My husband and I are thinking about moving from a single family home in suburbia to a small farm and we’re weighing the options between a 2-3 stall personal use barn, or something larger with say 10-12 stalls that I could rent to a trainer with a small program. I’m an amateur with a full-time job and intend to keep it that way for at least several years.
I would love to hear stories from barn owners. Tell me about liability insurance. Tell me about things you wish you’d known. Are we nuts?
Hi there stranger!
Having a personal barn makes it difficult to travel. That’s no secret. It also makes it hard to even go out for the day. I’m a bit over my personal barn, and my husband is ready to turn it into a garage/workshop/gym (an easy conversion for us). I’m not there yet, but close. It works better with your horse and a few boarders, if you do the work yourself or do a co-op situation with the boarders, but it gets tiring.
Owning a comparatively-larger boarding barn is probably also just as rough, perhaps even more. At least you have someone else taking care of the horses, so you can go away. But you are responsible for all maintenance and upkeep on a likely larger property. Broken fencing? Plumbing problem? Mowing and weed whacking? All on you, and because someone is paying you rent, they may not be willing to wait or “deal with it.” If you’ve seen the farm I’ve got my guy at, those owners never. stop. working. on the farm.
And having a trainer to rent it to is great in theory. What if they don’t pay their rent? What if they don’t take care of their responsibilities? What if they are full of drama? Can you afford to have it sit empty, besides your horse(s), when you are looking for a new trainer to lease some stalls?
In either situation, are there amenities you’ll have to give up to own it yourself and keep your horse at home? I’m not sure what your current boarding barn is like, maybe there are things you aren’t happy with so buying your own is a better option.
I’m not saying don’t do it, but you are maybe a bit nuts to consider it. :lol:
Do you like never going places, working day in and day out (and into the night as needed) and not being paid for your labour because almost without exception the market doesn’t bear real costs? And that you are obligated to be nice and cater to those people not paying you for your labour or time because that’s also part of the deal?
If the answers are yes, then by all means go for it!
Now, I agree with other posters in that it’s tough to schedule vacations, etc. But it’s not impossible. I keep my four at my home. Often my husband and I do split trips. I go somewhere to visit family (which he hates, anyway, so no hardship) and then I’m home when he needs to go to a conference, etc. We do get to go away together on occasion, and we either hire someone to come out, or we’ve even taken all of the horses to another farm for the extended weekend, etc. So, there are way, you just need to find them.
That all being said, I love having them at home! I feed my horses four times a day. I’m not sure any barn would do that. Plus, it gives me eye and hands one several times a day. Plus, I can go out and tack up, and if i only want to ride twenty minutes, I do. I don’t feel like it was a wasted trip. Plus, it’s nice to just see them outside when I’m up in my office working. Yes, it’s work, but I consider it part of my fitness routine. 
And what else would I do? Watch more TV probably. Plus I would never be able to afford boarding out four horses.
I’ve had boarders in the past and it’s worked out okay. But when I moved to a new property, I decided I only wanted mine at home.
Have you ever owned rental property? Dealt with tenants, repairs, late pay, no pay, harrassment? Complaints? Repairs? Lease violations? Lawsuits you file against tenants, Lawsuits tenants file against you? Liability insurance on tenant occupied properties? You have one tenant trainer but they have up to 10 tenenat bioarders so multiply the PITA aspect of renting property.
Consider that a trainer who leases 10 stalls will have up to 10 clients which will translate to up to10 more vehicles going up and down your driveway multiple times a week. Clients often come with an entourage,especially kids in tow. Dogs too. They will come at all hours to visit Dobbin unless you post and adhere to hours, then they’ll complain they can’t come at 5am or 10pm. Your neighbors will probably complain too.
Have you checked the zoning, HOA or deed restrictions on a prospective property ? Newer hobby farm type developments do not allow operating commercial businesses on the property. Boarding is generally considered a business, you provide a for profit service to non residents.
