Buying house-Renting horse barn

[Maggi315]

Hi,
My husband and I have been presented with the opportunity to buy some beautiful wooded acreage in a great location. Only 15minutes from town! We hope to sell off 1or 2 acres, then built a log cabin (eventually) on another acre. The rest is a horse farm-6 stall barn, riding area, trails, etc. both my husband and I have had some experience with horses, but neither of us really want that much extra responsibility. Has anyone had experience renting out that kind of thing? What we were thinking is having someone else board their horses, give lessons if they want, ride, etc. for a fee each month. We have no idea what to charge, or how to go about, but we need to think about that before we buy this property. Any ideas out there?

[edamommy]

We rented space for our horse for years. I know that the money made by the owners of the facility was nill as the insurance they had to pay was unbelievable (ie- for insuring a riding stable...).

[Maggi315]

OOH, I didn't even think of insurance. I currently own a 4 unit Victorian house and know the insurance for a "commercial" property has been unbelievable, I will definitely check into what it is for riding stable.

Did you rent just a stall or the whole barn? Did you take care of the horse yourself? We don't want to have to do the care.

Thanks,

[gardenmommy]

I've boarded my horses in the past, and have to say that the owners weren't really making much money. I think they charged enough to cover their expenses, plus a little.

You can advertise full care (you take care of everything for the horse) or self care (the horse's owner takes care of everything). You may just want to let the owners do everything, and make sure that they understand that you are not available to be responsible for any horse care (i.e. in a situation where the horse were to get out of its pasture, be injured, etc.).

Whatever you do, definitely check into insurance, and make sure everyone signs contract stating who is responsible for what. Cover yourself as much as you can.

Must go, children require attention. PM if you need more info.

[lucyem]

I would highly recommend avoiding renting the horse barn etc unless you really do your homework. You make no money boarding horses and it is not easy work. You really need lots of horse care experience to safely manage a horse barn.

The best way for you would be to have someone rent it all from you and then they can board other horses or whatever. That way you are not dealing with regular boarders and hay and grain and shavings and horse care and farriers and vets and fence maintenance etc etc. But you are dependant upon this person running a safe facility. If they are sued you will be sued as well.

You will need lots of insurance, though cost can be recovered through the renter who will also need their own insurance. You must have contracts written up by a lawyer who has experience in your state with any equine liability laws. The lawyer can help determine who needs what insurance. The average lawyer can be clueless about horses.

Regular homeowners insurance companies many times will RUN when you mention horses, especially boarded horses. If you do a search on google for "equine insurance" you can get some basic quotes for insurance and more information.

If you have any other questions just ask.

[Maggi315]

We have decided not to buy this property for many reasons, including the horse issues. I also work as a homebirth midwife and really want to devote all my time to that (because basic family stuff). I did call and get a quote from a company specializing in horse insurance issues and it wasn't as expensive as I thought, less than $1000 per year for facility, liability, horses, etc. That's less than i pay for my insurance for my 4 unit victorian home (1300 per year).

thanks for those that shared with me. We have decided that if we buy the girls a horse, we will just board it, much easier on mom!