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.
3 Likes
I keep 4 horses (currently) at home. My average cost per month, including feed/hay, pasture management, farrier, and vet, averages out to right at $300/month/horse. And that accounts for a vet who drives 100+ miles per visit. I keep my horses out 24/7, but they also have access to their stalls, which they mostly choose to use as designated toilet areas.
My calculation of costs doesn’t include labor or mortgage. I spend LESS per month to keep four horses at home on my own property, including farrier and vet, than I would spend to rent a 1 bedroom apartment and board a horse at a facility that falls into the “acceptable but not ideal” category. I figure labor is a wash once all this is taken into account.
1 Like
With two horses, I figured that as long as I wanted to ride (both, lots) it was better to pay board than have all the upkeep to do on my own farm with fewer amenities.
Here an indoor is required if one wants to do a lot. of riding in the winter.
1 Like
This circles back to the cost thing. There is plenty of skilled labour available. But barn owners either don’t believe the job is skilled labour, or their business model doesn’t include skilled labour costs.
So many really good people leave the industry because they can’t make a living wage. Let’s get a clue BOs, in Southern Ontario $20/hr on or off the books is not a living wage 
8 Likes
The FEI has a program that you scan the chip and all the horse’s information comes up. ID, competition records, temperature readings. You can add to that through an app on your phone.
I can say that as far as sustainability in my area, the barns that have been up and running for decades all have 3 things in common:
- Housing for help onsite
- They buy hay directly from farmers in bulk or grow it themselves.
- Bulk shavings
I cannot imagine running a barn without those three things in place.
When I boarded horses during the dinosaur era, I offered 3 rate packages: basic, full and premium.
With very few exceptions these different packages covered most boarder needs a million years ago.
The barns in the area still operating have raised their rates over the years but not by a great amount.
Their business model is pretty simple and it seems to work for them. (FWIW)
2 Likes
Most important part of the above (probably??):
- Owned property for decades
So… lower cost land, mortgage paid off, significantly reduced expenses.
If you are leasing, you are left vulnerable to the whims of the market and can find yourself quickly priced out by subdivisions and development. With very limited means to earn a sustainable income.
For those boarding, how many of your barns allow an outside or freelance coach?
6 Likes
Thank you for saying this. “Oh you’re just too emotional” said to a woman especially is an insult.
Count me in the “absolutely no interest in 100% ala carte” board billing club. I know what “full board” generally means in my area, and have a reasonable idea what it should cost. It’s not cheap, and it pains me to see people expecting to pay $750 for full board in an area where that was the board rate 15-20 years ago. Many places do charge extra for one-off services, which I don’t mind at all.
5 Likes
Personally, I’d much rather pay an extra $200 a month (or whatever the cost) for “full board plus” than see 25 $3 charges for applying/removing a fly mask, a $5 found a lost bell boot, $20 for detouring from a stall to the crossties for the farrier, $2/application for swat, etc.
The lump sum is actually more mentally palatable.
12 Likes
I haven’t boarded in years so these opinions may not be relevant in today’s market.
First of all OP I appreciate that this is a brainstorming discussion and that you are looking for strategies. You could have kept all of your potential ideas in your head and not typed a thing and we wouldn’t have had the opportunity to read and debate this topic.
One observation is, interrupting the flow of what gets done in a day by the paid staff and yourself in order to stop and document these sometimes (in my mind) nitpicky extras is costing you money. In lost actual work/longer hours required to catch up and momentum. Not to mention your own added time every evening with the complicated bookkeeping. And the anxiety of getting it right and not over/under charging a client for some small thing from which the blowback can cause additional tiers of frustration on the part of both parties.
I have property and could board but do not, so am trying to visualize from both perspectives. For me a basic level of care for equines includes turnout whenever possible. So this would be contained in the base price. Unless under extenuating circumstances, no way am I watching some horses be stuck in the barn yelling and trashing their stalls when their pals go out because a boarder doesn’t pay for that extra. Same with whatever amount of feed is necessary to keep a horse at optimum health. I’m not talking added alfalfa etc … client brings it (less work for me) I’ll feed it. And proper substantial bedding for the herd bar none. No second class citizens.
