Interesting discussion. I think it is easy to see that there are A LOT of variables in how much it costs to keep a horse…stalled or not. I might not agree with the OP on keeping round bales in front of the horses year round to preserve the grass (umm…the grass should be there to be eaten and management should be done to keep it from being eaten away to oblivion), but I do still think what it costs and what you get will vary WILDLY. I also think that what you expect out of your pasture board can vary wildly. I have two horses. If they were both to be pasture boarded, what one needs/wants would be a big difference to the other, and, likely, cost substantially more.
My retired guy is pasture “boarded” (he actually lives in my backyard, but in the most technical sense, I board him there, and it is kinda sorta self care, I don’t also rent the pasture). His needs are simple- a well maintained pasture (which isn’t free to maintain!), a roomy shelter, and fresh clean water. His hands on needs are very, very simple (for the most part, he prefers his human interactions to belly scratches and cookies). Make sure he has all his limbs, there are no serious injuries, and, this time of year, fly spray him and take his mask on and off. I do provide a small amount of grain so he can have something to wash down his meds with, but, otherwise, he is DEAD easy. He may require 15 minutes of work a day. He and his companion together might equal a whopping 30-45 minutes (not counting the doting his companion’s owner does on the companion. Actual needs being is a lot less than what she spends). And the 45 minutes are the days their trough needs a scrub and refill. Even with the high cost of property around here, his board should be no where near as expensive as my other horse’s stall board (which is on the high side for the area), and for the average stall board rate in the area, in general. Even when you factor in taxes, etc, it just doesn’t come out near the same.
My other horse, where he to be pasture boarded, would need a lot more for he and I both to be happy. He would need to be grained at least twice a day, blankets changed accordingly in the winter, and a more careful going over each day. I would need amenities like a tack room, a wash rack with hot water, a ring with lights (if not an indoor). Basically, I would want EXACTLY what I get for stall board, just minus the stall. If you did the math, I am sure the figures would come out not that much less than what I pay for his stall board (really, the only thing that wouldn’t happen would be the stall mucking, but that time would probably go right back into pasture maintenance, to compensate for the wear and tear on the pasture). There would still be the daily hands on going over. There might not be the turning in/out portion, but there would still be the time consuming task of taking the feed out twice a day (and having had pasture board horses in the past, sometimes that task in more time consuming than turning in/out!). The amenities that I would want would still need to be maintained. And you’d still have the high price of land to deal with. The only thing that might be SLIGHTLY less would be the cost of hay, only because there wouldn’t be a need for it as much in the growing season (and, for my horse, that would be a marginal savings, as he just doesn’t eat that much hay in his stall since he stuffs himself silly all night on grass!).
Soooo, my point is…it depends. On a lot of things. I, personally, wouldn’t pay for pasture board if my horse wasn’t actually getting the majority of his feed through the actual pasture during the growing months. Neither of my horses are fatties that need dry lots and I think that if they can consume fresh grass, it is far better for them, so I wouldn’t keep either anywhere there wasn’t decent to good pasture. That can come at a price. I’d be ok with that.
