Guidelines on Horse Boarding Contracts
The basics of a horse boarding agreement contract – their purpose, and why they are important for both the horse owner and the facility which is doing the horse boarding
For any horse owner who either leases their horse, or makes it available for others to ride, a horse boarding agreement contract is a must. At it’s core, a horse boarding agreement is a contract between an owner of a boarding facility and the horse owner. It spells out the conditions under which the horse will be kept at the boarding facility and it clarifies the expectations of the owner and the lessee. It protects the owner by giving the owner legal recourse if the lessee fails to live up to his contractual obligations. Most advanced horse owners are aware of the importance of having all the details of their relationship with a stable clearly spelled out in a horse boarding agreement contract , but even inexperienced horse owners who own a horse which they allow others to ride should make it clear how the spoken agreements and understandings will impact their rights to be paid or not paid for the horse’s time in a specific stable. If the lessor is an advanced horse owner who rents out their horse when they are gone and pays for barn time while they are there, a clearly written horse boarding agreement contract will not only help protect any unpaid barn time if the horse is expected to stay in the same barn, it can also be crucial if the horse should later be sold without the owner’s knowledge.
Essentials of a Horse Boarding Contract
The description of the property being boarded should be included in the contract with the address of the property and the legal name of the property owner. Some contracts require a description of the horse and the name of the person contracting with you for care of the horse. It is essential for the contract to state the fees that the boarding client is obligated to pay to you. You will also need to determine how often the client is to pay – monthly, biweekly, etc. The law requires you to "bill" for the fee. Failure to send a bill is the first thing your boarding client will claim as an excuse for not paying and the first thing in question if litigation occurs. I recommend sending the bill monthly with a statement of the total owed at the top of the bill, the specific charges listed on a line below the total due and the total at the bottom of the bill. If the bill is $270.00 then $270.00 will be at the top. "Hay-28 bales" is on a line beneath the total, "Stall cleaning for March" is on the next line with the exact amount deducted from the bottom line. Signature and date to acknowledge receipt of notice of past due account. An attorneyprepared contract will require the boarding client to sign away his ability to sue the facility or the owner of the facility for any reason. These kinds of contractual provisions are called Liability Waivers. Not only should the contract have a Liability Waiver in it, the boarding client should sign a separate liability.
Legal Constraints
Legal Considerations: When setting up the "contract" aspect and listing it out, keep in mind the following: the boarding facility may need to reproduce the entire contract onto an original document of its choice. So lawyers often put a sentence in saying that all parties – that is you, the owner, and the boarding stable – agree that the stable can reproduce this contract and that formatting will not be an issue. Also, if the contract is more than two pages including the boarding schedule that acts as a quasi contract, the boarding stable may want to attach those pages as an exhibit. Also, if you have a separate horse/riding liability waiver, you should reference that waiver in your boarding contract so there is no issue concerning enforcing it. Unfortunately, there are stables that only require you to sign a contract and then hand you a print out with no signature from them. That’s a bad practice. Signatures or initialing at the end of each page, with the whole contract stapled together, is what is required. Using an electronic signature is probably acceptable but never let your contract out of your control. Also, you may want to have them sign a nondisclosure or confidentiality agreement.
Different Kinds of Boarding Services
Types of Horse Boarding Services
Once you consider the type of boarding services you wish to offer, you and your boarder can then discuss and evaluate how much the horse boarder can handle on its own and whether that is simple self-care or partial care and how much you as a barn owner will be doing in return for the horse boarders’ monthly board charge.
I am happy to discuss these types of services for your individual farm once I have met you and your horse and have had an opportunity to see your operation.
- Full Board. Full board is generally defined as "full care" by the farm owner and includes everything from feed (either hay and grain) to pasture time to stall sanitation. A horse on full board is never turned out on pasture. Full boarders are fed their grain and/or hay in the barn and usually are simply turned out into a stall or paddock area to roll or get exercise or both. Feed is put back into the barn at night or in the evening hours. Full board is the highest cost of the three types of services offered. A horse on full board is also usually given daily notice for health, comfort, sanitation and diet. The full board monthly fee includes everything in the contract from the ground up. Changes to the contract require signatures on both sides with contract amendments. Any damage a horse does to the barn or property is the responsibility of the boarder (most likely a secondary insurance coverage will pay for that damage) unless it was a horse injury and deemed as something that would be normal on a farm.
- Partial Board. A partial boarder is one that maybe doesn’t wish to have their horse turned out 24/7 and would like their horse to be stalled during the day and put out at night or just the opposite. In other scenarios, a partial boarder may want their horse fed on a set or regular basis either in the morning or evening or both and not necessarily during the times the horse owner works at their barn. A partial boarder pays a lower price for services than full board or self-care.