This would apply to everything I consider basic yet high quality equine care management. As far as the myriad other extras discussed, sure, perhaps a short itemized list based on time required to complete - holding for the farrier etc, and an hourly rate would apply. I’d go with $40. 15 minutes to cold hose? Ten bucks. Having said that I would strongly encourage owners to come whenever humanly possible and deal with their own such matters.
My stress level as a BO would not be worth the hassle of all the added complications of what you’re proposing. I would just charge more upfront. A lot more. If barns are closing in your area then sad as that is, an opportunity has presented itself to you. Using myself as a test subject, I’m taking my horse where I’ll pay a higher flat rate for the important stuff. As a BO if I couldn’t make a profit off of the above model I wouldn’t do it.
Those that are in the business can pick away at the holes. This is all theoretical.
10 Likes
I agree with your whole post.
On this part, I think if you (general barn owner) would prefer the owner do this stuff themselves you need to price the add on in a way that represents that. The type of person who does not care if they do their own horse care is not going to leave their house if they can get you to cold hose for $10.
7 Likes
When I was boarding a 10 minute cold hose meant 40 minute drive way drive each way to the barn and potential conflict with work so, yeah, for 10 bucks they can do it.
Last couple of places were full $ervice daily grooming included so quick, simple, short term, one of services were generally not billed.
4 Likes
This whole thread makes me joyous to have my own barn. I have boarded. Paid $750 a month per horse 8 years ago in Florida. Charge what the market will bear. Charge what makes you not dislike your boarders. Horses are expensive. Farms are expensive. The day to day care should be pretty consistent. Facility upgrades or amenities might change things up or down but boarders would know that coming in. And btw. Only one time in my life did I take in a boarder. It to me was a nightmare. Never again. It also made me the very best client on another persons farm. As long as you are clear. About what you offer. How things will be maintained and offer the price. Then to me I used those facilities as if they were my own. Leave things pristine. There is no boarding situation that matches 100% of my desires. Their barn. Their system. Their rules. When I was in a training program for my young hunter I paid good money for decent care. When I felt like I could do things better myself I took my riding horses home to be with my retirees. The ala carte nit picking would turn me off. Set a price you can make a profit and have boarders than can afford it.
7 Likes
Yes. Depending on the day, they can do it for $30, too.
But I agree to price it to make it worth the BO’s time.
2 Likes
This 🫠
4 Likes
Coming back to this thread makes me glad of two things - I don’t board my horses out and I never board someone else’s horses. I know at some point in the future we’ll be down to one retiree and at that point I would board him out so he has company. But not before then.
3 Likes
cheaper to get him a mirror or a TV to watch
1 Like
Boarders paying for care services as defined in their boarding contract just want to know those services are being delivered so they can enjoy their horses. If you are in an area that does not support the cost, but want to keep running, it makes more sense to simplify than to make things more complicated and less attractive. It’s true some days there is more work, other days there is less. The horse who eats less still needs the service of being fed. The horse who is easier to handle might need special care at some point. You could charge separately by the month for turnout and blanketing, or maybe add a list of optional “premium” services. The last thing boarders want, or want to pay for, is the need to worry about whether the basic care they are paying for is getting done, and how much, and how often. That defeats the purpose of paying for care.
7 Likes
Ok. I’ve slogged through this whole thread.
Holy McMoly.
Everyone has said a lot about a number of aspects of the whole “running a boarding business is very hard to make a profit at” issue…
So I’m going to address something I noticed early on in the thread that I don’t necessarily think has been addressed.
OP bought her facility a few years ago. By her own admission… it was not well maintained when she bought it. From the sound of things though, it’s in a good area from a real estate perspective. It’s close to a major metropolitan area, and other comparable boarding options nearby are disappearing. So… there’s a limited supply locally speaking.
But earlier on in the thread OP said a few things about initial CAPITAL costs incurred in the first 2 years after they bought the property…
I also noticed further along in the thread that the OP said that they were in the process of doing a concrete aisle (so are we in the midst of the year 2 improvement, or is this a second improvement to the aisle?).
And… the OP has mentioned getting a quote to put in an indoor. I’m not sure how large an indoor she got quoted, but $800,000 was the figure mentioned.
And, the op mentioned having a mix of dry lots and a pasture for turnout. But it sounded like the fencing in the pasture was problematic or older or something. And now that she is down to just her own horses… she’s using a track system for their turnout. So I’m not really sure how useful the larger pasture is.
