[QUOTE=blondmane;7167421]
equates to almost $350 per horse per month[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=Starhouse;7170916]If you’re paying $350/month to feed hay to THREE horses, that’s pretty normal IMO!
I usually spend about $150/mo for hay for my one horse, and that is free-choice square bales.[/QUOTE]
Per OP she is paying $350 per horse - that is a BIG feed bill!
Why ever would you think that a"pasture " horse eats less hay than a stalled horse or that a stalled horse eats less than a pastured horse?
Unless you pick or vacuum your pasture daily,it is a lot easier to deal with a pastured horse.
[QUOTE=merrygoround;7171003]
Why ever would you think that a"pasture " horse eats less hay than a stalled horse?[/QUOTE]
Because I would expect that a PASTURED horse is getting PART of its roughage from PASTURE.
My horses turn up their noses at hay whem there is an option for grass instead.
I just had to come here to say: once I saw the title, I had to go ‘Huh?’ and of course only opened the thread to find if OP ever returned, as I could only imagine the responses! However, everyone was pretty nice about pointing out the incredible ‘obvious’ on this one.
I completely disagree with those that say pasture board costs a lot less. Maybe if horses are boarded in the ideal situation where they only require hay after the grass has died off and their fields don’t have to be over seeded and sectioned to prevent overgrazing, but where I live this is not the case. Your usual pasture board around here consists of a too small overgrazed field or a nice field and a dry lot. The only places that have 20 acre fields to turn horses out on charge $400+ a month and it includes practically nothing. No feed, minimal hay in the winter, etc.
Pasture board may not require bedding/stalls, but you still have to seperate horses to feed, provide hay through the winter (most likely more than stalled horses because pasture horses are out in the wind/snow), change blankets, bring in/out of different fields, seed pastures, manage manure, repair fencing…need I go on?
Pasture horses may not have stalls but they do have run ins which aren’t cheap to build correctly. You also have to clean those run ins every few days. They also have the same barn benefits like the tack room, wash stall, and x-ties. Bedding (at least where I live) is not very expensive and I might spend 20-40 on it a month depending on the horse and how long they are out. So fine, a $50 a month reduction in board might be fair. But reducing board $100-200 a month because a horse doesn’t have a stall is insane.
My stall board and pasture board is the same price. My barn is full so I guess no one has a problem with it, especially when they see the care that goes into maintaining a pasture boarded herd correctly.
I think it really depends on what you’re counting.
If you are feeding pasture - you need a LOT more land than turnout pens + stalls. My 3 mares get turned out on about 2.5 acres of pasture starting at about 4 hours/day and now about 12 hours overnight, and my pasture is pretty much grazed down for the year – it’s not quite enough pasture to really use it as a primary form of forage for 3 full sized horses without it suffering.
So, you’re talking at least an acre of pasture per horse…that is pretty expensive in my area. Plus time/labor to pick manure, mow, drag, install fences, build run-ins, etc. Just because it doesn’t have to get done daily doesn’t mean it doesn’t require time and labor.
However, the term “pasture board” generally suggests a lower board price, whether it is legitimate or not. In this area pasture boarded horses receive less personal attention from farm owners than those on stall board (because they don’t need it).
I live in a climate that requires hay to be fed from basically June to December no matter how big the pasture or how few horses are on it. I offer pasture board, and it includes grain 2x a day, hay as needed (2-3x a day in hay feeding season), and blanket changes in the winter. It is no less labor intensive than the stall horses, but I do save on bedding. I charge slightly over half of my stall board charge, and my pasture board slots are essentially full. If I could irrigate, I’d charge more and get it, frankly, but we don’t have water like that available. We also don’t have round bales here, which would save money and labour, but we hand feed flakes from square bales multiple times per day. In hay season I probably lose a little money, and make it back up in grass season. It does balance out at the end of the year.
When I lived in the east, it was WAY cheaper to keep a horse on field board. In places without great ambient grass, it really isn’t cheaper. So I think the trick is that the answer to this question is very dependent on geographic location.
