Disadvantages to paddock paradise/track system

[spacie1977]

I've ordered the Paddock Paradise book and now eagerly awaiting it's arrival. In the meantime I've been pondering what are the disadvantages to using a track system? All I've read online so far raves it's a more natural and healthier way of keeping horses. But nothing in life is truly perfect. I'm assuming as the tracks get trashed and the grass disappears there will be a massive increase in hay costs. And the initial set-up and maintenance costs must be high considering so much more fencing is required than a couple acres paddock. Are there any other disadvantages to this kind of turn out? Anyone tried it and gone back to regular turn out?

 

[Moodymare88]

My mare has a paddock paradise system this year and I love it! I will only be going back to normal turnout in the winter.

Cost wise...I was lucky that our yard manager did the track for me using electric tape, plastic posts with wooden ones in the corners. She only has it around 3 sides so she actually has to walk the whole way around to get hay or water. She is fitter and much slimmer than previous years. People compliment me on how well she looks. She has alternate days in the middle, muzzled but has soaked hay at night, or during the day when she stays on the track. It doesn't seem to cost me too much in hay, probably around £20-£30 a month, but she has extra chaff now she has eaten the grass down and also has courses of psylium.

I'm really glad I did the track system this year, and my horse has adapted very well to it.

 

[kaiserchief]

I had two out on a paddock paradise system once - I'd be wary of doing it again. The one pony was a bully and spent the whole time chasing the other round and as it was a track system she had nowhere to go.

 

[NZJenny]

I don't use permanent fencing to make up the track, that way it can be changed as necessary, or take it down completely.

A lot of people I know cut hay off of the unused portion during the spring/summer.

kaiserchief, where did the other horse go when you used a conventional paddock?

 

[kaiserchief]

Once I took the track down the bully pony was less inclined to chase her to start with (more options for entertaining himself, and most likely more food too), and when he did it didn't last as long as she could lead him all over the field instead of round in circles. To be honest, he was a brat pony and went back to his owner not long after but it did put me off the track system.

 

[spacie1977]

Moodymare88 why do you switch back to conventional turnout during the winter? Is it because the track gets too poached, or it's harder to keep weight on?

NZJenny non permanent fencing wouldn't work for me as my horse walks straight through electric fencing. The grass is literally always greener on the other side where he's concerned lol.

 

[JillA]

Unless you are on rocky/stony ground, tracks turn to mud in winter. Imagine the poached area by a gate, then extend it for the whole of the track - are made of electric fencing and come down in early October, before the winter rains get going.

 

[pistolpete]

Only disadvantage is I think you need a reasonable acreage to make it work. We are on sandy soil so no poaching in winter. Use the middle as strip grazed standing hay in winter. Still hay them all summer but makes for a very content herd. Five horses on roughly six acres. They love it and I would day less bullying as they can keep moving away.

 

[dollyanna]

I take mine down in the winter too because of poaching. Mine is constantly shifting to keep them thinking and to avoid the actual tracks they tend to walk on becoming too damaged - just moving the fence a foot or so every week or two makes them change track slightly. But I don't have any hardcore, just a small field of grass.

 

[Orangehorse]

How do you manage with 2 different sizes? My 16 hh horse does more work and can eat more than his companion who has to be kept much harder as she is only 12 hh and isn't ridden. At the moment I have them in separate paddocks and allow the larger horse more space, but I would like to try the paddock system. I thought of shutting up the pony in a smaller area during the day and letting her go on the track at night. They both have hay at night at the moment anyway.

