Grass free area as stable alternative for laminitis prone ponies

[cauda equina]

I have 2 barefoot ponies (a 14 2 and a mini Shetland) who need to be off their very sparse grazing for part of the day for 9 months of the year - roughly March to October. In the depths of winter they are ok out 24/7

As an alternative to shutting them in their stables I'm thinking about making a 10x20m patch surfaced with road planings, with a field shelter
It wouldn't need to be strictly all weather, as it would be mainly for summer use

Would just a membrane then compacted planings on top work?
Does the area sound big enough to be safe?
Any other thoughts please?

I'd appreciate any advice before I make an expensive mistake!
Thanks

 

[Orangehorse]

In the USA (the part I went to) horses were mostly kept in corrals and fed hay and that included mares and foals. The stallion might have had an hour out in the paddock, but this seemed to be the normal way of keeping horses. My sister had three grass paddocks, not much grass on them, and a corral which included the stable and hay store and she could either keep them in the corral area, or open a gate to each field separately. If they were in a paddock they brought themselves into the corral every evening for their tea and she used to keep them confined over night. Seemed an ideal set up.

That seems to be a bit narrow, can you make it a bit wider?

 

[cauda equina]

Thanks for that
Yes, it could be wider

 

[HeyMich]

Yes. We have a 'sand turnout area' that's exactly that (except a compacted sand surface, not road planings). It measures about 20m x 20m in total, but has no shelter/stables, only a big hedge, which seems to do the job nicely. It leads directly on to the pony's skinny summer paddock, which then leads on to the bigger horses' summer field. We hay the pony in the sand turnout in the summer, and close his paddock off overnight if we need to. In the winter it's all opened right up, and all horses come up to the sand turnout for hay and feeds - it's plenty big enough for 3 of them to mooch around.

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[cauda equina]

Yes. We have a 'sand turnout area' that's exactly that (except a compacted sand surface, not road planings). It measures about 20m x 20m in total, but has no shelter/stables, only a big hedge, which seems to do the job nicely. It leads directly on to the pony's skinny summer paddock, which then leads on to the bigger horses' summer field. We hay the pony in the sand turnout in the summer, and close his paddock off overnight if we need to. In the winter it's all opened right up, and all horses come up to the sand turnout for hay and feeds - it's plenty big enough for 3 of them to mooch around.

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How does compacted sand work? Does it need retaining boards to stop it escaping?

 

[HeyMich]

How does compacted sand work? Does it need retaining boards to stop it escaping?

Yes, on the downhill side it has retaining boards. We have only been in the property 18 months, and it was installed before we moved in, so I can't tell you about the construction unfortunately. When it rains heavily, the sand does run downhill into the paddock, perhaps not ideal! I'm sure planings would work fine, and have less chance to escape.

.

 

[cauda equina]

Thanks

 

[SpeedyPony]

I would be a little bit careful using road planings/ hard standing if they are unshod, hard surfaces can lead to little bits of grit being pushed up into the white line. It's not usually a major issue, but they can occasionally work their way up to the coronary band and burst out in a little abscess. Could you put down sand/woodchip on top? A slightly yielding surface tends to stop them grinding the grit into their hooves.

 

[Kaycee]

We've made winter turnout areas using road planings. We put them straight onto the soil (heavy clay) and about a foot deep. So no membrane and very little compacting. These areas are still going strong over 10 years later and the horses have flattened it. Ours are all barefoot btw and their hooves are so much better when they're on this surface.

 

[Lintel]

Yes! I have a roughly 25x15m area of woodchip for the same purpose.
I would have used plannings as it would be much harder underfoot for my boys and I didn't want sand due to the fact I would be feeding them on the area and didn't want to risk sand colic.
Woodchip has worked well for us, no membrane. Been reasonably cost effective too?

 

[cauda equina]

Thanks for all the replies; lots to think about!

 

[paddy555]

yarding would be a great idea, but, depending out your set up could you run a track around the edge of the field say 10 ft wide and possibly running up to your stables or a field shelter? Electric fencing. That way they will get more movement. You could let them into the central area if you want them to eat.

 

[cauda equina]

yarding would be a great idea, but, depending out your set up could you run a track around the edge of the field say 10 ft wide and possibly running up to your stables or a field shelter? Electric fencing. That way they will get more movement. You could let them into the central area if you want them to eat.

I have set up a track, but don't trust it to keep them safe if they're out full time
I am totally grass phobic, especially now it's rained

 

[Honey08]

We have a winter turnout of planings on top of hardcore- no membrane and on wet clay. Has been an absolute lifesaver. Ours are barefoot on it. Haven’t had any grit going into white line issues, but they don’t love being barefoot on it. I think your area will be big enough for shetlands, but more useful if needed for other horses in the future if it’s bigger.

 

[PapaverFollis]

I think the mooch pen I have for 2 big horses and a small pony is about 25x25m at most with an additional large shelter. Seems plenty big enough for them during the day. No surface as yet. Just mud/dirt.

 

[thefarsideofthefield]

When we were constructing our all weather pen one of our farming neighbours gave us an old roll of GroTech - that's the white fibre membrane material that you see covering fields of plants , especially at this time of year . It helps to keep weeds at bay and protects the plants from frost . They do reuse it but once it's sustained a certain amount of damage/rips it becomes redundant . Every farmyard in the land has at least one roll of GroTech abandoned in a corner somewhere ! It makes a brilliant membrane if you're putting an artificial surface down ( we used it on our home made arena too !). It's very light and easy to handle and we laid it down in 4 criss crossed layers ( alternating the direction ) which covered any tears and gave a thicker base .We initially put road planings down in the pen but our's are mostly bare foot and we found a couple of them had issues with grit working its way into the foot , so we eventually put a thick layer of sand on top which has worked really well . I also put the shavings from the beds ( minus any droppings of course !) in there too .
Most farmers struggle to dispose of old rolls of GroTech so it might be worth asking around local farms/nurseries to see if there's any going spare. If you ask nicely they can only say no ! Ours was all free - the farmers seemed delighted that we took it away !