# Opening a Boarding Facility



## DiamondK (Aug 27, 2012)

For some time now, my fiancé and I have debated over the idea of opening our own boarding facility. I’ve gone through the many thought processes and ideas that come with this. I’ve read how it can a bad idea, but then I think to myself, that if it’s such a ‘bad’ idea, why are there so many facilities out there?

Anyways, I’ve have property (16.5 acres), an 80x160 indoor arena, turnout pastures w/ board fencing, stalls are still a work in progress off the side of the arena. I’m am not looking to start this endeavor tomorrow, but thinking more for the future. I do dabble in training horses as well, I do not train for anything specific, but more for a well rounded horse – from the rail to the trail, and I do quite well selling these kind of horses. I also, have a young stud, that will be going into training next year, and then on to reining shows with his trainer. 

I’m torn between just keeping my place as is (no boarders), and just continue what I’m doing – going to work, then coming home and doing my horse thing. OR, do I want to do the ‘dream’ thing, and get to do my horse thing everyday all day – this route gives me more time to work with my horses, but…will it really be worth it?

Help on the idea will be great, pro’s, con’s, etc. 

Any questions, just let me know, and I’ll be my best to answer them.


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## kctop72 (Aug 25, 2011)

We have a small boarding facility we lease from the land owner who has 3 pasture horses, we now have 5 horses with 6 boarder horses. They split time between the stalls and 40 acre pasture. With that being said, we have full time jobs on top of this and it does break it up a little bit but if I could stay at the barn and tend to things, work with the horses and just relax, I would. 

On the other hand, the boarders can be very frustrating. Not that they physically abuse their horses because that's not allowed in our barn but the lack of attention the horses get (not get). Some owners may come out once a week, to turn them out or bring them in, maybe brush them down or clean their feet. Other owners come out, ride their horses, pick up after themselves, etc. 

In my opinion, the horses are worth it, but you have to consider the hassel of some owners. You might start out with just 1 or 2 to see how it goes.

Hope this was helpful and I wish you the best of luck


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## DiamondK (Aug 27, 2012)

Thank you for the response! 

Being able to get up everyday and do what I love, is really driving me in this direction. And my fiance' is very supporting of it, which is a plus. He makes good money where he works and loves what he does, so I think seeing me happy is what he wants to see as well. 

My big thing, is can I pay the bills this way, and what do I charge - we are in Western WA.


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## kctop72 (Aug 25, 2011)

We checked around other barns to see what was comprable and what we wanted to offer whether it be full care, partial care or self care. Prices included with/without feed and hay.


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## gablehaus (Feb 24, 2012)

The big thing is thats its really hard to turn a profit, but if your just in it for the passion then i would definitely go follow your dreams!


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## DiamondK (Aug 27, 2012)

@Gable - That's what I hear...sadly, haha. What is it other than general feed, bedding that the $$ tends to go into?


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## gablehaus (Feb 24, 2012)

Insurance is a big one!


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## DiamondK (Aug 27, 2012)

Oh yes, that too! That one totally slipped my mind!


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## mls (Nov 28, 2006)

Feed and shavings are easy. Add insurance, wear and tear on the facility - (fence, stalls, footing, driveway) electricty, labor - additional hay to buy and store, manure handling, daily cleaning and fixes. Tack storage, trailer parking, loss of privacy.

It can be very rewarding and it can be very frustrating. It's truly not a horse business but a people business with horses thrown in for confusion.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

Insurance, water, electricity and time are the big things. I had 40 horses to care for last year, including my own, and it was so time consuming I never got to ride for pleasure. I train out of state and most of my shows are also out of state, so when you throw the responsibility for other people's horses into the mix, I ran out of time. I did have 2 full time workers and an on site trainer for client's horses but still, just the logistics can be pretty overwhelming. 

Especially when a horse becomes ill and you need to quarantine and do extensive care for the animal because the owner won't or doesn't know how. I had some, "That's what I pay you for" clients and they did pay, but still.......

