Trailer parking at boarding barn

[Palm_Beach]

@Natalie

BUT–there’s no trainer on site, the ring is small and footing isn’t maintained consistently (though it’s still decent), there are no ring lights, there’s no trail access or anything else of the sort. I’m on the hunt for a trailer so I can easily take my horse off-site for lessons/shows/trail riding, but the owner just told me that she doesn’t really “have room” for another trailer (they currently have just their personal two horse on site). When I first moved there, bringing a trailer was an option.

Am I out of line in feeling like this is a more than reasonable request to make? To me, offering trailer parking is more or less a given, especially at a farm so lacking in amenities and services.

You chose to move your horse there, knowing the farm was “lacking in amenities and services.” How was bringing a trailer an option? Were you specifically told that they offered trailer parking?

What are the specific reasons you can’t park your trailer at your residence?

Turning a trailer around can take up a considerable amount of space, and if there is not a considerable amount of hard surface to turn the trailer around, it can tear up the ground. Or maybe they just don’t want the place to look like a trailer parking lot. Or maybe they don’t want to mow and weed whack around another trailer. Their place, their rules.

[Chall]

@TheJenners

Been there! Frustrating. And paying $$$ for trailer parking sucks (around here it’s anywhere from $40-$110 for trailer spot, esp if it’s RV length).

A day or a month?
I pay $27 - $32 a day for my car.

[Magicboy]

I have to park my trailer at a friends place, 11 miles from the barn where I board it’s annoyi but the place I board is worth it. Definitely not a give in my experience

[IronwoodFarm]

@Natalie

BUT–there’s no trainer on site, the ring is small and footing isn’t maintained consistently (though it’s still decent), there are no ring lights, there’s no trail access or anything else of the sort.

The answer seems pretty obvious. Why buy a trailer and deal with the hassle of parking it? Why not find another barn with the same quality of care, a trainer, an adequately sized ring, consistently maintained footing, rings lights, and/or trail access. It seems like an expensive and complex solution when moving the horse to a setting that works better for the owner is so much simpler and likely to be cheaper versus buying, insuring and paying to store the trailer somewhere.

[TheJenners]

@Chall

A day or a month?
I pay $27 - $32 a day for my car.

Ok you win

[JanM]

Try to find a storage facility with 24/7 access. The ones around here have key cards that you swatch to get in, and the RVs, trailers, etc. are in extra tall and long storage units with an open side with a gate on that you lock. That way if you need your trailer, you can get it.

[Natalie]

Thanks everyone for the feedback and ideas. I’ve given myself a bit of an attitude adjustment–of course it is their farm (which I always knew) and they can do with it what they want. Trailer parking was presented as an option when I moved there AND was included on local ads placed by the owners for board up until a few months ago, so my annoyance was mostly at the withdrawal of the option. And yes, of course small private barns may well have less parking for trailers…it was silly of me to imply otherwise. Thanks as always to COTH for offering some perspective.

[Rackonteur]

@trubandloki

I do think you are out of line feeling that this is a more than reasonable request to make. Trailer parking is not a given. Only one of the barns I boarded at had anyplace to park a trailer, and that was very limited.

When I could not fit my trailer at home I simply rented a spot at a facility that offered outside storage (RVs, boats, car trailers, etc.). It was cheap. I picked a place that was not totally out of my way and allowed access at any time. Worked out fine.

I am curious about your comment that when you first moved there bringing a trailer was an option. Did you specifically ask if trailer parking was included or allowed?

So what does the original boarding contract say about trailer parking? If it was optional in the contract, then it should still be optional.

Of course, bringing up such subjects can screw up a good relationship between BO/M and boarder …

I never heard of a boarding barn not providing trailer parking. What if there were an emergency and all boarders had to be evacuated all at once?

[Redlei44]

@IronwoodFarm

The answer seems pretty obvious. Why buy a trailer and deal with the hassle of parking it? Why not find another barn with the same quality of care, a trainer, an adequately sized ring, consistently maintained footing, rings lights, and/or trail access. It seems like an expensive and complex solution when moving the horse to a setting that works better for the owner is so much simpler and likely to be cheaper versus buying, insuring and paying to store the trailer somewhere.

