Applegate Stables

Hello everyone!

Hopefully many of you saw that we are considering reopening in the KV area and are in the process of doing some market research before completely going ahead and are looking for feedback from you! This is going to be a bit long but bear with me!

If a facility were to open in the area what do you feel that we need from a boarding and event front for people to enjoy their horses more? This isnt a "cheaper board" type question unfortunately as the majority of the barns in the area are doing the absolute best they can without pricing horse ownership beyond the average persons abilities. Anything lower than what is currently available is just not sustainable. Horses are not a cheap endeavor or hobby and it is simply unfair to ask for all the ammenities and not have to pay for them. Knowing that most facilities in the area are at capacity and wait listing we are looking at more of a middle of the road option. This is a "what would entice you to participate more in the industry" both from a price and discipline type thing.

So, would a mid sized NEW facility be of interest to people? Heres what we are thinking:

14 stall facility all sizing 12x15 with 10 of those stalls having the dividing walls be able to swing so you could have full size rehab or foaling stalls if needed. So the stall would open up to 12x30 but generally speaking theyd be 12x15 unless someone came in needing that extra space. Yes it would be extra for the extra space if needed but most people dont require a 12x30 stall.
4 of the stalls having attatched run ins again, to be able to assist with rehabs if needed.
Hot/cold wash stalls
Heated bathroom
Heated tack room
Large Heated viewing room upstairs while still having a smaller viewing area in the tack room downstairs
80x200 indoor arena
100x200 outdoor arena
Turn out would be decent sized grass paddocks with shelters and hay always available as well.
Fencing would be wood post and boards
Halters never left on. Blanketing and fly masks on and off included
Grain included with several options available. Owner supplied supplements fed.
Hay ALWAYS available (unless under vet guidance). No limits. If theyll eat it and not waste it, they get it.

Price would be between 800-1000
Now, before you panic at that price hear me out.
Even at $1000 thats around $34 a day. Dog boarding costs more than that and you have to supply the food.
If you figure even if you spend an hour per horse a day at below minimum wage (lets say $15/day for labor). That leaves less than $20 to cover hay and grain and all other expenses
A bale of good quality hay goes from $5-10 a bale but lets say $5 and the average horse should be going through MINIMUM one small square a day.
Grain, anywhere from 30-50+ a bag. A 50lb bag would last we will say on average depending on the type of feed a week give or take. So lets say $30 a week x 4 weeks divided by 30 days youre looking at around $5 a day MINIMUM.
So we've got labor, hay and grain covered per day and are already at $25/day in expenses leaving $10 to be split between the mortgage (so your horse has a place to stay), the electricity (so you can see what youre doing and have running water), the tractor lease (to keep the driveway clear in winter, graded in summer, arenas and paddocks groomed, hay put out, paddocks bush hogged so theyre not over taken with weeds etc). Maintenance costs also have to come out of that $10 to include broken fence boards, gates, tractor maintence etc. Bringing in additional ammenties like jumps and other training equipment.

Keep in mind EVERY barn has these exact expenses indoor arena or not. The cost of hay, grain, supplies doesnt fluctuate based on what a persons property looks like. So basically if youre paying less than say $700 a month right now for safe, quality board, thank your barn owner as they are doing this strictly for the passion of the horse.

So. All that in mind, if the above mentioned situation were to become available, would you utilize it?

Now for part 2 of this question. If a facility like this came along that could host clinics and small shows for all disciplines what would it take for you to come out? What clinics or shows would be of interest to you and what price point would keep you coming back?
Clinics and shows can bring a bit more flexibility to be able to financially include basically everyone in our community. If we know what people are looking for and what will keep them coming back then we can look into providing those events. I would like to keep the costs down as low as possible on these as clinics and events are what bring the community together and I think thats just as important as bringing boarding opportunities.

