Does anyone do track grazing?

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goldypops

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I have been looking into this and wondering how I could set it up in my field. Does anyone do it and if so can you tell me how yours is set up? Do you just do it in spring and summer? and does it get poached up when its wet???
 
Yes I do!

I have two quarter acre paddocks which I use from end March to end of October ( depending on weather conditions ) I have a track that goes around both paddocks ( making it a figure of eight ) the water is a fair way away!

One length of electric tape is moveable in each paddock, they are strip grazed one paddock at a time, moving the tape about a foot first thing every other morning again depending on grass growth.

It does mean miles of electric fencing, but my two ponies live easily on half an acre the whole of the spring/ summer. Sometimes gets a little muddy in places, but soon dries up and that means less grass growth! I have a few obsticles (large logs ) they have to get round too!

I love watching them run around it like a race track and it keeps their weight down a treat
 
Sounds fab!
Should work in my field as the trough is one end and the gate the other. Between 3 of them they usually only have 1/2 to 1 acre grazing in the summer and the trough is in the fenced off bit and it means bucketing or hosepiping water into a large tub which frankly is just another job to do!!! If it was done as a track then they could still get to the trough!
So being thick here the growing grass is in the middle and you move the fence into this bit every day, or when ever, to give a bit of fresh grass and making the track wider?
I have plenty of tape and posts due to always strip grazing.
 
Yes, making the track wider on one side only :) Once this paddock has been eaten ( the grass can get up to my knees in the middle! ) it gets closed off ( still leaving a track ) and they go onto the next paddock and so on.

If we have rain and then sun, it doesn't get moved, if we have a lot of dry weather then it gets moved more frequently. Its taken me years to perfect!
 
I tried to do one in winter, but it got far too muddy!

november16th2009007.jpg


Spring/summer, the track goes around a large pond

track002.jpg



The large tree top left gives shade


track001.jpg
 
Can I ask some questions?

How wide do you make the track initially? Do you then move the electric fencing inwards so giving access to more grazing?

Also can you do it using just two sides of field? (triangle shape) so it would be like a L shape?
 
Just paced my field out and I should have enough tape but not sure if enough posts!!! I might set up mine this weekend as I dont know about anyone else but the grass is shooting through here. Will try and post a picture if I can work out how to do it.
Out of all of the methods of controlling grazing is this the best? ie. against grass muzzle, strip grazing etc?
 
I managed mine with strip grazing for many years successfully. Last year I moved onto a new much richer paddock, and my mare lost her companion, which meant she would be on her own on the track. I compromised by turning out onto longer grass during the day in a muzzle so she could have company, and then brought her onto a much shorter track with hay overnight. In hindsight I intially made the track too long and this resulted in mild laminits, this year I've made a track already, so hopefully the grass will get kept under control more quickly and I can give a little more track. I'm currently on one side of the field, but will probably extend this to 2 or 3 sides, depending on conditions and grass growth. I make mine aout 10 to 12 feet wide, but you can have any width you want depending on your horse's needs which is the great thing about it.
 
I do, kind of, but it is purely for convenience nothing to do with saving pasture or controlling weight.

Usually about 10 horses on this. I have a half mile oval track, hay paddocks to one side and in the centre, a couple of maple woods, and a pine wood included on about 8 acres. In the Fall after hay is cut they have all of it, in Spring they will just have the track and the woods, right now with about a foot of snow on the ground they restrict themselves to the actual track and walk from hay, at one end to water at the other. Well, they canter to water (only once a day) and plod back. The fencing is permanent.

Centre picture in signature is of some of the mares walking back from water.
 
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mine are on a track . dont have problems with mud as i move them for the winter. its fantastic and i'd never go back to strip grazing after using the track.
 
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