And I don’t mean Manure - although there is some horseshit involved 🤣 I’m pretty confident saying that nobody gets involved in equine assisted work for the money! 🤣 ‘What money?’ I hear you ask. Because we’re involved in a caring profession - and we’re doing something we absolutely love (and would happily do free) it often feels a bit icky to put a price on our work. And yet, horses are high maintenance so - unless we have a way of subsidising their care - we need to earn money. Not goodwill. Not amazing testimonials. Not discounted services or volunteer hours. Real, bankable currency 😊 The goodwill, testimonials, discounts and volunteer hours are certainly invaluable - but they won’t pay for the feed, bedding, supplants, wormers, vet, farrier, chiropractor, dentist or anything else our equine team needs. 😞 They won’t pay for the insurance and the ongoing repairs and maintenance of your facility and equipment 😞 And, last but not least, they won’t pay you 😳 Those of us running our own equine assisted services business know only too well who’s at the bottom of the pile when it comes to payment day!! We’re the people who make it all happen. If we walk away it all collapses. And yet we constantly seriously undervalue ourselves 😳 I’m curious about why this happens. Is it because we enjoy and see the huge benefit in our work so much that we don’t feel right charging for it? Is it because we don’t believe that people will (or can) pay if we charge what our services are realistically worth? Or is it something deeper …. 🤫 a fear of becoming too mercenary? 🤫 aversion to be seen to make a profit from other people challenges? 🤫 a lack of confidence in our own ability? What’s your take? Do you find it easy to say ‘this is what we offer and this is what it costs’ in a way that covers ALL your overheads? Or do you almost apologise and over explain when potential clients ask about the cost of your services? Do you know how much you need to be earning to cover EVERYTHING- including the days you can’t or don’t work ( horses still need care!)