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littlearab

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I have been asked by a buyer to boarded the 3 foals she purchused from me. I already agreed to keep until she moves for free, but she has now asked if I could keep 2 others she purchused along with my three.So they will all be in the same place closer for her to pick up after she moves.

I'm not sure what is a fair charge for this.

The 3 she purchused from me, Alll are weanlings so it should not be a big deal to put them in the same pen.

What is a fair price to charge??? Picking up and boarding for a couple of weeks? or maybe not do it at all.

I understand why it would be nice to have them together...and she a real nice gal. She is moving only a few miles from me, so she could just pick them up when she settled in!
 
Sorry, not on my farm.!! What do you know about these little "extras"?? They may well be bringing in something really nasty, it could end up costing you a lot more than it is worth.
 
Gotta agree with our Fizz here. I have a closed barn and love it that way. No nasties come in.

If I do have someone new I have a pasture all on it's own with it's own shed.

In this case I just don't see how it would work. I'd have to know who and where they came from.

If it were someone I knew and trusted I may consider it. You would have to make it chrystal clear where the responsibilites lie should someone get sick or hurt. So much to worry over. For a fee.....5 horses...feeding cleaning up..keeping track of....I'll assume they will not be stabled....no less than $50/week.
 
Before you say yes to the gal, make sure she has current coggins on the horses, if possible, go see them BEFORE you agree to taking them to make sure they look healthy.

Full board here, generally, no matter the size horse will run you $250 and up per month. That usually includes feed, turnout and a stall (that you clean). I usually payed $275 or so, but several places charge more. Field board/pasture board only still isn't cheap...probably around $150-200.

I know a place that charges $200 and $250/month for horses, that includes a stall, pastures (that have very little grass), cleaning stall 1x a day feeding (twice a day) and watering them (only once), that price doesn't include hay or grain..you have to buy that yourself, and 1 day a week you take care of your own horse.

These prices are for MD and VA. When I was in california I payed $190/month for hay twice a day and a 24x24 stall with shelter....no turn out and they didn't touch the horse....they also cleaned the stall 1x a day..which is cheap for Cali!

If that gives you an idea!
smile.gif
 
Be VERY CAREFUL about taking in a boarder or boarders.

We have some here and I wish we didn't, one group is for a friend and the others are for a couple who purchased from us. I've had to turn down others to keep from getting over our heads.

And this doesn't even count the rescues that come through! We have a totally separate paddock away from all others for them! Even when our boarding animals leave, I will always keep our quarrantine stall and the quarrantine paddock open for our rescues!

Regarding boarding other people's horses.....for us it is much more stressful because they are NOT our's. Should one of our own get sick or get a cut from a branch or something -- they are mine and my responsibility. But if they are someone else's??? I get SICK. Not only are you concerned for the animal, but you are also responsible for the OWNER as well!

Our base cost for boarding runs $2.50 per day and worming, farrier, vaccinations are extra. However, there is no way it covers the actual time and worry we actually spend on them. When it comes down to it, I spend as much time messing with ALL of the animals in each group and don't even think about how much my time is "worth"......

So, in short, if I was in it purely for the money I'd be judged as a very poor business owner, I guess.....

Sorry that this is such a long post......What I'm trying to convey is that the emotional commitment is HUGE when you take on other people's horses or pets. Please be prepared for that.

MA
 
I would be concerned to about "outside diseases". Coggins is not enough, you need a current and complete health certificate. Vet does actual examination a few days prior. I would keep all hers together if you decide to do this and would charge a day rate no matter how much you finally decide on.

Another consideration is the temperment of the horses coming in, and are they broke to handle etc. What if you have to seperate them if they start fighting or picking on each other? I would also make it clear how long ALL the horses can be there and under what terms? Even the ones she bought as anything can and usually does when it comes to moving.

If you can put it in writing that would be best, and you will remain friends over it.

Beth
 
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She said these are foals that are HERS and a lady bought them from hereso I am assuming they are already still at her place.

If they are not your horses legally anymore, you should get a contract going just in case someone gets hurt....insurance.

What to charge?

I dunno.
 
I can't see any reason why you couldn't continue to keep and board the 3 weanlings that she purchased from you. They are already on your farm and you know that they are okay. It would be nice to do her the favor and at least keep the 3 that she is buying from you.

If it is only for a couple of weeks "maybe" she could leave the other 2 at the place where she is buying them from and then when her place is ready the weanlings only have to make one adjustment.

As far as charging, not sure what to tell you. I keep 2 minis for a friend and charge her $50.00 each per month. I would NOT do it again but at the time I wanted to help her out. They were "only" suposed to be here until she got her place ready for them - well, that has been over a year ago. Hmmmm! guess she knows she has a good thing going. The 2 minis actually feel like my own, I just deworm, trim and do with these two whatever it is that I do with my own.
 
If they are healthy and even tempered, I would have no problem keeping them for a couple of weeks. I have 3 here that I sold and they came back to be boarded (been here for 9 months) and I charge $2 a day per horse. Because she picks them up or I bring them to her ($25 trip charge) that way it's easier than charging a monthly rate. Boy did that add up after 9 months. Just make sure you have a contract spelling out the responsibilities in case of injury or illness. Farrier and shots extra, worming incuded in board. Hope this helps.

Ginny StP
 
If you quarantine the new ones as you would with any outside horse, you'd probably be safe.

The one thing is to have everything spelled out in writing - it saves alot of hassle on who said what/etc. I had someone's horses here for what was suppose to be a few months, and it lasted two years, so definitely spell it out! We ended up doing a monumental amount of work, ruined pastures, dealt with sick horses, etc., that wasn't worth it and a person that I thought was a friend turned out to be - well there are words for people like that!

I have done short term boarding, and it really depends on the horse, but generally is for sold horses or horse's in for breeding or of our breeding. Some are as low as $40 a month others are per day up to $2.50 a day. The owner pays trims, deworming, vet, etc., and must carry insurance.
 

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