Horse Based Business

A horse based business - a dream come true!

Read about an amazing woman - Julie D.

Horses! people who are passionate about them will do anything to work with them even if it means long grueling hours.Alas, many horse lovers will never escape their desk jobs in downtown office cubicles.

Julie D. Isn’t one of them!

Julie always loved horses, but settled into the suburban lifestyle with her husband Lou and their daughters. Wouldn’t ya know it; their 4 daughters were also born with the horse loving gene.

So, one day, on a whim, they bought a horse ranch and so began their horse based business.

Moving from their state of the art, spacious home to a tiny ramshackle farmhouse filled them with joy and excitement.

Julie looks out onto the 30 acres of hay fields, barns and corrals and dreams of possibilities. The girls jump out of bed early each morning ready to take on a day filled with chores, and riding fun.

“What I saw was a place with so much possibilities”, laughs Julie, “when I think of a new endeavor – I just forge ahead a do it, and it works!”

“We all love horses, and creating an income doing what we love, well, it’s paradise”.

It sure is! I watch the girls and their friends riding bareback with only ropes to guide the horses. Any horse lover would be envious of their lifestyle. No trips to the mall, no sitting at the computer all day long. Everyone works hard taking care of the horses.

I asked Julie for her advice to others who might want a horse based business but don’t know how to get there.

How do you make money from horses with your horse based business?

Here are her tried and true methods.

“We have about 45 horses here. 25 of them are boarders and the rest are ours.

We charge 400$ per month and basically boarding doesn’t really pay. If you only have boarders you are working to break even. There is no money in boarding because horses are a major expense. The hay, the bedding, the cost of utilities, maintenance of the stalls, corrals, arena etc… and that doesn’t even involve the physical labor.

Julie's different horse based business efforts:

Riding Lessons Julie provides riding lessons. That is one way of bringing income.

I love doing birthday parties. The kids love it, usually it is their first time on a pony.

Each child gets a mini lesson as they are walked around the ring on one of the 6 adorable ponies.

Julie believes in keeping it simple, she does not provide food, the parents can bring it, or order pizza, or even use the BBQ. They have to supply all the plates, napkins, food etc… Julie and her helpers entertain the children with craft projects and fun in the hay fields. In winter the parties are held in the arena and the new recreation room.

The petting zoo is a big hit as well. Lorenzo the goat, Annabel the giant pig, (soon to be fitted with a winter coat), the sheep, and the favorite for most kids are the chickens. "They are really friendly, we have had them since they hatched so they are really tame. We would never eat them!" says Julie.

School Field Trips

It started with her daughters' school and snowballed from there. The children get hands on lesson on horse care. And schools pay well.

She also provides camp for children on PED days, when schools are closed.

Summer camp

The kids spend a week in day camp. Next summer there will be sleep over camp.

Other summer camps come to for weekly for horse back riding.

Pony Club

The pony club meets one Sunday a month. The children come for the day, they have a lesson and do barn stuff. They learn how to clean tack, muck out the stables, feed the horses, lunge them etc.. they have workbooks and learn so much.

Many kids know how to ride well, but don’t know how to tack up a horse because the horses are already tacked up when they take their lessons at other barns. The pony club teaches them all the important things a rider needs to know.

Julie’s newest endeavor is the kids Polo League.

It is the first kids’ polo league in the area. The ponies have gone through the rigorous test polo test to make sure that they are polo safe.

The league is made up of experienced riders.

Julie hopes to have inter-barn polo teams.

Polo is a dying sport in these parts, but with the Julie’s newest idea, Polo is sure to make a comeback and it is a great way for kids to have fun with horses.

Julie and her family have created a viable business from their passion of horses.

You can too.

Her last bit of advice on running a horse based business : “Figure out what you like and just do it.”

Not only is it our lively hood, it also is our home. If I don’t feel comfortable doing something, well, then, it’s just not going to work.