# Boarding Price Increase



## BarnBum

I've been boarding my three horses at the same barn for about 3 years. This is the only barn within 45 minutes thats decent (the other barns in the area have poor food quality like moldy hay, unsafe fences, tiny stalls that aren't cleaned and terrible riding arenas) so I basically have no choice in boarding. 

We've been reasonably happy at this place. Its not fabulous, the turnouts are small and just sand--no grass or shelter. But we live in Texas...its hard to get decent turnout. We've been paying $500 a month, per horse. Thats really been stretching my budget but I'm trying to give the best for my horses...now our BO has increased it $100 to $600 a month per horse. No multiple horse discount or anything. She said it was due to the rising price of hay (which I know is getting bad) but I find it hard to believe that its an extra $100 worth. 

I think this miffs me the most because she recently banned jumping in the nice arena, moved all the jumps into the arena with horribly thick footing and its kind of small. The other arenas have uneven footing, which I normally would tolerate--nothings perfect, but now for all this extra money? She's also spreading manure all over the grass (including grass arenas) I assume its to help it grown, but the flies are crazy. The jumps are also all broken and in disrepair. The BO is a dressage rider and is normally wonderful. She lets us do our own thing, doesn't get in our business and the horses are well cared for but since we've moved there the price has increased at least once a year for different reasons. Once was so she could improve the jumps...she painted some but they're all cruddy again. So where was our money going? 

I'm trying to be reasonable about this, I know she's not scamming us. But it would be nice if jumpers got some of the niceties (I'm an eventer, so I do both jumping and dressage) the turnouts dont have any grass and are solid sand and NO shelter. No trails either. 

I guess I'm asking if its unreasonable to be angry about this? My gelding and I were planning on some serious showing as we moved up to Training, but with an extra 300 dollars a month thats gone.


----------



## waresbear

You can be mad all you like, but where else are you going to board your horses? That is some major coin you're shelling out, just you & 3 horses? I wouldn't be complaining unless you got somewhere to move those horses, as the owner can always ask you to leave if she's easily offended. However, if you do by chance find some place else, by all means, tell her you want a discount & expect some conditions to change or you will be moving your horses. Until then, I would play it safe.


----------



## tinyliny

Where we are, the prices keep going up and no visible improvements that really matter. Hay is understandable, though. I think it's gone up something like 30% in that last year. That's pretty hefty. Almost all the hay that is grown in Washington state is sent to Japan! At least the stuff from Ellensburg, where they grow a very pretty blue/green timothy that is covetted in Japan. I am glad the farmer can make a good living, but what about us?


----------



## BarnBum

tinyliny said:


> Where we are, the prices keep going up and no visible improvements that really matter. Hay is understandable, though. I think it's gone up something like 30% in that last year. That's pretty hefty. Almost all the hay that is grown in Washington state is sent to Japan! At least the stuff from Ellensburg, where they grow a very pretty blue/green timothy that is covetted in Japan. I am glad the farmer can make a good living, but what about us?


Thats what I'm saying. I understand price of hay increases, and she has no choice, but really? A hundred extra bucks a horse? There's 200 horses on the property! An extra 50 bucks would go a long way...


----------



## Joe4d

supply and demand. She is free to charge what the market will bare. You said yourself the other places are bad. Personally there is no way I would pay that. You can buy your own piece of land build your own barn and arena for less than 600 a month.


----------



## waresbear

That's what I was thinking Joe, that's $1800 per month, a decent morgage payment that would see a income return. I would be trimming it down to one horse, I couldn't afford those prices & have a disposable income to boot.


----------



## churumbeque

BarnBum said:


> Thats what I'm saying. I understand price of hay increases, and she has no choice, but really? A hundred extra bucks a horse? There's 200 horses on the property! An extra 50 bucks would go a long way...


