Pasture board what do you expect? [Archive]

AlteredOut

Oct. 19, 2009, 05:51 PM

Say you have your horse on pasture board, full care. Meaning 24/7 hay (round bales), grain twice a day etc. Pastures are small enough to easily view each horse esp when they come over to be fed, and their are a few (1 to 3) horses per paddock.

Do you expect that they do a "once over" visual check to make sure that your horse isn't shivering, lame, doesn't have huge gashes, glance for shoes etc? I'm not talking about going in with the horse even, just glancing over for noticeable problems... like not limping when walking over to get grain, actually eating grain etc.

If the BO notices such a problem do you expect them to call you? Or is it expected that when on pasture care, the horse owners should be coming out each day to observe the horses?

I'm asking for a friend, as I've worked at barns plenty and will always check over pasture horses, but I don't know if it's just not the norm nowadays to check?

bort84

Oct. 19, 2009, 05:56 PM

I expect everything you said. My guy lives out 24/7, but it's in a pasture within sight. The BO always takes a look at him and his pasture mates (they're her older schoolies, so he's in good company). She blankets him and unblankets him when necessary, and will bring them all in if the weather gets really nasty (extreme thunderstorms or freezing rain type stuff). I guess she doesn't really check for shoes, but he just has kegs on his front and it's not really a big deal to me if he pulls one since the farrier's out once a week. She'll definitely give me a call if anything is amiss, or even a quick email if I'm out of town for a stretch to let me know he's alive and kicking = )

I'm sure it's not the norm, but I think a lot of people still do this. Your friend should just be upfront with the BO to see if it happens or not, and find a place that suits her needs.

belleellis

Oct. 19, 2009, 06:06 PM

Same as Bort84. Ours check them 2x a day at each feeding. Probably not so much for shoes, unless one is limping. But they do look them over and will call if anything is wrong. Another place I pasture boarded at was the same way. Ours come in when it is super cold/wet and they do blanket. However I am lucky and we are more at a private family boarding facility. They have us spoiled. They also set up shoeing and wormings.

FalseImpression

Oct. 19, 2009, 06:07 PM

My mare is on pasture board (even though I pay for a stall !!) all summer and only comes in when I insist that it is too hot or the flies are really bad. But I know my BO checks all the horses several times a day.

She notices things and calls/emails/texts if anything is amiss. If the horse needs a quick dab of something, she will do it. Most owners have a 1/2 hour drive and she feels she can help out rather than have them drive out. There are 3 horses per field and they have to come up for water and usually just stand there when she is filling the troughs.

Cloverbarley

Oct. 19, 2009, 06:53 PM

I'm a BO. All the horses here are on full care board. That means checking the horses loads of times a day and often through the night, cleaning up any wounds or dings, grooming the horses, assisting vet and farrier, feeding, worming, blanket changes, fly spray application, the list goes on. My board price includes 6-weekly farrier trims, worming, feed and ad-lib hay so the owner doesn't have to pay a different price each month. Works for us.

Fundementally I look after these horses as if they were my own. I have over 50 horses here all living outside 24/7 in large pasture fields (most fields are about 10 acres) and I usually have around 6 horses per field. None of the horses here are shod but I will give a quick tidy-up if any of them have a raggy hoof inbetween farrier visits. Owners leave their blankets here so it is at my discretion as to when to blanket and what blankets to use.

Many of my boarders live far away, some can't come to see their horses for months at a time, some come every day so I treat the long distance horses a little differently than I do with the ones whose owners come daily. I obviously don't step on anyones feet but the vast majority of my boarders have been here for years so we all have an understanding of who does what. I keep in close contact with the long distance boarders via email if I need to pass on any information. For any horse who injures itself badly (rare thank goodness) or for any who are sick (again very rare) I telephone the owner immediately I see something is wrong. Because I am here all the time, these things are picked up on pretty much immediately. In absolute emergencies I will call the vet first and the owner straight after. None of my boarders would want me to do it any other way.

