Need some Input, not sure what to charge for this....

[lockedhearts]

Quote:
Good Idea. I have fed for him before, whenever he needed me to and when he was on vacation. And I could use the extra $$. I am also torn about him wanting to go overseas (Kuwait.Afghanistan) to work, I know anything can happen anywhere but I think a lot of Dudley and am dealing with my feelings about him being there if something happened to him. I will also check my legal book I have it has all kinds of contracts etc in it. We will have to sit down and have everything worked out, what happens if a horse gets hurt, it's not like I can just call him anytime, will have to work out how much power he is giving me to make decisions. I am sure he will leave his brother or sister some way to access $$ for feed, vet etc.

 

[MandyH]

Would it be feasable for him to figure up the amount of feed and hay needed and go ahead and buy enough for the year? If there was a way to store it, at least that would be taken care of. Edited to add: I know you are wanting to help this guy out and all, but you never know what each day holds and if something WERE to happen, I would hate for you to be stuck with some sort of bill you couldn't pay.

 

[Intheswamp]

I know nothing about keeping horses, but here's just a bunch of things to at least glance over. Seems like a lot of negatives in this list, but better to go over such as this now than later.

$500 a month (I went with the highest figure quoted here)
You figure 2 hours a day.
30 days a month.
That figures $8.34 an hour (tax free).
That figures $16.68 per day *without* any "emergencies", or extracurricular things that might come up and require your time.
Who keeps the fence(s) up?
7 miles away? Dually truck? ...figure a gallon of gas each trip.....oops, that figures $2.75 two times a day. $5.50
$16.68-$5.50= $11.18
$11.18 isn't looking as good, but what happens when gas/fuel prices go up another dollar or so as predicted?

$11.18 figures $2.24 a day per horse.
That is $5.59 per trip, or $1.12 per horse per trip.
After the gas expense (as figured), that's going to be around $336 per month that you will gross (excluding any other incidentals).
What if suddenly the phone rings and a great opportunity at a job comes up for you?
What if something happens on *your* farm that requires more of your time?
Family emergencies...you'll have to find someone to look after your farm *and* his horses.
Is there a chance that caring for his horses could cause a strain in your friendship?

Then...

You apparently have lots of experience with horses and are the equipped to handle them.
Get a written contract...I know, he's a friend, but...

Your friend will be a contractor of sorts in an extremely hostile area of the world. He's not going there without the lure of making very good money. It seems that he is looking for a very good solution to his horse care needs and looking to you for it. Don't feel that you are ripping him off if you ask for a premium price...explain to him some of the figures above...$2.24 a day per horse seems like an *extremely* good deal to me...but what do I know...I don't know anything about horses.

Just some thoughts...
Best wishes,
Ed

 

[lockedhearts]

Quote:
I only drive my Dually when I absolutely need to. We are blessed with 3 vehicles, hubby has a small car for work and I drive the Explorer 90% of the time. The Dually is used for Hay and Hauling, I even go get feed in the explorer so the fuel costs is minimal and besides it is a diesel and gets decent mileage. As far as a job, I am going back to school and most of the classes will be online, and it is an 18 month course so me getting a job before he gets back is unlikely. I am not out to make big money on this, enough to cover my time. Dudley has been good to me and floated me on hay when he was getting alfalfa in and I was between paychecks. He also has been very good to me at other times and helped me out when I needed it. He is the one that asked me "what I would charge" so I do not want to take advantage. An Hour a trip was generous, when he had 10 horse it used to take me about 45 minutes from the time I got to the barn to when I left. I think about $500 month plus either expenses (Hay, feed, vet etc) or he works out the expenses. He might be able to pay for hay ahead of time, I do not know his financial situation.

 

[Intheswamp]

Lockedhearts, it sounds like there's some friendship equity involved here, which is good. Good friends are hard to put a price on. If you can see where this will not be a liability to you and that you will feel good about helping him out it sounds like a win-win situation. Work the details out. One thing I would look into is seeing if he would be interested in giving you some type of power of attorney in regards to his horses. If something major was to happen and a quick and/or hard decision had to be made, you having poa would settle who makes the decision (I'm thinking of the brother and other family members who aren't familiar with horses).

It sounds to me like ya'll will work out a good arrangement.

Best wishes to you *and* him,
Ed

 

[Jamie_Dog_Trainer]

Quote:
I think that $425.00/mo is a bargain for him. Since you have all your ducks in a row and expereince with horses and understand the time involvement then go for it!

IMO I would charge more...LOL but thats just me.

 

[lockedhearts]

Quote:
I think that $425.00/mo is a bargain for him. Since you have all your ducks in a row and expereince with horses and understand the time involvement then go for it!

IMO I would charge more...LOL but thats just me.

We need to sit down and talk about it. I want everything out on the table and we will write up an agreement. I plan to talk to him tomorrow as I have a long drive to go pick up one of my broodmares and we will have time to talk. Things will have to be layed out as to how things will be handled in case of an emergency, or in case the something happens to him. Neither of us is taking this lightly, I am happy that he has a chance to go and make a great deal of money. Besides all of this his life the last couple of years has been rough, he lost his Mom suddenly 2 years ago (she lived with him) and then his Dad died a few months later (Parents were divorced) and he just recently ended a 5 year relationship with his girlfriend. I think the money he can make is a draw but also getting away from all of this is also a big draw. He also just lost his Stallion a couple of months ago, which is why I think he really wants me to do this, I am no miracle worker but at least I can recognize a serious situation and know when to call the vet.

 

[suburbanminifarm]

Agree with intheswamp.......
500 a month is only 100 per horse. That's the bare minimum I'd charge......he's going to be making big money if overseas.....

 

[alicefelldown]

Also take into account what the local /near-by boarding places charge. You should try and be in line with that.

Also - a note in your contracts - if something comes up (a job for you, health emergencies, etc) you need to be able to drop his horses off at a boarding place or with another friend.

 

[bagendhens]

i was going to say, i know nothing about keeping horses but knwo its hard work...
id say $500 a month would be very resonable (and about what it costs here to board one horse lol)

i would say (as a pet sitter) make sure theres a contract clearly stating what your responsbile for, how billing for vets care, farrier work, emergency care, ect will work...you dont want an emergency to come up and find yourself a couple thousand bucks in the hole covering the emergency...
also make sure theres clauses for your health and saftey, is he going to cover medical costs should one of the horses injure you (as long as your not at fault)?

make sure to keep in mind worse case senarios, shoudl a horse pass, i know that cost can be very expensive and you want to be sure you wont be held liable for injury or death ect...

you essentially want to be a good frined but cover all your bases too.

i both love and HATE pet sitting for friends, i always feel bad about making them sighn a standard contract, but i also know friendhsip can mean nothing if something goes haywire.