Horse Owners Advice on Boarding Facilities

[ezhorsetrader]

I'm a part owner on a boarding facility in Salt Lake City, Utah. I'm trying to find out what horse owners typically want around the facility..in detail. We have the stalls, arena's..indoor and outdoor, walker, wash bays. I'm also interested in what advice on services.

I also have a couple trainers/instructors on our facility and need advice to give them.
Especially within the marketing and advertising.
What do most of you look at to find boarding facilities, trainers, riding lessosn instructors and events???

Thanks!

Ashley
D & M Paint Horses and Stables
www.ezhorsetrader.com

[lovechick]

I dont own a horse, but I will be buying one hopefully this coming year, anyways I'm currently looking through barns in my area and what I would want in them.
1) Location means a lot to me, it has to be close to home in a nice country neighborhood, away from the roads and all the traffic noise.
2) Facilities have to be clean, everything in working order. Clean stalls, repaired fences, arenas somewhat clean and dragged, good pastures. The obvious things like wash bays, tack rooms, restrooms etc. Everything has to be neat and working.
3) The horses must be in good shape, happy and healthy. It should look like they are well taken care of.
4) * This is a big on for me, People must be nice!! I'm so sick of gossiping and cattyness at my previous barns, it feels like I will never find a suitable place.
It would be nice to have friendly and helpful staff and boarders.
5) The instructors/trainers should be good as well. They should not be snobbish and rude, but helpful in understanding their clients/students needs.
And the lesson program/training routine should work well for the student/owner. It happened several times(and still happening) where I'm stuck with very begginers and I'm bored to death because I'm not going anywhere with my riding. Thats the main reason why I will be leaving my current barn, they just dont have any intermediate classes or horses to suit my needs. Which brings to the subject of school horses, they must be well trained and suitable to riders of all levels. Also a good idea to give a rider a chance to ride the horse they want, its annoying being stuck with the laziest of the bunch in a jumping clinic..(cough.. cough)....
7) The boarding/lesson fees must be reasonable! Theres no way a person should pay $850 a month for full board just because the facility is located in a rich neighborhood.
8) Some things I forgot to add. It's a good idea to have security around the barn especially with increasing horse theft thats been happening. Put up an alarm, or that lamp which lights up if someone is walking in restricted area.
9) People really enjoy different events at the barn, such as shows, bithday parties, summer camps, horsemanship classes, and even an anual beach trip(if possible of course).
10) It's good idea to have 2-3 arenas, preferrably one indoor for really chilly days. Its best if arenas are lighted.
11) Another biggie, a lot of people love trail riding so its good idea to have an access to nice trails around the barn.
12)There should be horses available for sale/lease at the barn.
13) Services like farrier, chiro, trainers, saddle fitter etc. should be available.
14) Another thing, its good to have different discipline teaching like both english and western, that way attracting more people.
Thats all I can think of for now. Hope this helps~ :)

[Serengeti36]

Having boarded at nine facilities in the past ten years (yes, I move, a lot) I can tell you the best qualities about all barns and the things that I simply will not board without.

Must haves:
1) Roomy, well lit stalls
2) flat floors, no holes
3) clean stalls
4) clean water and feed buckets
5) good turn out, not too many horses per field
6) management that is flexible with horses
7)quality feed and hay
8) good relationship with local vets and farriers
9) ring, indoor if climate is cold, but not if in warm area
10) wash racks
11) laundry facilities (that's a must for you, otherwise tack room will reek)

Nice things to have:
1) trails
2) multiple rings
3) barn supplied tack cleaning supplies
4) barn supplied fly spray etc (easier for you and better for horses)

Things to think about:
1) you can not control cattiness within the barn, the only thing you can do is keep an eye on it and if one person is continually causing trouble for multiple people, then ask that person to leave, but you can't control it all. Be sure to stay out of it.
2) do not make board deals etc, you will get found out and then everyone else will want to know why they didn't get that deal
3) be flexible, if someone doens't like your farrier, allow them to bring in their own, they are required to be there when that farrier comes and make all payment arrangements etc, but allow that, some people are just funny that way and if you let them do it their way, they will respect you and stay out of trouble in all other aspects

that's all i can think of right this second

[boko]

I stay at the barn I'm in primarily because of the support I receive from the staff. The guy who runs it is there to help should something arise with my horse. He can reccomend a farrier, a vet, order me rubber mats for my stall if I want. (At a charge of course.) If I can't be there but my horse needs to have his foot soaked, he'll find someone for me to pay a couple of bucks to to get the job done. In other words, there's a real support system in place and it gives me a great sense of security. I like a barn to offer items for sale, too. Extra hay and shavings, halters, vet-wrap, etc. At my barn the owner keeps a little "shop" on the grounds, (It's actually the size of a large closet,) and his prices are never more than a regular feed or tack store. It's great to have in case you need something in a pinch. One thing I wish my barn had is hot running water and a real bathroom. When I look at a barn I won't consider it if the bedding in the stalls show an exposed floor. This tells me they don't concern themselves with providing a comfortable space for the animal. Turn out is a huge priority. Unless it's bad weather, I want my horse to be outside as much as possible in a 24-hour period. Barn ventilation is a big one, too. Even in the winter, I want to know that the barn doors remain open or at least the stalls have windows or vents that lead to the outside and allow the air to circulate.