 

[zandp]

I tried last year and the fencing got trashed and taken down daily by my older one who wraps a front leg round the post and wiggles it until it's lose. She then holds the tape down so the younger one will go over it, she follows her and they're in the middle scoffing just what they shouldn't be ! I tried this year and the younger one chased the older one constantly and she jumped over and through the fencing. I've currently got bits of the field sectioned off and change the shapes weekly, so it's a cross between track system and sectioning off the field. This seems to work, the fencing has been up for a month so now my only worry is the Cushings/IR one actually being able to get to some grass. It'll have to come down in winter as the field is wet and YO doesn't want it trashed. He's already pushing me to remove the sectioning and stop feeding hay

 

[dollyanna]

How do you manage with 2 different sizes? My 16 hh horse does more work and can eat more than his companion who has to be kept much harder as she is only 12 hh and isn't ridden. At the moment I have them in separate paddocks and allow the larger horse more space, but I would like to try the paddock system. I thought of shutting up the pony in a smaller area during the day and letting her go on the track at night. They both have hay at night at the moment anyway.

If you are going to separate them anyway then I would suggest 2 tracks beside each other, have a narrow one for the little one and a wider one for the horse but big enough for both. Then little one can go in her track during the day and just open a "gate" at night so they both have both tracks, or both on the bigger track? But at least although separated they still have each others company, better than being in different places. One of mine tends to invite herself into places she shouldn't be (when the battery is flat) so they are in separate tracks but they still stay together to graze and move together, just have a bit of electric between them.

 

[Copperpot]

I love mine. The initial set up cost a bit as I bought lots of metal corner posts and about 3km with of electric rope! But it's great. The long sides are plastic posts so I can give them a little more grass when needed. But they tend to graze in areas so the bits they aren't grazing grow.

 

[Copperpot]

I also have 3 energisers on it to keep them from even thinking of busting into the middle and scoffing the winter grass!

 

[Cortez]

Nice idea: doesn't work when the ground is wet/poached.

 

[Goldenstar]

I don't use my not quite a track area in winter it's only for summer use .
I don't let it get in a poached mess .
TBH I don't like how they look paddocks are more pleasing to the eye .
I did not like it when I tried two in it my horses are too big and too sharp it ended in Fatty ended up getting kicked .
I have to have it poo picked so that's an extra daily cost to me , apart from my injured horse pens I never poo pick here .
But there's no doubt fatty has been easier to manage since I had mine put in ( it's not a proper track it's a sort of crooked Y ) it defiantly increases the amount Fatty moves about .
However I would never consider it use for any but the most challenged horses if the others get fat I up their work , that's the fun way to control horses weight .

 

[spacie1977]

I don't let it get in a poached mess.
TBH I don't like how they look paddocks are more pleasing to the eye.

I think how it looks would be my biggest concern about making a track really. I'm a bit OCD about tidiness and hate seeing messy paddocks with rough patches, poo and jumps left out. So no doubt I'd be obsessing over the appearance of the track against a pretty rural background. It probably wouldn't look much different to a dirt bike track alongside my house. Although a bit quieter at least

 

[Jericho]

I think how it looks would be my biggest concern about making a track really. I'm a bit OCD about tidiness and hate seeing messy paddocks with rough patches, poo and jumps left out. So no doubt I'd be obsessing over the appearance of the track against a pretty rural background. It probably wouldn't look much different to a dirt bike track alongside my house. Although a bit quieter at least

I have used one in summer - the way they looked (lots of white tape and fence posts) which can be see from the house was one of the drawbacks and also I could never get it to be electrified enough and pony always got in to middle. He never bothers if he is just in a square paddock.

 

[Baois Glas]

I did one and went back to 'normal' gazing, as I just couldn't keep my horses out of the middle grazing, they just trashed the fencing all the time.
Now I have moved here my grazing isn't as good and can get quite wet, I have a stone track that takes my horses to their barn and grazing, so it's now more of an 'equicentral' system. I have thought about doing a track but I think I would have to feed a lot of hay and the cost of setting up the track would be quite expensive.

 

[tallyho!]

I think if you're going to go down pp permanently then you need a properly thought out surface.

If you do it just to keep fatties less fatty on typical british bogland then you're only going to get a mudslip.

You need hardcore, sand, gravel, drainage and whatever added interest you decide you'd like. Done well, it's a nice and natural set up where you can keep fatties thin and also, you can fatten up skinnies in the middle bit where hopefully you have some grass.

