Operating costs

[TheMan419]

I think you should look at the cost of board in a different way. What does the competition charge ? Are you providing a Ritz Carlton stable, or just a bare bones barn ? If similar barns charge $Y per animal, you probably don't want to charge Y times 2, nor do you want to charge 50% of Y for a like experience. At the same time you don't want to lose money for the pleasure of shoveling manure. If you see that the competition gets $400 per animal per month, you have to look at your expenses and your time to see whether it's worth doing. Feed, insurance, equipment, labor, electricity, etc. etc. are all factors to plug into your equation.

Correct. But estimating costs is part of that hence my question.

Yes if $400/mo is the going rate I realize I cannot charge $700/mo. However if my costs are $500/mo I may choose not to go into the business. I have a degree in finance.

We are building the barn for our horses regardless. The question is can we make some money boarding a few horses in addition.

 

[Looking4new]

You could possibly offset some of your costs by boarding others, BUT you still have the responsibility of the other horses.
That being said, insure high. The higher the better. It doesn't take that much longer to shovel manure for 8 horses than it does for 4. After Insurance I think your biggest expense is going to be hay and straw. Good hay for horses is NOT cheap, but then you already know that.
That is my 2cents worth.