Often, horse owners with a bit of extra space in their stables and pastures consider taking in a boarder. Having another horse board at your own stable is a way to off-set costs. If you have one or two horses that live alone a boarder is a good way to provide companionship without having to buy another horse. There are benefits to having boarders, but there are a lot of responsibilities too. Here is what you need to know before you start looking for a border to fill your extra stall or paddock.

 

What You Need Before You Advertise Your Boarding Opportunity

Whether you take in one or twenty horses, boarding is a small business. Start by checking your community’s bylaws and zoning before your boarder arrives. You may need specific permits or other legal documents. 

Insurance is a must if you are boarding someone else’s horse. The liability insurance you buy for your own horse, your homeowners or your farm insurance policy may not be enough if you have boarders. Because you are a business, you’ll probably need commercial insurance.

You’ll want to be sure that you have all the physical resources in place before you start to advertize that you’re taking boarders. You’ll need safe pasturing and shelters. You must have a good supply of feed, including hay. You must have an adequate and safe water supply.

 

Do You Know How to Look After a Horse?

You can buy all the physical resources it takes to care for a horse, but knowing how to look after a horse is just as important. It may not be a great idea for a beginner horse owner to start looking after someone else’s horse.

  Someone who boards their horse wants to be able to trust you to catch small health problems before they become big. You will need to know how to recognize issues such as colic symptoms, lameness and other health concerns.

 

Can You Handle Other People’s Horses?

Boarder’s horses aren’t always as easy to handle as our own, so it’s important to have experience handling a wide range of different horses.  Boarder’s horses can come with behavioral issues and gaps in their training.

 

You Must Have a Contract

A boarding contract will detail exactly what services and resources you offer. The contract will also detail the obligations of the border. Contact and ownership information should be included. There are many different types of contracts available to copy online and from books. However, self-created contracts can be ambiguous. For that reason, it’s best to consult a lawyer to be sure that you have covered everything in clear, legally binding language.

 

What Type of Boarding Will You Offer?

There are many different types of board you can offer. If all you would like to do is earn some hay money and provide your horse with a friend, you might offer pasture board at a good price. Find out what board costs at various facilities in your area  and use them as a guideline for setting your own boarding fees.

Pasture Board

If you offer pasture board, you must have safe fences, a shelter where horses can escape from wind and wet, food—whether hay or pasture grass, and fresh water. Horses on pasture board aren’t expected to stay in a stable. You might be responsible for checking blankets, and you’ll be giving basic care. All other expenses such as farrier work and veterinary care are the owner’s. You’ll need to outline what other facilities are available to the boarder such as arena or ring use, wash stalls or other extras you may have available.

Self Care Board

You may wish to offer the physical resources of your facility, but not the actual care of the horse. In a self-care situation, the owner will be responsible for providing feed, bedding, cleaning stalls, all handling and care. There are varying shades of self-care board, so your contract should clearly delineate what your and your boarders’ responsibilities are.

Full Board

If you have a stable, you may offer full board. Full board usually includes use of a stall, and you will be expected to turn the horse out and bring it in, depending on the terms of the contract. You may charge for extra services like looking after farrier and vet work, blanketing or administering special care.

Part-Board

You may wish to offer one of your own horses to another rider. This is called part-board. Your horse will be available to the rider at specific times, or for a specific length of time. You will outline what expenses are to be covered by the rider and owner.

Short-Term Board

Track lay-ups, overnight travellers, bed and breakfast accommodations for horses and owners and other types of short term board can be offered. While these options might not provide steady income, they may be a good way to generate a bit of extra hay money.

 

Things to Remember

Even offering  ‘hands-off’ self-care boarding situations can cost you time and money. The more horses and people using your facilities the more upkeep will be required. It’s easy to focus on the horse-related aspects of boarding and forget that every horse has a human. And that human may actually be easier or more difficult to work with than the horse. In the best-case scenario, the horse’s human is easy going, has the same attitudes about horses as you, is prompt at paying all bills and is willing to be compromising and accommodating. Alternatively, they can be the absolute opposite. You might find a border that is respectful of your rules, and you may find one that isn’t. Boarders tend to show up at odd times, even if you do post barn hours. So, sometimes having a boarder means your private time can be infringed on. And, it’s important for avoiding barn drama to be professional and business-like. Whether you offer one stall or twenty, you are running a small business. While the horse will be spending the most time with you, a difficult owner may be the one that demands greater amount of your attention.