Staging and Photography - Not Just For Selling Real Estate!

In addition to making photographs for real estate, I also board an extra horse here on the property.  Recently, the current horse we look after was sold and will be moving at the end of the month.  This left me with the task of finding a new horse/owner combination to fill the empty stall.

Great!  My first thought was 'I have work to do.' Renting out a horse stall is not that much different from selling real estate. It boils down to the fact that I have a product that needs to be properly presented to a particular audience. So, taking my own advice, here's what I plan to do this weekend. Volunteers welcome to come and pitch in!  :)

I will put on my old scrubby clothes and head for the barn with a 'To Do' list.  Lucky me, it's been raining and freezing lately which means some extra effort on my part.  My task list looks like this:

Exterior
1. How does it look as I approach? - what needs to be fixed, removed or returned to its proper place?
2. Are the roads and walks cleared of snow?  Sand any icy patches.
3. Is the manure pile easily accessible?  This is a daily task that should be made as easy as possible.
4. Are the gates and fencing secure and in good repair?
5. Clean the paddock and sand any icy patches.
6. Fill the water barrel - again!  (that's a never ending task with horses).

Inside 

1. First, the daily chores of mucking the stalls and refilling with clean sawdust.
2. De-Clutter - take a good look around to see what is garbage, doesn't belong in the barn, or needs to be put away in its proper place.
3. Clean everything – I'll break this down by area (stalls, aisle, tack room, bedding storage, front deck)  I'll start with the dirtiest job and work my way through to sweeping the front deck, making sure to clean the corners, get rid of cobwebs and sweep up any hay seed on the floors.
4. Clean water buckets and feed pans so they look like new - they need it anyway!
5. Hang up blankets and rain sheets to dry so they are ready for the next use.
6. Fold and store saddle pads.
7. Clean and hang halters, bridles and girths.
8. Now that there will be more space available and it will be clean, I can make the space more inviting for potential boarders.  Efficient and safe are the big factors for horse owners, so, with that in mind I have to set to work on clearing the aisle way, securing the feed bins, checking latches, and hanging stray tools in their rightful place on the wall. 
9. Replace burned out light bulbs.

Photos  

Now that it will be extra clean and presentable, I have to take a few pics for the ad. Also useful for the next time I have to advertise. Here's what I plan on doing.

1. Exterior - from a pleasing angle as I approach the barn
2. Tack Room - it's small but has a south facing window that makes it light and bright, so we'll see how that works before posting the pic.
3. Stalls - so folks can see that an equine can lay down in there.
4. Aisle - to show how much space there is to work around a large animal.

5. Depending on how it looks on photo day, I may also take a shot of the paddock and riding ring covered in snow.