02/15/2024
Horse Boarding…let’s talk about it.
I see a lot of people looking for “cheap board” these days. They want matted stalls, indoor, outdoor, ample turnout and private tack..for around $500-$600 a month. Let me break that down for you.
Whether you rent or own, each dry stall is going to cost your farm owner/operator $150-$250 a month. ON AVERAGE. Quality hay, grain and bedding will run ON AVERAGE $300-$400 (or more) per horse. So right there your dollars are spent. This does not include maintenance, footing, staff, utilities, insurance or incidentals. At $500-$600 a month, your barn owner is breaking even or operating at a loss.
Now let’s talk about staff. Working students are becoming unicorns. GOOD ones are almost impossible to find and stall cleaners are demanding $20 an hour and then not showing up. Most trainers I know can’t find reliable help and are either burning themselves out or operating at an even bigger financial loss.
Inflation? That’s been a blast. ALL of our costs are rising…which means our small margins are smaller…or gone.
Client expectations? High. Everyone wants perfect footing, a lounge, top quality everything AND access to their barn owner at all hours. Want to know what time I hear from clients? 24/7. FB and texts…11pm….6am…and everything in between. Think there is a stipend to be on call for non-emergencies 24/7? Of course not.
Want to know what your barn owner is making? Likely less than $5 an hour. I worked 231 hours in August…I personally drew less than $800 in take home. That’s with an education, decades of experience and great show results. Many farm managers are making even less.
What does this mean for the future? I don’t know. My gut tells me that in the next 10-20 years the middle class barn owner will vanish and barns will be owned and managed by those who don’t need your money…and who will price their services accordingly. I fear that by the time my kids are grown, only the wealthy will have horses.
So…that’s my thoughts on that…Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.
*my photo, my barn*
**shared , not my post. Cannot agree more. Hence, no longer a boarding business. **
