Fatty Paddocks - what size?

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Lucky788

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Me again with another weight loss related thread!

Those with a bare patch of field - how big did you make yours? How do you manage it?

I currently have mine on a small L shape - which I was hoping to make into a track but it’s still to much for my horse who lives on fresh air...so now thinking a much smaller patch and possibly hay as needed?
 
I prefer mine to be on as large an area as possible so they move about more, I only feed hay if they are laminitic or for some reason I cannot extend the area so they are dropping too much weight, give him a chance to eat it down rather than reducing it too much and increase his exercise which is the best way of getting weight off.
If you do feed him hay soak it to reduce the goodness.
 
what be positive said.


I am somewhat concerned at this bare paddock thing (not aimed at you OP but generally having had a discussion on FB about it today). Horses trying to graze on bare paddocks/very short grass for extended periods can be left with damage to teeth and possibly colicky episodes later on in life due to this or ingestion of soil. and yes, I do know this to be a fact from ponies that I know.
up the movement, muzzle if necessary and increase exercise. if you have something that really needs to be off grass, get them off grass completely onto hardstanding etc.
 
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Mine did really well on a bare paddock. Muzzles made him dangerous to handle so that was out. Instead he had a bare paddock 30 x 10m ish. During the day he went out on to a strip of grass and had roughly 6" of grass a day/ He was fed low calorie haylage mixed with normal straw and ad lib chopped straw as well as a good vitamin and mineral supplement.
 
I have two IDs on an area about 150 yards long and 15 metres wide
It will get very bare then I will give some sort of forage and they do get exercise if they get too thin ( here’s hoping ) I will move them .in with the others part of the time .
 
Movement is key - thats where track systems win over a square paddock. My mare was obese when I bought her, to the point the vet actually asked if I really wanted to buy her as she was such high risk for lami/ems and mine live out. I took her home, put her on my track, v low cal speedibeet base in the smallest amount I could hide a high spec mineral base in and a good handful of salt in addition to a lick (the basic lami diet)

The day she came home
IMG_0422_zps2e27477d.jpg


About 6 months later
IMG_0422_zps2e27477d.jpg


Starvation and bald paddocks which dont encourage them to move are a bad idea, horses evolved to walk 100's of miles a day on poor scrub grazing, not stand still and snack on short sugary strands whilst their hind gut carries on trying to ferment tiny pieces to get energy to survive from never mind all the other associated issues.

Salt lick one end, water the other, if youve got a side with long grass make the track narrower on that piece initially to control volume then gradually widen, make sure near the water there is a bigger area for lounging/sleeping etc.
 
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