Owning a small horse boarding farm

[Builder]

My wife & I are close to being able to realize our dream of buying 10-15 acres and possibly starting a small horse farm. I'll be building the house, barn & garage myself since I'm in the construction business.

My questions are about horse boarding. I'd like to board 4-8 horses to locals to make some money to offset some of our new increased expenses. We also plan to "act 319" our land to lower the tax burden.

I'm a "country boy", but I don't know much about owning horses or boarding them. My family has no interest in owning them, just looking at them on our property.

Some of my customers have told me the good & bad rumors & stories. Can anyone here who does this as a primary or side business please lend me their experiences, good & bad?

What am I getting myself into?

 

[MikePA]

Before boarding someone elses horses, I suggest buying one and caring for it to see how much work they are. Feed, hay, stall bedding, vet bills, mucking out stalls, fence installation (fencing in 15 acres will be a lot of work, plus creating separate pastures) and maintenance, liability insurance, dealing with owners, no vacations unless you hire someone to care for the horses while you're away, up at all hours when they are sick, etc. We've been caring for 3 to 4 of our own horses for about 15 years. My wife's riding instructor built a brand new barn (10 stalls), inside ring, outside ring, plenty of pastures. They had to spend at least $500,000 in what they built, not including the house. People are not going to entrust their horses to a place that looks like it belongs on Green Acres /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Nor are they going to entrust them to someone who doesn't know and love horses. Lots of money and lots of work to build and maintain. My opinion...You have to love horses, not just love to watch them, to do this.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

I would say if you don't know much about horses then you might want to re-think your plans. The last thing you want is for something to happen to someones horse because you didn't know better and end up with a lawsuit.

You would also have to consider that if you are boarding horses for others you will have people and vehicles coming and going from your property non-stop as well as people running thru your barn to tend to their horses. To me it seems like a big headache waiting to happen and I would look to other means to keep your land in ag status even if it means renting out 10 acres to a neighboring farm for $1 if it saves you enough. I know around here there are a lot of people who let farmers plant corn on their land long enough for it to qualify for CRP and then put it into that program and receive the check each year for the next 10-15 years (I think it runs that long). It maintains its ag status while it is in there also but I don't know enough about it to really say for sure. But talk to your county ag department and tell them what you want to do and they can advise you for your area.

 

[Builder]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Before boarding someone elses horses, I suggest buying one and caring for it to see how much work they are. Feed, hay, stall bedding, vet bills, mucking out stalls, fence installation (fencing in 15 acres will be a lot of work, plus creating separate pastures) and maintenance, liability insurance, dealing with owners, no vacations unless you hire someone to care for the horses while you're away, up at all hours when they are sick, etc. We've been caring for 3 to 4 of our own horses for about 15 years. My wife's riding instructor built a brand new barn (10 stalls), inside ring, outside ring, plenty of pastures. They had to spend at least $500,000 in what they built, not including the house. People are not going to entrust their horses to a place that looks like it belongs on Green Acres /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Nor are they going to entrust them to someone who doesn't know and love horses. Lots of money and lots of work to build and maintain. My opinion...You have to love horses, not just love to watch them, to do this. )</font>

Thanks for your input. To be honest, we have no desire to own horses. We have encountered a few aquaintances who have boarded horses. What they do is let one customer (typically a local girl) board her horse for free and in return, she mucks the stalls & takes care of feeding the others.

We would like to run it hands off as much as possible-providing properly fenced in pasture and a clean barn for our customers. My house & property will not look like "green acres" it will look very well kept. The fencing does not intimidate me as I have installed miles of fence. What i thought i would do is provide a driveway to the barn with a parking area for trucks & trailers when they come to ride.

I have been warned that if the pastures are not properly cared for and a horse/rider are injured, I could be liable. That's what concerns me.

Thanks for your help so far!
If you have done this and have experience, I would welcome all thoughts on my idea.

 

[Builder]

Thanks, Robert. I'm also considering a crop of some kind, maybe even a tree farm if the horse boarding scenario looks too difficult.