 My guess is she can't find enough hay for that many horses and is paying up the wazoo. With the hay shortage in Texas they are coming to Iowa to buy it and now causing a shortage here. Our prices are going up if you can even find it and trucking it to Texas is at least 1000.00 a load just for getting it there and more if southern tx


----------



## MHFoundation Quarters

churumbeque said:


> My guess is she can't find enough hay for that many horses and is paying up the wazoo. With the hay shortage in Texas they are coming to Iowa to buy it and now causing a shortage here. Our prices are going up if you can even find it and trucking it to Texas is at least 1000.00 a load just for getting it there and more if southern tx


Same here, craigslist is full of ads here for truckloads heading to TX. It's starting to raise prices on what is staying local as well. Those that have waited to buy hay for the winter are paying for it. Glad I have my own hay fields. Alfala/tim small squares usually run about $3/per, I've seen ads anywhere from $7 to $12. There's no way I could afford the prices I've heard about down there for all of mine, I'd be eating ramen noodles for every meal. 

With that amount of horses, she's forking out a hefty sum to keep them fed, I can certainly understand an increase.


----------



## Dreamcatcher Arabians

My first truck load of hay this year was around $2000. My 2nd was $4000 and my third is $6000, praying I don't need a 4th. My round bales have gone from $25/bale to $125/bale and Strategy isn't going down either. My water bills have tripled since the drought and and I've had to give the barn help raises. I have been charging $600/month for the show barn all year and have just sent out notices that I'm raising my prices in January. 

I am making improvements but I don't even have an arena......so that's what your $600 gets you here in OK.


----------



## Beauseant

WOW....that is some increase. :shock:

Here, full care board is about $375 on the lower end to $450 on the higher end
....600 seems....incredible.

Just wow!!


----------



## starlinestables

Hay is wicked expensive.. $50 just barely covers the extra hay cost per horse.. that doesn't even cover the $2 price increase per bag of feed. $600 for board isn't unheard of here in Texas.

If you are upset at the board prices... just calmly express your concerns to the barn owner. I would also look at other boarding facilities and their prices.


----------



## demonwolfmoon

All I can say is.... Glad I'm not applying to grad schools in TX! Good luck 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## BravadoThePony

Where I live 600 is pretty middle of the board, but you probably wont have pasture or more than one arena. There is a dressage barn not to far away that charges $1300 per month! But the top quality jumper barns start at $700ish. I'd love to find a good place for $600! But I live in the middle of the suburbs, and good land is worth a fortune here.
Hay has been real expensive this year and the cost of your BO's hay orders could be $1000+ more dollars then they have been. 
I'd talk to her, calmly, about your concerns. She can't do anything about it if you don't say something.


----------



## Thyme

WOW, we havent had any hay issues that I know of. We buy locally in Skagit County WA and all prices are the same, full care board is 250 to 450 if you want to get fancy 
I would try and move them, even if you have to go a little farther out just have to weigh the board for the new place with the addition gas cost against your current board cost.
Or maybe move the two that you arent training with as much to a less expensive barn, one that is safe though not one of those others you discribed ick!
good luck!


----------



## Eolith

It's fascinating how prices differ so much in different areas. My mom pays $600 a month for full care at a barn with an outdoor and indoor arena, turnout in large grassy fields with buddies, and top class care. An hour and a half away where I'm attending college, it's $400 for pretty much all of the same.


----------



## Dreamcatcher Arabians

Until the drought drove my feed costs through the roof I only charged $250 for full care. But now, instead of costing me $100/month to feed a horse well, it's pretty much at least tripled and that's not including shavings, water, salt, and so on. 

Because of the drought, I no longer have 'pasture' so even the 'pasture' horses are getting fed like the barn horses to make sure they stay up to good weight and healthy. The only difference now between the barn horses and the pasture horses is a stall.


----------



## hhadavis

Wow...thats alot for boarding, living where we do I think the going rate is 300-350 for full care, and closer to austin about 450. I guess the next logical question to ask your BO is, when/if the hay rates go back down because they will unless theres another drought year, will she lower the boarding costs back down at that time?


----------



## Dreamcatcher Arabians

I just hit the local 'crap' auction last week to see what I could find for hay, and what the prices are. 

