I have a few boarders who are heading to Florida for several months over the winter, but want to guarantee their stalls when they come back. I was wondering what the going rate is these days for holding a monthy stall - will also try to backfill with a temporary boarder.
NJ/PA area
thanks!
I think full cost minus feed and bedding costs. Why should you take a hit because they can go to florida. Are you going to pay staff or your self less because they are gone and you dont have to water or clean stalls? Why should your staff/you have less so they can go.
If you get a temp boarder then, I would offer them something more, but please dont short change yourself because your boarders are blessed with opportunities. Do not subsidize their luxury life style.
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My current barn charges half board per month to hold.
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We pay $200/month to hold a stall.
Regular board if $700/month.
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However much you lose if they are not being used.
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They should be paying the board amount IMHO…Can you actually afford to lose the income…If they can go to Florida for several months, they can afford to pay you.
I haven’t been showing seriously in a good long while, but when I was, I always had to pay full board back home, no matter how long I was gone…
You can’t stop paying rent on your apartment when you go on vacation - same with horse’s stall.
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Full board minus cost of feed and bedding. And, a further break if you fill their stall with a temporary boarder, but not the full amount of board.
Remember, there’s always a chance that they won’t come back, in spite of their intentions now. You don’t want to be stuck with an empty stall come Spring, as well as being out all of the board for the months that you held the stall.
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While my horse is that trainer’s, I’m being charged about 1/3 or so my normal rate. We do have two horses still there…
Half board seems reasonable. No labor, feed, shavings,utilities, turnout, or use of facilities.
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[QUOTE=Calhoun;6620325]
Half board seems reasonable. No labor, feed, shavings,utilities, turnout, or use of facilities.[/QUOTE]
But the cost of the bolded items will not change if they are not there so I think the boarders should pay for them.
Utilities will not be reduced because a horse is not there, labor costs will not be reduced (or someone has to take a hit cause the boarder wants a luxury vacation)
The mortgage and insurance will stay the same and the owner has to pay for them.
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I paid half board when I took my horse away for a month.
The BO was not anxious to bring in additional boarders, and I was a good customer.
If the barn has a waiting list and your spot could be filled quickly if you left, then I’d expect to pay full board while you are away.
Ok, I misread/misunderstood the question.
When we’ve gone to Ocala in the winter to show, we pay full board back at home.
It’s only in-between pony/horse ownership periods, when I’ve nothing to live in the stall, that the BO charges me $200 to keep my stall available. So I make a cardboard pony just as a reminder, and hang him about the barn. 
Then she is always reminded that I’m coming back while I’m out shopping.
Sometimes these things work both ways… I’ve been there for 10 years, I pay in full in advance; I pay for at least one if not two lessons a week in addition to board; when they have an extra horse to ship to a show, I can and have put it on my trailer along with mine. Long term boarders do have some fringe benefits for the BO.
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[QUOTE=skykingismybaby1;6620333]
But the cost of the bolded items will not change if they are not there so I think the boarders should pay for them.
Utilities will not be reduced because a horse is not there, labor costs will not be reduced (or someone has to take a hit cause the boarder wants a luxury vacation)
The mortgage and insurance will stay the same and the owner has to pay for them.[/QUOTE]
I’m looking at it differently, whether it’s right or wrong, if the stall is empty then costs become zero. The half board the boarder will pay to hold the stall will cover overall farm costs or maintenance. Not sure about mortgage or insurance since we don’t know the actual numbers.
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I feel what ever the BO makes in profit from said boarder.
According to most BOs, it should be very little to hold the stall.
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[QUOTE=Calhoun;6620459]
I’m looking at it differently, whether it’s right or wrong, if the stall is empty then costs become zero. The half board the boarder will pay to hold the stall will cover overall farm costs or maintenance. Not sure about mortgage or insurance since we don’t know the actual numbers.[/QUOTE]
Costs never become zero. Maybe half board would cover the overhead costs. Depends what’s included in the board.
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When Essie goes on a trip (training or whatever it may be) I’m expected to pay full board for the time she is gone. Since I know that, I take hay and grain with me. The double board thing keeps me at the barn more.
I paid half the normal full board rate when I lent my mare out to a former student to take with her to camp.
[QUOTE=Calhoun;6620459]
I’m looking at it differently, whether it’s right or wrong, if the stall is empty then costs become zero. [/QUOTE]
Um, no. Most costs are fixed; in fact the only costs I can think of off the top of my head that are reduced are hay and grain. Bedding too, if the horse spends time in its stall. Other than that, nothing else goes down!
If your business needs to clear a certain amount every month so that you can pay the mortgage and the property taxes (etc) which obviously do not change, then no, you need to make that amount of money – or you are losing money.
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When people go off to show, they are always expected to pay full board at home for that period. If you do find temporary boarders then I would reduce that cost but the boarder has to agree to that, I think. What if they suddenly want to come back home, such as if the horse or rider were injured or something and their stall is taken.
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