u/fook75

Talk to me about boarding

I am considering offering boarding off my ranch. I have 30 acres of wooded pasture divided into 3, 10 acre paddocks. Run in loafing sheds in each one. I do not have a stall barn. I do not have an arena but I have a pipe 60 foot round pen.

I feed round bales of grass hay, netted. They always have water.

I own 3 horses myself. I have comfortably cared for upwards of 20 horses.

I do my own hoof trimming but would not trim a boarder.

I have a vet that comes yearly and for emergencies.

The nice part is I am 3 miles from a really nice horse park. We like to ride down and explore the trails. There is access to roughly 300 miles of snowmobile trails a mile from my ranch, and it's all gravel roads.

If they wanted to ride In winter my friend lives 4 miles away and she has a heated indoor arena.

That said...

I would get insurance.

I would want to keep 15 or less here. I will have a stallion on premises as of 2028 and possibly another mare. So I could handle 5-10 boarders. I do have a few cows that live with my horses. I will run my sheep and goats through after I rotate the large stock out so that they eat the weeds. I don't spray.

I would only board geldings or mares.

My fence is wood and steel posts. I have 47 inch tall field fencing. There is a strand of hot wire on the top and the bottom. I would need to put caps on my steel posts.

What am I missing? I know there are not many amenities, but I think people would like my location so close to the park.

What would be a decent price point for a situation like this? And what kind of things have I forgotten? I want to put together a small business plan.

reddit.com
u/fook75 — 3 days ago
▲ 92 r/Farriers+1 crossposts

I have seen a few people with unhandled horses that need to trim but their horses are still in need of handling to make them safe.

I learned about this a few years back. I made one and would take a picture but sadly it's winter in MN and we'll, I can't see it!

I found a few pictures that may help.

you gather rocks, broken concrete, broken pavers and bricks. whatever you have. Lay a base of sand or pea gravel. then put your broken stuff right on top. put this all around your water trough. They need to be able to get all 4 feet on it.

The broken stuff needs rough edges and gaps. it's the edges that trim the hooves.

Please NOTE. This is not a substitute for professional hoof care. It is something you can do until your horse is safe enough to properly handle.

u/fook75 — 18 days ago