Any money to be made in buying a horse farm?

In My Humble Opinion
1

We want to be out in the country. We know nothing about horses, but I saw a horse farm for sale. We like the area, the property and the house. It looks like they used the place to board horses (up to 10 of them) and they gave riding lessons there too.

We like horses, but know nothing about them or the business. We could just as easily buy the property and have the horse facilities removed and possible sold. But if there is a profit making business there already in place it seems like we should consider it before simply dismantling it.

What I was wondering, again I don’t know the business, is it possible someone who knows the horse farm business would want to lease that part of the property to continue to conduct whatever horse business existed in the past?

Is this worth doing? While I only mention business here, it seems a shame to just let it all sit idle or dismantle it if it could be put to good use in addition to making a profit, even if a small one for us.

Please be kind in your replies I don’t know a thing about the horse farm business, so please educate me. Thank you.

2

I don’t know much about horses, but I’m pretty sure they are expensive to maintain.

3

x10.

I don’t know much either other than I’ve ridden a number of times on vacation. And did take care of neighbors horses when I was a kid. And my wife was on the equestrian team in college.

My Wife and I had 40 acres with the sort of idea of maybe having horses too. Well, I donno, it wasn’t great land for horses, but not bad by Colorado standards. But then, thinking about it. Well… The up keep would have been tremendous even for two. And then how do you vacation for a week without very trustworthy care keepers? That’s hard enough with a couple of dogs.

If you can afford it, and like the property, go for it. Decide what to do with the barns and such as you live there. Nothin better than an old barn IMHO.

4

You better darn well know something about horses first.

You can make pretty good money boarding horses and doing lessons. But you must know alot about there care.

5

Horses are expensive to maintain because of the fact that most horse owners these days have to board them, which in my neck of the woods starts at $350/month for not much. (Shelter, water, and daily turnout, basically.) Extras are extra, like feeding them, putting blankets on them in certain weather, exercising them. Obviously with no knowledge you aren’t going to be exercising or training them, and horses can do fun things like eat themselves to death (this is a simplification).

Now the thing is that you could rent out the space to horse owners with the understanding that they will come every day and do what needs to be done. However, if they don’t, you will have a mess on your hands. At worst you could possibly be liable for animal cruelty if the animals weren’t properly cared for.

Also, horses smell. On the other hand, good free fertilizer.

You could probably lease it to someone who could run the business. You would need to make sure they really knew what they were doing, though.

There are people who make enough money on their horse farms to support their hobby, which is owning a horse farm. There are probably some people who even make a profit. But most people are operating these horse farms at a loss. It’s not a money-making proposition, usually.

6

QFT, although the typos make my eyes hurt :slight_smile:

OP, horse boarding is so not for amateurs. Even if you think you’d just be collecting checks at the end of the month, you ought to know what’s going on on your property. Shared resources get damaged - who’s responsible? Who pays to fix it? Kid gets hurt - who provides first aid? Incident report? Would/could you hire a barn manager?

You’d be landlord to tenants who are flighty, strong and fragile - not to mention the owners!

7

And some horses are escape artists, of such skill as to put Houdini to shame.

8

For what little I know about the situation the money making involves taking care of other people’s horses. Once you start owning your own horses it all goes downhill.

And if you don’t already have a good working knowledge of horse people, well, perhaps the best suggestion is that you would be advised not to enter the field before gaining that knowledge.

There is a lot of money, interesting characters and strong personalities in the equine world. It’s not a world for the unschooled.

9

We wouldn’t be buying the property under the expectation that we would be making money from the horse business at all. We would carefully looked into and take our time if we would move forward with it or not. So it isn’t like this side business must exist in order for us to purchase the place.

I should mention I have worked for small businesses and own on myself, it’s just not the horse business. So I’m use to gathering facts, putting things in a spreadsheet and see if this is something to do or not before I commit to anything.

I also don’t want to go in there misinformed, get rid of the facilities for the horses only to find it they had much more value than I realized and could have run a for-profit business. Not sure I want to be introduced to people as the jerk who destroyed a thriving horse farm because I didn’t bother to look into it first. I guess there is also no downside to doing nothing with what’s there. I would have to find out for sure, but I rather things would sit there unused without requiring maintenance?