I do know a fair amount of boarding stables around where I live though that the BOs are simply not there at all through the days; they go out to work elsewhere so can't possibly know what goes on all day with the horses. I personally would not feel comfortable running my farm as a boarding stables if I was not there all day and every day like I am; with so many horses living out I think someone needs to be around all the time.

clearskies

Oct. 19, 2009, 07:01 PM

wow cloverbarley, I wanna bring my horses to you! My experience with pasture board is a supplemental income for BO's and they RARELY look over the horse.

sublimequine

Oct. 19, 2009, 07:08 PM

Yes, I expect everything the OP mentioned. Except I do not expect grain twice a day.. my mare is on zero grain now and is pasture boarded. I much prefer no grain, actually. :)

Mallard

Oct. 19, 2009, 07:23 PM

I am a BO who has 4 horses here on pasture board. I look after them fully.
I also board one of mine out at a local dressage facilty so we can use the indoor in the winter. He's on pasture board there and is treated the same as the ones who pay full board.
I would expect nothing less.

Rhyadawn

Oct. 19, 2009, 07:41 PM

I've been shopping around for board lately and I would expect everything the OP posted.

The barn I was at today has large turnouts with 3 to 10 horses per pasture. They are looked at at least 2 times a day (at graining time), have hay 24/7, and access to water. The stalls are large if I wanted indoor board.

I wasn't too terribly impressed with a couple of their feilds (scrub in it), and I don't like the grain that they feed but I could bring in my own (no cost cut). There are shelters in all the pastures but they don't bring the horses in in inclimate weather.

Overall, I was moderatly pleased.

SMF11

Oct. 19, 2009, 09:24 PM

Every barn is different, and it depends what you are paying for . . .

However I board several horses on pasture board and I do the things you are looking for. However, I would not call an owner for something as minor as shivering, or a small cut -- I would fix the situation myself by putting on a blanket, or putting some antiseptic cream on. Something like losing a shoe, or a larger injury I would call the owner. Some of my owners cannot come out that frequently.

subk

Oct. 19, 2009, 09:40 PM

it depends what you are paying for . . .
Exactly.

I know several barns that do not do pasture board because the man hours and effort it takes to give the kind of care the OP describes is pretty much equal to the load of having a full boarder. So if you want all that and you are paying close to a full board rate then yeah, a little more notice from the BO. But I don't know any places that offer pasture with that quality care at a discounted "pasture board" rate.

LearnToFly

Oct. 19, 2009, 09:44 PM

Depends on what's on the board agreement

my current BO and pasture board situation is wonderful. Everything is spelled out clearly in our contract and he gets fed once a day, a general once over, and hay/pasture management.

2foals

Oct. 19, 2009, 10:09 PM

I find all the replies surprising. I have boarded horses at other locations quite a bit in the past...and the only time a BO called me to let me know that something was amiss there was arterial bleeding involved! I was always the one to pick up on the cuts/scrapes, lameness, and lost shoes. This was for full care stall board, and in a couple of situations at quite fancy, high end places. This is why I switched back to being a BO. Several family members in another area of the country do full care pasture board at a decent place, and they also do not expect or get phone calls for cuts/scrapes/minor lameness/lost shoes, although I'm sure they would expect a phone call for something more serious.

I currently am a BO, and my policy is for horses to get a quick once over twice a day with their feed, and we call for lameness, a more serious cut or scrape, lost shoes (I might call the farrier first and then email about that), or a horse not cleaning up their feed (or if they are obviously ill). Shivering horses are brought in whether they are pasture or stall boarded. The horses also get a quick night check. The horses are pretty visible during the day as well, but I don't go out and do close-up individual checks during the middle of the day. But, I have a number of absentee boarders, and I also make most of the vet and farrier arrangements. I also probably charge more for full care pasture board than most, and I feel that's fair since we do spend a fair bit of time dealing with these "minor" issues.

I'm pleased to hear everyone's responses, but still...if I ever had to pasture board a horse in the future, I would expect to be out there just about every day to check on things.

lolalola

Oct. 19, 2009, 11:01 PM

My horses are on pasture board, and the barn manager will notice anything really wrong with them at their twice a day feeding. He wouldn't call about lost shoes, or minor scrapes, just serious things. I've been there for years and like the place very much, but it's not boarding for the absentee horse owner.

