Hardcore for a lami pen?

Montyforever

Montyforever

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I've done a pen for my pony as she's already footy and has pulses even though she's only out for a few hours a day.
But the problem is the grass is still there and still causing her problems. I've kept her in for a few days and all the problems stopped and she was okay until I turned her out yesterday and today and she's back to the way she was before :(
I can't keep her in alone and my other mare needs to be out. Grazing muzzle tends to end up in several pieces and obviously the pen will always have too much grass.
So is their any kind of hardcore I can put down that the grass won't grow through and is as cheap as possible? The pen is about the size of a large stable
 
Try woodchip with weedsuppressant membrane or old carpet underneath. I'd have thought the last thing you wanted for a laminitic footy pony was hardcore!
 
Hi, I don't have much experience with laminitics, have only just atken on my first one! My immediate thought was that perhaps hardcore wouldn't be the best option for a pony that is already feeling her feet, plus it could cause bruising. Could you not let the other mare graze the pen down to nothing before you put the lami one in there? That is what I have been doing with our lami pony, if the paddock is looking too lush I chuck the TB's in there for a bit & let them hoover up all the grass, much to pony's disgust! :)
 
I wouldv'e thought hardcore would make your Pony more sore.

I know it's expensive. But could you lay some rubber matting down?
 
Isn't pea gravel meant to be good? Your pony can dig her feet in and find the most comfortable angle and it provides good support for the whole foot. I think if you can get it from a quarry it's quite cheap. Think brucea (?) has talked before about getting it from there.

Trina x
 
montyforever said:
Oops didn't think about it being too hard :o but surely woodchip will get wet and eventually boggy?
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Woodchip will be wet whilst the ground is wet, if you separate it from the ground with Terram (weed suppressant) or even old carpet as I suggested then it won't be bottomless. The reported slipperiness won't affect your ponyas the area is too small for any speed to be built up. If you put down gravel then you will need a base or it will sink into the ground.


I turn all mine, including 17.1 monsters, out on a woodchip area all winter.
 
If you are canny you may be able to do this for free. Look on freecycle to see if anyone's getting rid of old carpet and ring round local tree surgeons and tell them you don't mind if they want to dump some of their waste shreddings. You need to tell them that there must be no poisonous stuff in there but you're not really worried about the quality or rideability of the surface in the same way that you aren't really bothered about the rideability of the bedding you use in your stable.

FWIW I kept a pony in a pen outside during the winter on waste easibed on top of carpet. He was fine, it was just that once I'd bought him and discovered how bad his breathing was he had to be outside rather than in so I had to rustle up a solution in double quick time.
 
Pea gravel (5mm) is fab for barefoot horses, especially laminitics. It provides masses of support to the foot & is extremely comfortable for the horse. Ask your local quarry / builders merchants. You're looking at about £20/ton. If you go over to the uknhcp forum (or the new phoenix horse one to replace it), they know loads :)
 
You can put down some sort of membrane to stop the weeds and then have a lorry load of rubber chippings put down, need to be about 8 inches thick at least - this will cushion feet and give support to soles and frogs. I used to keep my old cushings pony on similar.
 
The only thing to consider with membranes is that they can ride up. When you put them in arena you need to tack the edges to the retaining boards and carefully seal all strips together. Otherwise parts of the membrane could get dug up, rip and become quite hazardous (as well as useless).
 
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