Getting the work done in a small barn? Please help! UPDATE 11/30

[goneriding]

UPDATE 11/30
I gave all of my boarders notice on Sunday that I was going to end boarding. They were shocked but they rallied, and nobody had hard feelings. I said I'd like to by done by January 1. One horse is leaving tomorrow, two are leaving Friday, and the last is leaving on Sunday, along with his owner the apartment renter. They all found good places to go and are happy. I have a potential renter/horse carer who is an experienced horsewoman coming to see the apartment tomorrow and meet me, since I'd still like to rent the apartment and have someone here to tend to my horses when I go on vacation or have work that keeps me away. She is looking for exactly that situation.

I am in shock, lol. My powers scare me and I must remember to use them for good . It feels like one of those times when you agonize over a decision, and when you finally take the smallest of steps in the right direction everything just falls right into place behind it.

As of Sunday morning, I will just have my two horses at home. I think this is going to freak them out a little bit, to have all their friends disappear! But I am so looking forward to the simplicity of it.

___
I am looking for some ideas before I can the whole "board a few horses" thing. I have 10 stalls but only use 6 max. Currently they are full - my 2 plus 4 boarders. I have had one boarder for several years and it worked ok, but it was always hard to get care covered when I wanted to go away. I decided to try to add a couple more boarders and bring someone on to do some of the chores, which put me at 6. I don't want more; I don't want to do MORE chores on my days, and my pastures won't sustain turnout for more.

I have an small apartment in my barn. A woman moved in along with bringing her horse to board, saying she was happy to help with chores. She's been here a few months and she seems less than enthusiastic about working and is often unavailable when I ask. So, now I'm doing chores for 6 horses most days, and it's winter and the work is much harder than summer. I am not a happy camper about it.

I can't figure out a way to make this work for me. With only 6 horses, I can't hire someone to drive here to work at a price I can afford on a regular basis. Ie, if I pay $12/hr (typical around here), it's one hour in the morning (maybe 1.5 in winter) and .5 hours in the evening. To plan one's day around chore time and drive over here, nobody wants to do it for 12 bucks or 6 bucks (understandably). But, that's the labor factor built into board. I charge $425 full care, which is about average for my county, and I am further out and not as "fancy" as higher priced barns, so I think it's about right.

I thought about moving toward "share boarding" where each boarder is responsible for certain shifts each week, and those rates are credited toward their board. Then they are coming here anyway, and they have a vested interest in their horse's care. The down side - my existing boarders (other than the live in person) aren't interested in that. And often boarders who get that involved get TOO involved and start treating the place like their own, which I do NOT want.

There are a couple of neighbor kids I could hire to clean stalls after school, but that is such a small part, and they couldn't do the am shift, the feeding, the turnout, etc. So I don't feel that helps me in a meaningful way.

I could just bite the bullet and spend more money, and get someone in the apartment who wants to do chores daily, and pay them enough to keep them interested. But that would erode my profit, so why bother? And, the reason I like having my horses at home is taking care of them myself, the way I want to. I never really wanted to own a boarding barn and deal with workers, etc., we bought this place to just have our own place. I've always said, if I'm going to be in a boarding stable I will be in someone else's and let them deal with all the hassles!

And the hassles are endless. Ie, I can fence off a muddy area with a strip of non-hot tape and my horses leave it alone. But one of the boarders horses takes about 5 minutes to plow through it, so I have to find a way to make it hot. Another horse paces continuously and pulverizes his manure and grinds it into my hard-built mud free gravel runs. It takes as long to sift through his run as the whole rest of the stall cleaning, and even then it was left full of manure, plus all that sifting of heavy gravel is hell on my shoulder. I finally told her I was putting a stall guard across the opening to restrict his access to his run, which she is not thrilled about. Another horse cribs on his feed bucket and keeps breaking it, which his owner replaces without question, but I am just waiting for him to tear the waterer off the wall

I do make a small profit on boarding (800-1000/mo) as long as you consider that I would be paying the mortgage, insurance, and property maintenance anyway. It comes nowhere near paying for those things. For the toll it takes on my life I'm really not thinking it's worth it.

