10 options to consider, if you can't pay your horse's board

Times can be tough. And horse boarding can be costly. But you love your horse. How can you cover your beloved horse’s monthly board, if you cannot come up with the cash?

Actually, several possibilities exist. Not all of these options will apply or fit your particular situation, but here are some choices that may be worth considering. These tips may also be helpful to those with multiple horses or those who must step away from riding for any number of reasons. Personally, I have exercised more than half of these options during my horse-owning years.

10 options to consider, if you can't pay your horse's board

1. Work off your horse’s board. This is one of the most commonly offered opportunities for boarders who need to cut monthly costs. Boarding barn owners frequently need additional help with daily stall cleaning, feeding, turnout, hay stacking, and other chores. Labor can be credited towards board.

2. Barter for board. What professional skills do you have that might benefit your boarding barn? Can you offer to help market horses? Teach riding lessons? Build tack lockers, pasture shelters, or hay barns? Create and run the barn’s website? Handle social networking? Maybe the barn owner will consider an exchange for board.

3. Offer the horse for professional riding lessons. Are there any equestrian trainers in your boarding barn? Do they have a riding academy or schooling program or summer camps? If you have a trusty and safe mount, you might be able to let them use your equine for lessons, in exchange for full or partial board.

4. Shareboard / lease the horse. Can you find someone who’d love to own a horse, but is not currently in a position to purchase one outright? Perhaps someone would pick up part or all of the horse’s board, in exchange for an agreed-upon number of rides per week. Pick an on-site or off-site option. Trainers, barn owners, and online horse groups are good starting points for identifying possible people. Legal ramifications may vary by state, and it’s important to clear this option with barn owners first.

This article is copyrighted by The Mane Point: A Haven for Horse Lovers. Unauthorized reproduction or publication is not allowed.

5. Choose a lesser board option. Plenty of boarding facilities have multi-leveled board fee structures, depending upon accommodations and services chosen. It may be possible to reduce your monthly board by moving to a smaller stall or a more remote barn on-site. Also, if your current board agreement includes full services (such as grooming, tack cleaning, or other valet-type services), those may be trimmed to cut costs.

6. Consider pasture board for your horse. Depending upon your horse’s individual needs and the setup at your boarding barn, outdoor (or rough) board may be worth considering. This is generally significantly less expensive as stall board, as it requires less labor and materials (such as stall bedding).

7. Find a cheaper barn. Often, you get what you pay for. But it is possible to find good horse care in an adequate facility at affordable prices. You may have to travel a bit farther, depending upon where you look.

8. Retire the horse. Putting a horse out to pasture, particularly if that horse is no longer sound for work, can be a loving choice. Generally speaking, equine retirement facilities charge considerably less for monthly board than active barns. If you’re lucky, you might even find a spot for your horse to become a free- or cheap-boarded pasture pal for a friend who keeps horses at home.

9. Sell the horse. This is perhaps the most difficult option. It’s hard to part with a horse you love. Maybe you raised him from birth. Perhaps you have poured years of care and effort and time and training into her. But sometimes a sale to a solid situation is the best option.

10. Donate the horse. Selling a less-than-sound horse outright is a tall order. However, some equine therapy and horse education organizations will accept horse donations. If your horse is gentle, well-trained, and reasonably rideable, this might be an option. In most cases, you could receive a receipt for tax purposes.

All of these possibilities can lead to reduced horse boarding costs, if you are able to research and select suitable options. The primary goal, of course, is to construct a scenario that fosters the horse’s well-being without going beyond the boundaries of what you can sustain financially.

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Book Review: Playing with Lukas

Playing with Lukas: How a Woman and a Horse Found a Private World of Animal Intelligence and Themselves, by Karen Murdock

Who is the world’s smartest horse?

For at least a century, horse lovers have pointed to Jim Key, the clever trick horse of Civil War veteran William Key, D.V.M., as the smartest horse ever. Today, however, a chestnut thoroughbred gelding named Lukas (registered as “Just Ask Mike”), may have challenged Jim Key’s longstanding status for equine intelligence. 

