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To start a boarding able / not to start a boarding stable

canoetrpr
New Member

Dec 24, 2005, 12:21 AM

Post #1 of 7 (904 views)
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To start a boarding able / not to start a boarding stable	Can't Post

My wife and I have moved to a lovely property in the country just north of Toronto in Ontario, Canada. We have 26 acres - 16 pasture and 10 woods. The property is perfectly setup for horses as the previous owners had their own horses and boarded a few.

We have:
- 5 stall barn in great shape
- two paddocks
- hay loft
- pole barn
- great fences
- outdoor riding ring.
- heated and insulated tack room

all of which we want to maintain as it adds to our property value.

My wife would like to get into horses. She has had only a little experience - helping out at her grandfather's operation as a kid. But we've got great neighbours who have their own horses and board a few who have offerred to help her get started at boarding - getting her some experience in their own barns.

The going rate for board in our area is $250 per month + vet and farrier bills.

There are other small advantages to a boarding operation in Ontario. If you make more than $7000 gross revenue (not profit) you can classify as a farm and that would save about $1600 in property tax. We have just finalized a deal on a tractor anyway for the property and being a farm would save us $1800 in sales tax on that next month alone.

My wife's logic is that she thinks she could net at least $100 per horse out of the $250 and while she might be able to make more money doing something else - she'd enjoy hanging out with horses much more. We also have a two year old and she figures this will be great as he could play in the barn while she does chores etc. instead of her having to pay for daycare if she took up a part time job. Under these circumstances she thinks that $300/$400 net per month is not a bad deal for her doing something she would enjoy while continuing to stay at home.

Her net argument is that we are already paying for our perfectly well set up horse facility through our mortgage anyway. No major start up costs are required.

For those of you who have experience in boarding, do my wife's plans sound realistic? She thinks the downside is very limited. Worst case she says she would net $0 but at least we'd get to save on property taxes etc. and she'd have fun doing it. To be quite honest this place really looks a bit empty without horses :-).

What do you think?

riptides
New Member

Dec 27, 2005, 12:45 PM

Post #2 of 7 (886 views)
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Re: [canoetrpr] To start a boarding able / not to start a boarding stable [In reply to]	Can't Post

You both seem to have thought about it, and the end goal, of assisting your tax issue is sound.

I have no boarding experience, but have been around many who board.

Dealing with the horses is the easy part. Dealing with the people who own the horses is an interesting experience.

The good thing is, you can try, and if it is NOT to your liking, you have gained wisdom, nevertheless.

Best of luck.
-Mike Z. Sly

Mark4510
Silver Member

Jan 3, 2006, 4:22 PM

Post #3 of 7 (861 views)
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Re: [canoetrpr] To start a boarding able / not to start a boarding stable [In reply to]	Can't Post

Canoetrpr,
It sounds like some of your goals would be met by bringing in a few boarders. I would caution you to really look at the costs related to risk. Most risk will be driven by your boarders and their guests coming onto your property.

I would also advise you to take a look at the true cost of keeping horses for yourself and others on your property. Most folks calculate costs in terms of feed/bedding and supplements but the real costs are much greater than that.

Having said that I agree that having a flexible schedule (to some degree) and a horse related lifestyle is very satisfying.

Best of luck.
Mark

JimHess
Silver Member

Jan 5, 2006, 1:33 AM

Post #4 of 7 (854 views)
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Re: [canoetrpr] To start a boarding able / not to start a boarding stable [In reply to]	Can't Post

That sounds like a nice property to have horses, and it would be nice to get a couple and get into horse owning and handling, but without experience it seems a bit premature to be caring for other people's horses as a business. No offense, but I'd be reluctant to leave our horses in the care of someone who was unfamiliar with horse handling. Maybe this isn't the best analogy, but if you bought a property that had a great shop all set up for auto repair, would you hang out a shingle and start tinkering on people's cars without experience? I guess I'm just paranoid, but horses do best when handled by an experienced person, and the more horses there are in one place the more important it is. I'd go slow and get some experience first.

-Jim

Mark4510
Silver Member

Jan 5, 2006, 3:00 PM

Post #5 of 7 (847 views)
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Re: [JimHess] To start a boarding able / not to start a boarding stable [In reply to]	Can't Post

Not to derail this conversation but I'ma gonna call peta 'cause that picture is proof positive of some kinda horse abuse. It ain't right to do that to a horse.....don'tcha know that horses are herd animals and the rest of the herd is gonna take advantage of that? Sly

Mark

JimHess
Silver Member

Jan 5, 2006, 10:24 PM

Post #6 of 7 (844 views)
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Re: [Mark4510] To start a boarding able / not to start a boarding stable [In reply to]	Can't Post

Mark, don't worry, the original picture showed his buddy next to him similarly decked out, and they both said that as long as we kept the treats coming it was okay with them. Honest.

-Jim

Mark4510
Silver Member

Jan 6, 2006, 3:09 PM

Post #7 of 7 (834 views)
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Re: [JimHess] To start a boarding able / not to start a boarding stable [In reply to]	Can't Post

Hey Jim,
you know.....one of the things I look forward to, is seeing if you have a new pic of your horse posted. It always puts a smile on my face.

thanks for sharing.
Mark

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