AlteredOut

Oct. 19, 2009, 11:40 PM

Exactly.

I know several barns that do not do pasture board because the man hours and effort it takes to give the kind of care the OP describes is pretty much equal to the load of having a full boarder. So if you want all that and you are paying close to a full board rate then yeah, a little more notice from the BO.

I'm not sure how it's more man hours, or extra care. Are you talking about the phone call to owners, or just general observation? I can honestly say, I've worked at quite a few farms, (from show barn, race training barn, back yard stables and my own), and while it wasn't the rule at every barn, I did do a once over no matter where the horse was kept. It's as simple as horse is walking over for grain, so check for: not obviously limping, glanced for gushing blood, horse has started eating grain, look down to check for shoes if it's visible from where I am, then move on. All of that is pretty obvious. And it takes maybe 20 seconds and a slight knowledge of horses?

If a phone call must be made and it's an emergency, I'd be doing it right then. If it's not, make a note, finish up, then make a phone call when there is time.

I guess I'm just missing the more man hours? It's never taken me a long time to feed pastures. Dragging/picking pastures can be consuming, as well as fencing maintenance but I'm just referring to a quick once over.

Cloverbarley

Oct. 20, 2009, 08:14 AM

I guess I'm just missing the more man hours? It's never taken me a long time to feed pastures.
Me neither :confused:. Granted, all my fields totally surround my house and my barns are strategically placed so as to run an effective routine. To feed the 50-60 horses here and do a quick check of them all takes me about 20 minutes. I do spend a few hours throughout the day with the horses daily, grooming them or just spending time with them but that isn't really necessary, it's just something I choose to do. If I have to hay all the fields that adds about another 20 minutes.

If all of these horses were on full board it would take me all day to feed, turn them out and muck out - then the moment I was finished I would think it would be time to bring them all in again. It would also cost the owners much more than what I charge for pasture board. I offer the service I offer as standard and for the same regular going price that every other barn in my area charges, however unlike the others, I do not charge extra for anything other than training/exercising.

Thank you Clearskies :). There are absolutely loads of boarding stables in my area and most BOs are like the ones you are familiar with too, whereby they supplement their income rather than make an income from their properties.

onthebit

Oct. 20, 2009, 08:39 AM

I have about 40 horses on pasture board and no way could I feed all of them in 20 minutes, and I have a very efficient set-up. It takes about 2 hours per feeding. However I do feed with feedbags and each horse has a custom diet with supplements, so just preparing feed takes me more than 20 minutes. Then I stand with each group of horses while they are eating and that is when I do any light medicating or tending to things, check them over, etc.

I do all the things the OP describes except I don't call about most things, I just address them. If something major seems amiss (thankfully rare) I call the owner after I've called the vet. However most of the owners live far away, some thousands of miles away. So I knew on the front end with my boarding set-up (retirees) that I was 'mom' and everything was on me.

Pasture board does take more time. You have to get the feed to the pastures. I have to get the blankets to the pastures. The horses aren't already in for the day when the farrier is coming, etc. When a horse is already in a stall it is certainly easier and more convenient to do certain things.

I think you get what you pay for, at least around me. If you want full care pasture board like my set-up the rate isn't that much cheaper than stall care. Done correctly pasture board isn't cheap boarding. In addition to certain things taking more time we spend a lot of time and money on pasture and fence maintenance. In my area you also have the option of $150/month pasture board where hay is included, maybe a small amount of feed given in the buckets in the field approach, and the rest is on you. For $150/month I wouldn't be expecting much though, that just isn't much money for caring for a horse.

Jsalem

Oct. 20, 2009, 08:53 AM

I agree with the last poster. It depends entirely upon what is being charged. "Pasture Board" can be everything from "kick the horses out in a huge herd with barbed wire, a creek and mother nature's finest" to "board fencing, run-in sheds, grain and supervision." You get what you pay for. I would expect your friend to be paying for competent, experienced, daily help ($100 per month on top of the cost of field board, grain, hay?). So perhaps if the "full care pasture board" was $300 or so a month, daily supervision might be expected.