Some people can handle running a barn or leasing one out on their property. But it sounds like you have a somewhat idyllic vision of a gracious, serene country living environment. Even just leasing one or two stalls can be a PITA and run afoul of zoning or deed restrictions…and your privacy.
Search boarding barns on here for both sides of the story. Then look for a nice, peaceful little farmette to enjoy your own horses.
I just moved from a single family house in suburbia to a personal use hobby farm. I love it.
Since I don’t have to drive to the barn anymore I have more time to groom and work with them. I think having them at home makes a huge difference in the relationship. They see me 5-6x a day at various intervals of time, as opposed to once or twice a day. I love being able to watch them throughout the day, and have learned so much about their daily habits. It has been nothing but amazing.
That said, I would never do boarders. Ever. I did the math and if I broke even I would be lucky. I do eventually want to be a stay at home horse mom, and would like to monetize my little farm. But boarding is just not worth it for me. There are easier ways to make money off your farm. Bee keeping for honey, chickens for eggs, even growing flowers like tulips or lilies are all better moneymakers than boarding (at least on paper for me). And worst case scenario I’ll just end up with lots of honey, eggs, and flowers that I couldn’t sell. Whereas with boarding the worst case scenario is a LOT worse. Theft, abandoned horses, property destruction, law suits… Totally not worth the risk for me.
TLDR;
Personal horses at home = heaven on earth
Boarders = hell
It’s nice to have people around to ride with, make showing goals, and for general accountability. As an amateur, having a trainer around is wonderful. Boarders are a pain, even when I like them. My trainer runs much of the boarder interference and lets me know the general consensus.
Insurance is easy, check the boxes, pay the fee. Make sure your trainer either has insurance or is included on yours. You also need to determine if you’re going to charge a dry stall fee or a boarding fee. If a trainer comes in and rents your barn, how do you and your horses fit into the mix? If you aren’t in the trainer’s program, it can be isolating.
I love owning a boarding barn, but if it were easy, everybody would do it.
It is almost impossible to make money owning a small boarding facility. And if you are living on the property, you’ll have to deal with people driving up to your barn/house at all hours.
[Whispers: Psst-- I think as a group of people who own horses, many of which are boarded at boarding barns, we should lie if necessary to make sure that we always have boarding barns]!
Hi @Nestor! I was actually going to reach out to you on FB to ask you about your experience… How many horses do you have at your place now? Interestingly enough, I’m not sure I need the boarding farm to be a huge revenue driver. My husband and I both have good jobs, and this would be more, “for the love of the sport.”
It would be nice to have people to ride with and talk horse with! Plus, if we go through the effort of maintaining a ring and fitness track, why not share it with other people who can benefit from it?
Maybe I’m a bleeding heart, but I see more and more horse facilities being eliminated and it is sad. Maybe another option is developing a nice spot and just leasing it for events/taking a small fee to let people ride in it. Plus, if I just keep my personal horses there, we can let them go to “camp” with a trainer if we plan to be away on vacation. Lots to think about. Thanks everyone! Keep the ideas flowing.
BO of 6-stall barn on 19 acres. Had as many as 12 horses at one time (2 were mine). Now 7 is maximum as my horse does not approve of a stall and he eats in the main shed. Also, my friend/trainer/boarder owns three of the horses so I’m not dealing with lots of people.
In addition to what others have said, my biggest adjustment was getting used to people being around even though the house is a bit secluded from the barn. As I’ve gotten older, I enjoy the solitude more and prefer riding by myself. Also, I do all of the chores so having to work my schedule around boarders wasn’t always enjoyable but it’s doable and, sometimes, even nice to have someone to talk to. Lots of pros and cons…it all depends on what type of person you are as I think it comes down to that more than money, having boarders to offset your horse(s) expenses, social reasons, etc.
I keep my horses at a private barn that’s a co-op. The biggest issue for the owner is the lack of privacy, because the house is next to the barn. For many years I had my horses at another private barn but it was removed from the house and the owner wasn’t bothered by having us come and go.
Personally, I would never do it for multiple reasons, among them being that I am fundamentally a hermit. 
However, I do think it can work out well for those individuals who are mentally suited to, and have the stiff backbone for, operating such an endeavor. If you are that person, it is equally important to find the right trainer to bring in.
One of the big mistakes I have seen BOs make is not being utterly ruthless when it comes to deciding who you allow to come in and stay. Susceptibility to a sob story and tolerance of boarders who routinely disturb the zen of the facility will ruin the business. And you have to be willing to say no to potential boarders who raise red flags and evict existing boarders who, as a friend of mine says, “harsh your mellow,” even if you don’t have someone immediately available to fill that space. And the trainer you bring in has to share that mindset.
Can you do this and still keep your amateur status?
I have 2 here now, I have had 3 here (I only put in 3 stalls). With the 3 boarders, I could make a little bit of money to pay off the building costs, and still keep a little for myself.
If you won’t have to worry so much about the finances if it DOES sit empty, then it may be totally worth it to you to buy a farm and at least try leasing it out. Maybe you’ll find some horse friends who could board with you and do a co-op type situation so it’s a bit less work, who knows!
Yes but you cannot ride or train the horses. I Board retirees and have never sat on them for this reason. I also don’t do “training” of any sort with them. Reinforcing good manners on the way from stall to field is Ok. Ha!
i am super picky. My current boarder is a boon. Frankly, I am currently on a Caribbean island scuba diving and playing with my kids because I can trust her to horsesit (and she likes the board reduction). You can leave, you just have to vet the watchers and throw $$ at the problem.
i aim to make a profit on the boarder horses but not mine!
This. If you’re a bleeding heart for the industry, it might not be the worst idea. If you’re a bleeding heart for people, run far far away.
Honestly, as a BM, if you can afford your 2-3 stall barn alone, I could not possibly understand why you would want to purchase a boarding facility instead.
But I do hear what you’re saying. One struggle is “maintaing the arena and track” for yourself, may be very different than what your boarders want. (And may become very different over time when you realize the arena doesn’t NEED to be done daily.) Same with feed and turnout schedule and… At a boarding barn, everyone has an opinion and everyone is an expert. You need to know if that’ll drive you crazy. You can help out the situation by being ruthless when interviewing and bringing in new boarders and then asking them to leave if needed. But even then, you’re still entering a customer service industry and you’ll have to figure out how to balance that.
Also… insurance. Get an insurance quote for all different configurations (boarding, friends trailering in, clinics, etc.) because that may change your mind.
“At a boarding barn, everyone has an opinion and everyone is an expert. You need to know if that’ll drive you crazy. You can help out the situation by being ruthless when interviewing and bringing in new boarders and then asking them to leave if needed. But even then, you’re still entering a customer service industry and you’ll have to figure out how to balance that.”
Yes- this is a rather good point. I’ve been giving thought to requiring first and last months board up front, required payment by credit card set up to run automatically (good software is amazing these days), setting very clear hours etc…
All good insight. Perhaps just picking up a few retirees and putting them in a field with a nice shelter isn’t such a bad idea!
I totally get that. That is why I got a hobby farm. I hate that these gorgeous smaller acreage plots are being bought up by developers that squeeze 2 dozen houses on them. It was HARD for us to find horse property. And I don’t like that. This is a beautiful part of our culture, and losing hobby farms makes me sad. For me, it is worth the cost and time to preserve something that I think is special and worth maintaining. If you feel that too than the extra work, expense, and headache of boarding may be absolutely worth it.
I will say there is no better way to start the day than to walk out onto my back porch with my coffee, rest my hand on my LGD’s head, and watch my horses graze as the world wakes up.
It’s good to own land
Oh, the retirees are awesome on the most part. Not much human drama, as a lot of owners just want a place for them to be happy and don’t necessarily come out all the time.
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