What is needed and how much should I charge for horse boarding?

Question

I am new in the horse boarding business. I am getting my first customer who is going to board a 3 year old gelding with me. I don't really have any experience with boarding or grooming horses, but have fed horses before and I really love them. What do I need to do and what do I need to get to make this horse boarding like all other small horse boarders? ( what to charge, etc.) This is a family friend who is allowing me to take care of his horse, so I know some of you will say " you really should have experience of working with horses, before you actually get in the business." i know, but this is for me to get the hang of it, im only doing this one until i can handle others. so please i am just asking what supplies do i need , including feeding troughs, and how much do i charge for this one boarding. all i am told to do buy customer is put him in a stall at night , feed him, clean his stall everyday, let him in pasture everyday. i live in minnesota if it helps out with an estimate.

Answer 1

There is a ton of things you will need.First you will need a safe enviorment that is safe from posones plants and that has safe fencing (barb wire is not acceptible). Second you will also need a way to supply water, i use atomatic waters but you could just fill up a big bucket of water twice a day if needed, they drink a lot of water (dont forget to keep the bucket clean). Next you will need a feed bin or a feed ra ck. You also need a place for him to retreat if it is raining or hot. For the cleaning supplies you will need a muck rake, weelbarrow, and a place to put all of the manure, and trust me there will be alot of it. LAst but not least you will need a dry place that is safe from rodednts to keep the hay, grain, ect. Thats all i can think of for now and good luck.

Answer 2

First, look in the local paper to see how much you could get for similar services. Remember about your winter conditions. Will you need a trough heater for plug-in bucket for the cold weather? Is the owner supplying the feed?
I get three ton of hay per year per horse in Montana. The horses I have get grass part of the year, so they only have a small bit of hay at that time.

You should check into the liability laws in your state. The last thing you want to do is get into a situation where you are being sued because you have the horse on your property and it's gotten loose or gotten hurt.

How about bedding for the stall? Who pays for that? I have found that bagged wood shavings have gotten really pricey. Here there are log home builders that sell by the truck load for less. I am hoping to switch back to straw this year. It breaks down faster in a compost pile than shavings.

If you are going to have more than one horse, you will need to watch over the introduction carefully, or give them separate turn out on pasture. A friend had her horse at a new place. The owner of the property let Lisa' horse out with weveral others in a pasture. One of the other horses cornered hers and attacked it in a corner. The result was a horse with a tor up leg and a torn up side which required 250 metal staples in a major surgery ($2000.00). Horses are accident and panic prone animals. Make sure your fences and facilities are safe.

Get a waiver and a lease contract. Make plans of how to handle owners who don't pay for boarding or provide food or hoof care.

I love horses, but people can be a real problem.
Actually, I like my own horses because they are trained to do what I expect them to do.

I think $150.00 per month may be OK or more, depending on what is the going rate in your area. Where I am, most places have an indoor arena and charge $250.00. They provide feed and bedding and feed twie a day and give the horse turn-out.

Answer 3

Business: contract of boarder agreement of rules, payment and by laws that will be taken place. You need to realize there is those who will board their horses, not pay rent and not do what suppose to do, then try to leave. So, you need to protect the boarding stables, your financies, yourself and other boarders.

Supplies: Depends on the stables. The ones I boarded at had "supplies" available to anyone. However, what was used must be put back in same place in the working condition you got it in. If broke it, buy another to replace it. The stalls already had feeders. One place we had tires instead of feeders. I didn't like that too well. Neither did my mare. Most people come with their own tools and sometimes own personal equipement. A lot is what you will allow to go in and to go out.

Are you using automatic water or using barrels?

remember in winter time, pipes can bust and need to make sure you know the water lines and able to recieve water for the horses if the water lines are down. Pipes need to be wraped and kept an eye on.

Some horses are picky drinkers too. Always monitor their drinking if ill or on hot days where the pipes can make the water alil hot as the horses are not drinking enough. A few problems I did run into myself.

Depends on what access you giving them, how big the stalls are and extra's on the stalls (cover, big stall or combined stall), depends on if you are doing all the maintaince or leave the responsiblity to them (means if they are half board (they feed, water and clean their horse. You just provide the land/tack room pretty much or full board: pretty much what you described with this one horse). and depends on your location. I got charged ranged from $60 a month to $140 a month, per horse. Where I live now on my 8 acre land, the ranches are boarding from $200 to $1,000 a month, per horse.

Need to go around your area and find out your competition/their rates. Compare it to your place and if those prices are seriously set for your care.

Answer 4

Well, in my area board for a horse runs about $250-$300 a month.

Basic boarding would be providing a stall that is cleaned every day and providing food and water and often some turnout time in a pasture. You will need to buy feed (grain and/or pellets and hay) and bedding (straw or shavings). You'll need at least two feed buckets and hooks-one for food and one for water. I assume you have a barn and a securely fenced turnout area? Usually vet and farrier visits are the owner's responsiblity. Does your friend expect you to groom or exercise the horse? You really need to sit down with this friend and go over both of your expectations since you are assuming responsiblity for the care of someone else's property.

You should read some good books on horse care. There are some things you need to know for their well being. For example, if you don't know what you're doing and let them eat too much rich grain or grass they can founder and have to be put down. Certain weeds are toxic to horses and should be removed from horse pastures. You'll need fly control in the summer and will have to control rodents around the feed in some way, too. You'll need a plan for the manure, as well.

