Sometimes during the course of doing business you realize that there is an area of your endeavors that requires clarification. In this case, it is the difference between a barn that offers regular boarding and one that offers a specialist discipline training for horses.
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| Leave the trainer to do their job.. |
Horse owners, especially those newer to the horse training industry, seem to be confused on this topic. Not everyone has sent a horse out for training or realizes that there is a difference in how a public and private equestrian facility is utilized and services that are offered.
Hopefully this broad explanation will help. It is not 'cut and dried' as some business operators mix the two. Perhaps that is the reason for some of the misunderstanding.
Regular Boarding
If you choose a barn to board your horse, then it is likely the responsibility for its care, custody and control will be on the shoulders of the barn operator.
This boarding option usually allows you both access and use of the facility and the services it provides. This may include use of the riding arenas, cross country courses or jumping courses, tack rooms, break rooms etc.
Costs for basic care may be included but there may be add-ons for especially onerous or time-consuming tasks such as holding a horse for a vet exam or farrier visit, special handling needs, blanketing, laundry, medical care etc.
Every barn is run differently and every barn has its own set of specific rules. There is much cross over within the industry. Some examples may include:
- Horses may not be left unattended on cross ties
- Hoof pickings/coat hair from grooming etc. must be cleaned up in the aisle
- Grooming and riding the horse is the responsibility of the owner
- Water hoses must be coiled up after use
- Hay, grain and feed rations must not be purloined from the barn owner's supplies by the boarder and may only administered by the barn management etc. on their schedule
- Certain open hours apply
Regular boarding barns may have a resident trainer that will offer lessons for both horse or rider and this instruction will be charged with additional fees over base board charges. Some barns may require clients to take a set number of lessons per month if they wish to have their horse at livery at the facility.
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Boarding barn care may be offered at different price levels, depending on the barn operator's responsibilities for specific duties. For example, rough board where no stabling is provided or a dry stall provision with turnout. In both instances feed and care of the horse is left to the owner. Full service board will include all care of the horse and include a stall and turnout. Different levels of service will come with different price tags.
If the horse owner is to take on the responsibility for all care of the horse and is simply leasing the right to grazing for their horse in a field, obviously the fees will be lower than a full service barn.
A boarding barn may be public or private access. Public meaning that anyone can attend and take lessons etc. or visit during open hours, while a privately run facility will require visitors to be clients only (with a usual allowance for their family and periodic friend visits if accompanied by the client).
Boarding barn operators often struggle to make money unless they have an active lesson program running on a daily basis. Insurance costs, labor costs, feed and supply costs, property taxes, maintenance expenses all factor in to the equation.
Training Board Facilities
Training board facilities on the other hand generally operate quite differently, especially where such locations offer a specialist training discipline for horses.
Training board facilities are usually privately operated and not open to the public.
The fees will include the care, custody and control of the horse for a base rate and offer a training package of x number of training sessions per week for the horse in addition.
There is no access for use of the facility by the horse owner for riding unless the training board includes training for both horse and rider. If rider training is included, it will usually be at a set time for a supervised lesson on their own horse within the framework of the regular horse's training schedule.
A training barn is usually operated by a professional with qualifications and experience at advanced competition level in a particular discipline. Horses taken in training are incorporated into a fairly set regiment that reflects the particular trainer's schedule and preferences.
A training barn may offer horse training services to outside clientele with their professional level trainer(s), but in addition to working with clients' horses the trainer(s) is usually working their own performance horses, giving clinics and running other aspects of their business.
There is obviously an allowance for the horse's owner to visit the horse, usually by appointment, to see the horse's progress in training. Contact otherwise is provided by the trainer via phone calls to the owner with updates, and periodic videos of the horse may be provided by the trainer to allow the owner to keep track of how their horse is doing.
The idea of sending a horse out for training, is that it is in the hands of a chosen expert. The care and training of the horse will be under their auspices, so careful consideration of the trainer and facility they operate is essential before a horse owner embarks on sending their horse out for training.
Insurance, Licenses and Taxes
As far as insurance for horse boarding facilities is concerned and licensing for such facilities in certain States, a barn that brings horses in on consignment for sale, may require a special license and insurance (this is true in New York State).
