Owning a small horse boarding farm

Builder · Mar 26, 2006

Wroughtn harv, thanks for your thoughts. Let me tactfully digress for a moment. I never thought this was "easy". I'm a builder, so I think some of you that board horses might be taking this the same way I might take it when harry homeowner tells me he's "gonna build his own house".

What you guys are saying is that "it's not as easy as it looks". I'm sure it's not, but I live smack dab in horse country, and horse boarding is an active & profitable business in these parts. That's the primary reason for my idea-it's a big business around here.

Thanks for pointing out the legal ramifications. I had a lawyer who owns horses already tell me about those pitfalls, but being in the consruction business is 10 times as litigious, so that doesn't scare me too much.

Builder · Mar 26, 2006

( 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. )

This is EXACTLY my plan. I could not have explained it better. I can't see why horse owners that want cheaper space would not be agreeable to a set-up like that, but that's why I'm asking you guys these questions.

Would any potential customer sign a boarding contract in which the property owner only agrees to supply properly maintained fenced-in land, a barn with stalls, electric power, water and access to the property for the owner of the boarded horses? I could also supply hay & straw.
The customer would have to feed, clean, medicate, exercise and provide all necessary care for their horses?

Or is this unrealistic?

midlf · Mar 26, 2006

We bought a place in mid 2004 in the middle of SE WI horse country. There are about 6 acres of pasture. The previous owner had 2-3 horses. That about maxed out the pasture from what we could see. The other problem is horse output. The PO has able to borrow the neighbor farmers spreader and fields to get rid of the poo. Without that convenience the PO would have had problems. And judging from the pile foot print even two horses made a good sized pile.

Based on this I would question if 10 acres could support 8 horses.

MikePA · Mar 26, 2006

Or is this unrealistic? 
Based upon my experience, this is unrealistic. The plan that was described could be called 'Horse Storage'. It's not that simple, hence my advice.

What do you do when you hear (middle of the night) or see two or more horses fighting? I know the answer is get out of the way, but what happens after the fight is over?

What do you do when the fight injures a horse? Who calls the vet? Which vet? Or, since the agreement was just 'Horse Storage' do you call the owner and let them handle it? Do you even have to call the owner?

What do you do when the fight destroys part of the fence and horses get loose?

What do you do when a horse damages a stall and injures itself?

w_h described it well. It's interesting that people who own (or know about) horses are urging caution and the people who don't, do not see why it wont work. But if you think it'll work in your area, spend the $$$$ and go for it. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

Jimbrown · Mar 26, 2006

I am not in the business and never have been but I have boarded horses in 3 or 4 states. I currently have several friends that are in the boarding business. They all insist on full board except in some very rare cases where they board for people they really know. They pretty much all agree the part board where the horse owner does the feeding, cleaning ect does not work. it works for a while and then you get owners who do not feed or clean regularly. Plus you are going to have boarders wanting you to be there when the shoer comes and /or the vet. "I mean you are there anyway why can't you just have them take care of my horse." You can have all the contract that you want but you are still going to have people saying " Well we had some other stuff to do this weekend and could just get there to feed and clean" What are you going to do when there is some poor animal there that has not been fed for three days? You can try and charge them and even tell them to leave but is simply not worth the effort and displeasure of having to deal with it. And you can bet your bottom dollar the ones who do not clean or pay are going to be the ones who complain the most.

Builder · Mar 26, 2006

Thanks for your experience midlf. That's why I started out saying 4-8 horses. I assumed 9-10 acres of pasture.

We're looking at parcels with about 9-10 acres of pasture, the rest is woods, driveway, etc.

MikePA & JimBrown,

Thanks. These are the kinds of experiences I need to have shared with me in making my decision-very helpful insights.
I have quite a few customers who own horses. Some know my intentions and have encouraged me to proceed with caution. In fact, a few have asked if they can board horses they don't have space for on my property (if I buy it). That's where the idea originated.

SWB · Mar 26, 2006

IMHO, if you have no experience with horses and have no desire to own them, do not get into the boarding business, even just renting out space. People who board horses have to have a presence there 24/7. People who want to or need to have their horses on some one elses property are doing it because they can't be there 24/7 to take care of their own. The only solution I can see for you is to find someone who wants to run a boarding operation and is willing to lease your property for a long enough period to pay off the investment you will have to make in order to prepare the facility to board horses. Even then, unless they live very very close, I wouldn't do it if I were you.

I am a horse lover, have owned many horses in my lifetime and have run boarding operations for many years, even though I don't do it any more. Boarding horses is not like running a car lot. You don't just park them out there. You have to know how to care for them and have to know what to do when something goes wrong with them. Horses have a tendency to get hurt and get sick and you are responsible and you are liable. Horses get out (and end up roaming around the county where they can get killed by a car or can kill someone in a car). If you have no experience, imho you are a disaster waiting to happen.

You also have to love shoveling horse manure (or at least not mind it) because you will be doing it when no one else can. Most small boarding operations are successful because the owner has horses of his/her own and has to take care of his/hers anyway.

Moreover, as a horse owner, I would never trust my horse to someone who has never done this before, has no experience with horses and does not own any of their own. This means you will be unlikely to attract the kind of experienced clients that will make a successful boarding operation. The kind of boarders that are inexperienced themselves or don't care if you are, are the kind of boarders who don't care if they pay their bills on time. The best advice I can give you after years of experience is don't.

Cliff_Johns · Mar 26, 2006

Another possibility is to leese part of your property to someone else who owns and operates the horse boarding company.

One observation is that someone coming to you to board a horse is going to ask a lot of questions about your background and knowledge and based on what you've said, I would guess you'd fail the test. Having an expert run the business on your land gets you the pleasures without some of the pain and you can get to know the business. A small appartment on the property (barn loft or something) would facilitate this.

Just a thought.

Cliff

SWB · Mar 26, 2006

(
but I live smack dab in horse country, and horse boarding is an active & profitable business in these parts. That's the primary reason for my idea-it's a big business around here.
)

Isn't that like my saying that I live next to several successful home builders so, therefore, I should get into the house building business? Would you buy a house from me if I did?

A successful horse boarding facility is run by experienced horse people. The one's that are profitable can charge a premium because they attract people with expensive horses who will pay a premium for their care. Usually these operations have top level trainers that are the reason people want to have their horses there. Small operations are usually run by people who want to cover the cost of their own horse operation.

Builder · Mar 26, 2006

Thanks for your responses.
Funny you mention that. We are going to build an in-law suite off the back of our garage.
One of my aquaintances who boards horses lets a local girl live in their in-law suite. She pays rent for the in law suite, but gets to keep her horse there for free. She in turn cleans the barn & takes care of feeding, etc.

That way they have a knowledgeable "horse lover" living on the premises to take care of the day to day chores. I think as long as we keep it low, the township won't complain.

I haven't had time to explain every detail of the ideas I had, but that was going to be part of it.