Anyone tried paddock paradise?

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weebarney

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I'm very interested in trying this out with my field but all the stuff on you tube is usually in america with totally different weather and paddocks that we have here. Can anyone recommend where to start, what has worked for you and what hasnt?
I have some worry over one of my TB's who seemingly would rather die of dehydration than walk 'too far' to the water trough and would also rather starve than go to a part of the field she doesnt like so what she will make of gravel etc I have no idea!
 
i tried this!

I was fine except my field was trashed to start with and needed resting etc (was last year!!) so i was begning with a tough tasl - i think that field was approx 2 acres? so worked well for 1 horse - but i now have two who get on brilliantly so who kows.

but i think its a great idea tbh...........!

I wouldnt do it now as i have set my fields up and im not moving it until spring......i would however consider it in spring


dotn worry about water - mine always found it :)
 
My ponies are on a track here in New Zealand. I don't have gravel or anything special. I used electric fence standards to make the inner fence while I worked it out. When it was the size I wanted I put in metal standards at the corners. I buried the connecting wires but if I were to do it again I would put them into polythene pipe and lay tree trunks across to protect it. My track is around the outside of 3 paddocks making a figure 8 with an extra loop and there are a couple of side areas that can be accessed or shut off as required. The 3 middle areas I have divided each into 3 with electric tape and these are grazed rotationally. It is the first thing I would do if we ever moved to a new place, and it's the best thing we have done here!!
 
My three are in a track around the edge if their field. I've been doing it this wa for nearly a year now. A times I fence one side off to let it grow, I also at the moment move some posts every day to give them some of the long grass in the middle.

It can cost quite a bit in hay in the spring but hopefully this balances out across the tear as my plan is they will have access to the saved grass in the winter. It keeps them moving round.
 
Mine are ocassionally on the track around their fields to eat the grass down but to be honest I don't think it makes much of a difference as they move around quite a lot in their normal fields anyway.
 
I use a track system around a four acre field, don't have gravel or any natural obstacles. It has worked extremely well with my two fatties and i think they walk much further than if in small field. Now the grass is really low they browse the hedges as well. Come winter I will gradually make the track wider to combat the mud and provide more forage.

I hae heard that tracks don't work well in winter because of mud but will see how we got on.

It also makes poo picking a bit easier.
 
It did and didn't work for us, mainly as two of ours didn't like it. The one mare just paced up and down constantly, she's a bit senile now and is better in a big area and the big lad got very silly/spooky. I think if we had a much bigger field they'd of been better TBH xx
 
2 lines of tape on plastic fence posts off a car battery and energiser. Mine are very respectful of electric fencing though - I dont think my set up would have contained more persistent equines I have owned in the past.
 
Mine's been up and running since May and works very well. No gravel but plenty of stony areas, slopes, shaded areas, etc. Horses (4 ranging from 18 months to 28 years) love it and they are all fitter and have better (bare) feet than when they were just standing in fields. Downside is the time taken to spread the hay around - one has COPD so all the hay has to be soaked - and poo picking takes longer. Highly recommend it.
 
Sarah W said:
Mine's been up and running since May and works very well. No gravel but plenty of stony areas, slopes, shaded areas, etc. Horses (4 ranging from 18 months to 28 years) love it and they are all fitter and have better (bare) feet than when they were just standing in fields. Downside is the time taken to spread the hay around - one has COPD so all the hay has to be soaked - and poo picking takes longer. Highly recommend it.
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How does it work with fatties and skinnies together? At the moment i have my 2 natives in one paddock and 2 tb's in another, would be nice for them to be a little herd together but i dont know how to do it.
 
I've done the Track system for about 4yrs now with my mules,Definately keeps them moving and the old fella and the goats get to graze the middle,little fat Blue runs round the outside with Malaga and if things get too hectic the goats escape to the middle and safety.I've never had mud problems.
 
weebarney said:
How does it work with fatties and skinnies together? At the moment i have my 2 natives in one paddock and 2 tb's in another, would be nice for them to be a little herd together but i dont know how to do it.
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We've constructed a feeding station for hard feed and, after a little initial confusion, they all pop into their allocated stalls as soon as they see the buckets. With the hay spread around the entire PP they all get an equal share.
 
During the day they come off the track for a few hours into a smaller paddock. Fattie comes into stable in the morning for a small feed, dry off feet etc so I can ride about an hour later. She then gets turned out for the rest of day into bare paddock whilst the old boy is starting to get hay now in the stable for a bit in the afternoon. But easier for us as I am at home during day so can be flexible.
 