Round bales, appx 1200 lbs, of the worst hay I've ever seen, not sure I would feed it to a cow: $170/bale

Last spring, $15/bale for the really poor stuff, $25 for good horse hay

Local Prairie grass small bales, 50 lbs, full of seed heads and weeds: $9.50/bale

I quit feeding local prairie grass because the farmers cut too low and it's dusty, full of trash and weeds and has these little STICKER things that get in your clothes and you might as well just throw them out when you're done feeding because you'll never get all the junk out. Last spring was selling for $2 or less/bale. 

LOCAL alafalfa which means possibility of blister beetles: $13/bale
Out of state alfalfa = no blister beetles: $16/bale
Both alfalfas were 50 lb bales

12 bales of Orchard grass (we normally can't even get that down here): $12/bale, 50 lb bales

Nice clean Bermuda grass, 50 lb bales: $15/bale

I bought all the ought of state alfalfa, the orchard grass and about 50 bermuda bales just for insurance and to try to avoid the price of buying a 4th truck load this season. 

10 alfalfa = $160
12 orchard = $144
50 bermuda = $750
Total = $1050

Last year the alfalfa might have cost me $60, I wouldn't have gotten the orchard and the bermuda would have cost me about $3/bale so $150, total $210. I bought a total of 72 bales of hay which will last me abut 14 days. 

On top of that, I buy 2 pallets of Strategy per month at $16/bag, $1280 total and then there's salt which is $5/50lb bag, I use 2 of those. 

Bulk shavings when I can get them are around $450 truckload and I'll use a truckload/month, if I can't get them then I have to buy bagged by the pallet at $7/bag, $350/pallet and I'll use 2 pallets just to rebed all the stalls after I strip and another pallet for freshening throughout the month. 

I use 12 round bales per month, $2040 total

Oh and my water bill is $300/month
Electric $450/month 
Utilities are for barn ops only, not for my house or personal use. 

Barn help: $1200/worker

So....too just keep 1 boarded horse here COSTS: appx $576/month and that's with being able to buy BULK shavings, not palletized. I suppose I could feed less or not keep the stalls as clean and not strip out monthly, or not allow the boarders to bathe their horses.....but other than that, not sure where I could cut costs and still maintain the level of care I want to provide and the boarders expect. On the months I can't get a truckload of shavings, I eat the difference, I don't raise my fees. 

So, do I do like most barns and cut the Strategy and tell you that from now on you have to provide your own grain? Or do you prefer the convenience that I provide everything and you only write 1 check/month and don't have to go to the feed store? And if I cut the grain, will you really see that much savings because then my barn workers have to feed different horses different types of feed in different amounts, and that will take longer so my costs will go up? 

Where can YOU suggest I cut back to avoid a rate hike, what level of care can you live with if I start cutting things? I'd love to be able to make some money again, as you can see, there's not any profit in what I'm doing right now.


----------



## Speed Racer

Aye, yi, yi, I knew it was bad in Texas, but $12.00 a bale for plain old grass mix hay?! :shock:

Over the weekend, I got 50_ huge_ bales of the prettiest grass mix hay for $3.50 a bale. Sure, I had to load and unload it myself, but the supplier is only 13 miles from my house, and her bales run 50-75 pounds each.


----------



## maura

Here's some really simple math -

1 full size horse eats 2/3 of bale - one full bale of hay per day, or 20 - 30 bales per month. If the price of hay goes up 3.50 - 5.00 per bale; that's your $100./month increase right there. 

I suspect that there's a feed increase as well, because grain prices have gone up 25 % or more in my area. 

I think it's highly likely that your BO is doing exactly what she says she's doing - raising prices just enough to cover her cost increase. So the condition of the arenas and the jumps really isn't relevant, this is about basic care. I also suspect that gradually rising costs that haven't been passed on to the boarders have eaten up the BO's capital improvement budget. 

If you can confirm with other people locally that the price of hay has changed that much, then you have to assume that this is legitimate. 

If another facility offers you roughly the same care and service for less, look carefully: either they get a cost break on a key commodity (grow their own hay, have a deal with a sawmill for shavings, etc.) or they're cutting corners somewhere on care. 

But you do have my sympathy, I can't imagine paying that kind of board bill. Yikes!


