Agisting.

Hi.
We have a 10 acre block that we were thinking of agisting.
Does any one know anything about where to start. Conditions. Costs.
Thanks

I'd think about what you want on the property. What sort of fences do you have? Water available? Horses are harder than cattle on the land so you'll have long term effects if you ever wanted to use the land yourself.

We're agitating cattle here at the moment. We're on 18 acres and have eight beasts. They have access to a dam for water and we have two paddocks that we let them roam in. The owner is responsible for all additional feed. If we notice something is amiss with one of them, we give the owner a call. We aren't charging a fee for them - they are helping us keep the grass down and it's a family friend.

A friend of mine agists her horses on someone else's property and they provide access to their stables so she can keep her gear there, a spot for her float and she has two paddocks to choose from. The fee varies depending on which paddock she chooses as one is bigger than the other and she pays more if she is unwilling to have her horses in with others. It's her responsibility to feed her horses, I'm pretty certain the property owner provides the water.

HTH

Apart from what PRMG has mentioned, you need to consider what services you are willing to offer and this will help to determine the price. I always think of horses when I hear the term agisting - are you thinking horses or other animals? Will you hard feed if necessary? With the agisters feed (usually) or will you supply feed? Are you prepared to rug/unrug when required? Will the horses have access the shelter? A loose box? Stables? Will you maintain the water supply? Are you fences both safe and sound? Are you comfortable with people coming onto your property when you are not home - or when you are? (I'm assuming you live on the block??)

I don't know much, just see ads around town , but the other posts made me wonder about what if you want to go away. so, in thinking about the services you will offer, think about if you holiday much and how you will handle these times.

Wanting to add liability to everything that has been mentioned. I have noticed a few agistment places here will not let people ride or even do ground work with their horses. They are purely spelling paddocks.

Common problems found on agistment proprties include

Non payment
Dumped animals (owner gets behind in payment and never shows up again)
Animals damaging fencing
Animals damaging themselves and requiring urgent medical attention and the owner is unreachable.
Random people coming on and off your property at all hours
Agisters "borrowing" your hoses, shovels, buckets etc.
In the case of multiple agisters, "borrowing"other people's equipment.

Horses will likely need much more day to day maintenance from owners, therefore it is likely you will have people in your private domain regularly.
They are also much harder on pasture.

Cows are much harder on fencing and it can bite pretty hard to convince 20 of the buggers to come back home after they have bolted through a fence.

Depending on your area and facilities, you would expect to charge from $20 per horse per week for a shared paddock with no facilities (arena, wash bay, tack room) and the owner does full feeds and rugs, all they way to $250 for stables, indoor arena, you feed, rug and take care of everything, the owner just turns up, saddles up and rides.

No matter what you charge, it will be expected that you supply water for the stock to drink. Washing is a different issue if water can be tight

I would allow,for fairly good grazing, 1 horse per 2 acres.
That should ensure the place doesn't get trashed.

My two cents, ring up you local feed stores, find out what forage grows and sells the best in your area, and make hay.
Far better return, and no pesky 14 year old girls fighting with each other and hanging around your house all weekend :D