 

[DaveNay]

Please take this with a grain of salt.

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( My wife & I are close to being able to realize our dream of buying a daycare center and possibly starting a small business. I'll be building the toys, toyboxes and coat racks myself since I'm in the construction business.

My questions are about caring for children. I'd like to take care of 4-8 kids to locals to make some money to offset some of our new increased expenses.

I'm a "country boy", but I don't know much about having children or caring for them. My family has no interest in having our own children, just looking at them on our property.
)</font>

Now, for my background. My wife and I have been running our small boarding and lesson facility for the last three years. My wife has had horses and been actively involved with them since she was a child. What you are getting yourself into can be a lot of work. You will be expected to aid with vet and shoeing of the horses, as well as special care and attention if any of the horses need medical attention. Many horse owners expect their horses to be fed special supplements and grain. They must supply the special products, but you will still need to do the actual feeding every day.

Essentially, you are signing up for a 24 hour per day "side job". /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

 

[Cottonhawk]

It will be a lot of work, you will be tied down most of the time, there will be liabilities which you need to have expensive insurance coverage, your customers will expect that you take good care of their barn babies, your property will have to be open for your customer to come whenever they want to etc. etc....! If you are a good operator your expense will be high and your profit will be low. If you are not a good operator you will lose money.
The profitable boarding barn owners are those who love and own their own horses, experienced so that they can sense any problem when any of the horses may have slightest problems, they react quickly and know what to do when any of the horse get in trouble or having problems. They are trainers of the horses and coach for the riders. They often are accomplished in showing their own horses.
If you don't own your own horses and knows very little about caring for horses, it is a bad idea to get into the small boarding business.

 

[MikePA]

<font color="blue"> What they do is let one customer (typically a local girl) board her horse for free and in return, she mucks the stalls & takes care of feeding the others. </font>
And if she doens't show up, you get to d it. If she's sick, you get to do it. If she goes on vacation, you get to do it. Plus, as I mentioned, there's a lot more to boarding horses than feeding and cleaning stalls, and as the owner, you will be expected to provide it. Personally, if I was going to board a horse and found out that the owner of the facility was not going to be involved, I'd look elsewhere. No offense meant on the Green Acres reference.

And yes, if a horse is injured on your property, even by someone elses horse, you could be held liable.

<font color="blue"> To be honest, we have no desire to own horses. </font>
Then my advice is don't board them.

 

[WhyNot]

Would it be feasible to just rent out space. Your customer would get their own stall and locked storage room for tack and feed, hay, etc... They would also have access to the pastures and riding ring. Have them sign a contract that say's the only thing you are going to do is give them space in a well maintained barn and pasture's. The customer is resp. for every thing else like mucking the stall's, feed and turn out, and health prob. You won't make a living this way but charge enough to pay the taxes and maint. Then you get your horses with out any cost to you. Never had a horse (a 4 wheeler will run all day with out a break) /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif but I don't see why this would not work.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

It will work.

But only for a little while if you've got the kind of luck that wins a state lottery every year or so.

As the property owner you will be arbitrator when one owner charges another with stealing their horse feed. Or when one horse comes up injured (the greatest threat to a horse is usually another horse).

And no matter what language your agreement has it won't stand up in court if their horse is hurt on your property and it can be shown you should have known about a hazard.

The biggest problem with boarded horses is a large percentage of the owners aren't financially committed or equipped for their care. The horse is their statement about themselves . It's a statement about potential and not reality at best and an attempt to make fantasy tangible at worst.

Horses are easy to love. They're herd animals which means they're sociable naturally. And since they don't speak our language it's easy to put our words to their actions. The perfect recipe for pure love. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Most of the successful boarders I've known have had the boarding as a necessary evil to complement their horse business. Having boarders helped offset the costs of their own horse interests.

I'll join the chorus suggesting careful thought before engaging in becoming a horse boarder because it looks easy. Horses have personalities, so do their owners. Think of this like putting in an apartment complex in your back yard in the city.

Sorry. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif