Nikki's Notes: Building Your Boarding Barn Business

  

Nikki's Notes: Building Your Boarding Barn Business

With Seasoned Pro Horse Trainer/Breeder and International Grand Prix Competitor Nikki Alvin-Smith

 

 When you run a horse boarding business or any business for that matter, it's essential to keep a good eye on all facets of the operation on a regular basis. You have to do more than train the horses or riders, work hard mucking out stalls and resourcing best hay suppliers and taking care of the noble beasts that are the main residents of the farm. How money comes in and out of the barn door, and what the cash flow is on any given week is always going to matter. To think about accounting and hashing out business plans may not be 'sexy' in terms of things you want to be known for, but believe me after 20+ years as a business executive and CFO alongside my horsey enterprises, money management skills can make or break you. And if you truly are useless at it, then hire a worthy professional.

 

Boarding barn businesses new and old are always looking for ways to boost the profit margin. Driving traffic to the barn door is always a tough part of the marketing strategy but once a prospective client is on site considering placing their horse in your care, it’s essential you’ve attracted them with enough positives in what you can offer to get them to sign up for boarding.

 

With all the local competition vying for the same boarding dollar, this stage can be difficult enough to achieve. But once they’ve signed your boarding contract, placed their deposit and turned up with the equine resident at the end of a rope, your next challenge is making sure you keep them happy so they stay. No stage can be taken for granted if you want to develop a successful business. And by successful, I mean a safe caring environment for horse and rider that makes money and a business that is a pleasure to operate.

 

Even though larger established horse facilities may have a steady stream of clients knocking on the barn door, there is always an attrition factor to consider. And as running costs continue to rise sometimes barn owners are not making the profits they used to and can be unaware of where financial losses are occurring or know what to do about them. Here’s some salient advice on how to build your boarding business better, from the ground up.

 

My husband Grand Prix dressage trainer Paul with a student

 

 

Offer A Mix Of Boarding Styles

 

Not every horse owners can afford or wants a full-service boarding barn. And even if they start out that way, there will be occasions when their horse may need a less intensive schedule of care. Times such as a horse being rehabilitated from a minor injury; an animal aging into semi-retirement; a young horse being added to a owner’s performance horse lineup.

 

While it is commonly thought a full-service boarding option will entice affluent clientele, it is also not always the best profit center within the business model. It is more labor intensive and costs more in supplies such as bedding and hay than a rough board option. And don’t forget the capital expense of providing the stall itself, the electric and other services such as hot water and bath stalls.

 

By creating a broader bandwidth of service options you can transition existing clients into less costly boarding or more expensive boarding options as it suits their needs. This will save you costs on recruiting new clients and build brand loyalty.

 

Do More Than You Say

 

A business basic to build brand loyalty is to over-deliver and under promise your services. If you build these ‘extras’ as costs into your fee schedule then you won’t lose money, but you will gain important positive experiences for your client. And be certain that what you do for one client you also do for every client. Playing favorites is a fast route to causing unnecessary resentment among your boarders.

 

Nobody likes to be hit with unexpected expenses so also be clear and upfront about what is covered in your boarding fees and what is not. Be as consistent as possible with what you do and how you do it, and if something is going to change give people plenty of advance notice.

 

While including a few inexpensive extras such as blanket swapping, daily horse hoof picking or free trailer storage on site will be appreciated, there are many other opportunities to add revenue to the top line.

  

 

Suggested Revenue Streams

 

Once the horse has arrived at your barn there are many offerings you can incorporate into your service structure to encourage a bigger spend. The best of these is training services for either horse or rider or both. Others include coaching at shows; grooming/clipping services; clinic offerings.

 

Here is a handy article on how to lure in lesson students. 

 

 

Literal Barn Building Boosts For Boarding Operations

 

If you are in the position of currently projecting a new barn build with a plan to develop a boarding business then there are many ways to get ahead of the game when it comes to functional barn design that will serve the business model best.

 

For the horse professional the performance horse barn may incorporate many niceties to make life easier. But whoever is building the barn and for whatever purpose, it is important to consider all design options before making a final choice.