For example, if I just had my horses here, I would just leave them outside all summer. With 6, I bring them into stalls for night, so each gets their feed 2x day. And then clean stalls. I would still stall at night in winter, but with my 2, if my day means bringing them in early, or leaving them out until midnight, no big deal.

The thing that keeps my doing it is 1) the small bit of money it brings in, and 2) one of my boarders is a very dear friend, and I would miss her. If we could just board together and ride together, which we did for many years before I bought this place, that would be great lol.

It's my last ditch here before sending everyone away. Does anyone have a way of managing a small barn that gets the work done reliably and preserves the "home barn" feel and privacy?

[Fatcat]

Why don't you kick everyone out except your good friend? Evict the apartment dweller and rent it out to someone for money not in exchange for work.

[Amado]

Why don't you kick everyone out except your good friend? Evict the apartment dweller and rent it out to someone for money not in exchange for work.

That sounds like a plan to me.

[NancyP]

^^^^^
This

[goneriding]

Except... I don't think I want 4 horses to take care of!

[Tuffytown]

Similar boat with 13 horses.

[boots-aregard]

"Except... I don't think I want 4 horses to take care of! "

Sell some.

I've seen lots of different arrangements. When I had my barn, I didn't want "help" or interference or anything else. We did it the way WE did it and anybody who didn't fit in was asked (nicely) to leave. It generally wasn't a problem, because I always gave them a lecture up front -- for FREE! -- about how I choose to do things my way, and what involvement they would have (none) and how many suggestions I would take (none) and how not all horses/people get along and the ones that don't get along have to move down the road. Since I offered a low price and high flexibility in feeding regimes, I never had trouble finding boarders, so I could be picky. (A couple of more boarders turned out to be reliable folks, and did some care for me in a pinch, and helped out with holding for vets and shoers)

Friend of mine has a lovely set up, and a couple horses herself, but doesn't want to do the work. She found another woman with two horses who agreed to do the a.m. feedings and mucking in exchange for board, and it worked very nicely for some time (multiple years). Until it didn't anymore. These things are fluid. Her neighbor likes to use her lovely arena, so he would do the dragging and prepping.

I've always dealt with Pony Club, so had pony clubbers to man the hatches when I was gone (admittedly, not often) for my barn, and my friend essentially does the same. Kids who know what to do, when to call the vet, how important horse care is, and willing to earn some money in the short term. In our area, driving wasn't a problem, like it sounds to be for you.

To answer your question, I'd either:
a. make the rental work better for you than it does (i.e., horse care 5 days week MANDATORY). Pay them, then have them pay you full rent. That way if they get hurt, they still owe you full rent but you get to stop paying them for the work they aren't doing.

or

b. turf out current non-working renter (or raise the rent to market levels and let them stay) and see if you can find someone for the a.m. chores -- someone on their way somewhere else, passing by your house? or p.m. chores, similarly going by your house on a regular basis.

c. Decide to space your chores differently? Muck every other day instead of every day, so it takes longer and someone is more likely to come to do the work for you? (works in some climates, not others). You'd still have to do the feeding, but...

d. Independent of the other options, get rid of the problem horses.

There's my free advice.

[goneriding]

I want to hear your story, Tuffytown. I feel like I am on an island.

[goneriding]

Sell some.

Should I sell my 2, or my boarder's horses? lol

I have a special needs mare who I have spent thousands to try to make saleable and I don't know if she ever will be. And I have my dream horse who I love madly. I think we are stuck with each other.

[goneriding]

I will say, I do things on my terms. I don't feel like I run around trying to please everyone. I give them the talk when they move in - this is how I do things, it won't change, if it doesn't work for you no hard feelings, I'm sure there's another barn you'll like better.

I used to provide blanket changes and offer pellets at cost. It wasn't in my board agreement, I just did it as a courtesy and I wanted the horses to be comfortable. I cut those things out because it just got to be too much. No one else provides them at my price point, so it's certainly not expected.

But even so, the job is bigger than I am happy with doing every stinkin morning and night!

[Moutaineer]

If you just kept your friend on, could she take over some of the chores for the four remaining horses?

Also, I do feel that with the apartment, you have options to find someone who would actually do something useful. I'd certainly lose the person who is in there currently, and her horse, and get someone in who would really do the work. Possibly not even a horse owner.

It is tough, I know. I just have the three at home who largely live out with free access to their stalls. They've still got to be fed and watered and blanketed and cleaned up after and the fences have to be fixed and... and... and... love them all dearly and wouldn't have it any other way, but sometimes it's just a giant anchor. I think about getting more help, then I think about the pain in the ass factor of having to manage that help...

[goneriding]

I think about getting more help, then I think about the pain in the ass factor of having to manage that help...

This! It is a pain in the ass.

I've tried to find an apartment dweller to do chores. I had one guy for a year. He was not a horse person, but he LOVED yard work and had the property looking amazing. He cleaned the stalls, and he could take care of the horses for a few days at a time. The plus - he was always here, because he had SSD income he lived on and no other job. The downside - he was ALWAYS here, didn't have other connections, and was socially needy. He eventually drove me nuts, popping out and following me around every time I went to the barn. That, and he lied to me about some things that were inconsequential and didn't need to be lied about, relating to animal care, and it really undermined my trust in him. I eventually let him go.

I've kept an eye out for someone else for a while, but the right fit hasn't appeared. If I trade rent for chores, they need to have a job to pay their bills. And if they have a job, they aren't here when they need to be to do chores. I haven't figured out a way around that.

I firmly believe it's better to have no one than to have the wrong person!

[Tuffytown]

I own 3, one elderly mare that may crash and burn at any time or she may go on for years. 10 boarders in either stall or paddocks with sheds. Everyone is out during the day. My board is a bit less than the going rate since I lack a few amenities (wash rack) but I have lots of real grass pasture which is not as common around here. I have stall cleaners who do stalls and paddocks and water but we do all the feeding, turn in and out and maintenance. Board pretty much pays the expenses and part of the mortgage but not enough to extend the hired work to regular feedings, similar to you, they are not here long enough to deal with am and pm chores and 3 feedings a day. Every day someone breaks something and someone becomes neurotic and purees a pasture.

[Srhorselady]

BTDT....After 4 years of boarding 6 to 7 horses plus my two and fearing the IRS since I was making minimal profit I came to a conclusion. The ONLY way to make it work was to expand, board MORE horses and hire good help for at least 20 hours per week OR get out of the boarding business. It just isn't financially or physically feasible (I was exhausted all the time) to board on a small scale and care for the boarders the same as you do your own horses. I chose to ask everyone to leave (had a horrible time getting some of them out...they didn't want to leave), but did keep the 2 minis that belonged to a good friend. Then I found a part time job close to home and started a new unexpected career after my first retirement. I just retired for the second time after 9 years. Caring for your own horses is an act of love. Boarding becomes a chore and is exhausting. However, there does tend to be consequences....those empty stalls not filled with boarders become filled. Instead of my original two I now have 5 and occasionally the 4 empty stalls tempt me! I do now have excellent help for about 10 hours per week plus special projects. She is a neighbor and excellent horsewoman who works at several of the local barns as needed. She is also my animal sitter. Very reliable, very responsible and worth every penny. Good Luck

[StraightForward]

My barn has 8 boarded horses and 5 that belong to the farm. A SAHM mom does chores 4 days a week in exchange for board and pay. They pay other help too, so I think the board just covers wages, bedding and the boarded horses hay. They probably don't charge enough for services provided (daily turnout, blanketing, fly masks etc.)

[goneriding]

BTDT....After 4 years of boarding 6 to 7 horses plus my two and fearing the IRS since I was making minimal profit I came to a conclusion. The ONLY way to make it work was to expand, board MORE horses and hire good help for at least 20 hours per week OR get out of the boarding business. It just isn't financially or physically feasible (I was exhausted all the time) to board on a small scale and care for the boarders the same as you do your own horses.

That is exactly where I am at. I am exhausted and burned out. Every morning and every night, day after day, doing all the drudge work for other people's horses. I don't even like horses any more lol. And I feel like I have lost my hobby because by the time I finish all the chores I am done, I don't want to be in the barn any more

[SnowHorse]

Do they have access to shelter in the pasture? If so, leave all out 24/7. Divide pastures if necessary, so the groups are smaller if they can't all eat outside without fighting.