Where my horse lives pasture board is cheaper and is cheaper for the BO. One pasture doesn’t get grain except sometimes in the winter, the other pasture does get grained twice a day but they are not separated and all get the same amount, no supplements given. MUCH easier in this barn set up to dump and fill troughs versus buckets inside. So yes it does cost the BO less less fed, slightly less hay for one pasture during the spring and summer. Way less trouble, no bring in or turn out or cleaning stalls.
So yes if you are providing blanket changes, individual graining, supplements etc for pasture it isn’t that much cheaper as the only thing you are probably saving on is shavings and maybe a little in hay.
[QUOTE=SMF11;7167475]
Agree with everything people have posted above, and I board horses who are out 24/7. And it is cheaper than if I had them in every night, for all the reasons given above.[/QUOTE]
Right, but if we were charging for the advantages to the HORSE of turnout board, the constant movement, continuous feeding, natural socialization and free-choice shelter, not to mention the advantage to those kept barefoot–well, we should be getting a price that’d make Old Salem Farm look tame! 
It’s sure obvious the HORSES consider it an upgrade!
[QUOTE=PhoenixFarm;7171320]
When I lived in the east, it was WAY cheaper to keep a horse on field board. In places without great ambient grass, it really isn’t cheaper. So I think the trick is that the answer to this question is very dependent on geographic location.[/QUOTE]
Well, it is WAY cheaper to keep a horse on field board if someone else is paying the mortgage. Keeping a horse on field board is different than the cost of buying the property necessary to keep a horse on field board.
I am only arguing this because really, it would be much less expensive for me to feed hay than pasture, if you really considered what it costs to buy, maintain, and properly fence a large farm with decent pasture. Sure, there are areas of the country where land is very inexpensive, but I would say that in most cases where pasture board is offered, the overall cost of the land has been averaged across all the boarded horses - not just those on pasture board.
In my area, most boarding barns don’t have a lot of turnout - because the cost of buying and maintaining that amount of acreage isn’t very viable. It IS expensive to buy enough land for good turnout and/or pasture board. After that, it is relatively inexpensive to keep the horse on the pasture.
It should be half to board in pasture. We basically have no grass to eat in pasture here. Both pastures I’ve had my horses in are half the costs of stalls and they have to feed all year.
Shavings cost as much as hay here. So, that halves the cost right there. Also, in pasture, the hay is eaten more efficiently if it’s a big pasture (both are about 50 acres) because they horses just walk away instead of peeing and pooping in it, and there’s no waste. Also, in the big pastures there is NO work. Maybe once a month drag out the manure? Automatic water troughs (no ice here.)
Stalls are hugely costly in labor of just walking into each stall and feeding and cleaning. One trip in the pasture feeds 12 horses. It takes the same or less labor time to take care of 12 in pasture as it does one in a stall.
Here we don’t have things like coming in and out, putting blankets on, graining, etc.
[QUOTE=Cindyg;7167680]
When I was a kid, pasture board was $15 a month. Full care board was $75 a month. Full training was $175 a month. Horse shows cost $4-$6 a class to enter. We paid $400 for our horse trailer.
Yes, I’m as old as Moses.
But what makes this on topic is the spread between the $15 a month pasture board and the $75 a month stall. For that $15 a month, I got nothing but a fenced in pasture with a source of water.[/QUOTE]
I was about to say methuselah based on those prices. I’m sorry, I couldn’t help it. $15 these days hardly gets you anything these days, barely even a bottle of fly spray
LOL, I’m about the same age as Cindyg.
I can remember when full board first went over $100 per month and thinking that was insane. Or when hay went over $1 per bale.
IIRC a trim was $15, front shoes $25 and full shoes $40. That could be when board went over $100 though…
Can I get a key to a time machine please???
[QUOTE=MistyBlue;7171823]
LOL, I’m about the same age as Cindyg.
I can remember when full board first went over $100 per month and thinking that was insane. Or when hay went over $1 per bale.