 

Always choose substance and functionality first and foremost. Think about all the details. For example: hanging chandeliers may look pretty but require cleaning and may need tying off from gusty winds that channel through the barn.

 

Nailing Down The Business Plan

 

Aside from a career as a horse professional I have an extensive resume in corporate finance and experience operating various businesses. Every business will fail if they don’t do two things as I mentioned before; Control their costs and ensure they income is more than their total outgoing expenses. Not surprisingly many people start a business because they have a passion for a particular pastime or an interest in a certain industry. But amazingly although they have zero experience in accounting basics, don’t know how to read let alone create a balance sheet or how to nail down a business plan, they don’t seek to learn these necessary skillsets before embarking on running their own businesses. Which will almost inevitably result in the business running them.

 

There’s no point in making things up to tick the boxes or estimating everything, the plan needs to be complete and one that you know you can deliver. Because otherwise your business is doomed to fail before you even begin. This means knowing all costs and keeping track of them. And regardless of how good this plan starts out there will be circumstances down the road in business when you may still need to pivot the original business mission to continue to make money. But at least start out on the right ‘hoof’.

 

Consider options like offering niche services such as horse breeding, training board only options or child based programs like summer camps. You don't have to be all things to all people. 

 

Our Willowview Hill Farm only offers specialized services for dressage training board

 

 

Take Home Message

 

However much homework you do at the outset of beginning a new business there will always be changes along the way in the industry environment that will necessitate being adaptive and staying ahead of the challenges. But take heart, there is always a solution to any problem. And if you can’t find the answer look to your more successful competitors and see how they have managed to overcome similar issues. Networking and collaboration with your peers can be not only useful from a business standpoint but can also build strong personal relationships that will help you navigate other aspects of your life and provides an avenue for you to help them too. We all have our strengths and weaknesses.

 

As the English poet John Dunne wrote in 1624,

 

“ No man is an island,

  Entire of itself:

  Every man is a piece of the continent,

  A part of the main.”

 

We are all part of the horse community. And in community there is power.

 

All Rights Reserved. Copyright ©2026 N. Alvin-Smith - Author

 

 

 

Nikki’s Notes: Manage Your Horsey Housework By Grand Prix Competitor/Coach/Clinician and Published Author Nikki Alvin-Smith

Nikki’s Notes: Manage Your Horsey Housework By Grand Prix Competitor/Coach/Clinician and published author Nikki Alvin-Smith

 

I simply love spending time in the barn. While some jobs are less favored than others, I am very content to complete the majority of the horsey housekeeping tasks. But most equestrians want more time riding and less time barn cleaning. For me, the meditational moments of mucking out a stall can be a peaceful interlude but for many horse owners they find the daily chores are time-consuming necessities that take valuable training time away from their precious hours at the barn. 

 

A tidy barn is not only more pleasurable to use, but it also offers a more professional impression to visitors. A cluttered environment can also add stress, so keeping things tidy can help you focus and feel more peaceful in your barn.

 

Here are some tidy-up tips as a horse barn owner that you can employ to maximize efficiency and safety around the horse barn.

 

 

Make A Smart Site Choice

 

When you park at the supermarket you generally try to park close to the entrance doors. This saves time and effort walking back and forth with bags of groceries. Think the same way when siting your barn and the adjunct use areas. Careful selection of spaces not just for parking, but placement locations for manure storage, hay and bedding supplies and distances to turn-out paddocks, is a must do in the design phase.

 

The most common site design for a busy working horse facility, is to place the barn centrally on the site and span out the paddocks around the structure. But this is not always viable due to the restrictions of topography, geology and geography of the property. As a Portuguese fisherman once said to me when de-boning a complex fish for dinner, “You have to learn to work with the fish.” This is especially true if you have inherited a horse farm already built and designed by someone else. Existing farms can be improved with a little imagination. Review how you use the barn on a daily basis and eliminate those things that annoy you most or that cause the most problems. It could be an improvement as simple as adding a new gate to one side of a paddock or replacing worn heavy wooden entrance doors to the barn with sliding metal ones.