Answer 5

I pay 200 a month for my own little field, stall, an indoor arena and outdoor, and tons of trails to ride on. You charge basically according to what you can provide the owner with.
Horses are normally feed twice a day, hay and grain and always need water. Some stables bring the horses in at night, others don't (again, something that would adjust your pay rate) You'll need adequate pasture for the horse (over an acre) a barn with stalls, a place to keep hay and grain, bedding, barn supplies (emergency vet kit, blankets, etc) Also, an onhand vet and farrier, to call when you need them!

Answer 6

I agree with April G. You are really in for a big surprise. Horses are not like big dogs (food + water + a warm dry place to sleep = mostly fine dog.) Think of horses as 1000-pound toddlers: usually harmless, but when they're not: WATCH OUT. A sweet, well-meaning horse can KILL a person in an instant without having the least nasty intent. They get afraid; they react. If you're in the way, it hurts. Imagine being sacked by a professional linebacker. Now add 700 pounds. An average three-year-old horse is going to be worse than an average older horse in this regard.

Please take no offense, but I would not even advise you to board your *own* horse with your current state of knowledge.

Here's what you need to do if you want to, someday, board horses.

(1) Find a place to take lessons. Even if you don't want to ride, you need to learn about horses, their reactions to their environment, their diets, their needs in general, etc.
(2) Read, read, read and ask, ask, ask questions of everyone who knows more about horses than you do.
(3) Buy your own horse and make sure you have someone knowledgeable whom you can call with the 1,000 little questions you never knew you would have.
(4) Wait at least two years.
(5) Buy a "so you want to board horses" book.

Seriously, do not do this right now. You have no idea how not-ready you are.

Best of luck.

~DancesWithHorses~

Answer 7

I have owned horses for 30 years and currently have a 30 year old quarter-horse gelding (who is missing his left eye) boarding with me along with my 8 year old TB who is a retired race horse. We have a four stall horse barn so I am hoping to take in another horse for board. I charge $225. per month and that includes food, worming, turn out every day and grooming (pick out hoofs, brushing). The vet and farrier bills are paid by the owners although I schedule those visits and am on hand to supervise those occasions. I live in Central Illinois, so we have hot summers and cold winters.On really hot days the horses are kept inside under fans and turned out at night when it cools down a bit. In winter, they are turned out if it is not sleeting or below zero. It's alot of work and responsibility but I love horses so it is worth it. If you run a clean, safe barn and pasture, you'll do just fine. You'll need buckets, feeders, wheelbarrow and fork for mucking stalls, tin cans to store feed/grain in, first aid kit, shelving for storage, fire extinguisher etc. Good Luck.

Answer 8

It depends on the type of boarding. Usually they feed the horse, blanket it in the winter (sometimes you have to pay extra) and turn it out to the pasture. You'll probably have to groom it on your own or ask a friend to groom it for you. Most barns will also have a trainer ride your horse, but you'll most likely have to pay extra. If you let them use your horse in their lesson program it will be groomed/ridden more often but it's possible for it to develop some bad habits if it's ridden by beginners, the plus side is that this usually reduces the cost. Some barns offer board where you have to do everything yourself or pasture board (usually this means they feed it but it doesn't get a stall), which is cheaper. Boarding at my barn is $400 a month for full board, which is a little expensive, but everything is included. The lowest price i've seen in the area I live is $250 a month for pasture board.

Answer 9

You are in for a bbbiiiiiggggg surprise. It's no big deal to care for a horse in the summer, but in winter, you will go broke buying shavings. He also can't just stand in a stall, day after day. You'll have to get him out for some exercise daily. And, In cold weather, they heat up. And you'll be doing it after school, and the sun sets 40 minutes after you get home...... Then you have the problem of walking him so he dries, before you put him back. Winter is THE time for colic in our northern states. And horses colic if you look at them cross-eyed. Are you prepared to pay the vet bill on him? Because your boarder just may say, "no way am I paying a $900 vet bill" because the horse died. In your place, you need some experience, particularly since you're in a cold climate. Farm yourself out as an afterschool stall swamper at a nearby stable for a year. Don't do this, sweetie. You will never recover if the guy's horse dies or founders in your care.

Answer 10

Well, you need to find out the price of everything the horse is going to need and use.
If the horse is stabled, then you need bedding. Straw, shavings, sawdust. You decide. Everyone has their own preferance. But find out what that's going to cost you. Try and figure out how much 1 horse is going to use per day, and see if you can price that out.
I have it easy since I use bagged shavings, and I know how much I can put in, and how much that costs.
The same goes for Hay, and grain. Those tend to be a bit more simple, and usually stay the same. The only time it changes is when it's winter VS summer. Summer tending to have grazing possiblities.
Then you need to figure out the time it takes you to clean and turn out horses, and anything else they may need, and what is that worth to you. $8 an hour? You decide.
Take all of that, and cost it out for one month. If you want to make a "profit", then add some more money on top of that.
For me, it costs about $200 per horse per month. We then charge $270 since we have an indoor arena. We're the cheapest around my area too.
Good luck.
Any questions, you can e-mail me.