Should I offer board or buy more horses?

[Zu_Zu]

just saying … perhaps make the move

THEN

decide on your path forward in regards to …

[lenapesadie]

@Zu Zu

just saying … perhaps make the move

THEN

decide on your path forward in regards to …

Excellent point. I could likely lease or borrow a horse for a few months to keep my boy company while we settle in. Thanks!!

[mvp]

@lenapesadie

I would consider at most keeping 6 horses on property total. This is the number I have found to be doable previously while working full time. Anymore than that is too much work for me to do alone unless they are turned out on the proverbial back 40 (which I won’t have in this new venture). I’d need to keep at least one slot open to accommodate a second horse for me in the future. I have just the one currently. So at most 4 boarded horses, I may be dead wrong, but I really don’t think I will have much trouble filling slots. Especially if I am asking around with vet / farrier / instructors. The location alone is going to be a good draw. Add a covered arena and turn out schedule that doesn’t include getting chucked into a mud lot 3 days a week and I bet I’ll have more than enough interest.

I am exceptionally interested in knowing what I will and won’t offer and having that laid out clearly in a good contract. I want potential clients to have a thorough understanding of what they will and won’t get for their board check. So much angst in boarding is the result of lack of communication and unmet expectations. For example, a board contract that reads grain and hay fed appropriate to horse is useless. Who decides what is appropriate? My appropriate and your appropriate may be wildly different. I’m hoping to spell out exactly the range of what I feel is appropriate and allow clients to consider if that suits their needs. Does that make sense?

thank you for sharing your insight! I appreciate the good luck as well. I’ll probably need it!

I think a couple of more sources of angst is 1. Lack of costing on the BO’s part; and 2. Horses with behavior problems combined with an owner who rolls with those in one way or the other.

I’m about in the spot that you are: I’m building a place. I’d like to have a handful of well-chosen boarders. But I have been on both sides of the boarding business for long enough that I “know who I am” as a BO.

So speaking to your question about “appropriate” feed. The key for you is to choose a system and a boarder that work for you. The modern way is to let boarders choose and buy their own grain. This way, you don’t have to please all of the people all of the time with this expensive and varied part of feeding. I personally would want a boarder to make up their horses’ supplements if they get very complex about that. And as a boarder, I have done that so as to spare my BO pain (and also as a way to make sure my horse was getting all the stuff I wanted her to). It worked out great.

The boarder, in turn, should choose you and your standard of care. So a smart boarder comes to see your horses and your place. She assumes her horse will be kept in the shape that yours and others on the place are. If her horse is very different (an air-fern, a hard keeper, a pawer, an alpha mare (mine is)) the good boarder will tell you that about their horse and ask you about the fit for that horse.

My advice to BOs is to cost out what it takes to keep an average horse in good weight, bedded, pastured, etc. and to charge that. Don’t worry what other barns charge. Don’t worry if your potential boarders think of your prices. The math doesn’t lie, and you aren’t responsible for the truth that math tells. Also, keep in mind that boarding horses is a customer service job. There are times where you won’t wanna do it. It’s easier to cope with those if you treat it like a job-- you remember that you have to be a professional, no matter how pissy you feel, and that you are getting paid. Making sure you are getting adequately compensated helps all that go down a little easier.

I have sticker shock right now about building costs and I have worked with the good, the bad and the ugly in this industry for a long time, so I am a bit protective of the nice place I’ll build and my body/sanity. That means it will bug me more than the guy with the 40 year old barn down the road if a boarder’s horse chews everything badly. If I am handling the horse on a daily basis, his being rude or dull in hand (while my horses are not and while I know how to make very, very broke horses on the ground) is something that will bug me. Again, this won’t be true of another BO. And again, this is a customer service industry. So in order to save either me or a boarder some hurt feelings, I’d do well to ask about stable vices and/or get a sense of the owner’s level of horsemanship. I can also be up front and do some show-and-tell with my horses on the ground and see what my potential customer thinks. If they don’t want or value that in their horse, they are de facto choosing how their horse will use my body and I might not want to sell the mileage I have left on my body at that price. I am quite sure that I’m unusual in this regard and I can hear some readers rolling their eyes right now. They think I should “stay in my lane” about how something as basic as their horse’s ground manners are. Whatevs. I’m not their BO if that’s the level of customer service they want. I’ll own that failing if that’s what it takes to preserve my body.

All I’m saying is “BO and boarder, know thyself.”

I’m like you: I can care for about 5 horses per day to my standards, assuming I have a full time job and a well-laid-out farm. I’d have as many boarders as I had spots, minus stalls for my two horses plus an empty one “just in case.” And the cool thing about looking for just 4 boarders is that you don’t have to get the people-picking right many, many times. The small number of people you have to pick and please, plus the amenities and location within our market as you describe them make me think that you are in good shape for setting up a successful boarding operation.

[RedHorses]

Someone mentioned drawbacks - I reread your post and I’m not sure what they considered drawbacks. . I’m not sure how someone on the property is going to be able to prevent clanter’s disaster scenarios unless they follow the boarders around.

”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹I think your board offering sounds great!

You know what you are willing to offer, and know that you aren’t interested in offering anything else. Spell it out with details in the contract and have boarders initial each item. Spell it out that if boarders’ needs change, horse or human, they will have to go elsewhere. Spell out the barn rules and what the consequences for violation are (and make sure you will follow through) and the notice method and period for any alterations or additions. Spell out your notice requirement for them leaving (30days vs 1 calendar month) and your notice period for any increases (if you will want a 30day/1month notice then you need to give them 60days/two months notice prior to the increase).

If you are crystal clear on what you offer I think that will be very attractive. It’s not like you are intending to fill a 60 stall barn. Finding four people who will be happy with what you offer is a different game entirely.

You might consider offering a stall/place holding fee for good boarders who have to move elsewhere for a month or three of rehab - this will allow you to retain a good boarder. This doesn’t need to be in the contract as you may not want to offer it to everyone, but of you have a plan then you are ready if it comes up.

Consider waiving the termination notice period for horses that need to go to rehab. As in if they leave by the end of the current, paid up month they don’t need to give 30days/1 month notice.

[lenapesadie]

@mvp

I think a couple of more sources of angst is 1. Lack of costing on the BO’s part; and 2. Horses with behavior problems combined with an owner who rolls with those in one way or the other.

I’m about in the spot that you are: I’m building a place. I’d like to have a handful of well-chosen boarders. But I have been on both sides of the boarding business for long enough that I “know who I am” as a BO.

So speaking to your question about “appropriate” feed. The key for you is to choose a system and a boarder that work for you. The modern way is to let boarders choose and buy their own grain. This way, you don’t have to please all of the people all of the time with this expensive and varied part of feeding. I personally would want a boarder to make up their horses’ supplements if they get very complex about that. And as a boarder, I have done that so as to spare my BO pain (and also as a way to make sure my horse was getting all the stuff I wanted her to). It worked out great.

The boarder, in turn, should choose you and your standard of care. So a smart boarder comes to see your horses and your place. She assumes her horse will be kept in the shape that yours and others on the place are. If her horse is very different (an air-fern, a hard keeper, a pawer, an alpha mare (mine is)) the good boarder will tell you that about their horse and ask you about the fit for that horse.

My advice to BOs is to cost out what it takes to keep an average horse in good weight, bedded, pastured, etc. and to charge that. Don’t worry what other barns charge. Don’t worry if your potential boarders think of your prices. The math doesn’t lie, and you aren’t responsible for the truth that math tells. Also, keep in mind that boarding horses is a customer service job. There are times where you won’t wanna do it. It’s easier to cope with those if you treat it like a job-- you remember that you have to be a professional, no matter how pissy you feel, and that you are getting paid. Making sure you are getting adequately compensated helps all that go down a little easier.

I have sticker shock right now about building costs and I have worked with the good, the bad and the ugly in this industry for a long time, so I am a bit protective of the nice place I’ll build and my body/sanity. That means it will bug me more than the guy with the 40 year old barn down the road if a boarder’s horse chews everything badly. If I am handling the horse on a daily basis, his being rude or dull in hand (while my horses are not and while I know how to make very, very broke horses on the ground) is something that will bug me. Again, this won’t be true of another BO. And again, this is a customer service industry. So in order to save either me or a boarder some hurt feelings, I’d do well to ask about stable vices and/or get a sense of the owner’s level of horsemanship. I can also be up front and do some show-and-tell with my horses on the ground and see what my potential customer thinks. If they don’t want or value that in their horse, they are de facto choosing how their horse will use my body and I might not want to sell the mileage I have left on my body at that price. I am quite sure that I’m unusual in this regard and I can hear some readers rolling their eyes right now. They think I should “stay in my lane” about how something as basic as their horse’s ground manners are. Whatevs. I’m not their BO if that’s the level of customer service they want. I’ll own that failing if that’s what it takes to preserve my body.

All I’m saying is “BO and boarder, know thyself.”

I’m like you: I can care for about 5 horses per day to my standards, assuming I have a full time job and a well-laid-out farm. I’d have as many boarders as I had spots, minus stalls for my two horses plus an empty one “just in case.” And the cool thing about looking for just 4 boarders is that you don’t have to get the people-picking right many, many times. The small number of people you have to pick and please, plus the amenities and location within our market as you describe them make me think that you are in good shape for setting up a successful boarding operation.

I can definitely see how unrealistic costing could present a major problem. I’ve never been in place where boarders bought their own grain outside of self care places. Do the boarders physically deliver it to the farm? What if everyone wants something different and I have 10 types of grain in my feed room? What happens when boarder runs out cause they couldn’t get to the feed store?

Unruly horses. Yeah I’ve seen a few that I definitely wouldn’t want to have at home. Smart on your part to screen that out.

Building costs make me nauseous. You make a solid point about not wanting pookie cribbing on new stall fronts!

Good reminder about it being a customer service business.

Thanks again!

[TheJenners]

@lenapesadie

I can see why trailer parking would be highly desirable and considering my draw backs I would probably need to offer that. What other small amenities might I try to add to attract a better pool of clients? A good designated tack cleaning area? Meh, not a blip on my radar, just a saddle rack and bridle hook in the wash rack is fine. A comfortable viewing area for the arena? Again, meh. More decorative and varied jumps versus plain standards and poles? Definitely a bonus, plus makes you look more professional v backyard barn Warm water in the wash rack? Yes please! Bridle path around perimeter of property? Not a plus or minus for me. Climate controlled tack room / lounge? Yes to one, don’t care on the other because I’m not there to “lounge.” Those last two don’t sound very small but you know, horses. I’d want the bridle path the most I think.

Barring hind shoes would narrow my client pool I’m sure.

Are you only offering group turnout? Or individual turnout is an option? I personally prefer individual, it means I can use hind shoes and/or not turn my horse out with one who has hind shoes. Plus I always seem to have at least one one-off horse who is an asshole in turnout (I had two at one time once, and where I boarded, they went out together :sigh: so much triple-antibiotic use and had to pull hind shoes on one which meant she had to get chiro’ed more often and the one I still have has a permanent bump on his booty from her (he deserved it)). Plus it also means that your boarders don’t have to fight with group turnout to catch/release their horses. When I built, I did individual one acre paddocks.

[lenapesadie]

@TheJenners

Are you only offering group turnout? Or individual turnout is an option? I personally prefer individual, it means I can use hind shoes and/or not turn my horse out with one who has hind shoes. Plus I always seem to have at least one one-off horse who is an asshole in turnout (I had two at one time once, and where I boarded, they went out together :sigh: so much triple-antibiotic use and had to pull hind shoes on one which meant she had to get chiro’ed more often and the one I still have has a permanent bump on his booty from her (he deserved it)). Plus it also means that your boarders don’t have to fight with group turnout to catch/release their horses. When I built, I did individual one acre paddocks.

Thanks for your response! So yes on upgrading jumps, warm water in wash rack, and climate control tack room.

Yeah I’m not sold on offering individual turn out. It would be small groups, pairs or trios. I know a lot of people like individual turn out and it is a feature you can find at some local facilities. I just don’t think I’m going to want to offer that. It would be available for short term needs, but not permanently. Hence my concern over hind shoes. I’d actually prefer all barefoot horses, but that might be too extreme.

Thank you for responding to my post!

[js]

I would skip the boarding and just get another horse or two, you more than likely will do that anyway. Give yourself at least a year or two of enjoying your farm before you consider offering boarding.

[Arlomine]

I have a small boarding facility, many of the borders have horses with specific needs. I provide matching Tupperware bins, and they provide bagged meals. They store the food away from the barn. Works fine.

[demidq]

Re boarders providing own grain- at my barn we are encouraged to bag up the daily ration (with supplements added) so BO just has to dump feed. I like this as I can adjust seasonally or as horse’s condition changes, and I know horse is getting exactly what I want.
Otherwise, labelled garbage cans with CLEAR directions as to quantity. If you have at the most 4 boarders, that shouldn’t be too cumbersome.

[lenapesadie]

@js

I would skip the boarding and just get another horse or two, you more than likely will do that anyway. Give yourself at least a year or two of enjoying your farm before you consider offering boarding.

There is always that option. I could get a pair of yearlings and enjoy their shenanigans

[lenapesadie]

@Arlomine

I have a small boarding facility, many of the borders have horses with specific needs. I provide matching Tupperware bins, and they provide bagged meals. They store the food away from the barn. Works fine.

Do all of your clients provide their own grain? Or do you have some you provide grain for?

[lenapesadie]

@demidq

Re boarders providing own grain- at my barn we are encouraged to bag up the daily ration (with supplements added) so BO just has to dump feed. I like this as I can adjust seasonally or as horse’s condition changes, and I know horse is getting exactly what I want.
Otherwise, labelled garbage cans with CLEAR directions as to quantity. If you have at the most 4 boarders, that shouldn’t be too cumbersome.

Pre bagged meals with supplements already mixed sounds highly convenient. Thanks for sharing!

[Arlomine]

I provide alfalfa pellets (up to 3 lb per day, and rice bran, up to 3lb per day. The vast majority of my boarders put together their own combinations of supplements and concentrates, and bag them. Super easy for me, they know exactly what their horse is getting.

[mvp]

@lenapesadie

I can definitely see how unrealistic costing could present a major problem. I’ve never been in place where boarders bought their own grain outside of self care places. Do the boarders physically deliver it to the farm? What if everyone wants something different and I have 10 types of grain in my feed room? What happens when boarder runs out cause they couldn’t get to the feed store?

In answer to your question: I have seen boarders buying their own grain and keeping it at the barn in their own garbage cans (or one provided to each boarder/horse), and I have seen boarders bringing those packed-up containers from home. This doesn’t have to take up way, way more space that it would for one person feeding 6 horses (depending on how you feed your horses and choose them for their variety of diets). But know that your feed room and tack room will be more crowded with more people using your barn than it will be if you were alone. It just will, so if this bugs you, file this under “I’m getting paid. I do this for money,” and exhale.

In any case, I think it’s easier from a costing perspective to have boarders buy their own grain and supplements, rather than supplements, only, but that’s because of the variety of grains one can choose. Boarders running out? Not your problem. And, in practice, not something most horse owners used to packing their own grain allow to happen. Of course you can give someone a friendly “heads up” if you see they are running low. But, really, I haven’t seen owners let their horses go hungry this way.

[TheJenners]

Pairs might be fine too. Trust me I’m totally with you on shoes, I’d love all barefoot and even tho I have a speshul snowflake that needs four, I also don’t want my horse with others who have rear shoes. Hypocritical? Yep. :lol: You sure you want to board? Granted my old fart was able to go out with my buttface for a couple years until his special needs (arthritis, ESPA, ringbone) made it not possible for him to get away from the other’s pestiferous tendencies, but most people/horses/farms can find small groups that work well together.

[Goforward]

Getting a couple yearlings is the way to go. Then, if you still have space and meet the perfect boarder by chance, you can add one or two extra horses to the crew if you feel like they’re a good fit.

[Bluey]

There is one more option, don’t fill the place up.
Just keep the horses you have there.
Is no crime not to have every nook and cranny you own full of horses.

Once you have lived there for a while, then you will have a better feel for where you want to go with the part of your life that involves horses.
The reality of including their care and care of the place into your new life management may make what is best clear.

[lenapesadie]

@mvp

In answer to your question: I have seen boarders buying their own grain and keeping it at the barn in their own garbage cans (or one provided to each boarder/horse), and I have seen boarders bringing those packed-up containers from home. This doesn’t have to take up way, way more space that it would for one person feeding 6 horses (depending on how you feed your horses and choose them for their variety of diets). But know that your feed room and tack room will be more crowded with more people using your barn than it will be if you were alone. It just will, so if this bugs you, file this under “I’m getting paid. I do this for money,” and exhale.

In any case, I think it’s easier from a costing perspective to have boarders buy their own grain and supplements, rather than supplements, only, but that’s because of the variety of grains one can choose. Boarders running out? Not your problem. And, in practice, not something most horse owners used to packing their own grain allow to happen. Of course you can give someone a friendly “heads up” if you see they are running low. But, really, I haven’t seen owners let their horses go hungry this way.

That seems like a good plan and would dove tail with my ideal hands on boarder. Thanks again for your perspective!

[lenapesadie]

@TheJenners

Pairs might be fine too. Trust me I’m totally with you on shoes, I’d love all barefoot and even tho I have a speshul snowflake that needs four, I also don’t want my horse with others who have rear shoes. Hypocritical? Yep. :lol: You sure you want to board? Granted my old fart was able to go out with my buttface for a couple years until his special needs (arthritis, ESPA, ringbone) made it not possible for him to get away from the other’s pestiferous tendencies, but most people/horses/farms can find small groups that work well together.

No I’m not sure lol! My horse doesn’t care for individual turn out. He will stand at the gate and look pitiful. So my motivation to board is to provide him buddies that I don’t have to have on my bank roll. Offering individual turn out would defeat that purpose. I’m still debating on what I want to do. I imagine the final decision will be controlled by which property we purchase. Thank you for your thoughts!