Cloverbarley

Oct. 20, 2009, 09:14 AM

Hmm not so sure you always get what you pay for. As I say, I charge the same as everywhere else around, however I am on-site 24 hours a day. My property is fenced with vinyl rails and post and board, all in tip top condition. I have barns located centrally to all the pasture fields, which as I say, surround my house. This allows me to keep feed/blankets/grooming supplies/etc in each barn (rather than have to cart them from one main barn all around the farm) which are adjacent to the pasture fields they serve. All fields have large custom built shelters. We have a large organic hay production farm so I always have pick of the crop hay for the horses who live here. When I feel I need more pasture fields all I have to do is steal a hay field, have it fenced, build a barn, voila.

A fair amount of the other barns in my area have *suspect fencing*, to put it kindly. Many owners work elsewhere all day and a lot of them are really not experienced horse people, they just do it for a bit of extra money. They often feed low quality feedstuffs and, well, what can I say about some of the hay fed at these places :no:. Suffice to say that most of these places only have a handful of boarders at the most. I think I've been to every barn in the area when collecting horses whose owners have decided to move them to my place, so I am pretty familiar with what goes on elsewhere. Some places are nice, some aren't, but we all charge around the same price. The nice places have far more custom than the not so nice places obviously.

My property was a blank canvas when I bought it. I had the farm built up and tailored to my exact needs as having done boarding for so long I knew exactly what I needed and where it needed to be to run everything as efficiently as possible.

Hunter Mom

Oct. 20, 2009, 10:40 AM

Chardavej

Oct. 20, 2009, 12:30 PM

All of my boarders are pasture board, no one does full board. They have a paddock area (actually two, but they are usually just left open to each other) with two pastures, they have 24/7 round bales and are grain fed twice a day.

They come up when called to eat, and I watch them as they come up. I look for lameness or if someone seems "off".

They are fed in feedstalls and where I stand is elevated a little above the horses, I get a good look at the top of their backs, their sides and fronts of their legs. If I notice a small cut I will clean it and put medication on it. If they are shivering I will blanket them (I absolutley can not bear to think of an animal cold, shivering and hungry. Just bothers me to no end!) If they have any issues (slow eating when they usually gulp, slight signs of stomach pain or possible colic, choking, etc) I will call the owner and then bring the horse in and try to take care of the issue. I also watch their weight this way so I can regulate their grain, if they're dropping some weight I increase or change their feed, if getting too fat then I reduce or change to a low-fat feed.

Here is the back of the feedstalls:

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e28/chardavej/Feed%20Stalls/Ginger002.jpg

The front, you can see the "deck" in the front. Also I'm out of the weather. Love them!.

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e28/chardavej/Barn/AmericanSaddle038.jpg

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e28/chardavej/Feed%20Stalls/Hacksaw001.jpg

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e28/chardavej/Feed%20Stalls/HorseShow015.jpg

I also look at the front feet of the horses that have shoes to make sure they are still there, if not, I will call the owner and I admit I will keep calling till they make an appointment with their farrier to get a shoe back on. Only one horse has rear shoes and I can see them too.

Board isn't expensive, it's the going rate. 225.00 includes grain and feed, but wormer and shoeing the owner pays for. I will order the wormer and worm the horses but the owner covers the cost of the wormer. Sometimes on the cheaper wormer (ivermectin) I will go ahead and cover but the pricier ones (like for tapeworm) I ask the owner to reimburse me.

If nasty cold wet or snowy weather they ALL come in and are put in stalls, regardless of the fact no one pays full board. It would be nice if they would could come help clean stalls but no big deal. I also have enough blankets that if a horse owner doesn't have a blanket and the horse needs to be blanketed I will blanket them with one of mine. Now if they have their own blanket I use theirs to save wear and tear on mine.

Timex

Oct. 20, 2009, 12:47 PM

i've got 26 right now, all on pasture board. Full care, grain included (for those who need it). and twice a day, at least, somebody puts an eye on each horse. anything serious, and the owner gets called. a pulled shoe, anything worse than a scrape, we call the owners. it only takes a minute to do a visual once-over of everyone in the paddock, especially as they get fed.

