And that’s why barn businesses are folding. Repeatedly we get told we need to run like businesses and then people don’t want us to. Kind of an interesting conundrum.
I’m sorry you find my posts exhausting - I thought we were all having a great discussion with one exception! I’ve appreciated all the input and had a great time if eating with some folks who are curious about tech.
Here, let me fix this for you,
“Barn businesses are folding because repeatedly we get told we need to run like businesses, but I can only come up with one very poorly received model that is only thought out from a bean counting perspective and not from a people perspective. Kind of an interesting conundrum that I can’t seem to get past an idea I find appealing yet most people who I’ve quizzed about it tell me it’s full of pitfalls. I should probably open my mind to thinking of this from a few different perspectives.”
That is to say that your one model of running a business is not the only way to do it successfully, and in fact, you’ve been told repeatedly that this would not fly, but straight up raising prices to cover costs with no apology probably would.
Where I work tries to do this too.
Software to get into the building, authentication app, software to do our time sheets, software for this or that thing, they want us to put it on our phones. Um, my phone is always low on space and I am not buying a new freaking phone just for your crap, sorry.
IME many barn workers do have cell phones but they tend to be older, may not run newer apps and they cant afford a data plan that supports higher speeds and more storage. They would need a “company phone”.
At one of my recent barn jobs all our time clock etc was in an app.
First of all, I had to juggle a phone and logging in to time in or out. Except you HAD TO take a whole hour, to the minute for your break
Loose horses while on lunch?
Too bad!
Took only a half hour lunch to get the job done cause your coworkers were out sick?
Sucks to be you.
The minutes wasted watching the phone to be sure I logged back in exactly on time, because the only alternative was be late… Sooo frustrating.
The kicker? My boss could log in and change my punches. So, great if I had no wifi and needed to be punched in or out.
When she punched me out for an hour lunch when I didn’t take lunch? Not so cute.
.
People paid $15 an hour to work a hard, dangerous, thankless job do not get paid to do this kind of nonsense.
.
In my area, a lot of barns do the practical version of this.
Different “packages” for board with different pricing and different care levels and different “menus”. Also some options with extra fees; like a surcharge for having an additional stall fan. One offs billed as such make sense, such as acute injury care. I don’t really see the need to reinvent the wheel. Otoh, I can absolutely see where a board barn might say our SOP is X and it costs Y. Take it or leave it.
As a person with horses at home, I don’t see a huge difference in cost between my wee pony and my riding horse. There was a considerable increase in cost and labor caring for dearly departed Norman in his twilight years. Ofc there is a reason why specialty retirement barns exist.
In regards to tech, it’s not going anywhere and is only becoming more prevalent and required for more things than ever.
Completely unrelated, DH and I went to the movies for the first time after Covid this year. All screen based to pay and get tickets and no employees that were in that area to help anyone struggling. I said to DH if my grandparents tried to go see a movie, they would likely be frustrated.
I HAVE to use my personal phone to log into my work account working remotely. They now require an authentication app that’s on my phone that I have to put in the number my laptop shows every so often.
reminds me of when I FedExed my company phone across the country several times, when in an employee review session I was asked why I went back and forth across the country… oh I was just checking to see if you were tracking me. That ended the conversation.
I expect this varies by state, but at least in some places, your employer should be reimbursing some expense for this, even if you’re not incurring additional expense.
I’m part of our corporate plan so I do get a break on my bill.
That is interesting. That talks about California. I wonder what other states that applies to.
Let’s also remember any such app would need a full blown Spanish version as well
I’m trying to imagine pitching this to my BO and all I can see is me getting laughed out of the room (she already spends half the day on the phone answering texts and calls). And this is a program that is very carefully run to ensure all costs are covered, though I imagine the profit largely comes from training, showing and sales (it’s a “training package required” type place)
OP, I have not read all of the responses, but I run my training/lesson business this way. At first, people seem “unsure” about the itemized billing, but they get used to it and my co-worker and I have found a great way to easily track our daily activities. Billing takes more time this way, but then if someone has billing questions I have accurate and specific work logs to back up (or realize errors, on occasion) the billing. We have a pretty successful program. I say go for it.
I haven’t fully caught up on the thread yet but to this I would say that BOs land on their system for whatever reasons, and that’s why barns tend to be my way or the highway. BOs have probably considered or tried many other ways to do things, and have chosen what works for them. Often the alternatives have costs that aren’t obvious to boarders. (Like bedding one stall deeper may require special tracking, retraining stall cleaners, slightly more bedding storage space, slightly more frequent deliveries or trips to the feed store, slightly more frequent dumpster haul-offs or compost turning, explaining to other boarders why their stall isn’t bedded like that, etc—mostly things that boarders don’t think about unless they’ve managed their own place.) It’s easy to say just one stall/horse/paddock/whatever doesn’t make a difference but multiply that by all the boarders wanting all the different options and it does add up to a lot, and contribute to BO burnout. At some point the BO is likely to just say okay, this is the level of care I am offering to everyone and if it doesn’t work for you, go find somewhere that’s better suited. Especially as barns close and boarders become more desperate.
All of this is why on this forum boarders looking for barns often get the advice of choosing the barn whose care and management aligns with your priorities the best rather than thinking you can move in and negotiate changes. I don’t think BOs are awful for wanting to keep things streamlined or boarders are awful for wanting their preferences met—those two things just aren’t always compatible.
Wow that sounds super cool! I wish it were part of adult life to intern and study abroad. 
As a longtime owner of nothing but naked, tidy, easy keepers, I’d have welcomed this type of arrangement.
How much does the cost of any one horse vary over the year? What is the mean, variance over all your boarders?
(Asking as a genuinely curious data nerd. Pretty sure my horse’s true cost has varied a lot over time and I think he is getting cheaper to the barn. He used to be a real slob in his stall and is also holding weight better than when he was younger.)
I’ve definitely boarded at barns where extra services cost more.
Want a hay net? $100 per month
Boots on and off? $100 per month
Horse needs solo turnout? $X per month
Very wet horse needing lots of shavings? Extra $X per month
In our area (southwestern ontario), labour is hard to come by. And barn labour is skilled labour … hard, potentially dangerous and requiring technique to not waste expensive resources (if you’ve ever had someone ‘help’ clean a stall and make a huge mess, you know what I mean). We have had several barns move to a do it yourself model, modified ‘part livery’ like in the UK (BO may turn out but you are responsible for most extra’s) etc.
I personally like the transparency. And when different horses need different things, I appreciate being able to pay extra for wha you need without it being an insult that you are asking for it!
It will be interesting to see how this goes as more established barn owners retire and the news ones are carrying the load of higher expenses. I also worry that a lot of places will close, leaving horses only for the very select few.
As someone that keeps horses at home, my costs are consistent year round. If I’m not buying hay, I’m spending the equivalent or more buying fertilizer, seed, lime, sprays to keep grassy fields. Usually Jan, Feb cost a bit more by like 50.00ish for additional hay and deeper bedding when is sub zero outside. Not every farm does that.
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