The Truth in Boarding Barns

[Obsidian_Fire]

[QUOTE=Lady Eboshi;8421888]

Based on what I see here on COTH, the places with all the misunderstandings and bad feelings tend to be the NON-professional barns, regardless of size. These are a dime a dozen, and too often consist of an ammie with another income who thought she was going to subsidize her competition career but really hasn’t got the slightest clue about putting together a business plan. She low-balls the price, allows barter and work-for-board, tends to make what should be a “business” relationship personal, plays favorites, then feels used when she’s taken advantage of by diva-wannabes and Special Snowflakes. These are the people who at the end of the month can’t find the hay money and have only the dimmest idea why, so they blame it on the boarders and start cutting corners. They tend to get ugly-tempered when they find out how much WORK this all really is, and that they’re not going to get rich!

That said, I’ve also known tiny “backyard” barns with one or two stalls to let, sometimes on a co-op or dry-stall basis, that are some of the sweetest deals with the least friction anybody could ever want.
.[/QUOTE]

Yup Yup Yup. You are so right. Having been at both types of places I am lucky to have landed back in the “backyard” co-op style which is working out beautifully for ALL of us. BO is happy, I’m happy, horse is happy - which makes me even happier. :yes:

[Obsidian_Fire]

Another thing nobody has brought up - isn’t there an IRS requirement that if you are “a business” you have to show profit or intent to profit within a certain number of years in order to take write offs?

That’s another something most people (boarders) would never think of when considering their board costs.

[Lady_Eboshi]

One thing you have to watch out for is “expectation creep.” Awhile back one client had an idea she wanted her horse to be fatter; show hunter fashionable fat. The vet and I thought his weight was optimal, but she wanted him separated for special feeding, blanketed 3 months before any of the others, and BTW she also mucks about out there in the dark, when the Barn Rules clearly state that the place closes at dusk for safety reasons.

Well, we had a chat that she might be outgrowing the situation here, and I’d be happy to recommend her to a fellow down the road who rents dry stalls. Not that I want to lose her, far from it, but I explained how my price is set predicated on a standard of care and daily handling appropriate for healthy but idle lay-ups, not performance horses. Which is to say, I can’t do things for this price that might OPTIMIZE every horse’s condition the way you might with a horse you were prepping for Devon. This is, after all, lower-cost field board for primarily retirees. I explained that every situation is a compromise, but if you want a totally custom program and you don’t have $2,500 a month, rent a dry stall and do your own work, get your own feed and hay, and figure out your own schedule for you or your help.

Suffice it to say the “issues” disappeared pretty fast! :winkgrin:

[Mosey_2003]

[QUOTE=Obsidian Fire;8421981]
Another thing nobody has brought up - isn’t there an IRS requirement that if you are “a business” you have to show profit or intent to profit within a certain number of years in order to take write offs?

That’s another something most people (boarders) would never think of when considering their board costs.[/QUOTE]
Yep, it’s three or five years if I recall correctly. Friend was panicking after last year as this is her last year to show a profit with her small herd of hogs.

I have a love/hate relationship with boarding. Out here in the sticks, the nicest and most convenient facility to me is ran by a distant cousin of mine, and he’s an ASS. It also wasn’t his first priority and he would pull people from his preferred business to do horse chores, and they generally weren’t horse people. Nice facility, but for him it was just background income and a hunting ground for new female conquests <gag>

The other place is a farther drive, a much smaller place, and smaller/more crowded turnout. And my preferred vet will not go there. But, I like the owner much better.

Both cost the same: $250/month. Actually, the first place is only $150/month if you keep your horse on full turnout with no stall option.

I prefer to have my horse at home, even with the extra work. With the right horse and the right setup I only need to be in the barn for five-ten minutes daily to refill water, refill hay, and pick manure/pee spots. The downsides come when you have a higher maintenance beast that needs three soaked feedings per day and an extra bucket of water, which you have to carry from your house in the winter. And when your fence starts falling down. Which is why I ended up boarding my last horse.

Everything is a compromise.

[Pocket_Pony]

I’m currently reading a Littauer book in which he comments on how it is hard to make a living training horses (this was in 1962). He comments that no proper trainer could school more than three horses a day! And the cost figures he gives for training plus board, farrier, etc. would put the client at $700-$1000! Now, he didn’t specify for what time period, but I am assuming it was per month. And that was in 1962!

