With many of today’s horse owners looking for different and interesting places to take their horse to ride, there are good opportunities for Bed and Breakfast owners with access to the right facilities to expand their businesses.

If you run a rural bed and breakfast with good riding country nearby and have your own stables and paddocks on-site (or a livery yard or riding centre very close by) then offering this additional service could generate valuable group B&B business for you.

Guests are typically looking to stay close to their horses and in small groups so they can ride with their friends.

Key equestrian B&B features

Key features these customers would be looking for are:

• Good off-road riding in beautiful countryside and/or good equestrian training facilities. The availability of beach riding is also a big plus because it’s an experience that not all horse owners can normally enjoy.
• Well fenced, clean grazing
• Clean and safe stabling and/or shelters in good working condition with water available. You don’t necessarily need that many, but it is useful if the capacity matches your own B&B accommodation for your two legged guests!
• Somewhere secure to park their horseboxes or trailer and store their equipment.
• The facility for guests to purchase straw or shavings for horse bedding for stabled horse
• Local advice/guidance on the best riding routes and access

If you don’t have your own facilities on-site, it would be worth talking to your local riding centre or livery yard to see if they would have spare capacity.  It is important to remember though, that for it to be an attractive proposition to this market, the horse accommodation should ideally be within walking distance, or a short car journey away.

If you think you could meet the above criteria, it could be worth exploring your hospitality finance options to help you invest in equestrian facilities.

How to market your equestrian B&B

The British Horse Society, which is dedicated to improving the lives of horses and helping horse riders to get the most from their relationship run a ‘Horses Welcome scheme’ which is the UK’s first quality-assured scheme for equine bed and breakfast accommodation. Started in the south of Scotland in 2006, it has since grown to include members all over the UK and Ireland. Becoming a member of the scheme demonstrates a commitment to providing a genuine ‘home away from home’ for horses.

Various other B&B listings will also offer stabling as a filter for online searches, enabling horse owners to identify their options quickly and easily

Would your equestrian B&B offering require hospitality finance?

Whether you are looking to expand your existing bed and breakfast operation into areas like this, or are looking at starting a B&B business, the chances are you will need B&B finance and it is worth seeking advice from us here at Stewart Hindley & Partners we specialise in this sector and can provide you with a solution that suits your requirements.

If you want to see how much the loan will cost each month take a look at our online Business Mortgage calculator or call us to find out how we can help.