–I would rather pay for a mid-day hand walk than bandaging.

[FraggleRock]

Seeing as the wrapping seems to be more for the owner than the horse I don’t think $100(or more) a month is unreasonable!
I used to have a few boarders at my barn, never minded doing blanket changes, fly spray/masks, dealing with small wounds etc. I even once fed a boarders horse on my trailer ramp every day to get him over his fear of trailers- horse was a piggy and practically ran on the trailer the day he left!

• Apparently using emojis from the phone cuts off/deletes all the rest of my reply

[CHT]

How much time do you think it will take you in a day? 10 minutes? So 300 minutes a month (or 5 hours)? I would charge at least $100.00 for the month.

We have a horse that stocks up if she can’t move around enough; back on track quick wraps turned out to help more than wraps. Wraps just held the fill in the hock. I did not charge for the quick wraps as they are super easy to put on and off. (a vet did check the horse)

[dressager]

I really don’t think the price should fluctuate based on if someone thinks the horse needs it or not. If the horse absolutely must be wrapped (as per the vet) or if the owner just wants wraps to keep the legs clean it takes the same amount of time.
Now, that being said, I am a fanatical wrapper. I have several horses that work hard and wear them nightly. It’s a lot of work to keep track of the wraps, keep them clean, make sure they are re rolled, the right wraps get on the right legs.
I consider wrapping to be a part of normal care for training horses. But it does take a lot of time which is why I do charge extra if the horse isn’t in a training program.

[mmeqcenter]

@retrofit

As a boarder, I disagree that a fee should be need-based. Sometimes people just want their horses’ legs wrapped because of a hard schooling session or whatever. I’m not asking my barn manager’s opinion, I’m asking to pay for a service

​​​​​​As a boarder until seven months ago, I completely agree with this. I don’t want you treating my horse like it is yours, and I always tried to stay away from barns that advertised as such. It isn’t your horse, it’s mine; I don’t want you making decisions for it and considering them to be more important over my decisions, and I want the care I’m paying for to be completed how I expect it to be.
The owner isn’t “inconveniencing” others with her desire to wrap before calling a vet. It’s either a service you provide for a fee, or it isn’t. If it is a service you provide, how is it then an inconvenience? Either provide the service and charge a fee for your time spent, or don’t, but don’t up-charge because you think it’s unnecessary.

You can say the owner should call a vet (which I agree with, for the record) until you’re blue in the face, but at the end of the day, it’s her horse, and barring a clear abuse/neglect issue, she should be permitted to make her own decisions regarding it.

[Wonders12]

I would like to clarify my statement that several people have referred to.

It’s not about up charging because a vet hasn’t required it, it’s about not discounting her time/services.

Boarders ignore it all the time, but I don’t know a single BM who hasn’t freely given their time/energy/resources to a horse/owner in need.

For example, the post above that recommended $50: that’s $1.60 a day, 80 cents per handing. At 10 minutes per handling (not at all unreasonable for gathering supplies, getting the horse, cross tying horse, cleaning legs, wrapping, putting horse back) you are valuing the BM’s time at less than $5/hour. I might choose to offer that amount as basically a partial gift to the owner if I choose. I wouldn’t choose to do that in this situation, and would instead charge full price, which is what I recommended to the OP.

Yes, it’s not my place to decide who is deserving or who isn’t, but it is my choice to decide what I give my time to.

[Sansena]

I also agree that it’s not up to the BM to decide unoquivically what’s best for the horse. But this can easily turn into a case of “Give a mouse a cookie, he’s going to want some milk”.

I’ve known folks who wrap every night ‘just because’. They made their horse dependent upon the wraps and heaven forbid the wrapping was forgotten or overlooked for one night; the legs blew up like balloons.

As in all situations, communication is key. But a BO/M has an obligation to see that horses in their care thrive and remain healthy. There are owners who feel they have to always be doing something for the horse… to the point of Meunchausen’s By Proxy nearly.

I do not think wrapping the legs for a week pro bono in this case as a component of gathering information for the vet, is a bad thing. I do think there should be a charge if the HO has stated they have no intent of calling the vet and will continue to wrap forever as a means to avoid the stocking up… which this situation could easily turn into.

[retrofit]

Then the obvious answer is, don’t discount because that obviously breeds resentment. If leg-wrapping is a service you offer, the owner’s rationale is irrelevant. You either supply the service, or you don’t. If you don’t want people wrapping “just because” or to keep their horses’ legs clean, then don’t wrap - ever. Tell the boarder it’s her responsibility. Doing it (discounted or not) for one boarder, and refusing to do it for another is just as unfair as charging variable board rates based on how much you like the boarder that month.

[Guilherme]

@retrofit

Then the obvious answer is, don’t discount because that obviously breeds resentment. If leg-wrapping is a service you offer, the owner’s rationale is irrelevant. You either supply the service, or you don’t. If you don’t want people wrapping “just because” or to keep their horses’ legs clean, then don’t wrap - ever. Tell the boarder it’s her responsibility. Doing it (discounted or not) for one boarder, and refusing to do it for another is just as unfair as charging variable board rates based on how much you like the boarder that month.

