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The tack room

Discuss horse riding and ownership on our Horse forum.

What to do with unused stables?

19 replies

LangyThorpey · 12/08/2021 15:11

I have a block of 4 stables that are not being used. I don’t have horses and don’t know enough about them to buy one. My sister has suggested renting the stables out but I’m not sure on the legalities/responsibilities of this? Also they need work doing to them as they have not been used for some time. Any advice welcome

OP posts:
lastqueenofscotland · 12/08/2021 15:19

Is there any land attached with them?

Floralnomad · 12/08/2021 15:21

Unless you are desperate for the money I wouldn’t rent them out if you live on the same site it will be more trouble than it’s worth .

LangyThorpey · 12/08/2021 15:28

I have a large paddock and several fields. All of it unused so just trying to work out the best way to put some of it to use

OP posts:
GingerFigs · 12/08/2021 15:32

As above, do you have land that can be rented along with the stables? If not then it's unlikely someone with horses will want a stable and no turnout, unless they have their own fields close by.

Personally I'd say don't do it. If you don't know what you're doing and they're on your property you could be giving yourself a massive headache. You hear banging in the middle of the night, go to investigate, horse is rolling on the floor with colic. You try to ring the owner at 3am and get no response as their phone is turned off. What do you do? Walk away and leave a horse in agony? Call a vet? Which vet? What do you say? Have you got authority? This might sound far fetched but horses are notoriously delicate creatures intent on running up enormous vet bills. Never mind the thought that you could be liable if your stables are not in good condition and cause an injury.

Do you need the money? You might be better renting them to someone to store things in them like old cars or something similar (though obviously there's a security factor there).

GingerFigs · 12/08/2021 15:33

Just seen your update that you have fields. However my points above still stand.

You get some great owners and some not so great owners. Roll the dice.....

maxelly · 12/08/2021 15:34

I think I'm probably with you ahead of your sister on this, unless you also have a large amount of grazing you can also include in the price (or is available nearby), most people will not want to rent a stable without at least a couple of acres of grazing as well, so I doubt you'd earn much in exchange for the hassle. Do the stables have electricity/lighting, security features (cameras, padlockable gates etc) and running water installed as I think most people would want this too as a bare minimum? Also is there good hacking/bridleways near you or is it all busy roads (unless you have a surfaced arena or flat dry field to ride on you will have to look for people that only want to hack or that have retired/unridden horses and the latter aren't that common)?

Personally even if you say yes to all of the above, I'm still not sure I would want a bunch of strangers hanging around my home (I'm assuming the stables are in your garden) at all hours (in the winter they may need to be there very early to see to horses in daylight before work, in summer they might want to ride in the evenings), even if you strike lucky and get some lovely, quiet, very tidy people that look after their horses well and have no children or dogs to make extra mess and noise (and not all horse people meet this description by any stretch of the imagination!), there will have to be a muck heap somewhere which will need regular removal, there will be regular deliveries of hay and bedding, said hay and bedding gets everywhere if not swept and tidied very regularly, occupied stables can be a magnet for rats and mice, horses are prone to injuring themselves horribly or getting suddenly very sick at inopportune times (or is that just mine Blush?) so you may have late night vet visits (and if you aren't horsey, having a horse colic or get cast in the middle of the night and having to try and deal with it while calling owners etc would be an absolute nightmare, you'd have to specify in the rental agreement that you take no responsibility for care of the animals of course but even so if there's a really sick horse on your hands you'd presumably be traumatized by it). Plus you'll have to pay business rates/tax on the income, sort out insurance and regular maintenance etc. Generally if you're not a horsey person I would think the whole thing would be way more trouble than it's worth.

I'd convert the stables to a garage or workshop or storage area or even a granny annex and let that out in preference to renting it to any kind of livestock TBH. Or you could keep other animals, chickens or other poultry could live in a converted stable happily enough, or let you DC use it as a glorified playroom/summerhouse. Or just knock them down/sell them cheap to someone on the condition they come and remove...

Of course like I say if you actually live on a farm or have loads of acres of unused grazing land it might be different but even then there is so much to think about and costs which will eat into your profits so even for farmers etc it's not that popular an option these days...

LangyThorpey · 12/08/2021 15:39

Eek! I have been suitably put off, so glad I asked!! I didn’t even know horses got colic, I thought that was just babies!

Ok do I AM a dog person … thinking I could maybe convert them into kennels? 🤔

OP posts:
maxelly · 12/08/2021 15:50

@LangyThorpey

Eek! I have been suitably put off, so glad I asked!! I didn’t even know horses got colic, I thought that was just babies!

Ok do I AM a dog person … thinking I could maybe convert them into kennels? 🤔

Yep colic is probably the most common serious/fatal illness in adult horses, they can't vomit due to the structure of their stomach so any kind of stomach bug/bad food/blockage stays in and rapidly becomes extremely painful for the animal, needs immediate vet attention and can cause twists in the guts which can only be cured by emergency surgery. Not something you want to be trying to deal with as an amateur at 3am! Kennels probably come with their own issues but at least you'd enjoy having the dogs around...
Wolfiefan · 12/08/2021 15:56

I know someone who had empty stables and some land. They made a doggy daycare. Very very popular but a full time job.

lastqueenofscotland · 12/08/2021 16:53

I also think unless you have a ménage you are going to struggle to get much interest

stillcrazyafterall · 12/08/2021 17:09

People round here rent out their fields by the hour to allow dogs to exercise in privacy/peace, particularly helpful for nervous dogs etc. You could do that for minimal cost?

tattychicken · 12/08/2021 17:37

How far are the stables from your house? Do they have a separate entrance?
I think it can be done, lots of people do it successfully. Rent the yard as a whole rather than to individuals, maybe reduce the rent on the proviso that they do some work on the place. I see no reason why you would have to be involved on a day to day basis but yes check it out legally/insurance wise.
It's not that unusual to do as you propose so it obviously can work.

dunkaccino · 12/08/2021 23:43

How many acres? I'd probably just get someone in to graze it with sheep as and when needed to keep it in reasonable condition (and they'll pay you to do it). Do the basics to the stables to keep them watertight and use them for storing your bbq etc!

Horsey people are a bloody nightmare, their horses trash the land/fences, fall out with each other and then don't pay you. Do you really REALLY need an income form your stables/land?

TheSandgroper · 13/08/2021 03:53

Have a look here for ideas. forums.landlordzone.co.uk/forum/agricultural-tenancy-questions

I believe gardenlaw forum also has a section that would help.

countrygirl99 · 13/08/2021 07:17

I used to rent a similar set up. We had a proper tenancy agreement drawn up by a land agent that was very thorough. New tenants were found by word of mouth and carefully vetted. It's worked very well for the property owner for the last 20 years but the yard and fields had a separate access and I don't think it would have worked otherwise. They also benefitted from having someone around every day when they were on holiday and they took about 4 a year.

NoProblem123 · 20/08/2021 23:20

I wouldn’t bother unless you really need the money.
Maybe do boarding kennels/doggy daycare instead.

Haggisfish3 · 20/08/2021 23:33

Or convert to a holiday cottage and rent it out.

Fredstheteds · 11/09/2021 14:14

Ask local farmer to graze for sheep. I have a livery and we are lucky she’s great horse done etc but we’ve had plenty who have been a pest

cherrytree63 · 18/09/2021 09:40

I'd bite your hand off to rent it as a whole if you're in North Lincs!
The place I'm at has just been sold and yards to rent are like hen's teeth.

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