Are you ready for another cool contest? This one will last five days starting today, ending on Sunday, August 15. The winner will receive a fabulous and informative book called “How to Find Trouble Free Horse Boarding Even If You Are New to Horses” written and signed by Ronaye Ireland.

Ronaye’s book will raise your awareness and help you become better informed before making that commitment to a horse-boarding stable to care for your horse. The book also has some great information to help horse boarding farm owners improve areas that may be what their current and future customers are looking for in a horse-boarding farm. You’ll discover things like:

• How to choose the horse-boarding style that suits your lifestyle
• How to uncover hidden costs and build a realistic budget so you can afford to keep your horse
• How to avoid a $500 vet bill by paying attention to this safety hazard you never thought would be a problem

How to Enter the Contest

To enter the contest, simply add a comment below describing what you think is the best “Wow!” Factor a horse boarding farm business can provide their customers today. It can be from your own personal experience or from ideas that you may have that would be a great benefit for horse farm owners. The winning name will be chosen randomly using random.org.

What is the “Wow!” Factor?

The “Wow!” Factor is that unnamed quality in a product or service that elicits a “Wow!” from the customer the first time they encounter it. Examples of a “Wow!” might be –

• One private lesson after every tenth lesson
• Refer a friend to board at your farm and receive one-month free board
• Half-price on all trailering to specific shows

It is whatever it may take for the customer to have that feeling of “Wow!” what a great deal for me!

What is the “Wow!” Factor in your business? What keeps your customers happy and talking about your horse farm? When competing for business in a struggling economy, “good enough” is not good enough.

What does your horse farm do that is unique and not like any other horse farms in your area? Sometimes it is hard to tell because that “Wow!” Factor often happens when you are not even around. What are your customers saying about your horse farm when you are not around?

I know of one really great way to get your customers talking about the “Wow!” Factor of your farm. Try LaRaedo Horse Farm Software, which allows customers to log in and see how well their horse is being cared for, how training is improving or how lessons are going. With this type of communication and putting the customer first, they will not only be impressed, they will also be telling other horse boarders how innovative and proactive your farm is in maintaining their horse.

So be sure to leave a comment below for a chance to win an extremely useful and informative book that can be read now and referred to time and time again. The lucky winner will be announced on August 16. Good luck!

I have been reading a lot lately on the Internet about business branding. It is interesting to me that branding is also a term used often in the farming and livestock business. Wikipedia defines branding as ‘A technique for marking livestock so as to identify the owner’.


In many ways, livestock branding is similar to business branding. Branding in essence represents the company. It puts a ‘label’ on the overall company so that anyone that comes in contact with that brand knows who they are dealing with. Product branding in business is basically a method used that creates an immediate mental picture of exactly what the business represents.

In an article in Stable Management Magazine written by Lisa Derby Oden entitled ‘Who Are You?’ she states -

“Branding highlights qualities and characteristics about your stable that make you unique or special. Building your brand will follow a path of business evaluation and discovery. It is an intentional process that requires time, thought and research. This is well worth it in the long run, because you’ll be prepared to implement your marketing in a cohesive way that will have meaning to your prospects and clients.”

Branding is the impression people get when they view your business. It isn’t just one thing like your logo but a combination of everything you do. It is the information they see on your website, or the signature on your e-mails. It is also includes how you connect with your customers and meet their needs with your product or service.

Now more than ever, the horse farm business needs to be remarkable and offer something that their competitors don’t in order to develop and become more recognized. Thus creating their own special company brand that stands out above all other farms in the area.

What was used to attract boarders or lesson clients not too long ago is pretty much the norm today on all horse farms. It is becoming more important to find something that will attract customers to their farm rather than just offering the same as the farm down the road.

What is your horse business doing today to help develop the brand that your customers will remember and talk about with their friends?

Equestrian Professional Magazine, Elisabeth McMillan, recently ran a video called “Protecting Your Horse Business From Cash Flow Culprits” regarding profitability and cash flow. She used an example of the cost of boarding horses and the issue that can arise from boarders not paying on time.


That got me to thinking about ways that might help farm owners retain great relationships with their boarders AND ensure that they pay their board on time and increase revenue in THREE easy steps.

Step One -
Offer them a login account to a horse farm software that will keep them informed of EVERYTHING they are currently being billed for so there are no end of the month surprises.

Step Two -
Use the software’s automated invoice system that will send out their invoice at the first of the month, indicating CLEARLY the charge for any late payment fees and when payments are due.

Step Three -
Add a couple dollars more a month to their monthly board for the use of this service that keeps them informed of not only their expenses but of the care and maintenance that YOU deliver every month to keep their horse happy and healthy.

It’s a no brainer and everyone wins. Nuff said – comments are ALWAYS appreciated.

Hi Everyone,

Wanted to let you know that we are in the final stages of testing of the pilot software.  I want to make sure that all the bells and whistles are working properly enabling you to see the amazing value awaiting your farm and your customers!  Just a few examples of the tasks to be tested are:

• Ensuring all menus work properly in Internet Explorer, Safari and Mozilla Firefox.
• The registration e-mails content is up-to-date as well as a bit of tweaking to the User Guides.
• The time stamp selection is ready to go no matter what time zone you are located.
• And that the automated invoicing feature is in top-notch condition.

Feels so good to know that we are almost there.  I had several fine farm owners assist in testing and informing me of areas that needed changes which we were able to incorporate into this software version.  I intend to listen to everyone and use this blog site to provide feedback and information updates as you become more familiar with how the software works and what might make it even better.

All the babies out to play

This is my first of many posts.  I look forward to writing more about LaRaedo, how I came to view the need for something like this in the equine community as well as my ideas for future updates many of which will come directly from the subscribers.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching this idea become something tangible and of great value to farm owners and their horse boarders.

I look forward to using the feedback from the subscribers and discussing how this software can create a more solid connection with their boarders.

I want to talk a bit about my background and how I came up with the idea of a web-based software solution that includes the entire farm, not just the farm owner.  With technology the way it is today, it much easier to stay connected.   Why not use it to keep boarders informed on all aspects of their horse from lessons and training to worming and dental care.

I look forward to interviewing the non-profit horse organization that win the monthly raffle.

Stay tuned for more posts in the near future!