Excellent summary.

G.

[threar]

wow there were a lot of comments while i was gone! LOL. Several great comments – Sansena made me laugh – yes, i have known several boarders who kill their horses with kindness just because they want to feel like they are doing something.
I would not alter the price according to my personal opinion about whether the service is necessary, I’m not making a judgment call – she has not asked for my opinion. If a boarder wants an extra service (that of course is not harmful to the horse) and is willing to pay for it, I will do it. I do include more with training boarders, but for regular boarders, extras are not included.
I am happy to treat a horse – whether it’s wound care, wrapping a swollen leg, etc. – if they come in with an injury or such. I go ahead and treat them for the first day or 2, usually no charge, and notify the owner. After that, I expect the horse owner to get out and take care of their own horse, or if they can’t get out to do it for some reason or aren’t comfortable doing the treatment, I will do it for them and charge them. I’m happy to provide the service, but as mentioned by so many, i want to be fairly compensated for my time. I wrapped her horse for her the first day she said she couldn’t make it out, no charge, but when she asked about what i would charge to do it daily, just wanted to get an idea of what to charge.
You all made some really good points about how much is fair. Thanks so much!

[scrbear11]

Hold on.

WHAT IF… You wrapping this horse’s stocked up legs causes further issues? Your wrap isn’t perfect and the horse ends up with a wrap bow. Or it isn’t tight enough and it has a bandage sore. Or your wrap just causes some ungodly issue that requires the vet to actually come out for the real issue.

This high maintenance owner may come after you.

I run a boarding farm. High maintenance is fine. I deal with it every day. I love my high maintenance clients because I appreciate their attentiveness to the horse’s needs. But there is a difference between high maintenance and cheap. If the horse is stocking up every day for no apparent reason, the vet needs to come out. Period. Put your foot down. It’s in your right as the barn owner to do so.

“Owner, I’m very concerned about Horse stocking up daily for no apparent reason. While I do not doubt my horsemanship and wrapping skills, I feel there may be something wrong with Horse that is beyond daily wrapping and warrants a vet visit. I would be happy to attend for the vet if you are unable to make the appointment.”

It could be your tail on the line if something goes awry.

[trubandloki]

@retrofit

My gut says that $50-75/month is about right but you know your clientele best.

:eek:
That sounds like a reasonable number until you break it down and then it sounds like a very unreasonable number for the person doing the wrapping.
$60/month = $2/day to wrap (when the horse comes in) and unwrap (to put the horse back out).

[Renn_aissance]

I am a boarder. Last year, my horse aggravated an old suspensory and had either a poultice or sweat under a standing bandage every day for 3-4 months. They would wrap, and I would unwrap and brush off the leg- or on some days vice versa as pre-arranged. Either way, I rolled the wraps, handled the laundry, and provided both bandages and treatment materials. As it was an injury on a boarder horse, the barn did not feel that all staff were qualified to wrap and only certain staff took care of it. The horse is an easy patient who would just hang out- no need to cross tie. I paid $100 per month.

A little more complex than the situation you’re describing, but an “actual” to throw in your pot. I suspect that this was a discounted rate from what may have been charged normally, partially because I was providing my own supplies and half of the labor (and the farm knew I wouldn’t flake out on that.)

[ladyj79]

@Renn/aissance

I am a boarder. Last year, my horse aggravated an old suspensory and had either a poultice or sweat under a standing bandage every day for 3-4 months. They would wrap, and I would unwrap and brush off the leg- or on some days vice versa as pre-arranged. Either way, I rolled the wraps, handled the laundry, and provided both bandages and treatment materials. As it was an injury on a boarder horse, the barn did not feel that all staff were qualified to wrap and only certain staff took care of it. I paid $100 per month.

A little more complex than the situation you’re describing, but an “actual” to throw in your pot.

It’s actually slightly less complex since you handled approximately half the labor and the laundry. So I would expect to pay more in the OP’s situation where barn is wrapping and unwrapping and rolling wraps and god only knows who is handling the laundry.

[Renn_aissance]

@ladyj79

It’s actually slightly less complex since you handled approximately half the labor and the laundry. So I would expect to pay more in the OP’s situation where barn is wrapping and unwrapping and rolling wraps and god only knows who is handling the laundry.

I edited to clarify that I think I probably received a bit of a discount for doing that and providing the materials. What I felt was more complex is that they were also doing a leg treatment as well as the wrapping, which takes time in itself but also comes with perhaps more stringent requirements to start with a clean leg. It didn’t seem that this additional time and effort would apply to the OP’s situation. So, my situation presented to the OP is plus effort, minus labor and the sheer pain in the butt of unknotting a standing bandage spider fresh out of the dryer.

[threar]

@Renn/aissance

standing bandage spider fresh out of the dryer.

LOL!! oh, the woe of the standing bandage spider!! :lol: