What's It Take To Board Horses

[Doc Tinker]

Not that I'm good with horses, but I love all animals.



My wife had a couple of horses when she was growing up and knows how to handle them and my daughter seems interested in learning.



I'm looking to move and will be viewing a house with 16 acres and several out buildings that has been home for horses in the past.



I'd like some input on what I would be getting myself into, if I decided to buy the place and board horses for a supplimental income.



Doc

 

[KatDiesel]

Well depends on how much of a "Boarding" service you intend to offer. With only 16 acres you couldn't just support more then a couple of horses pasture feeding. But then again my horses in CO I kept on a friends 5500acre ranch. . soooo i might be a little biased. So you would definatly have to factor in feeding. Alot of it depends on what kind of customers you have, will they come out and take care of the horse (brushing, feeding, cleaning out stalls, etc) or will that be upto you? Best advice from me is decide how much effort you want to put into this, then call some other boarding places in your area and check their prices vs the services they offer. And are you talking just a couple of horses or more then 10? Then try to decide if its worth it. I wouldn't let this stop you from buying the house and land tho.

 

[Archive]

Kat has given you a few good pointers. The problems arise when the boarders don't come out to take care of their horses... out of sight, out of mind. Or, after a period of time, they just don't care anymore. Then, you decide to let them starve or go take care of them each day til something can be done.



Who would care for the horses if you go on vacation? Is there shelter for the horses? A place for the boarders to store their feed? How about their horse trailers and tack? Any good trails close by that may entice good boarders?



I would also recommend good insurance or a good lawyer to draw you up some type of liability waiver. Horses can be dangerous, and lawsuits are much worse.

 

[hotel6]

Boarding horse can take alot of your time. You need to do it for the love of horses cause the money wont make much of a supplement. The previous posts provide good questions and points to consider. I had horses for about 10 years and boarded several colts that I showed during that period. With 16 acres you could probably create a nice riding arena/barn etc to attract customers. The challenge is to determine the market or need in the area for additional facilities. With 10 acres in improved pasture you could perhaps keep 5 or more horses. You would need a lunging pen as well as riding arena to keep the horses exercised and to maintain control on your pasture from overuse. Drop down to your local county extension agent and check out their pubs on horses and related stuff. MSU has a history of excellent livestock education and research. Good luck And for you Uof M fans

 

[merryman]

You have recieved some good advice and tips; I would add one more.

Be carefull about the financial realiability of the customer, and try not to let them get very far behind.

Like, what are you going to do with the horse when they are three months behind on boad bill and don't come out anymore?

We've had them get into us for near a thousand bucks, for combination breeding and feed bills and never collect.





Vaughn

 

[Power Wagon]

The DEFINITIVE ANSWER

What's it take to board horses? The same thing it takes to own them.





A strong back and a weak mind.

 

[Doc Tinker]

OK! OK! OK!

OK! OK! OK!



I don't think I'm gonna do that. I'd rather grow weeds anyway. What really got me was PW's reference that I'd be week minded, I guess the truth hurts And seeing as I don't have a backbone anymore, I don't have the "strong back" to put into it.





I've stayed away from owning rental houses, because I didn't want to deal with tenant problems, like non-payment and neglect. I guess I didn't think that the same thing would happen with horses.





Anyway, I'm ditching the thought of buying that property. The house was a dump and the property was about 100 ft wide by a 1,000,000 feet deep. Great place for a drag strip, but I doubt I could get a variance for it.



Doc

 

[Archive]

Re: The DEFINITIVE ANSWER

Originally posted by Power Wagon

What's it take to board horses? The same thing it takes to own them.





A strong back and a weak mind.

Hey! Thats not TRUE! My back is not that strong!

 

[QRTRHRS]

Even though it sounds like you have already come to your senses Doc, I want to throw a few more thoughts at this one. Boarding/owning horses is something you do out of really really have a love for the animals. As far as money, phssst. On the average, you can help cover your expenses and maybe have someone help spell you so you can get a break once in a while. If you have deep pockets, fine, otherwise, the more you can do yourself, the better off you would be. Like some else said, it takes at least two acres of grass to feed one horse. Horses must be moved around as they are very hard on grass. Around here, we try to graze for about a week then let the grass recover maybe two weeks. Varies with the weather. You need a reliable source of hay. I have $600 dollars worth on my gooseneck right now that the humidity is doing a job on. I get sawdust for bedding by the truck load. That needs to be stored in a dryplace. We just had a mare foal this morning, the vet came out on a sunday to check things out, theres at least $100. With the hot humid weather, we have our horses on "night shift". In most of the day, out all night. That means I come home at midnight from my second shift job, spend and hour cleaning prior to showering and going to bed. Here in the east, we have a new (to this country) virus going around called West Nile similar to St Louis Encephelitus. Spread by mosquitoes so it's a little bit of Russian Roulette. The rest of the country will soon enough know about that threat by the way. The more land/horses/infrastructure you have, the more equipment your going to need to take care of all that. This is getting long. On the other hand, I am outside working/enjoying this 24/7/365. Beats the health club. Gives me feeling of being close to the "earth". On a good day, I can pop half a dozen ground hogs without driving some place to do it. Keeps me out of the malls, the crowded campgrounds, etc. I meet and work with people with like interests and don't have their eye on your backside. Once in a while I can sell a horse for more than a few bucks. Works for me!

 

[DRR-24V]

Re: Re: The DEFINITIVE ANSWER

Hey,

I am not being a smartass. But if you have to ask, you should'nt be trying it. ! My wife runs cattle, there is very little profit in it in CA. where we get little rain. You just kind of MAINTAIN.

 

[hotel6]

Don your comments are to the point however my good friend in Ok is doing well in the cattle business, no debt and good range management. But we all know that in general ag is a low margin business over the long haul. Which reminds me of a story where 3 finalists in a contest had to answer the question - What would you do if you won a million dollars. The businessman responded that he would build another store in the new mall. The doctor responded that he would buy a sailboat and take off for a year or two of sailing. The farmer responded that he would just keep on farming until it was all gone.

 

[Brandon]

many others here can relate







"horse poor"





get some horses then you will know, not that its all bad, horses are like children, once you have them you never get rid of them, and if you do you'll just get more



he he he

at least thats how it goes for us

now i am thinkin if we didnt have horses we would probably have a couple of benz's or beamers

trailers, saddles lotsa tack, more tack, and more tack... ... ... ... . it never stops

 

[QRTRHRS]

Brandon,



You have that right. Worst part about raising babies is deciding which ones to sell off, which ones will make a good prospect. Kind of like watching your kid go off to school. One thing I want to say is that this is something my wife and I equally enjoy. Maybe because we are always busy, we don't let the little things bother us. Other than the money part, makes for a pretty good relationship.