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 Expert
Posts: 1432
  
Location: Never in one place long | I currently have a boarder that is providing her own hay and I'm charging $100 per month board, she gets her own stall and a big pen for her horse with heated water etc. I do all the feeding/cleaning stalls. When summer comes, her horse will be on pasture at our place, we graze 10 acres but also cut it for hay which is usually enough for my horses for the year.
My question is, would you increase board for the summer months when her horse is on pasture? I was thinking raising it to $125 since technically we cut what the horses don't eat. |
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 Good Grief!
Posts: 6343
Location: Cap'n Joan Rotgut.....alberta | i have never heard of board going up in the summer....buts thats cheap board....i kept my horse at an indoor 25 min from home (one winter)and i think it was 300+ and i had to go morning and night.......and i supplied all my own feed
m
Edited by mruggles 2015-01-09 3:41 PM
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Expert
Posts: 1432
Location: Never in one place long | mruggles - 2015-01-09 3:37 PM
i have never heard of board going up in the summer....buts thats cheap board....i kept my horse at an indoor 25 min from home (one winter)and i think it was 300+ and i had to go morning and night.......and i supplied all my own feed
m
yep, it is cheap, I'm not in it to make a bunch of money, we have a round pen and a nice arena we keep dragged but not an indoor but she doesn't have to do any feeding etc either. |
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 Don't Wanna Make This Awkward
Posts: 3106
Location: Texas | No. As a boarder that doesn't really sound fair if this wasn't in agreement before she chose to board her horse there. Then again $25 isn't that big of a difference. I guess it depends if you want her to keep boarding there because she will either pay it or leave. |
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 Veteran
Posts: 164
| No, it's not fair to raise the rate once she's been there unless there's a change in something you're offering and it is discussed and agreed upon. If you were to take in another boarder and decide you want to charge more (to that boarder), then you can say the cost has gone up but you are honoring your original agreement with the original boarder. |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| I would say it is perfectly reasonable to increase the board fees.
I look at it like renting a place, in my area the owner can give 90 days notice to increase the rent unless a lease was signed then they have to wait till the lease is up.
If you are going to raise the fees, I suggest giving her written notice 90 days in advance.
I also think you should be charging more during the winter as your labor needs to count, also does she supply bedding? If not you defiantly need to increase the winter board.
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Expert
Posts: 2678
Location: Mi | We board some horses. We have two horsres that stay out all summer, winter they stay in at night, board goes up in the winter $50 a horse because we have to use shavings for them, wehre in the summer we don't. When they start staying out at night, board goes back down $50.
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 600
Location: Oklahoma & Texas | Shes getting off cheap!! You do all the work all they do is supply feed...for cleaning stalls and doing the turn out and free pasture....shoot...you could charge 200 and I'd think it was still generous!!
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Don't Wanna Make This Awkward
Posts: 3106
Location: Texas | cheryl makofka - 2015-01-09 8:54 PM I would say it is perfectly reasonable to increase the board fees. I look at it like renting a place, in my area the owner can give 90 days notice to increase the rent unless a lease was signed then they have to wait till the lease is up. If you are going to raise the fees, I suggest giving her written notice 90 days in advance. I also think you should be charging more during the winter as your labor needs to count, also does she supply bedding? If not you defiantly need to increase the winter board.
I agree with this. A notice would be good if no written contract! |
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 Serious Snap Trapper
Posts: 4275
Location: In The Snow, AZ | The horse will be using your natural resources. So I don't see why a board increase would be questionable. I can't imagine her being upset with a $25 increase. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 678
Location: Canada | You're not in it to make money but what is your time worth. 30 days for $100 is only $3 per day you're getting paid to clean her stalls and feed her horses and heat her water. The come summer it's only $100 to do all that plus supply her feed.
Heating her water costs you money and tending to her horses takes you away from doing your things so what is your time worth to you. Only you know that answer.
Ask yourself does it hurt you financially if she leaves. Will it hurt you personally if she leaves? If the answer is no, then let her know in person and with a nice letter that you are increasing the board in either 60 or 90 days to whatever you feel is appropriate for your services. Giving her advance warning gives her time to either budget for the increase or find a new location.
Best of luck!
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 628
Location: Missouri | That doesn't seem fair. I boarded a girl and her two horses all summer, May-October, for free and I did all the work. Cleaning, feeding, putting them in and out, all she had to do was provide feed and shavings. I did this all because I really like the girl and she was in a bad place at a bad time and hurting for money. Sometimes you have to ask yourself "is it worth it". Yea money is nice, but will 25$ a month extra really help that much? If you are doing this to help someone out then maybe discuss it with her. The girl boarding with me knew that she had till October to get out because we needed to save grass. I discussed this with her and she was fine. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 684
Location: Oklahoma | You're not boarding to make money, but your also not boarding to lose money. Since its not a must-have income, and you are okay if she decides to go elseware due to the change of price, I would just explain it to her exactly like you did us. Shes getting a good deal as it is for you to do the daily care and feeding. |
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Expert
Posts: 1432
Location: Never in one place long | Thank you all, some great advice! I think she would be ok with it becauuse right now, she is spending about $80 per month on hay and in the summer she would not have to, my thinking was the more grass her horse eats, the less hay we will have to bale for my horses. She said she def wanted pasture so she can either keep her horse in the pen and not graze (providing hay) or use the pasture for $25. We didn't talk about the future (Summer) but just wrote a contract for winter. Thanks! |
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 I am Woman hear me Roar
Posts: 3395
Location: Choctaw, Oklahoma | At the barn I'm at we charge 150 if they provide feed, but that only covers feeding and turn out. If they want us to provide hay, it's an additional 10 dollars a week. If they want us to clean stalls and add shavings it's 250.
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 Money Eating Baggage Owner
Posts: 9586
Location: Phoenix | That seems fair, since she is providing her own feed now, but you will be providing it later. I'd just give her a month or two heads up and explain why. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 368
| dang thats cheap!!! I pay $300 a month and provide my own feed (my choice because i didn't like the cheap feed they fed)... that gets my horse fed, turned out when weather permits and stall cleaned daily throughout the week.. I am responsible for turn out and stall cleaning on the weekends.. Indoor, outdoor, and lots of trails included so that makes it worth while!!!
I'd say $25 is not unreasonable at all! |
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