I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Robyn Schamante owner of Great Escape Stables located in South Lyon, Michigan.  We talked a bit about the history of her boarding and lessons farm and the plans for its future.  We discussed how she uses technology to help her stay organized on her farm and methods of staying connected with her farm customers.

And off camera, it was also fun hear her talk about her future vision of using web cams on the farm in the arena and aisle ways.  Even though she resides on the farm property, she envisions bringing in additional technology as a means for her and her customers to visually know how things are going on the farm.  I think that this may become a trend for many farms as a way to open doors to customers to view lessons and watch the grooming of their horses, for example, while away from the farm.

She also stressed how extremely important it is for all horse farm owners to run an efficient and organized farm.  Too many things can get overlooked or just not get done if the farm does not provide a system or process to follow.  Using the many computer related methods available to most everyone today such as mobile phones, e-mail, and websites to name a few can help farms keep the streamlined edge.

I hope you enjoy this short video and share it with your farm friends.  What technology methods do you use on your farm to help make it run smoother and more efficient?

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There is so much talk about social media these days and its ability to stay in touch with those you already know as well as creating new business connections. This post is suggests a few ways horse boarding farm owners can use ‘local media’ to connect with their boarding and lesson customers.

It has been stated that nearly 80 percent of all business will either come from or be directly influenced by word of mouth. So it seems reasonable to say that taking great care of your current customers has a tremendous influence on the attraction of future customers to your farm.

Staying in touch with your customers is key to keeping them at your farm. What better way to do this than use a simple software solution that does exactly that? By investing just twenty minutes or less each day you can:

• Update your customers on the daily maintenance of their horse
• Keep them informed on their horse’s training progress
• Link them to training or lesson videos and upload photos of their horse in action
• Instruct clients on a plan to improve their current lessons and
• Most important – let them know how well they are riding

I recently read an article in Equestrian Professional, which summed up quite a bit of the importance of staying in regular touch with customers:

“The last thing you say matters, because its the first thing your client gets asked!
For your student, the “how was your lesson?” question is often a loaded one. It can cause them to assess themselves as a rider and without the ability to explain what they did well; this simple question can erode a rider’s confidence as they try to examine and then to convey “how they rode”.

To compound the problem, when a rider is unhappy or confused about how they performed, what started out as a friendly “how was your day?” type conversation can turn into a “why am I (or you) paying for this?” argument, during which your student must defend their largely inexplicable and expensive sport to their family or friends. “ read more…

So even if you don’t subscribe to LaRaedo and find out how easy it is to stay connected with your customers, be sure to take the time TODAY and let you customers know how much you appreciate them and how well they are progressing.

Remember that keeping your current customers happy is one of the most effective ways of obtaining new customers. What ways do you use to keep everyone informed of their riding skills and how well you cared for their horse today?

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Not too long ago I offered a contest for all horse boarders to celebrate why their boarding farm was the best. I vowed to write another contest post for all the farm owners to talk up their great horse boarders.

This contest will run for one week, starting April 6 and running through midnight of April 13 (EST). The winner will be selected from those farm owners leaving the most unique and genuine comments about their horse boarders.

The winning farm owner will receive an $25 gift certificate to Amazon.com.

It requires a great dedication and responsibility to own a horse and participate in the sport of horsemanship. I have seen from my experience as a horse boarder that there are various types of horse owners.

I’d like you to share with us the wonderful experiences that you have enjoyed with your boarders. Recall those memories that made you feel that running a horse farm and caring for other people’s horses is all worthwhile.

What makes running a horse business worth it to you? Who do you recall that just jumps out at you and makes you say to yourself “Yes, this was the reason I went into this business”.

So leave your comments below. I look forward to reading and Good Luck on the contest.

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When someone purchases a horse, the bond that develops comes from deep within the heart. It is a decision based on the knowledge that this new relationship will be costly – a true investment in time and especially money.

The purchase of a horse is probably the smallest amount of money that will be spent. The biggest chunk of change will come from the daily maintenance and care. Even those that live in a farm environment and have a barn for their horse still need to attend daily diligence to keep their horse healthy.

Many horse owners choose a horse boarding facility to care for their horse. The boarding experience generally includes the various responsibilities that come with the care and feeding. Most horse owners know about the overall health costs from veterinary check ups, farrier and routine dental visits. In addition, there are the extra feed supplements, tack, lessons and training. And last but not least, the cost of participation in horse shows such as trailering, show fees and show attire.

Wouldn’t it be ideal if every horse boarder had one place they could go to find the most updated information about their horse’s daily activities? For instance, the farm owner and staff could keep one another informed on all the various horse related tasks and events. The horse boarder would be able to see the related tasks that had occurred on the farm for their horse. And their horse information would always be readily available for viewing.

What if you could see at a glance if the farrier came out and trimmed your horse’s hoofs or if the dentist had a successful visit, how everything went and were there any issues? Imagine being able to send your farm owner a quick message to let them know that you wanted fly spray applied today. Or what if you wanted to know how lessons were going for your child and where improvements could be achieved.

Imagine if you sent your horse off to a training facility that was several hours from your home? Wouldn’t you just love to be able to find out how your horse was progressing on a regular basis? What if you could view short videos that provided glimpses of improvements? Very often, it takes several months for training to be completed. How thrilled would you be to follow the progress?

Wouldn’t it be sweet to have this on-line, open communication between all the farm staff that connects regularly with your horse? There are occasions when you just can’t get to the barn due to work, inclement weather or personal appointments. The ability to have ready access to the daily activities and maintenance of your horse can decrease the stress of not being able to know what’s going on.

There are times when you might be at the barn, but the farm owner is not available. The owner may be giving lessons or assisting in other farm related necessities. Imagine being able to know that all updates are at your fingertips so that it doesn’t matter if you get a chance to talk in person. No more phone tag or misunderstandings.

What if you could receive an email notification that your monthly invoice was available for your viewing? And in that invoice you would receive a breakdown of every charge billed to you for the prior months care of your horse. All lessons, training, vet, monthly board and show fees would be listed as completed on the dates the service was rendered. And the invoice would be viewable by you, including the date when it was submitted to you and the date you paid it.

How cool would that be to know, truly know that your most beloved investment, your precious friend was cared for and worth every penny you spent each month to feel that peace of mind.

How would it feel if you were to board your horse on a farm that kept you informed on a regular basis how your horse was doing using the latest in web-based computer technology?

For me, it would be a no-brainer – where do I go to sign up! Can you just imagine how good that would feel?

At LaRaedo, we can provide you with exactly that – Click here for more details…

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