 

Minor changes are usually not expensive to make. You can have a concrete pad enclosed by three side walls installed for shavings storage or manure staging close to a barn that offers a drive-in option for efficient pick up utilizing a tractor with bucket attachment. Or have a ramp constructed with compacted materials that you can pull up to with a low-profile manure spreader on its downside to empty wheelbarrows of manure into the top. Sometimes a little ingenuity can save a big headache.

 

Consider the fire hazards and dust issues with siting combustible materials and supplies close to where the horses reside. Proximity of manure storage to the barn needs to be evaluated for its ease of use in all seasons. In summer, the choice of too close a site to the horse housing structure will encourage flies and other unwanted visitors to breed and infiltrate the barn, but if the manure site is too far away from the barn in winter in areas where there is significant snowfall, then manure removal can become difficult to manage over many months of cold weather. Best option for manure storage may be a transitional area where it can be temporarily stored and regularly removed.

 

Lose The Obstacle Course

 

There is nothing more annoying than having to move items back and forth to clean. Particularly when those objects are heavy or unwieldy to manage on your own.

 

Invest in a powerful vacuum with accessories that offer a good reach. Thankfully today you don’t even need to switch out filters to go from a dry vacuum to a wet vacuum. Which makes cleaning much simpler when you need to switch between tasks. While sweeping up with a broom is cheap, you are simply moving the dust and detritus around. Which is unhealthy for the respiratory well-being of you and your horses. Keeping floors clean will also minimize tracking of debris into tack rooms and feed rooms, saving the need for further cleaning.

 

Best practices for ease of cleaning are to keep blankets hung up and off the floor; place tack boxes in a designated space rather than in an aisleway; use collapsible saddle racks that mount on the wall;  place ropes/halters on bridle hangers by stall doors; hang tools like muck forks on the wall; elevate the bottom shelving for grooming/bathing supplies to a 12” or more off the floor so you can easily clean beneath at every turn.

 

It is also a good idea to avoid creation of hard-to-reach corners in the building as these will inevitably become a haven for spiders, vermin, snakes and other unwanted visitors. Instead place larger objects or items along a wall, rather than tucked in a corner spot.

 

 

 

Ditch The Water Problem

 

Snow melt, adverse weather conditions like unusually heavy rainfall, can all cause unexpected problems with flooding that require massive efforts to clean up. Try to get ahead of the issue by keeping gutters and downspouts clear of debris all year around and have overflow ditches in areas that are likely to be prone to excessive water run-off.

 

While these ditches may remain dry for much of the time, their immediate availability when they are needed is a boon for preventative care of any structure and its foundations. Running water run-off downhill to daylight away from paddocks, walkways and structures is a great way to discharge it.

 

Keep The Barn Bird and Bug Free

 

Ensure that soffits are guarded from intrusion and nesting by birds with wire mesh if you want to avoid cleaning up bird droppings from water buckets, floors and walls. Bird infestations can also spread disease such as West Nile and Avian Flu, so keeping your barn free of birds is a good idea.

 

Make repairs to window screens and door screens before the insect season arrives, to minimize having to clean windows and surfaces of flyspecks and cobwebs. Seal small holes and refresh caulk around window sills to keep insect ingress to a minimum.

 

Whenever you switch out light bulbs take the opportunity to give a thorough cleaning to the fixture and the surrounding area.

 

A Tidy Barn Is A Safe Barn

 

Even without a catastrophic event like evacuating horses from a barn in a fire event or a river breaching its banks and flooding a yard with torrents of water, the barn that is kept tidy will not only be more pleasurable to use, but it will also be safer. Fire safety measures and the ability to quickly batten down the hatches of a barn to keep animals safely confined to its interior are all good barn management practices.

 

In any emergency it is obviously advisable to have unobstructed exits, but even during daily tasks of leading a horse from A to B, the absence of obstacles in aisleways and by entrance doors offer another level of safety should the horse spook or crowd the handler’s space.

 

I was once complaining to my mother about the recurring routines that come as part of running a household and she gave me some sage advice.

 

“Do one bit of extra housework every day. Even that small extra chore you do in addition to the necessary daily ones stops it building up into a massive task.”

 

This works a treat.

 

The best ways to manage any task is by following a regular routine. And of course, get everyone to follow it!

 

 

All Rights Reserved. Copyright © 2025 N. Alvin-Smith - Author