10

I was expecting to be a good screener of who I’d lease the property to and whatever their track record is. I certainly don’t want to allow someone who doesn’t know what they are doing but talks a good game leasing. I think after meeting with those interested in leasing if I couldn’t find someone I felt was suitable that I felt comfortable with, I wouldn’t bother with the horse business at all.

I am concerned about someone not taking care of things. I’m also concerned about liability and I like animals, so if someone was not showing up for some reason I would take action about it.

We did look at at home for sale years ago, where the owner had a small barn, that boarded two horses. He told me he did nothing, the get who owned the horses did everything. That sounded ideal, assuming he was telling the truth, but I’d be concerned if someone new wanted to board and they were a problem. So to avoid having to deal with that directly, I was expecting someone who would lease the property would deal directly with the horses being boarded.

I guess there is also a possibly that I could not lease, but hire an instructor and someone to clean the place up and take care of the horses, so at least if there was a problem I could have immediate control because they were be working for me instead of leasing.

The other thing I need to know is supply and demand in the area. For all I know, there isn’t much of a demand for boarding any more horses in the area or for training because the competition is better established if it’s their main revenue stream.

The thing I do know, there are people with such a passion for horses they either don’t care or think about if they are losing money or not.

11

That is another option, to hire an employee or two to do the horse business instead of leasing it. Looks like the place can board up to 10 horses and has an indoor ring for training. Looks like the place was used to train and give rides to kids. That would be a good question to ask to see a balance sheet for this. Could it support hiring someone part-time or full-time? What kind of salary would they be expecting?

12

Some of it depends on the area you’re in, the horse market varies enormously from region to region. If the property is in Fl, NC, SC you can do pretty well leasing to the people who go south for the winter to compete and train. An area like Chattanooga TN? Not going to get nearly the rent/board, the market won’t stand it.

Another consideration - how do you feel about people coming in and out very early and very late? Most boarding barns have clients who ride before work or in the evening after work, and that can mean traffic from 5 am to 10pm or later. Riding doesn’t mean just riding, there’s a lot of grooming and care that goes with it, so “going to the barn to ride for an hour” usually means at least 2 hrs there, minimum. If people go to shows, they may get there even earlier, and come back in the wee hours also.

Liability is a biggie, especially if there are lessons offered. There are no certifications required to teach riding, and there are a LOT of bad instructors/trainers out there, and far too many unethical folk too. You won’t know what to look for - people who have been in the horse world for YEARS still get taken.

I would question WHY the place is being sold. It may well be that it can’t support itself, because in general straight boarding does not pay, it’s the lessons and training that bring cash in. And that’s very much dependent on the local market, which discipline or style of riding is done, the availability of supplies (feed, hay, bedding) and skilled help (vets, farriers, general labor)

Frankly I think it sounds like a recipe for disaster, and I’ve been in the horse biz one way and another for 20+ years.

The horse world is very small, very opinionated, and more than a little wacko. Many many wonderful people too, but wonderful people aren’t always enough to pay the bills.

13

Another thought - who pays for upkeep? Horses are hard on land, fences, structures. Shit gets broken, nibbled on, worn out remarkably quickly. You’ll need someone who can do the upkeep. If there are pastures with grass, they’ll need to be mowed regularly and reseeded periodically. If you’re in the snow belt mud will be an issue at gates, that occasionally needs to be dealt with (fabric & gravel and leveling). You mentioned an indoor - footing in there needs to be treated in some way for dust, (many ways to do it) and will need to be renewed every so often also. It definitely needs to be dragged frequently, daily if you have a lot of people cooped up all winter.

If you don’t have enough acreage to spread the manure (which requires a tractor and spreader, both of which tend to break at the worst possible moment), do you have a way to handle it? Some areas of the country make you rent a dumpster and have it hauled off, or you can make a manure pile somewhere on the property, but that has its drawbacks too. Horses produce a LOT of waste, one way and another…

Anyway, I could go on, but truly I think it’s a bad, bad idea…

14

If you really want opinions, numbers, ideas etc try here:

It’s essentially the Dope for horses. The Off Course forum is probably your best bet.

15

Here in the midwest as the economy went bad their was a big problem with people basically not affording their horses and basically dumping them off in some state or national park.

Plus the fact that after a certain age you cannot really ride a horse anymore and they are “put out to pasture”. But that doesnt mean their expenses stop. So what do you do with them? Horses are not cows where you can just send them to the butchers since there are no horsemeat butchers anymore in the US (its only done in Mexico).

So bottom-line when horses get old or you cannot afford them anymore, what do you do with them?

BTW, you might be better off with cattle since beef prices are pretty good.

16

I worked on a horse farm for about 5 years, it was one of the earliest jobs I had (and unpaid - basically I got a steep discount on lessons and got to be around horses).

Taking care of even a single horse is enormously labor intensive. We shoveled horseshit twice a day, at least, sometimes more often. Horses eat something like 20-25 pounds of food a day, wash it down with 10-12 gallons of water and produce a similar amount of shit. This all has to be removed from the barn and small paddocks.

You will need to store this food. That means a place secured against horses AND vermin. You will have mice and rats. This is why horse barns almost always feature semi-feral cats, they’re there for rodent control.

Horses need their feet cleaned. They need their coats brushed. Their feet need attention whether barefoot or shod, and if they have shoes that means you need a farrier to come out every 6-8 weeks and that’s assuming there are no problems. And there will be problems. Horses are hard on their feet and a horse with bad feet is a dead horse.

OK, you say, we’ll make the owners do it. Sure. What about middle of the night emergencies. You’re talking about an animal that can die of a stomach ache (seriously - they call it colic). You’re also talking about a big, strong animals that, if frightened, can injure or even kill a human being - can you handle some sort of emergency with one? What if one escapes? Horses jump, they can knock/kick down walls and fences, and the farm I was at one winter the snow drifted and packed down/froze in such a way it basically made a ramp over the fence at one point and suddenly there were horses wandering around the neighboring areas that had to be rounded up.

What if the owners stop coming around, neglect or abandon their animals? Several of the horses at the farm I worked at were humane society rescues and usually what happened is that someone acquired a horse without a really good understanding of the expense and care involved and neglected it severely. Please, don’t be that person. The problem is, if you board horses you will sooner or later encounter that person - what will you do?

What if the animal(s) get sick? Who calls the vet, and who pays? Either the vet comes to the horse, or the horse goes to the vet but for the latter you need a trailer and a sturdy truck to tow it, not to mention the problems of getting a skittish animal that doesn’t feel good on and off it. If a horse dies what do you do with the carcass?

Horses are basically toddlers and like toddlers they put things in their mouths, wreck things, and can be destructive… except these toddlers are enormously strong (we measure work in *horsepower *for a reason). Who is going to fix the buildings and fences? You have to “horseproof” their living areas just as you “toddlerproof” a home.

If this was a turn-key business with reliable employees already running the show that might be one thing, but it sounds like you’d be getting into this without employees, yet you say you know nothing about keeping horses.

As property owner you can’t escape liability. You can and likely will be held accountable for neglected or abandoned animals. If animals get loose you will likely be liable for any damage they cause, and for any injury the animal suffers. Being around horses carries an inherent risk - someone gets hurt or killed on your property you’ll likely be on the hook for that. Someone WILL get hurt - fall off, kicked, bit, whatever. We had idiots who snuck onto the property and tried to ride the horses. We had idiots who fired guns or did other things to deliberately frighten the animals and make them run - never mind panicked animals might get hurt. We had one suspicious barn fire that resulted in a pony dying of a heart attack after getting wedged in a fence while trying to flee - a dead horse is enough aggravation, one tangled up in a steel fence is even worse. You either need some heavy equipment and a big trailer to move it or a chainsaw and a strong stomach. And you’ll still need a trailer.

This is not something for beginners to get into unless they have a lot of help and a lot of money. Horses are like boats or airplanes - a hole you throw your money into. Yes, some people can turn a profit but it’s not easy, it’s an enormous amount of work, and most folks can’t pull it off. It would be one thing if you were acquiring a pet horse for yourself but running a business like this not for amateurs.

17

I haven’t had a horse for almost 20 years but I knew plenty of people who knew horses who couldn’t make money running a horse farm.

In addition to what everyone else has said.

You have to know how to rotate pastures, if you do it right you may never have to mow. If you wait to long the pasture currently in use will be overgrazed and the next one will have grass that is thigh high and need to be mowed.

Everywhere I ever boarded supplied hay in the winter time. If you don’t you will have to find a secure place for each boarder to store hay. Can you tell hay from straw? Hay can weight from 50 to 90 pounds a bale, it’s back breaking work to stack it, it has to be stacked correctly or it can spontaneously combust and you need to recognize when it is moldy.
You’ll need a big truck/trailer to pick it up or have to pay to have it delivered.
You’ll probably have to supply straw and/or shavings for bedding as well.

Check zoning laws where you are.
In one county near here horse farms are zoned recreational instead of agricultural. My friends always kept a few cows or pigs to keep the much cheaper agricultural zoning. Other people planted Christmas trees or apple trees. Many people I knew had to give up their horses because they couldn’t afford the higher rate.

What will you do when the weather is bad?
The places I boarded would tell me not to worry about getting there in bad weather and in fact several times called me and told me not to come. They would rather go out and care for the animals than have cars/trucks stuck in their driveway. Sometimes it was for snow, sometimes it was for mud.
Do you know how to drive a tractor? A snowplow?

It’s hard damn work and a lot of the knowledge is more art than science.

18

If you wouldn’t buy a business boarding dogs, then don’t buy a business boarding horses. It’s not a full-time job, it’s a 24/7 job. And it’s very hard to break even, let alone make money.

If you’re an animal lover, don’t board horses. They are pack animals and develop social bonds with the other horses and humans, and then they’re torn apart on the whim (or the financial crises) of their owner.

My aunt and cousin own a horse farm. They used to board horses. They soured on it quickly. One tenant paid them six months upfront and then was never heard of again. Another didn’t show up to take care of his horse on a regular basis, and so they had to do it. When they asked to be reimbursed, he said, “I didn’t ask you to walk him, so I’m not paying for you to walk him.” They wanted to make him leave, but they’d gotten attached to his horse, who was gentle and sweet, and was afraid of what would happen to him at another barn. And their horse had grown very attached to him and they didn’t want to separate them. So for several years, they took care of that animal for free, and then cried buckets when he was sold off.

The horse farm has been on the market for over a year now. It’s an odd dynamic because the words “horse farm” inflate the price significantly v the average cost of a comparable acre, yet they’re much harder to unload.

P.S. Another consideration is that horse racing is on the down turn, even in horse country (Kentucky). The gamblers who used to support the industry have been lured away to the casinos. So it’s even harder to find customers.

19

The thing about horses is unless you’re Amish, they’re unnecessary. Well, maybe not out west if you have a cattle operation. And I suspect if you have a cattle operation, many of the costs are buried. If you don’t absolutely LOVE horses, stay out of that business. There are a lot of horse rescue operations, where you can get a retired thoroughbred or draft horse by just paying off its feed bill. So basically, owners just didn’t want to pay the upkeep on them anymore. I think it’s a case of “Sure, you can come out of the horse business with a million dollars, but you have to start with 70 million dollars.” or however that joke goes.

Yeah, I’ve had the occasional fantasy of winning the lottery and getting some land and a breeding pair of American bison and letting them go, but it’s never going to happen. Just like that boneless free-range chicken ranch I thought of. Though a horse might come in handy for the chicken round ups.

20

We have two horses and off and on will board a third. It is an expensive hobby and a ton of work. My gf enjoys Sunday morning rides in clement weather and for that she is willing to wake up at 5 am everyday to do an hour of barn work.

The large horse farm I know of locally was set up as a tax write off. It was a cattle ranch (show/breeding stock) and after five consecutive years showing a loss was switched to equine.