# Ideal Boarding Facility (Long Thread)



## Regula (Jan 23, 2012)

kellison said:


> 1. *What is your current (if applicable) boarding situation?* Pros and cons, price (if you are not offended by the question), what the facility does have, what you would like it to have, and what region you are in.


I board at a facility with ~60 horses. The property is ~160 acres total, one 16 stall barn and a smaller 4 stall barn, some dirt paddocks (I think ~10 or 12) and five different pastures: two gelding fields, two mare fields and one for turnout of the indoor horses.
The facility has one heated indoor arena, one outdoor arena and round pen, and one large grass ring with cross-country type jumps. The indoor is also equipped with cavaletti and jumps. There is no jumpig wihout a trainer though.
They also have their own hay field and a large manure pile and trailer parking space at the back of the property. The barn manager, who is also one of the trainers, lives on the property.
Barn times are 7am to 9.30pm. If you are staying later, you have to let them know so they keep the gate open.

I am in Alberta, Canada, so it's pretty dry year-round, but gets cold and snowy in the winter. There's no consistent year-round riding without an indoor arena. You can really see a price jump from barns with an indoor arena to barns without it, especially since most indoor arenas are heated here.

They have a barn farrier and barn vet that you can use, but it is no problem to bring in your own. There is a yearly vet check with vaccines, teeth check (and floating for those who need it), and sheath cleaning. You can opt out, but have to prove your horse is vaccinated together with the others. They just introduced a mandatory yearly Coggins too.
They deworm four times a year for $25 each, you can do your own, but have to use the same wormer and do it in front of the barn staff. You can also opt out by taking fecal samples and proving your horse's egg count is low (selective deworming).

Prices are $700 for stall board (includes daily pasture of paddock turnout, hay, grain, blanketing/unblanketing), $500 for paddock board (includes hay from small squares, and oats or beet pulp, any other feed or supplements can be provided and will be fed by staff), and I think $375 for pasture board (with a free choice round bale in the winter).

What I like about our barn:
- the care is good, there is not a huge staff turnover, and they pay attention to the horses.
- It is social (e.g. occasional barn parties), but very low drama.
- the facilities are nicely maintained. 
- The trainer is great and improves her own riding and teaching all the time (attends trainer courses, clinics, etc). 
- The barn is performance oriented, but without the nastiness. There are clinics regularly and guest trainers occasionally come to teach.
- it's ok to bring dogs (as long as they are friendly, of course)

What I wish they would do:
- fence the pastures with post and rail fencing (the fields are huge and sections of them are still fenced with tensile wire. Not my favorite)
- better manure management in the paddocks (right now, there is none, partly because everything freezes in winter. But then I don't know any boarding barn here that mucks out their paddocks), 
- wish the barn were closer to my house 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Saskia (Aug 26, 2009)

I live in Australia. 

The place I keep my horse at is the best in the area but nowhere near as good as more city ones.

I keep my horse in a shared paddock with about six other horses. The paddock is about 7 acres and there is a second one as well which they rotate between. There is always sufficient grass and it's pasture improved. They have probably five or six shared paddocks like this as well as smaller private on the property. All up its about 360 acres. 

Up in the main area they have a basic riding school and weekend trail business however no one is ever really there during the week. They have what they call an outdoor arena however it's just a large dirt yard. They also have an undercover arena that's in not great condition. One side of the arena is too deep and gets boggy. They have yards and stables which are rarely used. 

I pay $200 a month, this is self care with no feed provided, no tack room and no storage. They do catch and hold your horse for farrier etc and rarely charge extra. I like it because of the holding and the quality paddocks. It's pretty easy to get basic agistment in my area but rare to get one with any aort of services.

My ideal place - well location is a big one for me. If it's not close by then no matter how great it is I'll try for something else. Beyond that I want quality shared paddocks and a good arena. Tack storage would be helpful perhaps a stall for injuries or something but I wouldn't want to keep my horse in it routinely. 