[SonnysMom]

[QUOTE=Gloria;8421926]
It never ceases to amaze me how boarders think a meager $500 per month per horse should entitle them to royal treatments. It amazes me even more that there are BO who are willing to subsidize boarders for their hobbies, month after month.

Seriously, Motel 6 will cost you $1800 a month, and that is ROOM only.[/QUOTE]
A furnished room with daily maid service, fresh sheets and towels daily. Shampoo, soap and conditioner. Not exactly the same as a dry stall or an empty studio apartment.

[SMF11]

@Lady Eboshi;8421982

One thing you have to watch out for is “expectation creep.”

I agree, I’ve found this too. I’m also set up for retirees; I’ve had a couple of boarders want me to add a third meal at no extra charge because “it would be easy for you, you live just around the corner.” No, it is not easy for me, I’ve set up my barn to have a certain level of care (and related labor) and that is why it is half the cost of a big barn with people on tap to add things like extra meals. I do the same as Lady E – suggest if they want a higher level of care, they move to a barn that can provide that, no hard feelings. (And no, so far no one has taken me up on that!).

I think the bottom line is that you get what you pay for. Pay top dollar and get staff available 24/7, excellent fencing, knowledgeable care, etc etc etc. Pay less, and you will get less – you just have to figure out what works for you and your horse. There’s a barn out there for everyone, it isn’t one size fits all.

[Gloria]

[QUOTE=SonnysMom;8422065]
A furnished room with daily maid service, fresh sheets and towels daily. Shampoo, soap and conditioner. Not exactly the same as a dry stall or an empty studio apartment.[/QUOTE]

$1800 per month for fresh sheet and towels that don’t need to be replaced ever week, and hauled away. Two cents a bottle of shampoo and soap versus $12+ each week of bedding. Zero dollar for food, versus $300+ for feed. Back breaking stall mucking, versus easy task of changing sheets. Minimum damage to the room, versus the destructive powers of a horse. And that is the base you use to compare $1800 per month of Room, versus $500 per month of full service boarding?

By the way, you don’t know how much folks are paying for dry stall, do you? When folks talk about $500 boarding, they are talking about full service, not dry stall.

[Lady_Eboshi]

[QUOTE=SMF11;8422067]
I agree, I’ve found this too. I’m also set up for retirees; I’ve had a couple of boarders want me to add a third meal at no extra charge because “it would be easy for you, you live just around the corner.” No, it is not easy for me, I’ve set up my barn to have a certain level of care (and related labor) and that is why it is half the cost of a big barn with people on tap to add things like extra meals. I do the same as Lady E – suggest if they want a higher level of care, they move to a barn that can provide that, no hard feelings. (And no, so far no one has taken me up on that!).

I think the bottom line is that you get what you pay for. Pay top dollar and get staff available 24/7, excellent fencing, knowledgeable care, etc etc etc. Pay less, and you will get less – you just have to figure out what works for you and your horse. There’s a barn out there for everyone, it isn’t one size fits all.[/QUOTE]

I’ll definitely go that extra mile on the care of long-time Seniors who’ve been with me for years and thereby earned that privilege; one 35-year-old who finally died last year was honestly more care and worry and extras than all the other horses put together–and he was worth it. His owner was a one-of-a-kind gem, too and I could never bring myself to charge him a dime extra.

But it’s different having it assumed you’ll do the equivalent for an average, younger easy keeper just because the owner is trying to wangle show-barn levels of individualized service out of you while still paying just $500.00. Nope, not the same thing at ALL!

You have to believe in your business model enough that you’re willing to chance losing a client here and there in favor of enforcing it. I think this thread is a great eye-opener for boarders with entitled attitudes to consider carefully what their requests are worth in actual monetary terms before they blow a deal which is in truth more than meeting their (actual) needs. This is complicated by the fact that today FAR fewer boarders are real “horsemen” and women–they THINK they know more than you because they read it on the Internet or in a SmartPak catalog, never mind what actual professionals like you, the vet, and the farrier think!

That’s an irritating change from the Golden Daze, when at least the ammies KNEW they were ammies. After all, I know zip about trading bonds or lobotomizing brains or flying jets, and sure wouldn’t be offering THEM advice on THEIR areas of special expertise, would I? :lol:

[Magicboy]

Guess I’m in the “just glad to be here, how can I help?” Club. I want to be the BO’s favorite boarder so I always leave things looking better than. Found them and if my horse needs something I make sure that I’m the one to deliver the medevine, take his temp, etc.