In regard to sales tax collection, each State operates a different system. In New York horse sales and horse boarding are both subject to collection of sales tax in addition to the costs. However, lessons are not subject to sales tax. Go figure.
Insurance rates and coverage is often quite different between a boarding barn and training barn for obvious reasons. A horse owner that occasionally rides their own horse that is in training with the professional and thus known by the trainer, that rides under supervision of that professional trainer is less likely to become injured than an owner on their own horse taking off to the trails or riding in the arena without such supervision.
When obtaining insurance for a boarding facility of any type, regardless of whether an Inherent Risk Law exists within the State, the property owner and barn operator are required to disclose the exact nature of their activities/services offered and both their coverage and costs are specifically defined.
Additionally equestrian properties that are open to the public i.e. commercial use, must be built and maintained to a different standard than a private facility for the protection of its users. Such items as 4 permanently lit exit signs and doors on each wall of the indoor arena, a different construction in the barn build etc. can apply.
Their Rules Not Yours
Every professional trainer runs their yard differently. What suffices for horse care in one yard can be notably different to the level provided in another. Nuances will always exist such as where horses must be tacked up or groomed, who is allowed to train at the facility i.e. whether outside trainers are allowed at a boarding facility, and who can handle/ride the horse while at the facility etc.
A regular boarding facility is obviously set up with the intention that the owner of the horse is 'hands -on' and regularly attends to groom and exercise their horse.
A training board facility on the other hand, is set up with the intention that the horses on the property are managed in a certain manner, with specific routines, handling and training methods.
At a training board barn it is expected that each horse on the property from outside clients is generating income from more than just housing with the provision of a stall/pasture. Each horse is generally on the property for the purpose of training with its care managed to usually exacting standards and protocols that serve both the horse and its fellow equines in routines of turnout, schooling and handling.
For busy trainers, interruptions from owners that seek to attend to the horse for more than a viewing visit are often unwelcome. They do not have time to supervise such interludes.
For example, if the horse has been turned out for a set period of time with certain compatriots in paddocks nearby, the horse's owner turning up and deciding to bring the horse in for some stable time can cause upset to the routines of other horses on the property.
Similarly an owner showing up and deciding to feed their horse its tea early, can at a minimum cause pandemonium for the other horses nearby who are being prepped for riding or even worse cause the horse to receive a grain ration twice.
Choose Wisely
The bottom line is if you want to be regularly in and out of the horse barn tending to details of your horse's care, utilizing the facilities with free access within posted open hours for riding, grooming, etc. then choose a regular boarding facility and know its rules of operation before moving your horse in to the yard. A regular boarding facility with an adjunct lesson program will usually be a cheaper option than a professional's yard with training services.
If on the other hand you want your horse trained to the next level by a professional, once you have chosen that individual leave them to get on with the job. Micro-management or interference in the daily routines will likely not be permitted. For liability reasons the horses will be handled on premises by the professional staff only, unless other arrangements have been agreed beforehand.
Most professional horse trainers take the care and education of horses brought to their private yards extremely seriously. Their first loyalty will be to the welfare and training of the horse. If you don't trust them to do their job, simply don't use them.
" At our dressage training farm in Stamford, NY, Willowview Hill Farm, my wife and I offer dressage training services for horses w/t/c through Grand Prix. We also offer special services for our clinic students to bring their horses to our farm for lessons, intensive training retreats etc. When a horse is accepted for training at WVH, we manage its care, handling and training personally. A horse will only progress well in training with consistent practices in care, handling and of course, training regimes. Once the horse completely understands his job or his next level of training, then of course we want to transfer that level of understanding and ability to its regular rider," explains Paul Alvin-Smith,
" Before the horse returns home we then invite the rider to substitute one or more of the horse's training sessions from me riding to them taking instruction in the saddle. This way I can give them the 'keys' that I have put in to their horse, and ensure that the team keeps progressing in a good direction. If I am going to put my time into a horse, then I want to be certain it is worthwhile for the horse. You become very fond of horses when training them, and you build a sincere trust and bond together. We owe it to our horses not to confuse them. That trust and understanding has to be handed back to the regular rider. Seeing their partnership develop and bloom, is the best part of training a horse."
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| Grand Prix competitor/clinician/coach Paul Alvin-Smith with his up and coming next GP horse ( hopefully) homebred Lusitano Extravaganaza WVH. |
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