For horse owners choosing a boarding barn

Choose your barn
with confidence

A personalized Barn Evaluation Kit built from your priorities, your horse, and your region. Plus free planning tools and guides for horse owners.

Personalized to your priorities
Print-ready scorecards and checklists
Instant digital delivery

What the Barn Evaluation Kit covers

01

Weighted Scorecard

A barn-visit evaluation scorecard built from your top priorities and your horse. One page per barn visited, with a clear scoring rubric.

02

Red Flags Guide

Observable warning signs to check on every visit: turnout crowding, water access, hay quality, fencing condition, and billing clarity.

03

Manager Questions

Question sets tuned to your board type: feed program, blanketing charges, holding fees, notice periods, and emergency protocols.

04

Agreement Checklist

What to look for in a boarding agreement before you sign, organized so you know what to ask about and when to get professional advice.

05

Cost Worksheet

Budget with typical cost categories: board, farrier, routine vet, and extras. You fill in local quotes as you gather them.

06

Moving-Day Checklist

Records to transfer, a feed transition plan over several days, and a watch list for the first two weeks at the new barn.

A real excerpt from the Barn Evaluation Kit

Built from a sample horse below. Your kit is weighted to your own answers.

Sample · not your kit

Scorecard excerpt

Turnout & Pasture

  • Turnout paddocks show grass, dry footing, or clean all-weather footing, not standing mud or bare dirt worn to dust
  • Turnout duration is stated as a policy (hours per day or overnight) and matches what you were told before your visit
  • Group turnout assignments account for herd dynamics; new horses are introduced gradually, not dropped into an established group

Fencing on turnout is horse-safe, with no barbed wire, loose wire, or broken boards

+ 4 more checkpoints in this category alone

Red flag excerpt

Overcrowded turnout

More horses share a paddock than the space and grass can support. Ground is worn to dirt or mud even in dry weather, and horses have no room to get away from herd conflict.

Manager question excerpt

Can you feed a custom ration (type, amount, timing) that differs from the barn's standard, and is there an extra charge for that?

Built from a sample horse and sample priorities. Your kit is weighted to the answers you actually enter: your discipline, age band, special needs, board type, and your own top 3 priorities.

Choosing or Re-Evaluating a Barn?

The Barn Evaluation Kit is $29 one time: a weighted scorecard, red flags, and questions for the manager. An optional Barn Owner Companion membership watches the barn after you move in.

View Pricing

Frequently asked questions

What do I get for $29?

A personalized Barn Evaluation Kit: a weighted barn-visit scorecard, a red-flags list, a question set for the barn manager, a boarding agreement review checklist, a cost comparison worksheet, and a moving-day checklist, all built from your horse's discipline, age, needs, and your top 3 priorities. Delivered instantly with a permanent, printable link.

Is it really personalized, or the same PDF for everyone?

It's built from your own answers. Your scorecard adds extra checkpoints to whichever categories you rank as priorities (turnout, safety, feed, and so on), plus checkpoints for your horse's age band and any special needs you enter.

Are the free tools really free?

Yes. All 10 tools (blanketing decisions, turnout rotation, feeding cards, and more) are free, work instantly in the browser, and require no account or signup.

Do I have to buy the membership?

No. The Barn Evaluation Kit is available as a one-time $29 purchase with no ongoing membership. An optional Barn Owner Companion membership is offered at checkout for owners who want the barn watched after they move in; you can decline it and keep the one-time kit.

What if the kit is not what I needed?

Every one-time Barn Evaluation Kit purchase is covered by a 30-day money-back guarantee. Email support@barnbeacon.com within 30 days and we will refund it in full. No forms, no hoops.

Evaluate the barn before you move in

Moving barns twice costs far more in stress, deposits, and hauling than evaluating right the first time.

$29 one time • Instant delivery • No account required