From: Connie
Dear Jessica, I'm just about to begin work at a new facility, and I'm very excited about it. I'm going to be the resident trainer, and we're going to have forty boarders. It's a very pretty facility and I hope it will be my permanent job. I'm trying to help the owners, who are very good friends of mine, and last night this subject came up and we couldn't figure out what to do. So we are asking you, which is what we usually do when we get "stuck". You don't know this, because so far, we've found every answer we needed in your archives, but this time we struck out and that's why I'm writing to you.
Should we allow outside instructors to come in and teach here? That's the question. We can't figure out if this would be an advantage to us or a disadvantage to us. We have two instructors here, one is one of the owers and the other is me (yes, I also teach, we're both certified with ARIA). I don't know what to think. I used to board at a barn that didn't have any instructors and wouldn't let any come in, so we couldn't get lessons. It wasn't much fun. But I guess there were some insurance problems, and I wouldn't want this new facility to have any problems, and we do have lessons here with two instructors, so .... what do you think we should do? We won't have any trouble filling those forty stalls, we already have a list of fifty-two people who want to bring horses in! So we can do what we want, I think. The problem is, that we don't really know for sure what we want to do. Help, please. You are always our voice of reason.
Connie
You didn't mention a couple of very important points - for instance, do the barn owners need to make money from the facility? Think carefully and talk to them about this. The answer will have some far-reaching effects on the way they - and you - run the place.
Some facilities, generally very large ones, are run somewhat like a racetrack: the owners, who may not have any horses of their own, lease space to individual trainers who work out of, and build up clientele for, "their" area of the facility. Overall resources are shared on a formal basis, with arena time and maintenance costs, etc., being divided amongst the trainers (or figured into the costs of their leases). If your farm were run this way, bringing in the right outside instructors would be GOOD for you. But it doesn't sound as though this is the case. Most horse farms and riding stables don't work this way. They are generally owned and run by riders who may be teaching boarders, training horses for area clients, and schooling and competing horses of their own. This is the sort of facility I expect you're about to join.
If I had to give you advice in four sentences, I would say: Don't allow outside instructors. Start with boarders who come in knowing you and expecting to ride with you - if, after the first few years, that doesn't seem to be working out well, you can always open the facility to outside instructors and trainers. But don't start out that way. You may not need to make use of outside instructors, and it will be better for the facility if you don't. I've been an "outside instructor" before, so I know this busines from both sides, so to speak.
Here's the reasoning behind that advice.
Since you anticipate having no problems filling all your stalls, and indeed I don't know of any halfway decent boarding barns that don't have full stalls AND a waiting list, I think you're in a good position to get off to a good start. Decide what your policies will be and choose the ones that feel right to you. It's up to you - "you" meaning yourself and the barn owners. Just be sure that all of your potential clients are aware of any and all barn rules and policies BEFORE they sign boarding contracts or bring their horses onto the place.
Most boarders like to take lessons, or at least to know that they could take lessons if they wanted to take lessons. ;-) If you didn't already have resident instructors, you would need to allow someone to come in to teach, or - better - you would need to bring in someone as part-time staff, and make the instructor a permanent staff member if there proved to be a huge demand for lessons.
But since you and one of the owners are both instructors, you will probably find that your interests are best served by making YOUR services available to your boarders. Based on my experience at a number of barns around the country - several countries, in fact - I would say that your best bet will be to keep the regular instruction in-house.
This doesn't mean that you are being selfish, it just means that you're being realistic about the costs (many) and benefits (few) of operating a boarding/training/lesson establishment. The bottom line is that outside instructors LOSE you money. If you don't have any instructors, then obviously you'll need to let some outside ones come in, OR hire one part- or full-time. If you DO have instructors, then outside instructors take their money and yours away.
Is it possible for a facility to have a "no outside instructors" rule? You bet.
Many facilities, from small boarding barns to large riding schools, simply don't allow outside instructors. This is a common policy.
Some facilities permit outside instructors, but only on a restricted basis, e.g., the instructor must be hired by the owner of the facility, not brought in by an individual boarder or boarders; the boarders can bring in the instructors of their choice, provided that those instructors meet the requirements of the facility's owners, and provided that riders and instructors alike adhere to the facility's standards, policies, and rules. This can be trickier than it sounds.
What if you DO permit outside instructors to come in?
If you allow outside instructors to come in, or outside trainers, you should have some clear rules that everyone must follow. By bringing in these people, you are not only adding to the wear and tear on your arena, etc., you are increasing your exposure to risk. Before you allow any outsider to come in and teach or train, be certain that you've discussed this with your insurance provider and obtained coverage that extends to that person. You should also ascertain that the outsider is carrying appropriate insurance, and that your farm is named on their policy. You will need to charge some sort of fee for the use of the arena, and last but not least, you will need to schedule the outside instructor's or trainer's use of the arenas for times when there will be the least amount of interference with your own work and your boarders' lessons with you.
As an example of the requirements you might put into place, you could say - in the rules and in your boarding contract:
* All outside instructors and trainers must provide documentation of instructor certification (ARIA/ARICP, USDF, or CHA) in the specialty to be taught.
* All outside instructors must provide proof (one copy required to be kept on file at our farm) of current instructor liability insurance, with Our New Farm, Inc. listed on the policy as additional insured.
* A $15.00 arena fee will be charged for all outside instructors/trainers per session.
* All sessions involving outside instructors/trainers must be scheduled in advance, through the farm owner or barn manager.
* All outside instructors must adhere to the farm policies and procedures and to the barn rules, including those regarding helmets and footgear.
* The farm reserves the right to turn down outside instructors who do not meet these requirements and standards, or who have not maintained their instructor certification or their insurance.
Does this sound picky? Really? Think again. This is YOUR liability that's involved here, and you can't afford to permit unsafe practices at your facility. It may be an annoyance to have to check and double-check your outside instructors' credentials and the status (must be current) of their certification and insurance, but the alternative is finding out, too late, that you SHOULD have checked and double-checked that information.
It's a bottom-line issue. When someone else comes to your facility regularly to teach your boarders, there is money involved. That money isn't going to you, but you will need to pay money to accomodate this outside instructor. The liability issues DO affect you. The increased wear and tear on your facility affects you as well - if nothing else, it increases your maintenance schedule. The activities in the arena - and the timing of those activities - will affect your boarders, and the horses being trained at your barn.
This doesn't mean that you'll necessarily insist on being the ONLY instructors who have the right to teach all of your boarders, though. If you have some boarders who wish to take lessons from someone else at another facility, encourage them to trailer out for their lessons. They're not prisoners, they're just in the position of people staying at a spa. If they don't like the meals in the spa's restaurants, they'll need to drive into town to find other choices.
Remember, too, that one of your goals with this new facility should be to build up a long-term boarding clientele who come for your LESSONS, too.
Think about your bottom line.
Profits do matter. Remember that boarding alone is usually NOT a very profitable venture. If you buy good hay and feed, install horse-safe fencing, and maintain your facility in a safe, workmanlike condition (not necessarily an immaculate, shiny, freshly-painted condition!), you're not going to make much money. You may not make ANY money, by the time you've done all the maintenance and paid all your bills and covered the costs of your property taxes and insurance. If you're going to derive any meaningful income from a well-run boarding stable, it's most likely to come from the lessons and from the horses in training.
If you and the barn owner teach lessons to your boarders, the money goes to you. If someone else comes in every week and teaches lessons, the money goes to that person. Simple, right? Well, no, it isn't. There's more involved than just the amount that the rider pays the instructor for the lesson.