Just a little thing but one factor that I really like about this place is that I can bring my dog with me. It's got a good atmosphere with friendly people and animals. I've been at other places that try to be a little more formal, but I hated never bringing able to bring my dog and then no one was nice and relaxed. 

Really spend your time doing research into your business idea. Where I keep my horse is only sustainable because the property has been in the family for years and even then they can't afford basic maintenance really. If there were repayments on such a property it wouldn't be possible.

I once knew someone quite well who wanted to start her own boarding business. She invested a bit in nice fences and paddocks, had good services and was booking in clinics, lessons, good marketing etc but she went bankrupt. It was a decent place but wasn't located greatly for people and she didn't have the market.

Really nut things out work out how much you will need to be getting each month to be sustainable and see if that's even a possibility.


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## Chasin Ponies (Dec 25, 2013)

Rural Midwest USA, 32 stall barn on about 5 acres. Ten years ago it was a well kept, beautiful place but no repair or maintenance is done so now it is run down and everything is falling apart. $150.00 Partial board and we provide and haul our own hay, feed and clean our own stalls. Turnout is very, very limited, tiny pastures and only available summers when dry and we must turn them out ourselves and remain on property while our horses are out. Several boarders feed and water twice a day in exchange for $5.00 each time off their board bill.

Medium/Small outdoor arena and very small indoor arena.(A really nice "lounge" is attached to the indoor but the boarders aren't allowed in it!) Both are sinking down, very dusty and hard as a rock. No new footing put in over the years. Two round pens that can only be used for turnout as their footing is even worse. Very limited trail riding. One outside wash rack but since they poured the concrete wrong, it floods and the water runs into the barn. One indoor "wash rack", very primitive between a walkway and the BOs complain if anyone uses it. Two tackrooms with cabinets on each side one heated, the other not but not enough cabinets or saddle racks for every stall. Two feed rooms, one on either side. Trailer parking available for an extra $20 a month but trailers are often vandalized.

Most of us would move our horses if there were any alternatives but the only other choice for boarding is a broken down converted cow barn. The stable ran fairly smoothly back in the day when the BOs fixed things but for them it's now all about money. The boarders in general are so mad about having the rates increased while the place falls apart that they no longer bother to clean up the place or help out.


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## kellison (Nov 20, 2015)

Thank you for everyone's input!

Regula, your barn sounds like a larger scale of what I am aiming for! The input has been very valuable. Luckily for my area, an indoor arena is not a necessity. Seriously, the town shuts down if there is ANY snow haha. It would just be nice to have some shade for the summer and rainy months. I love how your barn handles the deworming schedule and dogs. Dogs are awesome! 

Saskia, location is an important factor, thank you. I believe it is a good location (I've lived in the area for most of my life), but your bankruptcy story is probably going to make me research even more! I used to work at the barn, so I know it is in good repair, and everything is very low maintenance, but with horses there are never any guarantees. 

Chasin Ponies, I wish I lived in your area to give you a proper facility! I am sorry for all of your issues! I cringed several times reading your post. I hope someone repairs everything or someone opens a new facility soon!


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## Regula (Jan 23, 2012)

I agree with Saskia on the dogs. That actually is a big thing for me too.

One other thing is that our barn is mostly adults. There are some teenagers with their own horses, some of the horse owners bring our own kids to the barn (including me), and I think there are some lessons for smaller kids on the weekends, but it is really very easy to work around.
Don't get me wrong, I love kids. But at a previous barn I boarded, pretty much all evenings and weekends the arena was taken up by group lessons for kids, so anytime someone with normal working hours would have time to go spend time with their horse, the barn was crowded with kids and their parents, and the arena was full .
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

kellison said:


> Hello,
> 
> I am currently considering buying a facility to begin a boarding facility. I have two parts to this thread:
> 
> ...


I live in northern Arizona. We don't have real pasture anywhere, really, so things are a little different.