Hi, I have a 2 acre field divided into 2 main paddocks, both have access to a divided open shelter with a small wood chipped area in front. In really atrocious weather they are confined to the chip yard to save massive amounts of mud churning up. The outer tracks are for strand rope on wooden posts. The inner track fences are a mixture of wood posts and plastic with the odd metal corner post . We are are not able to have gravel or hardcore laid, so have to be grassed (starvation level) I make 'dents' in the bigger horses track so that they can forage the rough grass in the winter and at night in the summer. Mainly they have dryish haylage in very tiny hole haynets, twice daily. They also have a small feed (chaff) with yeast powder in the evening.
The two pairs of horses (WBx PBA) & (two Welshies) are separated so that there are no squabbles. The Welshies get hardly any off track grass.
They all eat the hedges with gusto, all have low worm counts as I poo pick rigorously, thats a saving on costs. There is virtually no hanging around on field boundaries as they travel MILES on the track : ) Only if it is lashing down, will I find them waiting for hay in the shelter.
As for feet, two are intermittently ouchy on sharp gravel which I am trying to address through diet at the moment, all of them now have lovely sound hooves and I have never had any lameness (fingers crossed)
I would never go back to a field system now, things a more interesting for them, they can gallop around at length if they wish, and they do ! They chat over the fences and are way more active 'at home' Ideally some hardcore and gravel , trees and hills would be lovely !! It can be done on VERY little acreage . . . . go for it , enhance your horses existence !
 
MagicMelon said:
Sorry, off topic but YasandCrystal - that bin feeder, do you get much waste with it? Love the idea if it works as bored to death filling haynets for out in the field.
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These bin feeders are my life savers for time saving! The horses do pull some hay/haylage out, but I get much less wastage and it keeps it dry and stops wind blowing it about. I have 4 now and hubby was just given 2 more smaller wheelie bins which I may ise in the field shelters or stables. I have 4 horses/ponies.
The more I have the easier as I feed adlib hay/haplage in winter and I can just get a whole bale of hay in one and stuff the others with either hay or haylage and wheel them into place, tie them up and I am done. They last filled at least a couple of days.
Very easy to make too :)
 
Linni said:
Hi, I have a 2 acre field divided into 2 main paddocks, both have access to a divided open shelter with a small wood chipped area in front. In really atrocious weather they are confined to the chip yard to save massive amounts of mud churning up. The outer tracks are for strand rope on wooden posts. The inner track fences are a mixture of wood posts and plastic with the odd metal corner post . We are are not able to have gravel or hardcore laid, so have to be grassed (starvation level) I make 'dents' in the bigger horses track so that they can forage the rough grass in the winter and at night in the summer. Mainly they have dryish haylage in very tiny hole haynets, twice daily. They also have a small feed (chaff) with yeast powder in the evening.
The two pairs of horses (WBx PBA) & (two Welshies) are separated so that there are no squabbles. The Welshies get hardly any off track grass.
They all eat the hedges with gusto, all have low worm counts as I poo pick rigorously, thats a saving on costs. There is virtually no hanging around on field boundaries as they travel MILES on the track : ) Only if it is lashing down, will I find them waiting for hay in the shelter.
As for feet, two are intermittently ouchy on sharp gravel which I am trying to address through diet at the moment, all of them now have lovely sound hooves and I have never had any lameness (fingers crossed)
I would never go back to a field system now, things a more interesting for them, they can gallop around at length if they wish, and they do ! They chat over the fences and are way more active 'at home' Ideally some hardcore and gravel , trees and hills would be lovely !! It can be done on VERY little acreage . . . . go for it , enhance your horses existence !
Click to expand...

Do the wood chips benefit their feet or is it just for to stop mud?
 
Hmm, at first we had a few bits and bobs that should not have been in the chips, mainly 1 nail, attached to my ponies hoof plus a few pieces of glass, we did a sweep after that. When they were new, they were obviously wearing the hooves, also conditioning the soles I think, we are topping up now as we did not place a membrane over the whole yard , last years rain made mud but not the sticky up to your knees type. I reckon that we will need a half load this year 20 cubic metres (which is massive !) Saved the tracks, kept them busy, dried the feet more than the paddock would have. We used large chip recycled £300ish for 40 cubic m.
Would I want to be without it. . . .no.:)
 
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