# Unused Horse Stables



## New2Horses123 (Nov 24, 2013)

Hi,

I have a property with nice heated horse stables, a separate "run-in", and about 3 acres of fenced pasture. I have no clue about anything horse-related but realize there is a market for stables. Hopefully someone here can answer a few or my questions.

-Is is possible to rent out the stables so that I have absolutely nothing to do with the horses?
-Do I have to have my own insurance to cover me in the case that a horse or caretaker/rider was hurt or do horse-owners usually have insurance that covers this type of accident?
-I realize that this question is location specific, but, how much could I expect to receive, per stable, in a rural area with lots of horse-activity?
-Where are good places to advertise such a thing?

Thanks
Dan


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

Yes, you can do that. Friends did that years ago. They were responsible for everything as tho they owned the place. Other than the monthly payment, they had nothing to do with the owner who lived on the property. The house and yard were fenced off altho everyone used the wide driveway as it went past the house to the barn. You might want to have a lawyer draw up the contract and you'll have to decide the length of time - a one year, 3 year, 5, etc.


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## PrivatePilot (Dec 7, 2009)

Possible, sure. Realistic, not IMHO. You'll have horses on your property, and most of the time you'll be the only one there. You'll be required to provide basic care - watering, feeding, etc - most horse owners don't come up to tend to their animals twice a day, they pay someone else to do that for them (Boarding) and it becomes your responsibility.

Horses aren't the sorts of animals that you can just put in a field or a stall and leave them for days at a time - they need to be tended to. A stalled horse needs care at least several times a day and will need to be turned out in the morning and brought back in in the evening. Even a full outside horse will still require monitoring, feeding, and watering.

And please don't take this the wrong way, but if you don't know anything about horses, you'll not be in a situation to provide proper care, or do it safely. 

Now, anything is possible and if you can find someone who owns a bunch of horses that lives near you, wants the entire facility for their own personal use and that of nobody else, and is willing to come up multiple times per day to tend to their animals, I suppose something could be worked out...but in the end, when they're not there (which will be the majority of the day) you'll be the go-to person. Again, in my opinion, you'd need at least a basic understanding and knowledge of horses to be able to provide even basic care and handling during those hours.


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## PrivatePilot (Dec 7, 2009)

As per the response above mine, as expected, you'll get different opinions. 

I would certainly have an iron clad legal agreement and make sure your insurance company is 110% up to speed on the situation before considering it. If you can make it work and find the right person, heck...you could probably make REALLY GOOD money if the facility sounds as nice as you suggest. Heated stable? Pretty uncommon.

The problem is going to be finding the right person who will actually pay their bills and understands that you are *totally hands off*. You don't want to get into any of the following situations:

1/ Broke horse owner moves their herd to your farm and promises the sky..then never pays beyond the first month. You can't exactly just let their horses go loose and rid yourself of the problem.

2/ You end up with a herd and the owner disappears for days at a time. You end up with neglected animals on your property that you either end up having to deal with (which it sounds like you don't have the knowledge), or pay someone else to provide the care instead. 

3/ Something happens to a rider or a horse and you end up on the hook (or in the wringer) financially somehow. Again, I hate to think about things litigiously, but I'm a big fan of the "What if" routine, as well as CYA.


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## littrella (Aug 28, 2010)

I am the renter in a similar situation. The farm is about a 15-20 minute drive from my house. The farm owner has 2 cows, so she agreed to monitor the water at all times. The first 9-10 months, I drove out there am & pm to feed, clean stall & check on my critters. We became really good friends & she started to offer to do the AM feedings so I wouldn't have to be out at 5am. We drew up a contract stating what she was responsible for, what I was responsible for, price per month, late fees, she has the right to contact my vet in case of emergency if I can not be reached, and that I was not responsible if her kids went into my area & were accidently hurt & she is not responsible for me being hurt on her property. I've been there 3 years now & we've never had any reason to "test" the contract


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## usandpets (Jan 1, 2011)

Even if you have nothing to do with the place, you will still need to have insurance. Not only for the property, but if it is used as a business, you will need insurance to cover yourself, as the property owner. 

It is possible to lease or rent your property to others and you have nothing to do with the place. Make sure you have everything in writing and cover any possible circumstances. 

We are renting our place from someone. There were no buildings here except a garage that was falling down. Any improvements were up to us to pay for but we have to get approval first. All upkeep is up to us. Basically, all he does is collect the rent.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Endiku (Dec 6, 2010)

I don't think it is all that impossible to find someone who is willing to 'self care' board at your place, I did it with my mare and filly for quite a while. I pretty much paid for space to for my horses feet to stand on and I did absolutely everything else. Mucking, trucking away manure, feeding, scheduling appointments, watering, upkeep, etc.


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## Northern (Mar 26, 2010)

I agree that it's hard for boarders for the owner to be strictly hands-off; you could perhaps reach an agreement with one of the boarders that he/she acts as the barn manager, for board discount, say. Or you could hire a non-boarder horseperson to act as barn manager for a certain time(s) each day.


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## EdmontonHorseGal (Jun 2, 2013)

even if you declared yourself 'hands off' and there was a contract in place stating so, what happens when the horses' owner is not there and the horses get out? or a severe accident with a horse that needs immediate attention before a vet can arrive? those things will need to be considered since you would most likely be the one to witness events like that and could possibly be the first person required to take action in such a situation. it could mean the life or death of the horse(s).

i know if i was in a situation like that, even if the contract said i had nothing to do with the horses, i would feel horrible if i didn't do something to help.


