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Discussion on Field Board Cost
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Member:
Terrilyn
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Posted on Thursday, Sep 23, 2004 - 1:23 pm:
I'm thinking of taking on a boarder. The arrangement will be kind of a cross between field board and full board...her horse will have access to a bedded stall and turnout. She wants to pay for hay and grain, farrier, deworming, etc. I will be responsible for bringing horse in and out and for cleaning stall. I'm in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. I have a round pen and some open areas in which to ride (no formal ring). Stall is in a large center-aisle barn, about 10x12 in size. What should I reasonably expect to charge her? I am thinking in the $150 range.
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Friday, Sep 24, 2004 - 8:33 am:
Unless you inherited this property and someone else pays for maintenance of the buildings, fences, and pastures sounds like you will be working for less than minimum wage to me. However this may not be a business deal.
DrO
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Member:
Terrilyn
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Posted on Friday, Sep 24, 2004 - 9:57 am:
Thanks for the reality check, Dr. O.  I'm a sucker for a sad story (rescued TB, owner on limited income--bad sign). My starting price was $200, but she talked me down...I don't currently have boarders, but am very fortunate to own a place that can accommodate them. I think I'll give the idea more thought before committing to this person or to this price...
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Member:
Damron
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Posted on Friday, Sep 24, 2004 - 11:29 am:
For whatever it's worth, I completely agree with DrO. We have a small number of boarders and last winter made the mistake of allowing two boarded horses to live "out", that is, they had a shed and about 4 acres, but no stall. We found it to actually be MORE work than doing the stalls. Also, beware the "cheap" horse owner. You may end up doing much more work because of hard luck stories, or because you get to the point where you simply can't stand the fact that the horse's feet haven't been picked out for a month. Loretta
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Member:
Terrilyn
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Posted on Friday, Sep 24, 2004 - 11:49 am:
I agree, Loretta...when you hear someone say, "It's all I can afford," you know it's going to be troublesome getting the board paid on time, and hard for the horse owner to take care of basic horse needs...it's helpful to hear from someone who's been there.
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Member:
Cowgrl
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Posted on Friday, Sep 24, 2004 - 1:34 pm:
I also agreed to board a friend's horse in a spare paddock. There was a large shed with bedding that she was to clean and she was also to provide her own hay and grain. This was for the bargain price of $50. All I needed to do was feed for her. Well this turned out to be a disaster! She never had hay or grain available so I had to feed out of my own stock, the stall was rarely cleaned, the horse was never groomed or received any training (yearling filly), and I had to ask for the board every month It was like pulling teeth to get it out of her. Her huband made an excellent wage not to mention she worked as well so it wasn't like a hardship. When I asked her when she was going to bring in hay or grain I always got "If you would just feed her your hay and I'll reimburse you when I bring it in." Of course, she rarely had any to "reimburse" me with. After 6 months I told her she had to find someplace else to board that it just wasn't working out. She was supposed to be my "best friend" too. Never again will I have a boarder.
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Member:
Lisamg
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Posted on Friday, Sep 24, 2004 - 3:43 pm:
Terri;
Not to discourage you .... I've never had a boarder (because of all the reasons in the other postings) but I was one for quite some time before I got my own place. I had only turn out and a 10x10 stall and paid $185 per month. That was 8 years ago. We all know hay prices have gone up a lot since then.
Also consider the personal liabiltiy of having a boarder. Most homeowner's policies will protect you should your horse cause damage (i.e. get hit by a car, destory someone's property) but they do not cover damage by a boarder's horse. That requires a seperate insurance policy for you to be covered for possible lawsuits. Do you really want to potentialy lose everything for this boarder?
On the other hand, where would boarders be if no one kept their horses for them? Most likely "horse-less". There are a lot of horse owners who are only able to have a horse if it's boarded.
Good luck.
Lisa
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Member:
Damron
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Posted on Friday, Sep 24, 2004 - 4:30 pm:
Lisa makes some great points. Insurance is an issue to take seriously. We have it, plus a detailed boarding agreement that includes a good release. Having said that, you can only accomplish so much through the legal-ese in the boarding agreement. The most important key to successfully managing boarders (IMHO) is to make sure they understand the farm rules and expectations before they bring the horse(s), and then keep the lines of communication open. Our boarding agreement starts out by saying that we have zero tolerance for ignoring the terms of the agreement or the farm rules and that no warning should be expected --- THIS is your warning  . But as anyone who has boarders knows, the human imagination is not active enough to think up and try to prevent all the crazy, dangerous, neglectful and sometimes abusive things that people do to or with their horses!!! Boy did we learn a lot that first year  !!
But it's also true that many horse owners have to board their horses, and the right situation can be very beneficial for farm owner, horse owner and horse. We love the boarders we have at the moment, so that's proof it *can* work!!
Loretta
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Member:
Hwood
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Posted on Friday, Sep 24, 2004 - 6:44 pm:
Hey, Terri,
I believe that the success of the boarding arrangement lies in a good boarding agreement. You can set the price to just cover your expenses, or to make a profit . . . whatever works for you, but it is imperative that you feel at ease with the boarder, and a way to help insure that is to put down in writing what you expect, and have him/her sign on the dotted line. Give a copy of the agreement to the boarder, and keep your copy with a signed release of liability. You will want to add a "care, custody and control" rider onto your insurance. Make sure you specify under what circumstances the agreement can be broken . . . For example, you can require that the boarder always have a week's extra hay/grain on hand . . . and if you ever have to feed your own hay or grain, the owner gets one warning and then is out of your barn . . . You can also require that the boarder present to you receipts showing that the horse has been wormed, vaccinated, trimmed, shod, etc. . . . or that every two months, there will be a $15 charge for you to worm their horse . . . And that at the FIRST sign of abuse, boarders will be asked to leave . . .
