Detecting for money?

boosteds13cc

New Member
Joined
Aug 30, 2012
Messages
29
Location
NWI
I came across someone who owns a horse stable. They asked how much i would charge to detect 25 acres to look for horse shoes that some horses lost (could be bad if horses stepped on the shoe the wrong way)

I was wondering if anyone would charge. Land is mostly sandy soil so any digging is easy....25 acres with just me would take more than a couple days. I want to purchase a AT MAX so then my gf could help use my old detector to cover more ground.

Any info will help tremendously.


Thanks in advance:)
 
If it were old property I’d do it for nothing,keep everything but the horseshoes..Depending on the age of the dwellings on it ,you might score a ton of coins,relics and maybe gold
 
assuming

You didn't mean 2.5 acres instead of 25 acres.

"25 acres with just me would take more than a couple days.'

You will be looking at weeks if not months to hunt properly

Woodbutcher has the right idea. Find some horse shoes and keep the goodies
 
Personally, I don't charge anybody for anything. Maybe I am dumb, but I would rather have good will and maybe word of mouth to get more locations to hunt.
 
It is true that if a shoe still has nails in it, then those nails could be sitting vertically waiting for a horse to step on it. I doubt the owners are real concerned about shoes that 10 inches deep. They want the shoes gone that are hidden in the grass or buried near the surface. Maybe they came off in the mud and now they're an inch deep.

If I'm getting paid and expected to get that job done, then I'm going to ask to scan a few example horsehoes, notch out everything else, and get to finding those big shallow targets.

I would propose doing the job for free and in exchange get to do some detecting around the property and house after I'm done looking for horseshoes for the day. I'm assuming it'll take weeks to cover that much ground.

You might consider drafting a waiver stating you can't possibly guarantee you get every last horseshoe and so you're not liable for any future injuries to the horses.

Get all of the dirt back in the holes so you don't create hazardous depressions in the field. For the same reason, if you remove a big hunk of metal from the ground, you'll need to fill the hole with extra dirt.
 
Last edited:
Yes I stated 25 acres. Not 2.5. Definitely agree with that waver. Some owners had their horse lose some shoes, ive seen some images from the vet of worse case situations. Definitely no bueno. Im pretty excited none the less. I know from my house to the stables were heavily traveled by the indians moving from Lafayette Indiana up to Michigan. Granted most of those items were NOT metal....but hopes of finding an arrowhead are high.
 
I'd definitely do it...and I wouldn't charge, I'd do as others suggested and tell them that you'd be happy to give it your best shot, but no guarantees, and that you'd want to detect the rest of the property as well.
 
Don’t sweat it. People that own horses have money to burn, lol.

Personally, I’ve located a dozen different property markers, septic tank lids, manhole covers, looked for keys, found lost jewelry etc, never charged a dime. Never been offered a dime as far as that goes.
 
I am different. I would charge in this case, a dollar a shoe sounds win-win to me. We are talking about actual labor here.
 
Horseshoes are iron... iron sticks to a magnet... what if you and the owner got half a dozen very powerful “magnet-fishing” magnets and rigged them up to a wide piece of PVC with wheels at each end? The magnets could be set a distance of say, an inch or so off the ground. Then tow the rig with a garden tractor around that 25 acres. Overlap your passes for good coverage. Would get the job done way quicker on 25 acres than a human swinging a detector who is maybe getting less than full coverage. Are these acres even mowed? Anyway, just a thought, and like someone said, you don’t need to find the stuff that’s really buried deep. Feel free to comment or embellish on this idea anyone.
 
Yeah, You MUST have a waiver. I guarantee they have a horse injure itself in anyway with something they say you should have found. You WILL be sued within an inch of your life.
 
I would agree with the “per shoe” finders fee. Having said that, I probably wouldn’t take on the job of detecting 25 acres. That’s just too big of an area, and as others have said you assume some liability if you take on the job. They will expect it to be done well and in a reasonable amount of time.
 
Just do it if you want . Don’t quit your day job though ! You listen to all the advise in these responses and you’ll want to kill yourself. Waivers ? Really? You ask for that and any landowner is going to tell you to go pound sand. Waiver ...give me a break. Have fun.
 
You say the ground is sandy but what’s the terrain? Flat and clear or wooded and hilly?

To do an acre takes a day for me. I will go over it in 3 different directions to cover it. So you’d be looking at several weeks of full time effort. Ouch.

Is there a club nearby? Enlist them to help. Keep the good areas for yourself and assign them the rest.
 
Owns a horse stable nowadays means having mucho deniro! Some people are very sweet humans and still have a mil or two or more. But many rich/well to do folks are very schrewd and may "tear you one" big time if you fail to get every shoe! It could be dream detecting but that's what can slow you way down dropping to your knees checking around the hole for goodies. I know I couldn't resist one dime signal. Could take longer than they need? I could see me checking the date on a coin when "Black Beauty" comes trotting out of its stable and slams a hoof into an old rusty horse shoe!!!
 
Back
Top Bottom