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## PrivatePilot (Dec 7, 2009)

EdmontonHorseGal said:


> even if you declared yourself 'hands off' and there was a contract in place stating so, what happens when the horses' owner is not there and the horses get out? or a severe accident with a horse that needs immediate attention before a vet can arrive?


That was *exactly* the scenario going through my head with my responses above.

For a 100% non horse person who doesn't know how to handle a horse effectively or safely, those are big stumbling blocks IMHO. I know when I was at the stage where I knew nothing about horses (or how to read/handle them) I wouldn't have wanted to be left effectively in charge of a stable.

For all intents and purposes, that's what the OP is going to be left with here.


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## Kati (Feb 24, 2013)

Honestly this happens all the time where I'm at. I'm not saying you rent to just anyone. As a general rule it's trainers who will rent full facilities. These people are generally full time horse people and are taking advantage of nice facilities. It's a win win for both parties.

The owner gets a seperate income
The leasee gets nice facilities to train and work out of that might cost them huge $$$ to build on their own
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Bridgertrot (Dec 2, 2011)

I've been a part of this before. My boyfriend at the time parents had some horse property and we found a family with four horses that boarded on the property and did full care. We did have a contract and insurance. 

With a previous person we did have a horse go down, luckily I noticed something was wrong (since I'm a horse person). And we had protocols in place to call the vet and the owner as well. Though we never could get a hold of her and the horse had some sort of stroke or something and the vet decided there was no help for it and so put it down. We had discussed this kind of stuff with the owner before hand.


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## EdmontonHorseGal (Jun 2, 2013)

Bridgertrot said:


> With a previous person we did have a horse go down, luckily I noticed something was wrong (*since I'm a horse person*). And we had protocols in place to call the vet and the owner as well. Though we never could get a hold of her and the horse had some sort of stroke or something and the vet decided there was no help for it and so put it down. We had discussed this kind of stuff with the owner before hand.


this is all fine and good when somebody is around that knows horses, but if the property owner barely knows the difference between what end food goes in and what end food goes out, then there is definitely going to be a problem if a horse is in trouble and that person is the only one around at the time.


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## Saskia (Aug 26, 2009)

I think there is a huge difference between boarding and renting. People rent houses all the time and are not responsible for what goes on in them. I also know people who have rented a paddock and/or stables. When they rent they are fully responsible for it. They are responsible for the fencing, water, weeding and all property maintenance. Like a house you'll have an occupancy agreement of some sort with a bond and rent in advance. Then the stables and paddock just becomes like a neighbours property. You react in the same way you would to horses on the neighbours property. 

I wouldn't think you'd have any clause about horses or vets or anything as you're not in charge or supervising you're purely renting them a piece of land which they have to pay for whether they have horses on it or not. It shouldn't matter that you know nothing about horses because you'll have nothing to do with them. 

Whatever you do, make sure you get it down in writing. Make sure they know that you're only renting them that land, riding on your property is off limits and that you're not open to chucking their horse's hay while they're away. Have a clause like in the event of non-payment of rent for a period of two weeks any stock or belongings left on the land will be sold at public auction/surrendered to "authority" without notice. You don't want them bailing on you and leaving you with horses.


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## EdmontonHorseGal (Jun 2, 2013)

my conscience would not allow me to look out my window and see a sick or injured horse and not do anything about it. i could never be the landlord in a situation like rented stables. even if i didn't know anything about horses, i couldn't let an animal suffer and not try to help in some way.


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## existentialpony (Dec 4, 2012)

Just my two cents-- I recently moved from a barn with exactly that setup! Property owner knew nothing about horses, but leased the place out to a barn manager who hired a barn hand and they ran the place together. It works perfectly fine as long as you're willing to maintain the property (eg. if a fence needs to be fixed).


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## New2Horses123 (Nov 24, 2013)

Thank you very much for the responses. They have been very helpful!


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

Slipped my mind. We rented a barn and one pasture from a farmer. He'd retired from dairy farming so we closed off one end of the barn, made stalls and could use the pasture. He seemed to enjoy having us there and would often visit.


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## DancingArabian (Jul 15, 2011)

IMO the best thing to do is not to lease out to individuals but to ONE individual, like a trainer, who will come with horses and people. Then you draw up a contract with that trainer and can be hands off. Make sure you get a lawyer involved.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## DuckDodgers (May 28, 2013)

The barn owner of my stable has zero to do with the horses on the property (except for a few mares he has at the back of the property). He maintains the property, cuts hay, interacts with the boarders on occasion, and fulfills small requests that boarders may make (he built us a mounting block, fixes gates, waters the arena sometimes, etc). 

Boarders pay a fee to the barn owner for boarding/hay, and a fee to the barn manager for horse care, feed, etc. She does all of the work with the horses, and with the exception of his few mares he never touches them. If a horse was in obvious distress he would definitely call out the vet, but that's about it. I wouldn't count on him being able to identify any distress short of a horse thrashing in a stall. 

It's doable, but if you're going to be on the property then I would be willing to accept the fact that you must learn a little about horses and be willing to at a minimum call the emergency vet and owner out if necessary. As far as non-emergency interactions go, you can avoid them. I can't give any advice about the legal of side of things other than to get everything in writing and signed.


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