VCT

Oct. 20, 2009, 01:51 PM

I look over my pasture boarded horses 2x a day. I only have a few on pasture board at any given time so it's no big deal to check them over when feeding them. They've all been barefoot so no need to check for lost shoes.

SunshineAcres

Oct. 20, 2009, 08:38 PM

I didn't read all the responses but did want to address your questions. This is not an advertisement-I'm full. I used to board my horses before we bought this farm. I knew when I was able to, I would board horses for other folks. I would offer the kind of care that I wanted. I now board horses on a small scale at my farm. I offer pasture and stall board. I have never had anyone want stall boarding.

Do you expect that they do a "once over" visual check to make sure that your horse isn't shivering, lame, doesn't have huge gashes, glance for shoes etc?
Absolutely! I check them at a minimum once per day when they're in their stall for feeding. I go in each stall and check their entire body. I clean out their udder and sheath gunk, peel chestnuts, doctor any cuts or scrapes, apply or remove clothing as necessary, clean out their ears of scabby fly bites, brush them if the owner hasn't been out in a while, wipe sleep from their eyes and whatever else is needed.

If the BO notices such a problem do you expect them to call you? Or is it expected that when on pasture care, the horse owners should be coming out each day to observe the horses?

I call the owners if I feel it's something I would want to be called about if I were the boarder. If it's something that doesn't require vet care but leans toward a moderate cut/scrape etc. I call the owner, tell them what happened and how I treated it. They usually will come out that day or the next to check on their horse as they are caring horse owners.
If the situation is an emergency, the vet is called first, followed by a call to the owner then right back to tend the horse until the vet gets there.
If the situation requires a vet but isn't an emergency, I call the owner first and we discuss the situation and decide together if the vet comes out after hours or waits until the next day.
I feed square bales twice a day and grain twice a day. More hay in the colder months to keep them warm. I will fly spray the horses if the owner provides the spray, feed the supplements they provide, go out in the pasture and love on all of them. I understand that they can't always get out here to see their horses. Life is busy but I don't want the horses to miss out on human contact until the owner can come out again. Sometimes they come out once a week, sometimes three or four times a week. I make sure they all get the same amount of attention. I love them all, whether I own them or not. They all look great, even the 39 year old Arab mare. I love taking care of them. Oh yea, I made sure to keep my prices affordable and not nickle and dime them to death.

Joshua's Mom

Oct. 20, 2009, 09:49 PM

I have a set up very much like Cloverbarley execpt that I am near Hershey Pa. My house is fenced out of my fields and I get the pleasure of getting to watch the herd interactions being played out before me. Each horse arrives with it's own set of directives. I recently had to put in a "Diet" paddock because my pastures turned out to be too rich for some of my old guys. Sometimes a good thing is not always a good thing! It sure keeps you thinking!

trubandloki

Oct. 21, 2009, 07:30 AM

Question for those who expect daily shoe checks. Do you expect your barn owner to actually pick up feet every day to make sure that all is well with the shoes? I can see no other way to do a true shoe check on a horse.

When my horse was stall boarded I did not expect the barn to check his shoes every day, I most certainly would not expect it with pasture board.

Tini Sea Soldier

Oct. 21, 2009, 01:31 PM

Interesting thread.

I posted on here awhile ago bc I'm looking to move my retiree (who's only 17!) from NJ to somewhere south. So no... I'm not a troll... I've just been running around trying to do 382048320 things and since the horse move wasn't a #1 priority since he's ok where he is... I am back now... more serious and ready to make a move.

I've got a possible option in TN (although shipping rates are scaring me to death).

Anyway... since he's on pasture board now... I'm looking just to see what other options are out there. If you've got a farm that does pasture board, retirement board, sometimes pasture/inclement indoor board, etc., please PM me with your rates and what is included. I'm looking to keep costs under $350/month. If that cancels you out, I completely understand.

