# Starting a Boarding Facility... Questions



## poundinghooves (Aug 5, 2010)

There is a possibility my family and I will be moving from our two acre property.... to a 40 acre property! The area we would be moving to isn't as plentiful in jobs as our current area and I really don't think I could find one easily (I'm only 17). I'm used to working and really need an income. So the thought of boarding horses came to me. It would be something I would enjoy, have knowledge about (although I'm certainly no expert) and we'd have plenty of land so could easily house a few horses in addition to my own. I'm worried about the legal side of things though. I'm assuming insurance may be required? I wouldn't want to get in a legal battle if a horse or rider got injured. Also, I don't know how my parents would feel about someone having access to our property at all times. Is it generally acceptable to have "barn hours" (like maybe 8am-9pm)? What kinds of "rules" should be put into place? Such as not allowing people to bring their dogs (I've seen that problem before), etc. Anyone with any advice or experience running a boarding facility please let me know what you think. Any tidbits of info are great!


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

1) get liability insurance. Boarders will sue.
2)specify feed amounts and types. 
3)who cleans, supplys shaving if their are stalls, 
4) if pasture you will be responsible for the weeds that could be toxic 
5)if you are just doing pasture board only, make sure you have enough room per horse for forage . 
6) be prepared for drama. 
7) tack sheds ? you going to have everyone share ? be prepared for fights and thefts it happens.
8) Is there area to ride? hemets required? wash area ? 
there are many many other things to consider.
when will be board due ? what happens if someone does not pay board ? you gonna take them to court ? auction the horse ? put a lien in the contract find out what is legal in your state.


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## poundinghooves (Aug 5, 2010)

@stevenson Thanks, those are all things I need to think about. This is just an idea I'm tossing around. I'm not positive were moving or that my parents would even allow me to board horses, but I'm gathering information so I know more about what I could be getting into.


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## Endiku (Dec 6, 2010)

Also from what I hear, it is actually very difficult to make any money boarding, because of the high prices of grain/hay etc...and you'll need a large amount of money to start with to install places to tie horses, fences, sheds, potentially plant grass, get rid of bad weeds, etc. And that's just for pasture board. You'll have to figure out rotation schedules for pastures, how many you can take on, what to do with a b or c happens, etc.

Not saying not to try, but boarding is a stressful and full time operation.


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## poundinghooves (Aug 5, 2010)

Yes, we were thinking of taking a portion of the ground and making hay, which would help greatly with expenses. Also, I don't expect to make a lot of money, but do want to at least pay for my horses' care and hopefully some extra. We've got a tractor, bushhog, etc. so we do have some equipment. We have to put up a fence and such anyway because of my animals (and the many more we will be acquiring). I was thinking of maybe only boarding about 4 horses.


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## Red Gate Farm (Aug 28, 2011)

Legally, your parents would be the barn owners and you'd be a worker. You are a minor. People would sue them, not you.

If they are up for it, and have taken the advice given here, then give it a try.


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## poundinghooves (Aug 5, 2010)

My dad actually brought the topic of boarding up on his own earlier today. My parents don't know much about horses so I'd be doing the care but yes, they'd be legally responsible. I guess we'll just have to talk it over and see what happens.


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## DaveT (Apr 25, 2014)

I came to this forum because I too am considering doing boarding and I'm doing my research. All of our insurance policies are with State Farm. I called my agent to inquire about additional insurance costs associated with boarding. He checked with the underwriter. The underwriter said that if we board horses they'll cancel our policy. Wow! Anyone know of insurance companies that are horse boarding friendly?

Another thing to consider about boarding. Not sure in your all's jurisdictions, but where I am - Ho Co Maryland - I'm told that horse boarding counts as agricultural use, which means we can get a huge break on our property taxes.


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## Palomine (Oct 30, 2010)

Thing to also consider is where are boarders going to go to bathroom? Do you have one in barn, or are they going to have to use house? Do you want people in house?

And can they bring a friend, smoke, drink alcohol? Bring friend out to ride, if they happen to have 2 horses? Children? 

Lots to think about.

And 40 acres will get eaten down pretty quickly with even 6 horses on it too.

Depends on what type of grazing there is there now, and how well you maintain it.


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## Ninamebo (May 25, 2013)

With all the factors to consider, I doubt you'll do more than break even with the place, let alone make a small income off it. 

Insurance for the whole ordeal will be the trickiest, and it will fall on your parents shoulders. Four owners of four horses can bring in a lot of drama. You'll have to think about a place for riding, tack storage, wash rack area, etc. And it's a lot of work- are you going to hs still? It will be difficult to finish all your studies and barn chores. 