1-I LOVE my barn. We have a six stall barn and a ten stall barn. We have partially covered pipe stalls. We also have "turnout board." There is a nice, large arena that is very well-maintained, as well as a 60' round training arena, a round pen, a small practice arena (that is usually set up with a trail/obstacle course), and five turnouts. The barn hosts shows from March through November, as well as gymkhanas every month. The BO is amazing and really cares about the horses as though they are her own. She absolutely does not tolerate drama and is the most genuinely happy person I have ever known. Dogs used to be allowed, but then people started bringing their unaltered males who would mark all over the place, the BO got fed up with it, so she said no more dogs at the barn. 

I pay $185 a month for turnout board. My gelding is in a quarter acre dirt lot with two other gelding. This may seem cramped, but he prefers it to stall board. My board includes three feedings per day, alfalfa or Bermuda or a mix, whatever I want. My BO will blanket, fly mask, feed my supplements/grain, and (if stalled) do turnout for no additional charge. When the weather is inclimate, she will bring the horses in turnout into stalls for as long as the bad weather lasts (working on getting good shelters in the turnouts). 

I've run the costs of keeping my boy at home, should we end up buying property with a horse setup, but it's actually cheaper for me to board him at this point (he's a 17hh draft cross who eats 3-3.5 115+lbs bales of hay per week on his own and hay right now is $15-18/bale :shock: ).

2-My BO has been in business for 22 years. She has NEVER turned a profit (at least of any significance) and only just makes ends meet. She lives on-property and until recently, her husband worked full-time. She loves what she does, though.


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## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

I don't know your area but with 24 stalls and 11 paddocks even if paddocks aren't used on their own and just for the stalled horses you are still looking at very short turnout shifts. Around here that would be a big turnoff.

If you don't want to teach/train I would advise finding someone who does.

"If you want to make a small fortune, start with a big one".

As much as it sounds amazing and like something I would love to do myself someday I'm not sure I would approach it as something to provide a profit.

It may also help to gear the barn towards a specific discipline. Doesn't mean you won't allow other disciplines in but if dressage isn't big in your area say you could just have a regular arena then just mark it out for dressage if someone wants to ride a test.


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## kellison (Nov 20, 2015)

Regula, that's why I don't want to be heavily involved in training or teaching. I've worked at a barn that was only teens and kids (myself included), and it was awful. Drama, shows every weekend, overcrowding of horses in pastures, no personal attention, huge staff turnaround, and it was incredibly formal. 

DraftyAiresMum, holy cow! Hay is incredibly expensive there! We're lucky with low cost hay, but in the past I've had to get my hay all the way from New York one season. It can get pricey. I'm not extremely worried about making a profit, but I'm a stay-at-home mom right now, and I need a job to keep sane haha. As long as I can break even, I would be happy. Thank you so much for your input!

Yogiwick, turnout isn't very important in our area, but these are very large paddocks and there is still ten acres that have not been cleared and a large area that hasn't been fenced in. I'm a fan of pasture time, but it gets so hot and humid here, we try to keep horses under fans. But you're right, I would need to look at expanding in this property. As for the hiring of a trainer/instructor, I don't mind doing private lessons, but I don't want to overcrowd the barn and arenas with lessons and lesson horses. I would allow offsite trainers, though. My main focus is hunter/jumpers, but I also use dressage in my training. The arena would be for clinics, shows, and my own use, so I believe it would be worth the investment. Dressage is also gaining in popularity in my area. So I guess my discipline would be an all-inclusive "English" lol. Please see above paragraph for a response in the profit aspect. Thank you for raising valid points of concern!


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## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

Yes by a trainer/instructor I meant for the boarders use (unless you wanted to expand of course).

The barn I work at currently is small and all competent adults. There is an offsite trainer who comes and does lessons as well as works and shows the horses as the owners desire. She's good and all the boarders use her to some extent. Now this isn't any official arrangement just she happens to have a ton of clients at our barn. Something like that, or something where you do hire someone may be worth looking into.