I have 5 out in the pasture 24/7 and that's where they get their feed and hay. No cleaning up stalls, unless we get really bad weather with freezing rain or similar, which is the only time they come in. That's usually once or twice a year, IF that much.

[DJR]

I don't have any boarders, but I do have 8 horses of my own (and a donk). I have come up with a few strategies to help me cope since I also work full-time outside the home.

First, I keep mornings very efficient. All grain, etc., is divvied up the night before and hay is made as ready as possible so that I only have to chuck it in the morning.

In the evenings, I spot clean the shelters every other day, sometimes less often as demand requires.

My horses are out 24/7 with access to good, roomy shelters. But, I do have stalls available (within their various shelters) for bad weather and for the ones that do not cope as well with wet or cold (like my daughter's 18 yr old pony). I feed hay outside unless it's really crappy weather, then I move it into the shelters. By keeping hay out of the shelters most of the time I avoid the mess that accumulates.

In the winter, I use dung piles that are closer to the shelters and within the same paddock as the horses. I know it's not ideal, but it's easier. Once a year I remove the accumulated dung piles.

Since I adopted my daughter and have had the need for an after-school nanny, I hired one who is good with horses so she cleans stalls for me once or twice a week, which is lovely.

This routine is working for me so far. I'm not sure if any of it would translate to your situation, even in a modified way?

[goneriding]

DJR you have my dream setup. I'd love to leave my horses out 24/7 with run in shelter. My property is hilly and quite a few trees with a creek running through the middle of it, and a couple of large pastures sprawling toward each corner. There's no good way to divvy them up, so I turn out in a herd. And not a good way to create shelters and feed hay out. I am already picturing just having mine at home and leaving them out all summer. My perimeter fence is electric so I worry to have them out at night (and the bid to replace the perimeter was $32k, not happening! lol). But, I have a small pasture next to the barn that I could shut them into overnight and call them in with grain, so it would just be a matter of opening and closing a gate. Not really doable with 6 unfortunately.

[Rockabilly]

Why don't you kick everyone out except your good friend? Evict the apartment dweller and rent it out to someone for money not in exchange for work.

Just thinking about all this gives me heartburn.

[goneriding]

Why don't you kick everyone out except your good friend? Evict the apartment dweller and rent it out to someone for money not in exchange for work.

Just thinking about all this gives me heartburn.

Why is that?

[Rockabilly]

Because I know what it's like to try to find someone to do that kind of work. I understand the endless supervising and it gets to the point you'd rather do it yourself, but I am an introvert. All the trying to be nice when you want to scream....all the endless talking and explaining. Like you I want things done my way and I want the horses taken care of the way I want and I have never found anyone to do it my way but me. I've had 6 workers on the farm. One guy was supposed to be painting my fence, but I caught him painting the wood panels on his truck. When he left he stole my pressure washer and chain saw. Another guy was paid $12.00 an hour in 2000 for full time work, but yet every conversation was about how he couldn't pay his bills and wanted more money. I want to say I never left my horses and trusted to them to anyone else, but I got sick with Congestive Heart Failure and was in Vanderbilt Hospital for a month. I had no choice, but to leave them in someone else's care with my husband trying to make sure it all got done and after I got out of the hospital I found out the guy told my husband that Billy stepped on his foot and then ran away. Good thing my husband told me as I was standing in front of Billy. And the thing was Billy never stepped on anyone's foot ever. I was just done and I've done it all myself ever since, but I didn't have as many horses as you. I had three.

[Hoof'n it]

If you are technically not turning a profit, why are you doing it?

Either
A) find a solution for where your renter is doing the labour for you. Or they pay you rent, you pay them for x hours a week. Which can and does work with the right person.
B) turn everyone out, and be a 24/7 outside facility and then DIY type arrangement
C) kick everyone out.

I have a similar situation. But this is how it works for me.
I have a tenant, lovely couple who love horses and living on a farm. They help me out with farm chores when needed, and keep and eye out on the place for me. They pay rent, I pay them for the hours they help me out.
I have borders, it's a complete DIY environment, it's 24/7 turn out unless they really need to stable their horse (injury, etc). They get a paddock and that gets rotated around, around my cattle. They also get to use the facilities, which includes an arena. I do try and be accomodating when needed.
Does it pay the bills? Nope, but it doesn't really require any energy on my part, I keep the amount of borders to 3-4 horses. Along with my 15 odd horses and 80 heifers, it keeps the grass in check.
I have no problems with a few people being here, it's great to have people to ride with or to chat with.
It really does seem to work for me, if it gets too much, or too many different personalities, I will have no hesitation in changing it up and kicking people out.

I could have had a livery environment where it's a full care situation, but I couldn't see how it would work financially, with me still being full time work in the office and having to pay people to look after the horses. I would have to have a lot of horses or it wouldn't have worked.
I just didn't want to deal with that many horses especially if it fell down to me looking after them if I couldn't find the employees.

[kande50]

I realized years ago that if I used up all my time and energy taking care of horses then there wouldn't be any time left to ride, so over the years we've set things up so that the chores are as efficient as we can make them.

We have run-ins with canvas covers over the front so that the horses have a dark place to escape the flies, and a tractor with a york rake to scrape them out, because it didn't take me long to realize that if I had to clean 8 stalls by hand that would effectively eat up all of my riding time.

If I could decrease the herd enough so that there was room I'd ask friends if they wanted to bring their horses down for the winter so they could use my indoor, because we could all use more motivation to ride in the winter, and if there are enough of us we can get an instructor in to give lessons and coach drill team.

[goneriding]

It seems like the way most people make it work is keeping horses in fields with shelters, so you don't have the constant stall cleaning and turn in and out, which is the biggest part of the job and the restricting part. I have to BE HERE first thing in the morning and in the last hour of daylight, every day. That would be my preferred set up but my property is just not physically suited to it for multiple horses. I have thought about it every which way because I'd love to do it. If it was just mine I think I could leave them out most of the year and cut the work 90%.

I so love hearing how you all manage your barns, I am getting lots of great ideas!

[Fatcat]

I live in the same region as you, so I get it that with all the mud, 24/7 doesn't work here. I only have two now, but have had as many as four, and what works for me is to have stalls that open out to individual all weather paddocks (geotextile, gravel, topped with cedar shavings). I never have to clean stalls, just pick the poo from paddocks every day. The paddocks are large, 24x36', so they have room to move. I try to let them out to graze for several hours on days when it's not pouring down rain too. It's as low maintenance as the PNW can get without ruining your pastures.

[SnowHorse]

The thing is - most horses like being outside much better than inside. Of course you can always have an exception to that rule in a horse that grew up with little turnout, and no horsey friends, but for most part, they prefer outdoors.

Ours get quite upset sometimes when the weather gets really nasty and *I* feel like they need to be in, while THEY prefer to be out. I actually had to compromise with two of them last winter so that one of them could get all the way out in the pasture if he wanted, and the other could get out in a small paddock (made of panels on three sides, and fence on one side) in front of his stall. That way, they knew they could get out if they wanted, but they settled on being inside for most of the time, where their hay was.

[goneriding]

In the northwest it stays soppy muddy wet for 9 months, and I feel like coming inside at night for a good drying out is beneficial, particularly for their hooves. I don't think horses evolved for this climate! lol

[goneriding]

I do have 12x60 foot runs off the stalls and they have free access in and out any time they are in stalls. The first 20' of the runs is mud free. But I don't feel like that's enough space to move for them to keep them in full time, so they go out in largish (2-5 acres) pastures every day.

[boots-aregard]

I remember in Ireland, standing in a barnyard near the end of the day. The pasture gate was opened, and 15 to 20 horses just pelted in, leaping wheel barrows in the way, and pretty much "encouraging" me to flatten against a wall, as they rushed to their separate stalls for the night.

No "one on one" hand leading in, that's for sure!

Efficient, if terrifying.