IIRC a trim was $15, front shoes $25 and full shoes $40. That could be when board went over $100 though…[/QUOTE]
:lol:
You will need more than a time machine, unless you could spend today’s money then. Nobody had enough then, either. 40 bucks for shoes for the horse ??? You must be trippin’!
I remember when gas was under $1/gallon … but we still didn’t have any money for gas! :winkgrin: When it abruptly spiked to 65 cents/gallon, I panicked that I just couldn’t pay that much for gas. :eek:
In 1963 the minimum wage was $1.25, now it is $7.25. My board went up a similar ratio.
Methuselah the second
[QUOTE=S1969;7171656]
Well, it is WAY cheaper to keep a horse on field board if someone else is paying the mortgage. Keeping a horse on field board is different than the cost of buying the property necessary to keep a horse on field board.
I am only arguing this because really, it would be much less expensive for me to feed hay than pasture, if you really considered what it costs to buy, maintain, and properly fence a large farm with decent pasture. Sure, there are areas of the country where land is very inexpensive, but I would say that in most cases where pasture board is offered, the overall cost of the land has been averaged across all the boarded horses - not just those on pasture board.
In my area, most boarding barns don’t have a lot of turnout - because the cost of buying and maintaining that amount of acreage isn’t very viable. It IS expensive to buy enough land for good turnout and/or pasture board. After that, it is relatively inexpensive to keep the horse on the pasture.[/QUOTE]
I am a bit puzzled by those who think pasture board should be half of stall board. I totally agree with the above quoted post. Not only is land that is pasture expensive to buy, it is expensive to keep in pasture, if it is good enough to be used to crop farm. It also costs money to keep those pastures up to snuff, mowing, seeding, fencing, etc.
I do both pasture and stall boarding, because some horses just don’t want to be in. The pasture horses get fed twice a day, have a huge open barn to hang out in if it is too hot, too cold, or they just feel like standing inside eating hay, instead of grazing. That huge area has to be picked several times daily, and it takes quite a while to do so, as they spread poop everywhere! I do not use bedding up there, which is my only savings. I still check them over twice a day while they are eating grain, even if it is just a handful to get them in there. They also get groomed, blanketed, or separated if I feel one is ‘off’. While you can just throw horses out into a big pasture and hope for the best, it is not what I do…I charge $50 a month less then for stall board and no way in H2ll would I do it for half.
It is NOT just bedding, it is time, land cost, land maintenance, taxes on those big pastures, and my pet peeve, having to walk acres to find that shoe/flymask/halter/blanket, etc.
Umm, because the pastured horse is eating pasture?
[QUOTE=SAcres;7171294]
I completely disagree with those that say pasture board costs a lot less. Maybe if horses are boarded in the ideal situation where they only require hay after the grass has died off and their fields don’t have to be over seeded and sectioned to prevent overgrazing, but where I live this is not the case. Your usual pasture board around here consists of a too small overgrazed field or a nice field and a dry lot. The only places that have 20 acre fields to turn horses out on charge $400+ a month and it includes practically nothing. No feed, minimal hay in the winter, etc.
Pasture board may not require bedding/stalls, but you still have to seperate horses to feed, provide hay through the winter (most likely more than stalled horses because pasture horses are out in the wind/snow), change blankets, bring in/out of different fields, seed pastures, manage manure, repair fencing…need I go on?
Pasture horses may not have stalls but they do have run ins which aren’t cheap to build correctly. You also have to clean those run ins every few days. They also have the same barn benefits like the tack room, wash stall, and x-ties. Bedding (at least where I live) is not very expensive and I might spend 20-40 on it a month depending on the horse and how long they are out. So fine, a $50 a month reduction in board might be fair. But reducing board $100-200 a month because a horse doesn’t have a stall is insane.