Here in Bogland, without all the faff above, you can only really do it 3 days out of 365. This is due to adverse weather conditions and flynados.

 

[CazD]

We tried it one year by fencing a track around the outside of the paddock. Unfortunately one evening one of the horses damaged her check ligament and judging by the marks on the field it looked like she's slipped when galloping round one of the corners of the track. Now we just strip graze instead.

 

[dollyanna]

We tried it one year by fencing a track around the outside of the paddock. Unfortunately one evening one of the horses damaged her check ligament and judging by the marks on the field it looked like she's slipped when galloping round one of the corners of the track. Now we just strip graze instead.

It is important not to have square corners for this reason - if you make the corners nice and shallow and wide then there is less chance of them slipping and falling (you may well have done this, I am just pointing it out to those who may not have thought of it). Have to say though that my youngster who is somewhat clumsy is better being able to run round and round until he is done running and slows himself carefully than galloping one side to the other and slamming the brakes on at the fence as he used to do.

 

[FFAQ]

My friend and I both set up tracks in the fields we rent. However, because we rent it's all done with electric tape and polyposts. I'm afraid the great escape into the middle is such a regular occurance (despite buying new batteries and having 2 energisers) that I do a combination of track and strip graze - that works really well. I can only do it in the summer though as it gets too poached in the winter.
I have a skinny arab who is chronic LGL and 2 fat cobs, so the arab still needs to have restricted grazing. She gets separated each end of the day and given extra hay and has 2 feeds a day.
If I owned my own land, I would put in wooden posts and dig the track back so it didn't poach and introduce different surfaces. Now I just have to win the lottery!

 

[chestnut cob]

Earlier this summer I attempted to make a track around the edge of my (relatively) large field for my horse who is a bit of a fatty. He stayed in it for about a week. Even though the fence is electrified, he either barges through or jumps out. He's also been known to jump P&R to get to more grass when he wants to though.... I gave up and went back to plain strip grazing which doesn't result in an escaped pony gorging on long grass in the middle of the track.

 

[tallyho!]

GOes to show doesn't it that if you're going to do it, you have to do it properly. Leccy fence and crossed fingers won't make it a success.

If I had my own land I would still design a decent system.

 

[BraidedTail]

I've just had to take mine off a track system due not only to the escaping into the middle (I think my energisers broken) but also he's eating loads of hedge and putting on weight; he suffers from filled legs when he eats too much (of anything) so I've had to stick him in a smaller bare paddock atm, which won't help his legs. It was working well, and keeping his legs down too. I suppose I could fence off the hedge but there's only an acre and it would make the track even shorter. Agree that solid fencing would make a better track, but again; rented land. As tallyho says; own land and design a decent system!

 

[canteron]

If you don't embrace the whole track system then just be inspired by it. Take the principal that getting the horse to move more is good then try and avoid small square fields and go for longer thinner fields or incorporate a 'L' shape. I seem to remember a video (WHW I think) where they did some experiments and concluded the horse walked 30% more if you had a 'L' shape.

 

[JillA]

Doesn't have to be a thin strip around the edge - someone I know made one in a small paddock with a "U" shape and a line up the centre of the U. I tried in in one of my half acre paddocks and it worked really well, takes them ages to work out how to get to their dinner lol.

 

[supsup]

I wouldn't consider fencing off a strip around the outside of a field to be a true track system. If you want to use the system year round you have to reinforce the surface. The track needs to be wide enough, with loafing areas, to prevent horses feeling squeezed when passing each other.
IMO, the real strength of a track system comes in when you build your track on land that would otherwise not be considered suitable for horse turnout. E.g. running it through a wooded area, or between buildings/along margins, or using existing yard/arena areas. If you can grow your own hay or haylage crop on the area that you'd otherwise have turned your horses out on, then the cost of feeding hay year round would also be much lower.

 

[JillA]

What you have described supsup is Paddock Paradise, and while we might all aspire to that it isn't always practical, it certainly isn't for me. But that's no reason not to do something and the track system per se works very well to minimise grass intake and maximise exercise