----------



## haleylvsshammy

Speed Racer said:


> Aye, yi, yi, I knew it was bad in Texas, but $12.00 a bale for plain old grass mix hay?! :shock:
> 
> Over the weekend, I got 50_ huge_ bales of the prettiest grass mix hay for $3.50 a bale. Sure, I had to load and unload it myself, but the supplier is only 13 miles from my house, and her bales run 50-75 pounds each.


I'm jealous! Here in Arizona my BO is paying $17-$18 for a bale of Alfalfa in my area. I'm not sure what the price of bermuda is but it is ridiculous. 

We are getting screwed because all of our hay is being sent to Texas.


----------



## Alwaysbehind

haleylvsshammy said:


> We are getting screwed because all of our hay is being sent to Texas.


I think saying you are getting screwed is stretching it.
Yes, hay that is produced there (and in my state) is shipped out of state. Which makes you have to pay more for it.
But think about it the other way.
If your farmers did not have that market they probably would not be producing hay at all, and would switch to a product they can more easily produce and make more money on.



On the board increase topic, I agree with Maura. The barn owner is covering her increased costs. Just because you have three horses does not mean each of your three costs her less than three horses owned by three different people. I have never understood a multiple horse discount.


----------



## HarleyWood

well i dont board but we have our horses on grass all summer and some bales, Alfelfa/grass and we pay 3 to 3.50 a bale and they are about 60 to 80 pounds. our round bales were 15 to 20 per bale that are about 900 to 1000. but i keep my horses at my house plus we have a well but right now for a heater is 3 a day so we have a little one will fill all the time and its cheeper that way.


----------



## Speed Racer

HarleyWood said:


> plus we have a well but right now for a heater is 3 a day so we have a little one will fill all the time and its cheeper that way.


I honestly have *no* idea what you're saying here.


----------



## Sharpie

I can say that my single quarterhorse costs about $75 more a month to feed this year than he would have last year, and I can't even afford to be picky about what hay I buy right now. $12 a bale for just okay hay is the going rate, up from $7 per bale last year. Stupid drought.


----------



## Speed Racer

Speaking of the drought, what are your long range forecasts in Texas? 

We Virginians started out with a water deficit this year, but made up for it and are fairly close to normal now. In fact, I think my area is right on target for rainfall for the year. Which is why we got such an abundance of hay this year. Most if not all of the farmers got 3 full cuttings this year. Last year we got only 2 good ones, and a piddling 3rd cut.


----------



## HarleyWood

we have a water heater that costs us $3 a day to heat up their water so we got a 15 gallon bucket that we have to fill up more but save money to heat it.


----------



## Speed Racer

If you're on a well, you're using electricity to fill up that smaller bucket more often, so I'm not sure you're really saving any money by not using the heater.


----------



## Sharpie

Speed Racer said:


> Speaking of the drought, what are your long range forecasts in Texas?


Almanac says drought, drought, and more drought at least into early summer in South TX. Sounds horrible, but a hurricane might be better. But just a piddly one. The hay fields are taking such a beating that I'm worried that even when the rains do come, all that will grow is the weeds that managed to survive.


----------



## Speed Racer

Ugh, that's awful. Sorry to hear it.


----------



## equiniphile

Hay at upwards of $12 a bale? That's unheard of around here! $3.50 can get you a good-sized 50lb bale of horse-quality hay. Round bales go for $20, and those suckers are heavy!

However, I can definitely see how an increase of that magnitute would justly drive up the price of board.


----------



## GhostwindAppaloosa

equiniphile said:


> Hay at upwards of $12 a bale? That's unheard of around here! $3.50 can get you a good-sized 50lb bale of horse-quality hay. Round bales go for $20, and those suckers are heavy!
> 
> However, I can definitely see how an increase of that magnitute would justly drive up the price of board.


 
100.00 more a month with hay the way it is seems reasonable. Dont know how much hay is fed out there, but if they are feeding 25 lbs a day and are getting 50 lb bales at 10.00 a bale.. that equates out to 150.00 a month assuming delivery is free... if its 20.00 a bale that goes up to 300 a month... so i dont know what the specific situation there is.. or how much hay is offered (free choice?... ive found a horse on free choice can eat up to 30-40 lbs a day)


----------



## Lost without horses

Global economic crisis and Mother Nature are affecting everyone's wallet. Unfortunately Texas has been severely hit and supply has decreased thus so too will your wallet.