I DO think that you should either board enough horses, or charge enough from one boarder to help you afford your own horse habit . . . It makes boarding much more worthwhile if you are benefitting from the arrangement, too.
Take care.
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Member:
Kami
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Posted on Saturday, Sep 25, 2004 - 3:00 am:
I am still going back and forth on boarders to help support my farm. I do have the liability insurance (for a horse damaging someone else's property) but do not carry the custodial care (for the value of the horses on the farm) because I only foster horses that would never sue if the animal became sick or injured.
As part of my decision, I sat down and figured out costs associated. I came up to $8/day in hay, feed, bedding, and meds for an average 1000# horse (they 24x7 turn-out, but have run-in stalls that they do camp out in during some seasons, the average is over the course of a year, and I feed a consistently high quality hay and got raked on the last load). I added $3/day stall cleaning and $1/feed (rate paid at the local track and that I'd have to pay someone here when I travel for work). Then prorated the cost of insurance and other facility costs (i.e. running electric heaters) and came to a 'break even' cost of almost $15/day ($450/mo) where I would pocket $5/day if I clean stalls and feed. Since I don't have any rings and only trails, I am not likely to get that rate from a private pleasure owner.
I'm known to have an interest in horse rescue. I have been repeatedly approached by 'rescue' types wanting to pop their horses in a fenced field for $3/day because they're being kicked out of the last place where they didn't pay the $3/day. I won't do it. (a) My 'unused' pastures are actually rotation pastures in re-gowth for forage and a critical part of my feed program. (b) I won't take a horse that I don't have shelter for and (c) if you're being kicked out, that isn't exactly a great reference.
I have also considered the track style boarding where it is a flat $5/day for a stall only. The owner is responsible for everything and no time involvement for me. But then what if the owner doesn't feed or maintain? What if the owner abandons the horse? Would I actually take and sell the horse? And how long would I feed the horse before I took action?
You should read through a few 'horse rescue' boards before getting involved. There are a lot of people who are trying to sell things to 'catch up on board' and who are bad mouthing the such-n-such owner of the farm who is 'unfairly' demanding their money. Horse rescue takes money, but (for what ever reasons) there are many who get involved with neither the funds or the knowledge needed (and who refuse or can't afford professional assistance). How will you deal with this horse if it has physical issues and the owner is unwilling or unable to treat them in a way you feel is needed? How will you handle it if the horse has mental issues that endanger you or your horses? How will you handle the next rescue she wants to bring to your place?
You should also call around and see how much similar places are charging in your area. I know there are still people w/o mortgages who may charge only a couple bucks for a back pasture, but most have loans, facility expenses, employees, insurances, etc and actually think is is reasonable to expect some profit over expenses.
I was also a boarder and that farm was GREAT. She charged an above average fee, but if you paid BEFORE the 1st of the month, it was a reasonable fee ($50 less). If you paid late, she enforced the late fee. She also had a 4 page application and DID a credit check. She said the app/credit check alone caused all the slow/bad pays to not even apply for a stall. So if I board, I will do the same.
If you are personally interested in horse rescue, then maybe it would be okay to get into a situation where you are actually loosing money. I personally am interested in horse rehabilitation and have set a specific number of stalls for that purpose. I personally can't justify any boarder on the farm that doesn't cover all their own cost AND subsidize at least a part of one of my rehabs because that boarder will take time away from my horses and tie up a stall that could have been paying full rate.
To some this may sound cold, but good stewardship of a farm is ensuring that the barns, pastures and animals that you own are taken care of. I am not independently wealthy and have a full time day job (limited time) so I have to rate all 'opportunities' according to how much time and money it will cost. $150 sound nice, until you start adding up the costs (include wage for your time!) and you'll probably find out that it is a loosing proposition.
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Member:
Canter
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Posted on Monday, Sep 27, 2004 - 8:49 am:
Terri,
There's a ton of excellant advice above so I don't have much to add. I've always boarded my horses and I can tell you this: I know of specific instances where boarders, who are long-time family friends of the barn owners, have stiffed the owners for monthly fees...they eventually had to be asked to leave, straining finances and friendships all the way around.
I think the right boarder can be beneficial to all...just make sure that you've found the RIGHT person.
Good luck.
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Member:
Terrilyn
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Posted on Tuesday, Sep 28, 2004 - 9:47 am:
Thanks to ALL for the great advice...there is so much here to consider. I believe at this time I won't do any boarding, but will focus attention on getting my place up to snuff regarding the physical plant as well as insurance and a good lease agreement that will address legal contingencies, etc. It is unfortunate that I hear way more boarding horror stories than positive ones from friends/horse people who are currently in the business or who have been in the past. Many tell me it just isn't worth it. My goal is just to cover my own horse expenses, as Holly states above. Armed with these suggestions, I have some research to do! Thanks.
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