Six suggestions that will entice customers to choose your barn as home for their horses.
By Kaycie Timm
When it comes to selecting a training facility, your potential customers face a multitude of options. First impressions can mean the difference between gaining a new customer and developing a negative reputation. So how can you create an enticing atmosphere that’ll keep current clients happy and attract new customers? Present a pleasing facility by making your barn attractive, safe and functional, and avoid common blunders by adhering to these simple standards.
We spoke with non pros, owners, and pros—Leslie Weibel, Lyndsey Jordan, Rick Clark, Patrick Flaherty, and Kole Price—to see what really matters when attracting customers to your barn and keeping them for the long haul. Here are the six top tips.
Part 1: Make Cleanliness a Priority
Part 6: Create Separate Spaces
Light Up Their World
Why it matters: Proper lighting is paramount for security, and it also plays a key role in keeping horses’ hair coats show-ready in all seasons. A poorly lit barn dampens morale and poses a serious safety hazard. Depending on the location and time of year, overhead lights are often necessary for around 16 hours per day. Using high-quality lights at regulated times keeps horses on a consistent schedule, improves performance, and helps maintain overall health. For areas with pleasant temperatures, large windows provide another alternative to increase natural light and airflow in barns and arena.
Non pro observations: At her current trainer’s facility, Duke appreciates the use of extra lights above each stall to improve lighting and keep horses’ hair coats tight.
“The barn is bright all the time,” Duke explains. “It gives a more positive feel, and everything just looks better.”
Although basic fluorescent lights are vital in most situations, Jordan prefers abundant natural light to brighten the barn in addition to overhead lights to keep her horses’ hair coat to a minimum.
Professional perspective: Every stall in Price’s barn has a window. Not only does this add light to his barn, it also provides air circulations and allows the horses to see outside.
“I think natural light is very important to the overall health and happiness of the horse,” Price says. “To be able to open up the barn and get fresh air in there is a big thing.”
In sunny Arizona, Flaherty’s open stall design allows plentiful airflow and light for his horses. He also implements additional lighting to ensure every portion of the facility receives light around the clock.
Read the rest of this article at the links above.