I might enjoy it more if I stayed at home more but my training and showing doesn't permit that. I am taking this year off and since the majority of the horses that were here have been sold, that was why they were here, I just haven't advertised for more boarders. I've also sold several of my own horses and so I'm down to just 8 on the property now and it's much more do-able. 

So......did I make a profit? No.....LOL, not even close, but it did cover all my expenses for my own horses and it did allow me to have someone work here to keep an eye on the horses when I couldn't be home. It was worth it but I don't know if I'll take on that many outside horses again, ever. It was a LOT of work. And now that I'm down to only 8 horses on the property......I still haven't found time to just ride for pleasure, though I'm seriously going to try when the weather cools down a bit more.


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## DiamondK (Aug 27, 2012)

I'm not looking to do anything fancy, like I said, I'm not really specialized - and you just sound like you had your hands FULL! I would like to have my pasture/stall boarders, yes, but not a lot of them. A dozen MAYBE! I just want to have a nice relaxed place - even if it won't be for me, haha! Around here we do have the fancy boarding/training places, but we also have quite a few smaller places. That's more my aim. I want a place that I can focus on my training, with no problem with the chores it involves...


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## maura (Nov 21, 2009)

Write a business plan. You can find templates for them online it that helps. First, decide what you REALLY want out of this endeavor. If it's to quit your day job and spend all day at the barn, develop a dollar figure - how mcuh money will your boarding business need to make in order for that to happen?

I worked for a small boarding business where the owner's stated goal was for the barn to be big enough to pay for permanent part time help. The inconvenience of boarders and loss of privacy was worth it to her if she knew she had stalls, morning feed and turnout covered, and help with other work as needed. She didn't make money, but it was worth it to her if it meant she could have help with her own horses. 

Do some local research about what board and services go for in your area, try to come up with a price point for your facility and see if you can make the numbers work. 

You have two big advantages - the indoor ring, and that you do some training yourself. If you also offered lessons, that would be another plus. 

The business model for a lot of boarding barns is to break even or even lose moeny on boarding, but to make it up on lessons, training and services. It's hard to make money on boarding itself because of the huge overhead, and that 
there's usually someone up the road who's willing to undercut your price. Finding reasonably priced, reliable bulk sources for hay and bedding is critical, and if you're going to hire part time help, the quality of the help is critical. (You can lose a lot of money with an employee who pads their time, is heavy handed with the supplements, or can't tell the difference between the senior feed and the regular, and feeds the whole barn the senior feed.) 

Good luck!


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## riccil0ve (Mar 28, 2009)

Where are you in western Washington? If you're around Bellingham, I have two mares that can be your "guinea pigs." ;D
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## DiamondK (Aug 27, 2012)

@Maura - thank you - very helpful! These are all very good ideas! Great stuff for me to put down/look into for the future!

@Riccilove - I'm down in Pierce county! Darn!


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## CLaPorte432 (Jan 3, 2012)

Many boarding facilities are losing their butts this year in board due to the drought we had. These places bale their own hay. The hay didnt grow good...they had to buy hay this year.

Thats something to consider. Where will your hay come from? Id be in your best interest to plant your own hayfield...but, you need a tractor, cutter, rake, baler etc. Thatll put you back a pretty penny. And, you only have 16.5 acres. Not nearly enough acrage for a hay field for multiple horses.

Food for thought. 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## riccil0ve (Mar 28, 2009)

Gosh darn it! Well good luck, whatever you decide to do!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## DiamondK (Aug 27, 2012)

Thank you all! It's all just a 'thought' for now. Even a dream...


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## stephshark (Jun 19, 2012)

I think it's wonderful that you have the opportunity to do this and I wish you the best of luck! I definitely agree with Maura- by writing everything down on paper you can get a much clearer view of everything involved before and during the operational process. A way to eliminate potential "problem" boarders should you decide to open to other owners, is to have everyone fill out applications first and then schedule interviews with the people who seem like good matches for you. Ask questions that show you how well they follow directions, or show attention to details, and if you get sketchy responses or their references can't vouch for them, you can pass them by and avoid a future headache. One other thing to keep in mind also: release forms and posted policies will be your best friends! Good luck to you!


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