What amenities are included in your board?

[Sarah616]

For those of you at a training or boarding facility, what “extras” do you have access to or use of at your barn? I don’t mean things like the ring, wash stall, cross ties, etc. For example….

Does your barn supply grooming supplies for boarders to use, or is each boarder responsible for their own? How about extras like show sheen, shampoo, rubbing alcohol?

Do you have access to laundry? Does the barn do laundry for you? Can you do your laundry while you’re at the barn? Or do you have to take all of your horse laundry home to clean it?

Speaking of cleaning, how about tack cleaner, sponges, conditioner, etc?

Are there saddle pads and towels available for anyone to use? Does each boarder have to have their own?

If you want to try a piece of tack, (girth, bit, bridle, etc) are you able to borrow from your barn or trainer? Can you rent the equipment for an extended period of time before buying your own?

I’m curious how it is at other facilities. Don’t feel obligated to answer each specific question posed, just a general answer or whatever suits you and your barn.

[skipollo]

I board and supply all of this myself. Maybe it exists somewhere, but I’ve never heard of a boarding barn supplying those kinds of things for boarders? Lesson kids and shareboarders/leasers, sure, but not for boarders who own their own horses. I can’t imagine owning and not having all of my own stuff

There’s some tack/supplies we can borrow if we want to try them out and possibly buy our own. I’ve borrowed bits from the barn before.

There is no laundry where I board. I do it at home (saddle pads, other small things) or the laundromat (sheets/blankets).

[Tha_Ridge]

Grooming supplies (including Show Sheen, shampoo, and rubbing alcohol) are included, as are saddle pads, polos, half pads, schooling girths, non-slips, towels, etc. Basic medication and first-aid supplies is included, but anything “special” will be billed to your account by the vet. Laundry, including blankets, is done at the barn. We also have a tack cleaning “station” with sponges, glycerin soap, oil, conditioner, and so on. Trainer has a giant box of various bits that you’d be welcome to use as needed, and various tools (think lunge lines, draw reins, chambon, and so on) are also communal. Basically, have a bridle and a saddle and you’re good to go!

For context, I’m in an “A”-circuit Hunter/Jumper show barn in the northeast.

[Tha_Ridge]

@skipollo

Maybe it exists somewhere, but I’ve never heard of a boarding barn supplying those kinds of things for boarders?

This is pretty much the norm in Hunter/Jumper show barns.

[findeight]

Just to be clear, (mostly show oriented) barns that supply these things figure the cost into their board rates. Its not typically the norm in the overall boarding barn universe.

As always, read the contract which should specify exactly what is included in the board rate and/or included in a mandatory “supply/additional services” charge tacked on to the monthly board rate. That way their board rates don’t sound so high in comparison.

[luvmyhackney]

Pretty much every show barn I’ve ever been at.

I wouldn’t expect it at a regular boarding barn unless I was in training.

[clanter]

@luvmyhackney

unless I was in training

that was my experience where everything was included in the board/training

[StormyDay]

I’ve never boarded at one of the very posh expensive barns, but I have worked at a few. Usually, there were brushes, soap, towels, etc available for use by everyone. The brushes and towels were all single use and then they went into a soap bath. However, saddle pads, girths, bridles, etc were not shared because of the possibility of spreading nasties (scratches, fungus, lice…) and that the majority of people had very expensive tack anyways and didn’t want to use shared tack when their horse needed specific items. Dobbin needs the $350 equifit padded girth, he can’t just go in a standard leather Pessoa one.

They were however cleaned by staff after your rides and put back into your tack box if requested.

They all provided the option of a groom tacking up your horse for you and taking him when you were done. This service included any post ride care that was needed too.

Blankets were not cleaned in house, but they sent them out to a service and billed the clients as necessary. Saddle pads and other smaller items were washed in house.

These barns also usually organized all showing logistics and then just billed the client for it. The only thing the clients were responsible for was their own hotel room.

Farrier, vet, etc was also organized by the barn.

As for trying equipment, if the trainer wanted to try something they had and it worked, they usually would let the client know and then if it was okayed, purchase a new version of the item and bill them for it.

