an hour a day because they are at your barn after hours, may end up being more expensive than a paid employee.
Insurance
Effective Cost Management of Your Horse Barn By Nikki Alvin-Smith Photos courtesy of the author.
W
hen you operate a horse farm, the first thing that probably comes to mind is boosting your income. The two-way street of basic accounting means that the other side of making money is saving on expenses. Things change—what might have been a great deal or price on something two years ago may now be an expensive option, which you don’t realize because you have not kept up with the changing times.
In any event, if you take a good hard look at least once a year at exactly where your hard-earned dollars are going, then you are on the right track. Success stems from always being on point with everything you do. If you are training a horse and he is off color you know right away that you need to look at his temperature, respiration, soundness, and analyze what is wrong. If you applied the same practice to your business you would be cantering in the right direction to profitability. Busy horse owners often prefer spending time with horses rather than tackling mathematics or accounting, but it is important to take the time to evaluate where dollars are going and always seek to improve profits. 26
Fall 2019 | Riding Instructor
Let’s take a look at some key areas where you can possibly improve that bottom line.
Labor If you are paying for help around the barn, look at bartering services where you can to save money. However, if you offer a board discount or free board to someone in exchange for barn work, do the math and make sure that you are truly saving money. A boarder with free access to bedding, hay, and supplies, or someone that rides every evening using the indoor lights on full for
Insurance should always be shopped around every year. Markets change, underwriters change, and so does the law. The loss experiences of an underwriter in any given year will directly affect the next year’s premiums for everyone. Why accept these increases, which may seem minimal but may indeed add up over time? When you see any increase always call your agent and see if it can be minimized in any way. Minimize your exposure by providing waivers, good signage about expected behavior, and certainly about barn rules (for example, Protective headgear must be worn at all times). Follow as many safety practices as you can with your barn. Monitor riders, address security of the tack room and other high value/high risk areas with cameras, and require absolutely everyone that comes on the property to sign a solid waiver drawn up by an experienced equine attorney. Always follow good safety practices to avoid damage to equipment, buildings, people, and horses. A great safety record can save you money on premium prices. Follow smart safety practices for fire by cleaning cobwebs, use commercial grade fans in summer, have electric wiring in conduit to prevent rodents chewing through wires, etc. If your business has changed significantly, always check your insurance policy to ascertain that you have the coverage you need but nothing more. For example, if you used to own 30 lesson horses and now have only 20, your policy should reflect the downsizing with a lesser premium.
Supplies One of the biggest budget items when you operate a horse barn full of beautiful equines is hay. If you provide high quality hay your horses will waste less, with the added bonus that you will have less hay to handle. Quality versus quantity is very important in minimizing expensive vet bills because of colic, saving extra labor