This would be my approach as well. If you can find a different barn with better amenities on site, and it presumably costs a couple hundred dollars more per month, you may very well still come out ahead financially compared to the costs of buying, insuring, and storing a rig. And you won’t have to trailer out to ride, saving time and aggravation.

Unless you would otherwise need/want the rig (to go trail riding or camping regularly, say), run the numbers and see how they compare.

[Scribbler]

I love having a trailer and truck, and am lucky to be able to park long term half an hour away at my coach’s barn (she gets to use rig) and on my street if needed short term. I use it for trail riding in the summer.

​​​​But its in no way a cost effective solution to poor barn aminites! It’s definitely a fun luxury.

[INoMrEd]

I agree with the others. Not all boarding stables have the room to store multiple horse trailers.

If there wasn’t trailer storage at the boarding stable Mr. Ed and I found a place to store it elsewhere. You may want to try Craigslist as in the past, we’ve found plenty of people offering to store our 27 foot Winnebago and 14 foot horse trailer in their private back yards. It was expensive but we understood that not all boarding stables offer trailer storage.

[Natalie]

Thanks for more ideas everyone.

Having a trailer definitely isn’t cost-effective per se, at least not with the initial purchase. The way I’m rationalizing it a bit is that while I will be on the hook for a multi-thousand dollar expenditure, I’ll always have the option of recouping much of the initial investment by selling if I need or want to in the future (I’m planning to buy a used Brenderup, which hold their value well). Additionally, if trailering was more affordable with others I would be less inclined to deal with the hassle of buying my own, but I’ve been quoted $150-180 or more to go 12 miles down the road and back to a schooling show for half a day (not with a commercial shipper). Of course, I don’t actually dispute that it’s a fair fee to charge given the costs of buying and maintaining a trailer, plus time is $$ too, BUT, it makes me cringe to pay that much to go down the road to a show that costs under $100 to attend otherwise. And I would like to trailer out for lessons and trailer rides as well, so my own trailer would get used frequently.

Trailer parking/storage isn’t included in the boarding contract, but was verbally discussed (and included in advertising for board at this farm). Granted, there are other amenities that were also talked about as “coming soon” that have yet to materialize 18 months later (such as ring lights and a heated tack room), so I’m a bit grumpy about a few things here. Board isn’t outrageous, but it isn’t the cheapest around either, by any means.

That said, I love my fellow boarders and I really like the barn owners on a personal level, and the care my horse gets is close to what I would provide if I could keep him at home. I rarely worry that an injury will get overlooked, the little herd he goes out with is quiet and gets along well, and I can tell my gelding is mentally really happy. That’s what I feel like I’m a bit torn–I haven’t seen that level of care (and the quiet atmosphere) available elsewhere locally. Obviously there’s a give and take to everything…why are there no perfect situations? :lol: (j/k obviously).

[Scribbler]

My truck insurance is $1100 a year and my trailer is $500 a year. I just spent $450 on my annual trailer checkup and repacking the wheel bearings. I could pay for ten commercial hauls per year at $200 a pop just for these annual fees. Don’t even mention the truck needing a new starter!! I don’t think a trailer is cost effective for going to local shows.

Oh, and it’s about $60 worth of gas to go anywhere. So actually that means I could afford something like 15 commerical trailer rides a year.

I could not however go horse camping or back country with a commercial hauler.

[equest]

@Natalie

Thanks everyone for the feedback and ideas. I’ve given myself a bit of an attitude adjustment–of course it is their farm (which I always knew) and they can do with it what they want. Trailer parking was presented as an option when I moved there AND was included on local ads placed by the owners for board up until a few months ago, so my annoyance was mostly at the withdrawal of the option.

I’d be irritated as well, if trailer parking was in the barn’s ad at the time you moved in.
I am working on buying a trailer in the next year and I knew at the outset that my BO doesn’t offer a parking space. That’s fine, and at least I knew this when I moved in.

My plan is to first ask the neighboring boarding barn if I can rent a spot, and if not, I’ll look into a secure RV storage place (I am in central Florida and they are plentiful). I also second Craigslist or FB Marketplace to see if a nearby property owner might have a spot for rent.

As far as justifying the purchase, my plan is a 2H GN with a “weekender lite” set up, which I can use both for away shows and for camping with or without my horse.