The size of the arena would make it so we could offer anything from cow sorting/team penning clinics and practice events to dressage clinics, mock shows (where you run through a test and the clinician gives you feed back immediately and you try again), working equitation, jumping, reining, western pleasure, liberty clinics, first aid clinics etc. We would even be open to renting the arena on an hourly basis and even to people for dog sports. Aiming to keep things from $30-$100 for rentals and fun shows with some clinics costing more depending on who was coming out.

What are your thoughts? Would you like to see something like this come to our area? What would you like to see and be able to do? Lets brainstorm!

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Hey everyone,

Many of you have been following Applegate for several years and know what we are about. We've had some significant changes over the last year beyond our control which forced us to move and are now in New Brunswick so have decided to reintroduce what we are all about.

We are looking at possibly slowly building back up out here where we will be able to offer boarding, lessons, clinics, shows etc down the road but until we find a home base that all has to be put on hold but its being strongly looked into!

Until then we still offer FREELANCE lessons for horse owners within a 45min radius of Quispamsis however will go further for an additional fee. We do NOT have horses available for lessons, nor do we have a facility to teach out of currently so its strictly a we come to you situations right now. Lessons are $70 in that radius, please contact directly for prices if your outside of that.

Lessons are available for everyone. We dont discriminate on your situation, what tack you ride in or if you have an arena or not. Our goal is to help horses and riders develop strong, confident bonds no matter the situation. We want to help you understand why your horse is doing certain things, what theyre trying to tell you and how to fix it. Its actually amazing what we can learn just by learning to listen to our horses! Strong back ground in French classical dressage, eventing, low level hunter/jumpers. Also have been involved lightly in reining, race horses (both standardbred and thoroughbred), western pleasure, cow sorting/team penning, working equitation, endurance etc.

We will also be offering relief work in the same radius. Happy to cover vacations, sick days, relief work or if you want someone to come regularly let's chat and get you some help! Can possibly even do last minute sick day covering! For most situations there will be a flat fee of $70 for up to the first hour then $25/hr after that. Rates can be discussed if you need several hours a day but given most situations will only require an hour or two and with fuel costs what they are we have to be able to cover more than just the fuel to get to you in order to continue to offer the services.

We have extensive experience in breeding (Dutch harness, lusitano, standardbred and thoroughbred) and have a passion for breeding quality, sane citizens that are capable of doing most things at various levels.

We've done lots of training from starting horses to developing them and getting them confident, willing and happy in their job through various forms of cross training to keep their minds fresh and wanting to learn more!

For 15 years we have offered quality board without hay restrictions and turn out schedules that are conducive to happy, healthy horses to help curb unhealthy habits. We take pride in our facility and have a moto that if we wont sleep in it we dont expect the horses too. We've even got a machine thats run through every stall to ensure each and every stall is cleaned in every inch and the stalls fluffed up daily. Horses kept in compatible group turn out to ensure they can be horses as naturally as possible in a world of domestication.

Until we find a facility we obviously cannot offer board however we are working on this and if you may be looking for board in the mentioned radius in the future please reach out and let us know as it helps with market research!

We have assisted and lead in all kinds of rehab situation from soft tissue injuries, major surgerys, wound care, various forms of physiotherapy, bandaging legs properly without causing further damage and more! We love seeing animals recover and feel better so they can live happy lives!

We also have years of experience with goats. Owning them for 15 years and breeding them for 5. We bred angora goats and nigerian/pygmy crosses. We were very lucky to have one of the best goat vets in the province of Ontario at our finger tips and utilized that to gain as much knowledge on ruminants as possible. We also sheared our own angora goats for fleece!

We are comfortable around just about all animals. With a healthy respect for their abilities, needs, desires and wants we love all animals and are always here to help! To get to know the farming communities and get our name out there so people can see the tight ship we run so we are offering the relief/farm sitting services as well as the FREELANCE lessons for the foreseeable future.

Send us a message and let's chat! Even if you dont need someone RIGHT NOW its always great to get a feel of someone before hand especially when it comes to letting them onto your property to take care of the animals you love so much!

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