Playing with Lukas, by Karen Murdock, offers an inside look at a remarkable partnership between a human and a horse. Lukas, a discarded retired racehorse, was labeled unmanageable and unfit for jumping, dressage or any other equestrian discipline. With two bowed tendons and an unimpressive racing record, the horse was headed for a most uncertain future.

However, Karen Murdock, a determined horsewoman and former psychiatric nurse, saw a potential in the off-the-track thoroughbred (OTTB) and rescued him. With plenty of time, careful observation, training and patient interaction, Karen Murdock and Lukas actually rescued one another, forming an astonishing alliance through trick training and horse play. The retired racehorse, once deemed distrusting and dangerous, surprised Karen Murdock and the equestrian world with his ability to balance such physical challenges as the passage and Spanish walk with such cognitive achievements as matching colors, shapes and numbers.

In her 2010 book, racehorse rescuer and trainer Karen Murdock outlines this process, sharing her personal experience with her now treasured equine companion. What is Karen Murdock’s secret, as she works with a challenging off-the-track thoroughbred? “A genuine sense of appreciation and enthusiasm go a long way in training – and in life,” she writes. Perhaps herein lies a lesson for us all.

Karen Murdock’s book, which began as a collection of training tips, actually offers more of a personal memoir. The opening pages of Playing with Lukas, by Karen Murdock, include dozens of quotations and endorsements from diverse equestrian leaders and animal lovers. Playing with Lukas is filled with personal anecdotes and memorable musings from the author, who traces her seven-year initial relationship with Lukas, as he learned to trust her and to perform far beyond anyone’s expectations.

“When your training is correct,” Karen Murdock says, “the tricks are only a by-product and happen in an almost effortless, uncalculated way.” The author confesses that she does not even own a horse whip.

Included in Playing with Lukas, by Karen Murdock, is plenty of the author’s own biography, setting the stage for her compassionate friendship with her special rescue horse. With a difficult childhood and few long-term relationships, the author’s own personal transformation of trust is as amazing as that of her beloved Lukas.

Early in her story, Karen Murdock pens this most telling statement about Lukas, her equine companion and project: “I now knew that I wouldn’t give up on him the way I had been cast off. I was determined to find a way through.”

Available in paperback and Kindle formats, Playing with Lukas is an intriguing and heart-warming read for anyone who loves horses or simply a feel-good story. The book displays penetrating insights into the possibilities of human-to-animal friendships. Could it be that animals (such as horses) are smarter than humans may have suspected?

The author’s technical training tips may prove useful to equestrians. Many horseback riding enthusiasts may be surprised to discover how much of the horse training and equestrian recreation may occur on the ground, rather than under saddle. What’s more, Karen Murdock’s transparent tracing of her own personal development make Playing with Lukas a gripping read, filled with hope and potential.

Reviewer’s Note:

This book reviewer received a complimentary copy of the book described and evaluated here, although the reviewer has no prior or existing relationship (either familial or professional) with the author or publisher.

Lukas quickly became a darling of the equestrian world, thanks to owner/trainer/author Karen Murdock and her compassionate network of horse-lovers. Major media outlets (such as ABC, CBS, CNN, HLN, NBC and RFD), major media (such as the Associated Press, American Horse Publications, Blood Horse Magazine, The Mane Point and The Horse) and internet sites (such as EquiSearch and Equine Connection) have featured Karen Murdock and Lukas, tagging him the world’s smartest horse.

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What happens to racehorses, once they are no longer fit to race? Beyond the Homestretch, by Lynn Reardon, traces the development of a racehorse rescue program. Beyond the Homestretch is a worthy read for anyone who loves horses.

Credit: Beyond the Homestretch: What I've Learned from Saving Racehorses, by Lynn Reardon  |  © Cover photo from press packet

About the Author: Karen Murdock

Karen Murdock, author of Playing with Lukas, is a retired nurse who has spent more than three decades working with difficult horses. Throughout her equine experience, Karen Murdock has employed clicker training, liberty exercises and positive reinforcement to build confidence and willing compliance with her horses. Karen Murdock is based in Walnut, California.

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Book cover/ promotional photos/fair use

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