My stall board and pasture board is the same price. My barn is full so I guess no one has a problem with it, especially when they see the care that goes into maintaining a pasture boarded herd correctly.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=lawndart;7171939]I am a bit puzzled by those who think pasture board should be half of stall board. I totally agree with the above quoted post. Not only is land that is pasture expensive to buy, it is expensive to keep in pasture, if it is good enough to be used to crop farm. It also costs money to keep those pastures up to snuff, mowing, seeding, fencing, etc.
I do both pasture and stall boarding, because some horses just don’t want to be in. The pasture horses get fed twice a day, have a huge open barn to hang out in if it is too hot, too cold, or they just feel like standing inside eating hay, instead of grazing. That huge area has to be picked several times daily, and it takes quite a while to do so, as they spread poop everywhere! I do not use bedding up there, which is my only savings. I still check them over twice a day while they are eating grain, even if it is just a handful to get them in there. They also get groomed, blanketed, or separated if I feel one is ‘off’. While you can just throw horses out into a big pasture and hope for the best, it is not what I do…I charge $50 a month less then for stall board and no way in H2ll would I do it for half.
It is NOT just bedding, it is time, land cost, land maintenance, taxes on those big pastures, and my pet peeve, having to walk acres to find that shoe/flymask/halter/blanket, etc.[/QUOTE]
I’ve never seen a pasture board that offers any of these things, so I think there are a lot of assumptions being made. Just like stall board can vary greatly in what’s included, so can pasture board.
[QUOTE=SAcres;7171294]
I completely disagree with those that say pasture board costs a lot less. Maybe if horses are boarded in the ideal situation where they only require hay after the grass has died off and their fields don’t have to be over seeded and sectioned to prevent overgrazing, but where I live this is not the case. Your usual pasture board around here consists of a too small overgrazed field or a nice field and a dry lot. The only places that have 20 acre fields to turn horses out on charge $400+ a month and it includes practically nothing. No feed, minimal hay in the winter, etc.
Pasture board may not require bedding/stalls, but you still have to seperate horses to feed, provide hay through the winter (most likely more than stalled horses because pasture horses are out in the wind/snow), change blankets, bring in/out of different fields, seed pastures, manage manure, repair fencing…need I go on?
Pasture horses may not have stalls but they do have run ins which aren’t cheap to build correctly. You also have to clean those run ins every few days. They also have the same barn benefits like the tack room, wash stall, and x-ties. Bedding (at least where I live) is not very expensive and I might spend 20-40 on it a month depending on the horse and how long they are out. So fine, a $50 a month reduction in board might be fair. But reducing board $100-200 a month because a horse doesn’t have a stall is insane.
My stall board and pasture board is the same price. My barn is full so I guess no one has a problem with it, especially when they see the care that goes into maintaining a pasture boarded herd correctly.[/QUOTE]
I agree with much of this post. I really think that the economics of stall board vs. pasture board depend quite a bit on location and the specifics of care. Where land is cheap and weather conditions mild enough that horses don’t need much hay, and the horses are not being blanketed and they all eat about the same amount of grain, yeah, pasture board could potentially be done fairly cheaply.
For some facilities, a significant portion of the business capital is tied up in land, fences, sheds, arenas, and equipment to maintain the facility–and these are expenses related to pasture boarded horses as well as to stall boarded ones. Yes, a large barn is also expensive, but pasture boarders I’m sure would expect to use some of the amenities of the barn such as the tackroom and the wash stalls. Also, IME many pasture boarded horses also need some level of individualized care such as needing to be separated to be fed, needing supplements, blanketing, etc. At this point, IMO, it’s much easier to be bringing the horses and cleaning the stalls. I have also found that two pasture boarded horses are much harder on a field and on fences than four horses that only go out during the day, and pasture maintenance isn’t cheap–seeding, fertilizing, fence repairs, etc.
I also think that pasture boarders are also typically looking to be more economical about spending money on their horse/s, and since boarding is a break-even part of the business, it’s financially wiser to focus on clients who are more likely to use other services.
I’m not knocking pasture board, just trying to provide some perspective on the economics of it.
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