As for my experiences, I really like it when boarding barns provide clean towels to use. I prefer to do everything else myself. But I do understand why some people prefer the more ‘all inclusive’ barns.

[skipollo]

Ah that explains it then, the A-circuit full service show barns are out of my budget

[Horsegirl_s_Mom]

Boarding barn, Northern California near Sacramento (not Bay area), About $675 per month for stall with attached pipe corral. The barn attends maybe 1-2 A shows and a half dozen B shows per season.

No grooming supplies provided. No laundry at barn. No saddle pads/towels.

Basically, your board payments cover hay 3x per day, grain 1x per day, stall cleaning 1x per day, blanketing, walking to turnout, and use of riding rings, wash rack, tack room.

Blankets are collected on a certain date and sent out to a cleaner; each boarder is billed for her horse’s blankets. Shots and teeth are organized a couple times a year; barn manager will hold the horses but each boarder is billed for whatever their horse needed.

I feel you should be asking people what they pay for board. If I were paying $1200 per month, I’d expect more than at our $675 barn.

[StormyDay]

Yes, those barns im speaking about were in the $1600 to 2k a month range. That usually included 1 training ride a week, but there was an expectation you would take lessons and do more rides.

[Tha_Ridge]

@Horsegirl_s_Mom

I feel you should be asking people what they pay for board. If I were paying $1200 per month, I’d expect more than at our $675 barn.

This is true. The barn I mentioned above is $1,200 for the aforementioned full-care board with no training or lessons included.

[J-Lu]

I board at a barn that has about 4 boarding slots, around 4-6 training slots and the BOs have 4 horses. Two of the boarders never show up and the third occasionally comes.

It’s run in more of a “barn family” model. No grooming supplies, saddle pads, tack, etc. provided and they’re typically not shared. We all strive to provide our own shampoo, medicated shampoo, basic horse care items such as bute, vetwrap, wound care items but pretty much, we are happy to share or “borrow” from each other. Barn provides a washer and dryer and provides towels. That said, I’ve donated several towels over the years. I typically organize biannual vet visits and share the farm call with whomever wants in but the owner has to hold their horse.

Horses live out 24/7 solo or in small groups except inclement weather. All shelters have lights and temp-driven fans. Pastures are exceptionally well cared for. Arena with lights, blanketing, grain and hay in winter 2X daily, wash rack, temp controlled tack room with individual lockers for boarders and trainer, temp-controlled bathroom with shower and W/D, and a temp controlled “theater room” with an overhead projector and a huge white screen and tiered couches (on wooden palates). Oh, room has a fridge/freezer for carrots (mostly mine) and community beer/seltzer/cider. We frequently end the day with adult beverages and chats.

[Texarkana]

Out of everything on that list, the only thing I’ve had free access to when boarding are laundry facilities.

In training situations, that stuff was included, but at the discretion of the trainer/staff. When I was visiting my own horse I could use all the brushes, products, tack my horse would use when the trainer was riding… but I couldn’t just walk in and start grabbing stuff to my liking, if that makes sense.

[173north]

The barn I spent the longest at (small A circuit H/J barn in the Northeast) provided grooming supplies, basic first aid stuff, and tack cleaning supplies, and there were always polos, open fronts, saddle pads, half pads and schooling girths folks were welcome to use. Generally boarders had their own, nicer tack and brushes and that gear was used by the handful of school horses/lesson riders. There was laundry on site, not included in board - you could tip the groom to throw your stuff in with the barn laundry, or bring it home. I was welcome to borrow my trainer’s bits, training aids, and homemade grooming potions if I asked. A lot of the boarders with good relationships had a more or less “open tack trunk” policy.

I’m now at a pretty no-frills barn in California with no program or trainer on site, but we do have some communal brushes and fly spray. Vet, farrier, laundry etc are all up to the owner. We do have a freelance groom/exercise rider who will ride or lunge, clip, or do horse care when people are out of town, but he’s paid directly a la carte if you need him and isn’t actually employed by the barn. I have permission to dip into the barn owner’s first aid stash in a pinch - it’s not included in board but she and I have a good relationship, so she made a point of telling me that if I need a bit of bute or banamine I am welcome to it. We also have a fridge with seltzer, beer, and tons of carrots that all the boarders keep stocked and are for anyone to grab. And I bring fancy hand soap for the bathroom!