[Chisamba]

Pur actual financial numbers on the agreement so they cannot pretend they are doing you a favor, any missed days means they owe you actual dollars and cents.

Or charge full, and hire someone for a couple of days a week so you have a break.

[TeresaA]

Lots of good advice. I would advise that you sit down and figure out what exactly you want to get out of having horses at home.
Then list ways to make that happen.
Then make a plan and execute it. It may lead to some dififcult decisions (evicting boarders, selling horses) but right now you are not getting what you want.
I do know of boarding places where the boarders are expected to do a certain amount of the work per week otherwise they are welcome to find another situation.

[goneriding]

Lots of good advice. I would advise that you sit down and figure out what exactly you want to get out of having horses at home.
Then list ways to make that happen.
Then make a plan and execute it. It may lead to some dififcult decisions (evicting boarders, selling horses) but right now you are not getting what you want.

This. You have hit the nail on the head. I just want to enjoy my own horses in peace and quiet and care for them the way I want to. I never had any desire to run a boarding business. In fact, I was quite averse to it lol.

What I keep coming back to is that I can't find anyone who wants to help with the work, because the small amount of money in it isn't worth the labor and scheduling constraints. So if it's not worth ANYONE else's time, why is it worth my time?! lol

I hate telling people things they don't want to hear. I know it will be an inconvenience to my boarders to find someplace else and I hate to be the cause of that. But telling myself, short term pain, long term gain!

[Rockabilly]

I understand so well about taking care of your horses and barn they way you want too and I understand about the peace and quiet, but what I don't understand is why you are boarding horses in the first place.

[Rockabilly]

Or how you got into it.

[goneriding]

I understand so well about taking care of your horses and barn they way you want too and I understand about the peace and quiet, but what I don't understand is why you are boarding horses in the first place.

It snuck in lol. When we first bought this place I took in a boarder with 2 horses. It was awful. Her horses were so high maintenance, and one was a dangerous mix of anxious and aggressive. I finally told her I was sorry but I could not board her horses and I vowed to never board another horse. I had my 2 and was a foster home for a rescue, taking in 1 at a time.

About a year later a woman called about boarding her 2, and I said "I don't board, but if you tell me what you are looking for maybe I can refer you to someplace that's a good fit." As she talked, she described exactly what I do here. And she seemed nice, and conscientious. I said, "I don't board, but if you want to come visit we can meet and I'll show you how I do things, and if you are interested I'll think about it." lol

It was a good fit, and I took in her 2 horses. It worked really well for about 2 years.

This year she sent one to live with her son, and about the same time I sent my special needs mare to a trainer to see if I could get her to a point where she could be sold. That left me with 1, so I was glad for her 1 for company. Shortly after, my good friend needed a place for her 2, so I said "of course." And my mare became a problem at training and came home. That put me at 5.

Shortly after that, a woman came to talk to me about boarding her 1, and asked if she could rent my apartment and offered to do chores. I had some qualms but decided to give it a try, thinking the extra help would offset the extra horse.

Which puts me where I am today. 6 horses, and a helper who doesn't help much. And now it's winter, and the job is literally twice as hard.

It probably still sounds like random decisions, and I guess it was. Sometimes you don't know whether something will work until you try it.

[fergusnc]

I don't have boarders. Vaguely thought about it before we found our place but ruled it out. I have two at home, out 24/7 except for meals and really yucky weather. My guy has always been a saint with gates and fences and stalls, and my new rescue pony has THANKFULLY been the same. Maybe times I give thanks verbally about how much easier this makes my life. And how hard it would be to board horses that are hard on facilities. The stalls require minimal attention even though the two doored "birthing stall" is open all the time. There is also a covered extension to the barn for shelter.
I have noticed how I have stream lined the non-essentials, like blanketing. I have never been one to bundle at the first sign of a chill, but having to undress horses in the dark before work, after going down extra late to put on said blankets when it's not cold enough at supper time, is just not in my plan. The rescue Pony was never blanketed for his four years at the rescue facility, and while I have bought him two blankets, taught him to stand for them, and fitted them, I am just not ready to deal with his "exuberance" at o'dark-thirty while trying to get to work. Yes, it's 30 degrees in the morning, it hasn't gotten there til 4am, and the horses are super fuzzy and have hay and shelter as needed.
Basically it has made me realize having boarders and doing the work yourself and working a full time job somewhere is just not for everyone. Even with really well behaved horses and nice owners...let alone anything different.