About horse, 17 years old... couldn't stay sound (injury during lease at age 12/13--never fully recovered) + has been retired for 2 years now... ex-show horse, good in groups (currently king of the pony paddock!), has front shoes bc ground in NJ can be a bit challenging for him... in a grassier region, may be able to go barefoot... needs blankets in the winter... no vices and loves people... good babysitter for young ones.

VCT

Oct. 21, 2009, 01:42 PM

This is my set up: The pasture is about 1.5 acres - it's not huge, but big enough they can have a nice gallop around. The shed is 12 x 30, has two "rooms" in it which are separate from each other. It is a four sided structure with wide doors into each room. There is not enough grass for them to live on, but enough for them to enjoy grazing. There is a hay feeder kept stocked with nice 2nd cutting hay virtually all the time, unless we have fatties then we put a limited amount of hay in the feeder 2x/day. There is a creek and we also have a big water trough which gets a heater in winter. The shed is cleaned out regularly, not everyday but often enough that it's usually only 1 wheelbarrows worth of manure to take out. In winter it can be harder to really get it cleaned out with frozen poops and 2-3 feet of snow but we keep it up over the winter as best as possible. Horses are fed grain 2x/day if they get grain and we look them over AM and PM.

The past couple days I've been busy cleaning out the feeder, and spreading 2 triaxle loads of gravel in the front of the pasture which is a high traffic area, where the feeder is, around the shed, where the trough is, where they eat their grain, etc. I have another load coming and will be replenishing the floors in the shed and then covering that with a nice layer of sand so it's soft for them to lie down on. I'll have a lot leftover but I can always use it in other areas around the farm! :)

In the springtime I close them in the front 1/3 of the pasture for about a month while I take care of the weeds and lime and seed the back part and give it some time to grow so they have nice grazing in the summer/fall.

I only have one horse and one small donkey in there and will only let one other horse move in there.

The thing to remember is that almost no boarding situation is perfect, nor is almost any situation where you keep your horses yourself. There will always be something that could be made better (unless you're a millionaire - then you probably have everything just the way you want it). You have to define what is highest priority to you and try to find someplace that fits that. Some people would probably want a much larger pasture, and I understand that, but it's big enough for the horses to move around and graze and I am able to keep my eye on the residents multiple times per day and keep it well maintained.

equineartworks

Oct. 21, 2009, 01:43 PM

I agree that much depends on what you pay for and what you personally expect.

I physically check every horse twice a day. Their feet are cleaned, legs checked, felt all over for lumps and bumps. This way I always know what each horses normal is.

Manure is cleaned first thing am and late afternoon from paddocks and turnouts.

They get a good basic groom once a day.

They are checked on several times a day.

When not working each is hand walked for as least 30 minutes each day.

They are fed twice a day, and have free choice hay

Waters are filled throughout the day and troughs are emptied and cleaned once per day. So are feed dishes.

Everyone is sprayed, blanketed or whatever they need as the need it.

I don't have a boarder, but my TR program partner pays $100 to cover the TB's feed each month. If I were to take a pasture boarder in the future I would charge $250. About the going rate.

equineartworks

Oct. 21, 2009, 01:48 PM

Char I LOVE your feed stalls! I have been trying to describe to DH what I wanted and he was just not getting it...now I have pictures!

AlteredOut

Oct. 21, 2009, 01:55 PM

Some great responses! Thank you all so much. Some of you have such lovely sounding farms!

In response to the shoe checking question... I don't think anyone would expect a BO or barn worker to pick up all shod horse's hooves. That would be quite time consuming. I check to be sure shoes are on (by looking down). If the horse were lame I'd certainly check the shoe to be sure that it wasn't messed up. But in the event of a horse who doesn't appear to be lame, I think a quick glance down is sufficient. If horse is missing shoe, but still sound, at least a call to the owner would notify them before they came out with their heart set on riding that day, and they could get the farrier on board. It also helps in case they need a boot or wrap for foot until farrier can come. Would be a shame to get all the way to the barn, and need to go back home for supplies if it was avoidable by a phone call.

I guess my view on it is I can't guarantee everything is 110% but I can do my best to make sure that I'm being observant and on top of the bigger problems.