Just food for thought.


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

you have to get insurance through specialized companies, and some will not cover a person without knowledge or experience with horses. I contacted one company and because my personal horses ages 35 and up died from colic / old age/ and the fact that thier guts were basically no longer working.. they would not insure me..


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## Amba1027 (Jun 26, 2009)

poundinghooves said:


> My dad actually brought the topic of boarding up on his own earlier today. My parents don't know much about horses so I'd be doing the care but yes, they'd be legally responsible. I guess we'll just have to talk it over and see what happens.


I'm not sure many people would feel comfortable boarding at a place that's being run by a 17 year old. Are you in school? Planning on going to college? What happens if you decide it's too much work, you want a night/weekend off, it's no longer what you want to do? Then your poor parents are stuck holding the bag. If I were you, I wouldn't take this on at your age, and if I were your parents I wouldn't agree to it.


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## poundinghooves (Aug 5, 2010)

Thanks for all the input! I am actually attending a long distance learning school (meaning my studies are through the mail) and only work on it an hour or two a day and should be graduated by August. Even when I attend college it will be through the distance learning school so I spend a large part of my time at home. Horse boarding will probably not be something we will pursue, mainly because of insurance. I'm also not sure how much of a demand there would be in the area we're looking in- it's backwoods, hillbilly country! We don't have a certain property chosen, as the 40 acres was just not what we wanted. Boarding is something my parents would consider, but it's not going to happen anytime really soon.


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## DaveT (Apr 25, 2014)

stevenson said:


> you have to get insurance through specialized companies, and some will not cover a person without knowledge or experience with horses. I contacted one company and because my personal horses ages 35 and up died from colic / old age/ and the fact that thier guts were basically no longer working.. they would not insure me..


I know the specialized insurance would be prudent to have, but in my situation I also need an insurance company that will write my home owner's policy if I do board. I assume State Farm would drop me even if I was to get the specialized insurance. Why does State Farm allow me to keep horses out back on my own... but not board?


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## poundinghooves (Aug 5, 2010)

DaveT said:


> I know the specialized insurance would be prudent to have, but in my situation I also need an insurance company that will write my home owner's policy if I do board. I assume State Farm would drop me even if I was to get the specialized insurance. Why does State Farm allow me to keep horses out back on my own... but not board?


Well, you're not going to sue yourself if something goes wrong with your horses. They can't say you can't have horses but they can refuse to given you liability insurance for other peoples' horses.


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## DaveT (Apr 25, 2014)

poundinghooves said:


> Well, you're not going to sue yourself if something goes wrong with your horses. They can't say you can't have horses but they can refuse to given you liability insurance for other peoples' horses.


There are lots of other things that can go wrong though... Horse breaks out of a field and gets hit by a car... horse bucks off a visitor...

We do currently have a rider (add on) on our policy called "mischievous disappearance" for the horses. In case they do get out.


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## mnevans (Apr 13, 2014)

Take a look at these websites:
Stable management: How to own and run your own horse business
Stable Management | Stable Management
Equine Legal Solutions - Running A Boarding Business - What You Need To Know


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## poundinghooves (Aug 5, 2010)

DaveT said:


> There are lots of other things that can go wrong though... Horse breaks out of a field and gets hit by a car... horse bucks off a visitor...
> 
> We do currently have a rider (add on) on our policy called "mischievous disappearance" for the horses. In case they do get out.


True, maybe it's just because the more horses you have on the property (especially if they're someone else's), the bigger the chance something will happen.


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## DaveT (Apr 25, 2014)

mnevans said:


> Take a look at these websites:
> Stable management: How to own and run your own horse business
> Stable Management | Stable Management
> Equine Legal Solutions - Running A Boarding Business - What You Need To Know


Thank you for the links. Very good resources.


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## mnevans (Apr 13, 2014)

Also buy some books and get reading, online searches only have so much information and books are a better resource in my opinion and more reliable. Anyone can post anything online and call it a professional opinion. Do some amazon searches and look at the online reviews of the books. At least with books you know that they have to be accepted by publishers and reviewed!


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## Roux (Aug 23, 2013)

> Thing to also consider is where are boarders going to go to bathroom? Do you have one in barn, or are they going to have to use house? Do you want people in house?


Just instal a port-a- potty, its a barn not a luxury hotel. 

As you have already been told insurance is probably your largest obstacle.


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

I had two boarders and overall it went very well but when they left I was glad to see them gone. It didn't take long for me to enjoy the quiet of not having extra people around.


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