[Rockabilly]

I understand so well about taking care of your horses and barn they way you want too and I understand about the peace and quiet, but what I don't understand is why you are boarding horses in the first place.

It snuck in lol. When we first bought this place I took in a boarder with 2 horses. It was awful. Her horses were so high maintenance, and one was a dangerous mix of anxious and aggressive. I finally told her I was sorry but I could not board her horses and I vowed to never board another horse. I had my 2 and was a foster home for a rescue, taking in 1 at a time.

About a year later a woman called about boarding her 2, and I said "I don't board, but if you tell me what you are looking for maybe I can refer you to someplace that's a good fit." As she talked, she described exactly what I do here. And she seemed nice, and conscientious. I said, "I don't board, but if you want to come visit we can meet and I'll show you how I do things, and if you are interested I'll think about it." lol

It was a good fit, and I took in her 2 horses. It worked really well for about 2 years.

This year she sent one to live with her son, and about the same time I sent my special needs mare to a trainer to see if I could get her to a point where she could be sold. That left me with 1, so I was glad for her 1 for company. Shortly after, my good friend needed a place for her 2, so I said "of course." And my mare became a problem at training and came home. That put me at 5.

Shortly after that, a woman came to talk to me about boarding her 1, and asked if she could rent my apartment and offered to do chores. I had some qualms but decided to give it a try, thinking the extra help would offset the extra horse.

Which puts me where I am today. 6 horses, and a helper who doesn't help much. And now it's winter, and the job is literally twice as hard.

It probably still sounds like random decisions, and I guess it was. Sometimes you don't know whether something will work until you try it.

You are just too nice for your own good. Practice saying "No" and after a while it will come easier for you. The more you say "No" and are pleasant and firm about it the easier people will take it. People will just take advantage of you and it's up to you to draw the line. It took me years to be able to do this and I had to talk to myself about it. Basically I got tired of being a people pleaser.

[goneriding]

You are just too nice for your own good. Practice saying "No" and after a while it will come easier for you. The more you say "No" and are pleasant and firm about it the easier people will take it. People will just take advantage of you and it's up to you to draw the line. It took me years to be able to do this and I had to talk to myself about it. Basically I got tired of being a people pleaser.

I am seldom accused of being too nice But yeah, I am having a hard time at this point asking them to leave, I know they won't want to hear it and I will be the bad guy.

[kande50]

If it was just mine I think I could leave them out most of the year and cut the work 90%.

I so love hearing how you all manage your barns, I am getting lots of great ideas!

We have our perimeter fenced and then split the area up into smaller runs with run-ins, which allows us to keep incompatible horses separate and makes it much easier to feed each horse what they need. The big problem with that kind of arrangement is water, especially in the winter, which we've solved by piping a spring into the water troughs so the water runs continuously so doesn't freeze. A stream that runs all winter, or heated automatic waterers would be other options.

[redsoxluvr]

I have had a boarder. It was my best friend, someone who I have known for 20+ years. It started out OK, but rapidly declined. I was charging a rate that was far under average for my area. It really didn't even cover my costs. I convinced myself that it was helpful to have her here as it was company for me and she would help out. As expected, the help dried up quickly and it rapidly became far more trouble than it was worth. We were on the verge of evicting her when she moved with no notice. It ruined our friendship and I will not do it again. It just isn't worth the hassle.

[fergusnc]

Goneriding, I was thinking about your situation this morning! One of the perks of me having my two reasonable boys and our current set up is being able to walk across the pasture with buckets of warm water unmolested, to arrive at The Little Gray Barn to prep the "oatmeal" and then use the "come here" whistle to have the boys walk into their stalls in The Little Red Barn. No drama, no catching, no leading, a happy lead horse and happy follower horse. In this morning's 26 degree dawn, their was a bit of a power struggle afoot, two very resistant horses, some hooves flying (at each other, not me!) and after several failed whistles, I had to go catch my Original Gangster, I mean Gelding, to lead him into the barn. The Cheeky Monkey did not follow willingly and there was some head slinging and posturing, flowed by to stall door rushing once inside. In other words, it made me hope I would get out to work on time. Got me thinking about how even an easy routine can get challenging unexpectedly, and how much harder that would be with a bigger herd..especially without help! Hope you get your plan all sorted out.