- Self-Care. Self-care is the lowest form of daily services offered to horse boarders. The farm owner is not responsible for anything. The horse boarder is responsible for feeding, care, turning out, and stalling their own horse(s). Once a month or quarterly the horse boarder assists the farm owner in the care of the barn or paddocks or the horse boarder covers that care in its board payment. The farm owner may or may not be at the farm when self-care boarders arrive to do chores. Usually, self-care boarders have working hours on a set schedule and do not overlap or hinder with any other horse or barn owners hours. Farm owners can go out earlier in the day when self-care boarders are not around or later in the evening or even professionally set a visitation schedule that allows them to share farm responsibilities equally.
Settling Disputes
Disputes can and will arise in any relationship. A properly drafted horse boarding contract will contain a section dedicated to the resolution of disputes. While it is best for all parties to work out their differences in an open and direct manner, the contract will become a guidepost for resolving those disputes if needed, offering comfort that the parties should be able to reach a mutually satisfactory solution.
An owner and a stable are more likely to end up in a lawsuit or arbitration if there is no horse boarding contract. In a case without a written contract, each party will have to explain to a judge or an arbitrator what was expected based on evidence provided, and the result could be a legal and financial nightmare for both parties. Even when there is a contract in a horse boarding relationship, disputes still arise. A dispute can arise because:
When a dispute arises, you should review your horse boarding contract to see how the contract set forth procedures for resolving disputes, if at all. A properly drafted horse boarding contract will have a dispute resolution section that addresses how disputes will be handled. Very often, boards fails to consider and provide for how disputes will be handled. The contract may simply say that disputes should be resolved through negotiation. That is fine if both parties are reasonable . But sometimes one party simply refuses to communicate, and in cases like that, an arbitration clause, where a neutral third party resolve the dispute after hearing limited evidence presented by the parties, is a better option.
A professionally drafted contract will almost always have a dispute resolution clause that calls for negotiation followed by arbitration if the parties cannot work it out. Some parties to a horse boarding contract may not think an arbitration clause is necessary. If both parties are agreeable, they may want to use a mediation service. In mediation, a disinterested third party called the mediator meets with both parties to settle the dispute. The mediator cannot make decisions for the parties. They will only try to help the parties reach an agreement. Mediation is generally not binding, meaning that any agreement reached is only binding on both parties if both of them sign it.
In arbitration, like mediation, the parties to the dispute will present their case to a disinterested third party, called an arbitrator. Depending on what the parties agreed to, the arbitrator may, or may not, have to follow the law. A trained arbitrator has legal and private resolution training that provides the parties with a solution that is professional, fair to both parties, and may allow the horse boarding contract to continue without any significant issues.
Tweaking Your Boarding Contract
The terms and conditions of a horse boarding agreement contract can be customized by the owner and the horse boarding facility, taking into consideration the particular needs of all parties and the specific facts at hand. Certain unforeseeable events may impact the boarding experience of the owner and the horse, and these events can be addressed in the customized contract. Some areas of customization include:
- Additions following unexpected events: A hail storm that destroys the barn. Changes in the use of nearby land, which means more road traffic, gun ranges, or power lines that make rides less enjoyable. Increased crime in the area that means additional security is needed. A new neighbor that bothers the clients and will not abide by the barn’s rules.
- Additional stipulations on travel: Who pays for transportation of the horse to and from the boarding facility? What happens if you are not home to care for the horse, or are out-of-state for business or personal reasons?
- Additional stipulations involving new horses: What other horses are allowed on the premises? How will it impact the other horses if the new horse becomes ill, pregnant, or needs training? What is the cost to train the new horse?
- Additional stipulations involving special circumstances: Will your horse be used as a therapy horse in addition to being boarded? Will the owner pursue liability insurance in the event the horse injures someone? Is the horse to be bred or used in experiments? Will the horse be kept at the facility for only a short-term or will the lease be renewed over time?
A well-tailored agreement keeps the horse boarder and boarding facility content and satisfied.
Executing and Renewing Contracts
And what about the part about signing and renewing contracts? First of all, you want to make sure that when someone pays their deposit, they sign something contractually stating, "I will be staying here for six months. I really understand the terms and conditions. Please sign as my confirmation." I’ve had people say, "Oh, I thought I could stay more or less." That’s not the case. They have to sign. No exceptions. Second of all, you want to talk about renewal. If you say a contract is good for six months but you have no intention of renewing it , at the end of six months you want to get your horse out. You do NOT want to automatically renew on an ongoing basis. If you do that, it comes with the risk of someone saying, "I stayed here for four years. There must have been a 10-year contract." We’ve had people do that. So the obvious thing is, every six months or every year – whatever your contract states – you want to revisit whether there are any changes in the circumstances. A horse may need to reduce his size. They may be moving. It doesn’t mean it’s always bad news, but it can be. Then, based on the changes, if everything’s great, everyone gets to re-sign and we move forward. That’s it for that section.