Is this attitude really so rare among boarders?

[workin_onit]

Entilted!?!?! The only request’s I ever made was that my horse have access to water, turnout and hay. I even offered to pay extra or help out whenever needed. Don’t get mad at my horse if you don’t maintain your barn and the piece of wood holding two doors closed breaks or you have a hydrant in the pasture that horses can access and my horse gets his halter stuck on it, turns it on and floods the barn. Being overrun with mice is NOT a natural occurrence and should be addressed by management. I’m there at 7 am giving my horse a shot of antibiotics because a) you don’t know how to and b) he is sick because of your mice problem. Yes, I drove out in a snowstorm because my horses have been stuck outside in said storm with no shelter, water or hay. I don’t think I’m being picky here.

[gumtree]

[QUOTE=workin’onit;8422532]
Entilted!?!?! The only request’s I ever made was that my horse have access to water, turnout and hay. I even offered to pay extra or help out whenever needed. Don’t get mad at my horse if you don’t maintain your barn and the piece of wood holding two doors closed breaks or you have a hydrant in the pasture that horses can access and my horse gets his halter stuck on it, turns it on and floods the barn. Being overrun with mice is NOT a natural occurrence and should be addressed by management. I’m there at 7 am giving my horse a shot of antibiotics because a) you don’t know how to and b) he is sick because of your mice problem. Yes, I drove out in a snowstorm because my horses have been stuck outside in said storm with no shelter, water or hay. I don’t think I’m being picky here.[/QUOTE]

If you don’t mind me asking. What do you pay per month?

[gumtree]

[QUOTE=SonnysMom;8422065]
A furnished room with daily maid service, fresh sheets and towels daily. Shampoo, soap and conditioner. Not exactly the same as a dry stall or an empty studio apartment.[/QUOTE]

How many Motel 6 have you stayed in?

[Obsidian_Fire]

[QUOTE=Mosey_2003;8422038]

I have a love/hate relationship with boarding. Out here in the sticks, the nicest and most convenient facility to me is ran by a distant cousin of mine, and he’s an ASS. It also wasn’t his first priority and he would pull people from his preferred business to do horse chores, and they generally weren’t horse people. Nice facility, but for him it was just background income and a hunting ground for new female conquests <gag>

The other place is a farther drive, a much smaller place, and smaller/more crowded turnout. And my preferred vet will not go there. But, I like the owner much better.

Both cost the same: $250/month. Actually, the first place is only $150/month if you keep your horse on full turnout with no stall option.

I prefer to have my horse at home, even with the extra work. With the right horse and the right setup I only need to be in the barn for five-ten minutes daily to refill water, refill hay, and pick manure/pee spots. The downsides come when you have a higher maintenance beast that needs three soaked feedings per day and an extra bucket of water, which you have to carry from your house in the winter. And when your fence starts falling down. Which is why I ended up boarding my last horse.

Everything is a compromise.[/QUOTE]

You could be describing a situation that was here in my neck of the woods, to a Tee!! LOL!

I was so glad I was out of that place before it really went down.

[Obsidian_Fire]

[QUOTE=Lady Eboshi;8422492]
I’ll definitely go that extra mile on the care of long-time Seniors who’ve been with me for years and thereby earned that privilege; one 35-year-old who finally died last year was honestly more care and worry and extras than all the other horses put together–and he was worth it. His owner was a one-of-a-kind gem, too and I could never bring myself to charge him a dime extra.

But it’s different having it assumed you’ll do the equivalent for an average, younger easy keeper just because the owner is trying to wangle show-barn levels of individualized service out of you while still paying just $500.00. Nope, not the same thing at ALL!

You have to believe in your business model enough that you’re willing to chance losing a client here and there in favor of enforcing it. I think this thread is a great eye-opener for boarders with entitled attitudes to consider carefully what their requests are worth in actual monetary terms before they blow a deal which is in truth more than meeting their (actual) needs. This is complicated by the fact that today FAR fewer boarders are real “horsemen” and women–they THINK they know more than you because they read it on the Internet or in a SmartPak catalog, never mind what actual professionals like you, the vet, and the farrier think!