[kande50]

I should add that the only boarders I'd consider would be friends who had their own place to keep their horses, but just wanted to board for the winter so they could use my indoor. That way if things didn't work out the way we'd hoped it wouldn't be a big deal because they could just take their horse back home.

I can see how it would be much harder to ask someone to leave if they'd been holding up their end of the deal but I'd burned out, so I'd want to give them a lot more time to find another place under those circumstances.

[Srhorselady]

When I made my decision to get out of boarding the hardest part was getting rid of the boarders. Basically I just told each owner that I was getting out of the boarding business. I told them that there was just too much work involved and since my profit had been tiny or non-existent it put me in a very dangerous tax situation. I gave them 45 days notice to find new places and suggested some places close by that I knew boarded. It worked with all the owners except one. She kept delaying and saying she didn't have time to look etc. Lots of excuses etc. Her life was a mess and her horse was a good boy which tempted me to let her stay, but I really wanted out, and it wasn't fair to those who had left as requested. Finally after 3 months I researched local boarding facilities for her, gave her a list with prices and amenities, and gave her the name and number of someone who would trailer her horse and told her to be out by the end of that month (ie two weeks). By this point she could tell that I had had it and did move into one of the places I researched. It was not easy or fun, but I learned my lesson. Even when I am tempted to help someone out I remind myself of this experience. It is sad to not feel free to help, but not something I want to go through again.

[Srhorselady]

Other possible option that I thought of but did not implement. Give everyone 30 days notice that you are doubling (or tripling) their board in order to hire someone to help with the chores. Give them the date the new board is due. Then if anyone chooses to stay at least the hassle might be worth your while. If your new board is a lot higher than the going rate they'll start looking for a new place.

[fergusnc]

Random question..,for those of you who have/have had just a couple boarders at your home place, did you get liability insurance? And how is that priced? I always assumed it was a no-brained, and also assumed it would be expensive, and figured it would be cost-prohibitive unless you had a bunch of boarders.

[TeresaA]

You are just too nice for your own good. Practice saying "No" and after a while it will come easier for you. The more you say "No" and are pleasant and firm about it the easier people will take it. People will just take advantage of you and it's up to you to draw the line. It took me years to be able to do this and I had to talk to myself about it. Basically I got tired of being a people pleaser.

I am seldom accused of being too nice But yeah, I am having a hard time at this point asking them to leave, I know they won't want to hear it and I will be the bad guy.

They may think that you are the bad guy. That's okay- they will think whatever they want.
I would be honest with all of them- it's too much work and no return. you have no time to play with your own horses and there's no money in it. If they are friends they will understand.

I have had a few requests from people to board and I always turn it down. The reason is that I have it worked out well with my two. They can run in and out of their stalls and share a field with no drama.

Also my husband lookds after them when I can't and he's not as horse savvy as me. He knows my guys and what to do but I wouldn't risk him with a strange horse. I wouldn't even let him handle my new mare until I had her into the routine.

[goneriding]

The reason is that I have it worked out well with my two. They can run in and out of their stalls and share a field with no drama.
.

How do you keep them from squabbling in the tight confines of a stall if they have free access in and out?

[exploding pony]

Charge more, get good help, kick out the lazy renter.

Sorry, it's the business owner in me. i have learned over the years to stop over thinking things

[kande50]

How do you keep them from squabbling in the tight confines of a stall if they have free access in and out?

The way we deal with that is to have run-ins with either canvas or carpet hanging over the front, so they can run out under the canvas if they want to leave in a hurry. Having the fronts covered helps with the wind and makes the run-in dark enough to keep the flies out in the summer.

I don't like using stalls as run-ins because of the risks associated with the door frames and the hardware on the doors.