OP also mentioned that there aren’t mats in the stalls.
ANYWAY… I noted all those details. And started doing some math in my head. About the cost of these capital improvements. I’m not a professional in the equine industry, and haven’t run a professional barn. But I have been in horses my whole life (40 + years). And grew up with a small family farm that my parents built (7 stall barn, 15 acres, and eventually a nice dressage arena and jump field). They were pretty open about the cost of everything as they built it out over a period of multiple years. I’ve also built my own nice small shedrow barn several years ago at a smaller property, and put in fencing and a dry lot. And… I’m now on my second farm… which involved buying a ~12 acre property which had been set up for other livestock, and converting it into a horse farm by retrofitting outbuildings, upgrading fencing, doing additions on buildings, substantial grading and dry lot projects, and working on putting in an arena soon.
What I’ve learned over the course of years? Building or fixing up farms is MUCH more expensive than many many people realize. They think they know… but they really don’t. Not until they own it and are collecting the quotes to replace an entire barn roof, or to regrade a large area around a barn or driveway because they have water issues. Building even a small barn (meaning 6 stalls or less) from the ground up? Many people don’t fully understand how much that costs in this day and age.
And arenas? Many people have no idea how expensive it is to build an arena from nothing (clearing, grading, base, footing, perimeter). And if they buy a place with an existing arena, they might be underestimating the expenses involved in addressing problems if the existing arena is old or has issues with drainage or the base.
ANYWAY… back to OP. After reading this thread, I am left wondering about your original business plan for this property. Did you go into it correctly estimating the amount of capital you would need to pour into the property to make it a viable boarding operation?
Did you have cash on hand to cover this large initial capital outlay, or did you have to take out loans to finance it? You don’t need to answer that… but I am wondering if that might not be part of the stress and frustration now. Did you correctly estimate interest expenses for loans if you did have to take out loans? It’s not your fault if you didn’t… interest rates spiked much higher than longer term trends in recent years… and construction loans can be expensive. A number of factors can influence rates.
Also… you mention this indoor. Does your place have an existing outdoor? Are you in a cold weather climate and dealing with boarders moving elsewhere for winter months if you lack an indoor? Did you factor these issues into your original business plan, and potentially having multiple stalls vacant during winter months if people temporarily moved to barns with an indoor, or shipped horses to Florida or other warm weather locales for 2 or 3 months?
Anyway… I’m just curious. Bottomline… what I am wondering about is whether or not the OP actually has a capital improvement/investment challenge that made the boarding business at this facility less of a feasible concern than they originally anticipated. The comment about not being able to raise the board enough to cover the expense of putting in an indoor… that really caught my attention. Most people wouldn’t look at the issue that way. Putting in an indoor is an investment in one’s own property. It will increase the property value. The property owner will have more equity in their property as a result. But almost all property owners will have to front the SUBSTANTIAL cost of that indoor themselves, and not see a payoff for that investment for many many years. Board may go up a small amount. But the real payoff comes from the increase in property value, and the equity the property owner accumulates. The incremental increased revenue from higher board rates? That’s not really going to pay for the indoor.
Keeping horses at home, or owning a larger farm that offers boarding services? The money involved in both is really tied to the equity in the property. Not the monthly revenue stream (or monthly cost savings) coming from the care and keeping of horses. That’s just my personal experience after many many years of keeping horses at home and owning small farms. I have also, simultaneously boarded out over the last several years, because I wanted ready access to nice facilities, and to have young horses in training. To me… that’s a luxury. The facilities. And not having to trailer out for lessons!
Anyway… just adding my 2 cents. Ha.
8 Likes
I would still be a BM if –
It paid a livable wage
It had health insurance coverage
It had reasonable expectations
I traded my BM boots in for an office job 8 years ago, and not a day goes by that I’ve regretted it. I miss how physically fit I was, but miss nothing else. My day ENDS at 4 pm, and there is nothing like that. Before, I was working 60-80 hours a week, but wasn’t always paid for it. I had one of those rare incredible BOs who understood how hard it was and tried to keep me as long as she could. Seeing her books, I knew she couldn’t afford to pay me more even if she wanted to. She paid better than any other barn I ever worked for, and it still wasn’t livable.
10 Likes