That’s an irritating change from the Golden Daze, when at least the ammies KNEW they were ammies. After all, I know zip about trading bonds or lobotomizing brains or flying jets, and sure wouldn’t be offering THEM advice on THEIR areas of special expertise, would I? :lol:[/QUOTE]

I was thinking about this thread earlier today and something my husband is fond of telling me: Horses are a luxury, not a necessity. (darn it).

Tell that to all the whiny ‘ammy-know-it-alls’. I see so many people with a horse and I just have to ask, why? What on earth were you thinking?

I literally know a family who are homeless, with 2 young children, living in a tent or small trailer, and they have THREE horses boarded. I wish that was a joke, but it is not.

Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. :no:

[2tempe]

[QUOTE=Magicboy;8422508]
Guess I’m in the “just glad to be here, how can I help?” Club. I want to be the BO’s favorite boarder so I always leave things looking better than. Found them and if my horse needs something I make sure that I’m the one to deliver the medevine, take his temp, etc.

Is this attitude really so rare among boarders?[/QUOTE]

I’ve been boarding for over 35 years. Some places better than others. But always my horses were fed decently, and had other basic care under control.
Yes your attitude is rather rare, though I’ve also tried to be that person, and will think long and hard before picking a battle. Try to keep my expectations realistic. And have spent nites at the barn when my horse was sick.
In the past I had no time to have horse(s) at home. Now I have the time, sort of, but do not want the burden. I’ve watched a friend struggling with back issues while trying to keep her 3 horses clean/fed and property maintained. Not for me.

[workin_onit]

1993-1999 in the ann arbor area of Michigan. There were three different facilities ranging from $250 - 500 presented as full care board. I never requested blanket changes, we didn’t feed supplements, we were there to supervise the blacksmith and vet.

[Wonders12]

[QUOTE=Magicboy;8422508]
Guess I’m in the “just glad to be here, how can I help?” Club. I want to be the BO’s favorite boarder so I always leave things looking better than. Found them and if my horse needs something I make sure that I’m the one to deliver the medevine, take his temp, etc.

Is this attitude really so rare among boarders?[/QUOTE]

Yes.

But it just makes us appreciate you that much more! And even if we forget to say something, we appreciate it. (Thanks for reminding me to thank my great boarders.)

[Sooner_or_Later]

[QUOTE=Magicboy;8422508]
Guess I’m in the “just glad to be here, how can I help?” Club. I want to be the BO’s favorite boarder so I always leave things looking better than. Found them and if my horse needs something I make sure that I’m the one to deliver the medevine, take his temp, etc.

Is this attitude really so rare among boarders?[/QUOTE]

I have the same outlook… I appreciate what my BO does for my horse, and I try to reciprocate by doing chores here and there, being available to help spread a load of shavings, stop by and feed in the morning or turn the horses out.

There are two other boarders, and I think we try to chip in where we can, just to make it all work well.

[Casey09]

[QUOTE=SMF11;8422067]
I agree, I’ve found this too. I’m also set up for retirees; I’ve had a couple of boarders want me to add a third meal at no extra charge because “it would be easy for you, you live just around the corner.” No, it is not easy for me, I’ve set up my barn to have a certain level of care (and related labor) and that is why it is half the cost of a big barn with people on tap to add things like extra meals. I do the same as Lady E – suggest if they want a higher level of care, they move to a barn that can provide that, no hard feelings. (And no, so far no one has taken me up on that!).

I think the bottom line is that you get what you pay for. Pay top dollar and get staff available 24/7, excellent fencing, knowledgeable care, etc etc etc. Pay less, and you will get less – you just have to figure out what works for you and your horse. There’s a barn out there for everyone, it isn’t one size fits all.[/QUOTE]

I think it is largely true that you get what you pay for, but some of the very top tier boarding barns also tend to offer less and less group turnout. It can be difficult in some areas to find turnout, and as a boarder that is important to me (because numerous vets have told me that and because I don’t ride everyday). I agree that as a boarder, you have to know your priorities and budget, and find the option you have that is the best fit for you and your horse. After that, if you have a need beyond the services the barn has agreed to provide, then ask but offer to pay for it. I wouldn’t be offended if the barn said they couldn’t offer a particular service, but obviously there might be a case when moving to a barn that can provide a desired service is best for all concerned.