----------



## sillyhorses

To be fair, hay is like a horse farmer's gold. When the prices start to increase, and KEEP increasing, it makes sense to adjust the price once to accommodate for anticipated price increases. Plus, to be honest, all people who own a business are in it for a profit. On that note, even if she did adjust it to more than what she is paying for the added hay that means she is able to utilize that money elsewhere, whether personally, or for her equine business. She has a right to put a price on her work... just like you have a right to choose where you can or can't afford to board. Good luck!


----------



## DressageIsToDance

Agh. Reading all these posts makes me glad I live where I live. My full care board is $350, and that's the most expensive barn I've been at. I believe there's one that does $450 or $600...somewhere in there, but yeah. That's a considered a high end here.

And the $350 I pay includes of course feed/hay and stall, blanketing/flymasking, use of facilities which includes a large outdoor, a small covered and a 100' roundpen.


----------



## upnover

I live in a neighboring state and we've had to increase our board as well. The price of hay (and feed, and deisal for the tractor, and...) didn't just raise and stay there, it's been increasing for quite some time. And from the looks of it, will continue to keep increasing. I have a feeling that extra $100 is to make up for the past AND FUTURE increasing prices. That way she isn't just increasing $50 every year. 

I would be upset about not being able to jump in the nice ring. That is something she has control over. Can you talk to her about that?


----------



## sarahver

Times are tough here in Texas. My horse shares a _*25 acre pasture*_ with only four other horses, that's right - 5 acres a horse, they are fed twice a day and I pay a surcharge to have a round bale kept in the pasture.

Rightly so, the grass is devoid of nutrients, so we pay extra to truck hay in. Such is the plight of the horse owner.


----------



## mystykat

This thread is making me feel really greatful to be paying 225.00 a month....


----------



## aggiegirl14

equiniphile said:


> Hay at upwards of $12 a bale? That's unheard of around here! $3.50 can get you a good-sized 50lb bale of horse-quality hay. Round bales go for $20, and those suckers are heavy!
> 
> However, I can definitely see how an increase of that magnitute would justly drive up the price of board.


That's crazy!! We haven't seen hay that low since I got my horse almost 10 years ago! We are in a shortage down here in Texas. I think it's around $8-$10 per bale and round bales are around $100!! Our guy brought us 20 bales the other weekend and said, "This is all I got left!" My horse is in a 5 acre pasture at home which is nothing but dirt since she has been on it for about 7 years :-/


----------



## Whisper22

haleylvsshammy said:


> I'm jealous! Here in Arizona my BO is paying $17-$18 for a bale of Alfalfa in my area. I'm not sure what the price of bermuda is but it is ridiculous.
> 
> We are getting screwed because all of our hay is being sent to Texas.


I'm not sure what part of Arizona you're in, but I'm getting grass for $15.50. For some reason alfalfa is the same price. I'm not really sure what the difference between northern and southern AZ is. When I bought my first horse, 3 years ago, hay was $5 a bale. 

As for boarding, there seem to be a lot of private home people just looking to fill stalls. Anywhere from $100 self care to $300 full care at an actual facility.


----------



## goneriding

I feel bad for you guys suffering from the drought. I use multiple hay people and I lease a piece of property that yields an average 500, 50-60 pound bales of first cutting. I do have a long standing hay supplier not far from my home who I get 60 pound bales from for 2.50 a bale and it is nice grass, Timothy, alfalfa hay. I buy 800 pound round bales in the winter from him also of the same hay for 45 bucks a bale. I can't complain. I just bought more fencing to put up an additional grazing pasture in order to cut back on hay expenses and grazing is better for the horses. I really feel for you guys.......


----------



## sweetbelle

The same thing happened at my last barn, we had to end up moving, luckily the area in texas we live in has plenty of options. It is definitely reasonable to be angry, but it sounds as you are out of options. :-/


----------