[Arelle]

The key difference, I think, is whether it’s a boarding barn only or a show/training facility as well.

When I’ve “just” boarded - I was responsible for all of my own stuff, and amassed quite a collection. Board was generally between $350-$600 per month, depending on the facility and timeline (anywhere from 2002 - 2016).

However, I currently have a few of my horses in training and boarding at a show facility. There, everything is provided, I can use anything I want - and the trainer takes care of all laundry, etc. If I wanted to, I wouldn’t have to own anything. Trainer charges a one time “set up” fee, that includes matching blankets for your horse specifically, and then for shows - she does have gear she will rent out, including nice saddles, etc. I have all of those things, so it doesn’t pertain to me - but it’s nice when relatively “new” people come and can’t afford all of the expenses at once. She just upped her prices from $1,400/month to $1,550/month due to a change in facilities. I’m responsible for all vet, farrier, chiro, etc. bills for my horses, but I’m not nickel and dimed for other stuff which I enjoy.

Edited to add: the collection I amassed in my earlier years now lives in my own barn, and being responsible for my own laundry and cleaning really is depressing.

[NC001]

Honestly I largely prefer to have my own stuff/supplies and do my own laundry and tack cleaning. But I can see for many people it would be a huge time saver and worth the extra costs.

Nothing really provided at our barn other than basic first aid and deworming. Everyone is generous with sharing as needed and trying tack and we all schedule farrier and vet together. Low level show barn.

[joiedevie99]

Dressage show program - everything is included. If you dropped off a horse with a saddle, bridle, halter, and blankets, they’d have everything else. Grooming, supplies, first aid provided; tack cleaned; laundry done; blankets sent out and added to the bill.

[Spudsmyguy]

@Texarkana

Out of everything on that list, the only thing I’ve had free access to when boarding are laundry facilities.

Same here. However, one barn I boarded at included grain; most around here, unless in full training, do not provide grain.

[Renn_aissance]

I board at a farm that has a thriving lesson program as well as a show clientele. $750 is an absolute bargain in this area (Baltimore) for the quality of care they provide.

• I could borrow a brush if I needed it, but I think it is expected that boarders have their own.
• Bathing supplies are available to use (shampoo, conditioner) but nothing fancy. It might be Palmolive and Suave. The big win here is that I may borrow a body sponge and not have to worry about getting it dry enough to store in my trunk!
• I believe board includes laundry. I don’t use this service because I’m picky about how things are washed, but I think I could leave my labeled items in the barn hamper and they would be returned clean atop my trunk. I could arrange with the farm that my rugs would be sent out for end of year cleaning and repair with other boarders’, but that would be at my expense.
• A bar of glycerin soap and sponges are provided. Most boarders use our own.
• Towels are communal. I could borrow a saddle pad from the school tack room if I needed, but I think we all have our own.
• I have always been able to borrow a piece of equipment (girth, spare pair of reins, crop) from the school tack room if it wasn’t being used in a lesson, and if I returned it in the same condition. I’ve never asked about renting equipment.
• I see lots of boarders borrow school coolers to warm up in.
• I think fly spray is provided communally but I don’t actually know this for sure because I always use my own.
• Some vet supplies are available communally but most are billed. For instance, I can use a swipe of the farm’s triple antibiotic ointment, but if I run out of Vetrap and use the farm’s roll, I will replace it when I order more.
• Conversely - while medical treatment is billed for as per the rate sheet - I have often found that I am billed less than the posted amount, because I almost always provide my own [poultice, hoof packing, cotton roll, whatever]… and do my own laundry so I am the one untangling the bandage spider.

The most valuable amenity they are currently providing at no additional charge is hand-feeding my horse his pergolide in a Fig Newton, twice a day, in addition to the other supplements in his grain. And for this I am deeply grateful.