Find a good one and it will be easier than a hodge podge of "I need a trainer!!" you can just say "oh so and so is coming out for "x" tomorrow, maybe you should give her a call?"


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## Whinnie (Aug 9, 2015)

My barn is affordable ($250.00/mo). Horses are stalled at night in the winter. Stalled during the hottest part of the day in the summer. Stalls are cleaned daily, fresh bedding once a week. There are 14 stalls, a tackroom and a washing area (cold water only). There is an indoor "arena" which is really just a large working area and uncomfortable for more than 3 horses to work at a time. There is an outside "arena" that is Dressage size.

Hay and grain is included. Worming 3X a year is included. Farrier care is available on the barn schedule and I just have to add the cost to my board for that month. There is no charge for the BM to hold the horse. Fly masks are applied and removed by BM every day at no extra charge. Grain is only minimal per day but it can be increased a reasonable amount by request at no extra cost. The hay is native grass and is baled by the BO which helps to hold down the cost of board. Outside grass hay to purchase goes for $4.00/bale to $7.00/bale depending on the supply (wet summer, drought. etc) that contributes to the market. BO has not raised the price of board as she puts up more hay than needed even when crops are bad.

BO has raised the board cost twice since I have been there, but current boarders are always "grandfathered" in.

There is a "porta john" instead of a real bathroom. Aisles are concrete, but stalls are dirt with bedding.

Because of the affordability I really can't complain. Things that could be better without adding too much costs are: I do wish there were clear, written rules as many people are just not considerate. I wish the tack area had lockers as sometimes things seem to disappear. I wish the last quarter mile between the house and barn was plowed regularly in the winter. At my age it is sometimes hard to slog through deep snow and be in the cold.

I would NOT like dogs to be allowed as too often I have found the owners to be in denial as to their dog's behavior (yeah, I know there are exceptions but I have witnessed too many problems). Currently no one brings dogs but there is no rule.

Right now there is only one person who takes lessons so there has been no conflict for the arena. I would find it hard to have to be confined to certain hours/days of using the arena. If there were posted hours/days it could affect my decision to board there depending on availability. It just isn't large enough for independent riding during someone's lesson.

I am probably more picky than the average boarder as I had my own place for 25 years so switching to a boarding situation is not easy.


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## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

Whinnie said:


> I wish the tack area had lockers as sometimes things seem to disappear.


My halter disappeared for two months one time. Wouldn't be nearly so odd, except my gelding wears a draft-size halter, so his halter wouldn't have fit a single other horse on the property. I searched for it every time I was out at the barn. Finally, my BO's husband was helping me look and found it hanging on a post in an area we had already looked that day which was on the other side of the barn from where my gelding is kept. Really strange, as there wasn't anyone else at the barn at that time, other than me, the BO's husband, and two of the BO's daughters. STILL have no idea who took my halter or why, and it's been over a year since it happened. :icon_rolleyes:


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## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

DraftyAiresMum said:


> My halter disappeared for two months one time. Wouldn't be nearly so odd, except my gelding wears a draft-size halter, so his halter wouldn't have fit a single other horse on the property. I searched for it every time I was out at the barn. Finally, my BO's husband was helping me look and found it hanging on a post in an area we had already looked that day which was on the other side of the barn from where my gelding is kept. Really strange, as there wasn't anyone else at the barn at that time, other than me, the BO's husband, and two of the BO's daughters. STILL have no idea who took my halter or why, and it's been over a year since it happened. :icon_rolleyes:


And in that same vein...

At the barn I used to board at, my friend had her saddle bags stolen by the BO! She came in one day and they were gone off her saddle. We looked everywhere, but couldn't find them. Two days later, they turned up on one of the saddles for the BO's dude string horses. She asked the BO about it and he swore they were his and he'd had them for years. Never mind that they were extremely unique and she had pics of them on her saddle from the week before. :icon_rolleyes:


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