Ask yourself this: What would YOUR farm need to make from a lesson session? What would you need in terms of PROFIT, that is - the amount that you'd need to get after you subtracted the wear and tear, the arena maintenance, the insurance, etc. It's true that you'll be paying for all those things anyway, no matter who's doing the teaching. If you are teaching, there will be income to offset those costs - but if someone else comes in to teach, you will still be paying for all those things, but you'll get nothing to offset your costs. The only differences are that you won't be in control of the lesson, and you won't make any profit from the lesson. In order not to LOSE money, you'll need to assess what is usually termed an "arena fee" or "facility use fee", but which should - at least - cover your actual costs.
Lesson Income
If you want to make money from lessons, you need to give them yourself or hire someone for that purpose. Boarders should expect to take weekly lessons at a facility where lessons with good resident instructors are part of the "draw". Some farm-owners simply figure in the cost of weekly lessons, and add that to the monthly board charges. If you plan to run a boarding AND TEACHING facility, where the boarders want and expect to take weekly lessons, this is a very useful policy. Everyone knows, well in advance, just how much money will be involved, and as the weekly lessons are included in the board fees, you can count on the regular income whether the boarders choose to use their lessons or not. Interestingly enough, this arrangement generally results in much more boarder participation in lessons! Partly, perhaps, because the money is already committed, but also partly, perhaps, because boarders who choose to keep their horses at this sort of facility have already made the decision to make their riding progress a priority.
Consider Clinics
You can still bring in new ideas and new teaching methods by scheduling clinics, and you can solicit your boarders' input when it's time for you to select the next year's clinicians. You should be aware of your boarders' interests in any case - would they enjoy participating in a dressage clinic, a round-pen clinic, a clicker training clinic, a polo clinic? Find out - and see what you can set up.
Clinics, unlike outside instructors, can be good for your business. If you organize a clinic, it's a limited-time opportunity you're offering to your boarders, who of course get the first chance to fill the clinician's schedule, with outside riders coming second. Select your clinicians carefully, with your boarders' needs and interests in mind, and with continuity of values and standards in mind. Schedule clinics with instructors/ trainers whom YOU know and trust. They'll teach well, and while doing so, they'll enforce the values and methods that YOU believe in, and help inspire your boarders to meet YOUR standards. Clinics may not make you any money, but they can bring attention and credibility to your facility. They can also satisfy your boarders' wishes to have a "second opinion" or a fresh eye - and all of this without challenging your regular teaching schedule or your students' loyalty. You aren't in competition with the clinician.
If you expect boarders to take two lessons a month, one lesson a week, or whatever meets your needs, make this very clear in your advertising and in the interview you have with each boarder before the boarding contract is signed. You may lose a few people who will choose to go to other facilities where they can bring in outside instructors (or not take lessons at all) - that's fine. The boarders you want are the ones whose interests and standards are similar to yours. It won't suit everyone, but then, nothing will, and that's not your purpose. Figure out how you can give the best possible service to your boarders, figure out what sort of boarders will be most likely to derive the most benefit from your facility and services, and design your rules, contracts, and advertising accordingly.
Every organization and every new facility has "growing pains", but after a few years, you'll find that your permanent boarders and students will be the ones who believe most strongly in the things YOU believe in. You still won't - in all probability - get rich doing this, but you don't NEED to be rich to enjoy yourself and create a great atmosphere for like-minded boarders and students. All you need is a clear vision of what matters, and the willingness to follow through.
So go have a long talk with the barn owners. Discuss everything here, and anything else you can think of, talk about what sort of place you want it to be in two years and five years and ten years, and decide which standards and policies will help you get on the path and start moving toward your goals.
Whatever you decide, WRITE IT ALL DOWN. Your ideas, your thoughts, your policies, your procedures, your barn rules... When you're opening a new facility, you need to cover every possible eventuality. How do you want this barn to run? What do you want each day to be like? How do you want boarders to behave, and what do you want them to do and not do? How about the students? WRITE IT ALL DOWN. Then discuss it, expand it, refine it, make it as clear as possible, and incorporate it all into your contract. One of the most vital aspects to starting any business is managing your customers' expectations. If your boarders feel that they've been fully informed before they signed your boarding contract, they'll have no reason to complain about your rules - including the ones about outside instructors.
Jessica
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