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How to Price Horse Boarding Services
If you have one or more extra stalls in your horse barn, you might be thinking of renting them out for a little extra income. But before you post that flier, you’ll need to decide what you’re going to charge for monthly rent. If you’re just starting out, figuring out what’s fair to charge might be your biggest question. Here’s a few tips to help you settle on the best price.
What will your service include?
When you board horses, you can simply rent the stall and have the owner be completely responsible for taking care of his horse, or you can offer boarding service where you assume part, or most, of the responsibility for caring for the animal. You could also negotiate some type of hybrid agreement with a horse owner with a specific need. Deciding what types of services you will provide is your first step. Will you be feeding, mucking stalls, and turning out the horse? Or just providing the location, utilities, pasture, and fencing?
Where are you located?
Boarding services have a wide price range depending on what part of the country you’re located in. In many places, horse owners pay $300-$500 per month for full boarding services. But in some areas, the price can go well over $1,000. Your best gauge is to check with other boarders in your area to compare prices and services.
Calculate your cost.
Once you know what other boarders in your area are charging, you should still calculate your costs carefully to make sure you’ll come out ahead. Don’t forget to factor in these costs:
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Feed - in general a horse eats about 2 percent of its body weight per day. You’re looking at about 18-22 lbs of hay per day per horse, plus pellet feed, supplements, and special dietary requirements
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Farrier costs - according to the American Farriers Journal, the average cost of a trimming is $42.06 and the average cost of trimming and applying 4 keg shoes is $120.19.
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Utilities - water, electric, gas, sewer, and trash
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Maintenance and repairs - fencing and gates, keeping the stalls in good condition, maintaining equipment, and more
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Bedding
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Manure and bedding disposal
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Pasture upkeep
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Insurance
Even after doing your best to calculate what your expenses will be, it can be hard to get a good picture before you’re in business for yourself. That’s where checking out prices of other boarders helps. Another idea is to start with shorter contracts so if you do need to adjust your prices, you’re not locked in to taking a loss for an entire year!
Are you ready to start boarding horses but you don’t have enough room to do so? Add a VersaTube horse barn to your property or enlarge your current one with an extension kit!