Paddock paradise / track system advise.

[scewal]

Those who use the above, how does it work for you?
We have 3 on a track, fed 24 kg of hay split between morning and evening. There is pretty much no grass and the hay isn't lasting anytime at all. It is currently fed in very small holed nets but still is eaten very quickly. Double netted today using very small nets which seemed to cause some frustration.

Therefore would you feed adlib straw? I'm not keen on feeding huge amounts of straw and been advised by a vet to feed 30% straw and 70% hay. I am concerned about impaction colic. Both my mare and gelding have a fair hay belly on them, would straw make this worse?
All 3 need to loose weight hence weighed hay.

Trying to find a balance between loosing weight, yet not starving them and developing ulcers but even with the above the weight isn't coming off.

 

[Suzannebart]

Don't know about on Paddock paradise system but have you tried placing them further apart ie lots of small holed hay nets placed at distances for each other? I don't know how your laid out so you may already do it just a thought. Maybe soaking the hay?

I have the opposite problem, so have ad-lib forage placed all over the stable to encourage as much eating as possible. He sometimes strops with certain neighbors or which way the wind is blowing that day.

 

[SCMSL]

How big are those horses?

They should be eating between 2 and 2,5% of their body weight per day, including balancers and anything else you feed - 24kg of hay and no grass just seems like its not enough, at least for me.. and thats why I asked roughly how much your horses weigh.

As for the paddock paradise, if you want them to take longer to eat, you should buy 2 or 3 different hay types and fill 2 nets with each hay type (maybe one with straw, or however you feel works best for your horse). Then place the nets in such a way as two nets with the same hay type are as far away from each other as possible - place type a, b, c, a, b, c around the track. Horses will tend to eat the type they like the most first, and then proceed, which means each horse will go around the track at least 6 times during the day. More time spent walking, less time spent eating or doing something else.

The extra walking will also be good to loose the extra kg, especially if you find a way to make the track more stimulating - for example, placing the hay types in different places everyday so they don't memorize where the goodies are

 

[scewal]

They are being fed on 1.5 kg % of their ideal body weight as per instructed for weight loss. They have hedges to pick at too. Will try a mix hay/straw nets. Nets are dotted around currently.

 

[SCMSL]

The thing is, at 1,5% they are probably hungry... why not just give them soaked hay? It has a much lower nutritional value. Its more work, and more expensive than what you are doing now, but its also healthier for them... and someone who puts a paddock paradise system in place certainly has their horses best interest at heart!

 

[LD&S]

I think the 2-2.5% is to maintain weight, if you need to reduce weight then 1.5-2% is more usual.
Soaked hay is good but not always doable so mixing hay and straw is often a really good compromise, some vets recommend an even higher ratio than 30/70, there is a very very slight risk of impaction colic but when you consider the thousands of horses who regularly eat their beds and are fine and the fact that you are mixing it with hay will cut the chances even more, especially as the horses are out and able to keep moving.
What type of straw has the vet recommended?

 

[JillA]

I use a track system and have done for several years, but only in the grass growing season - mine aren't set up yet. For now they have the whole fields which means they can wander and pick at whatever grass they can find, otherwise the tracks get too poachd. I think if you can't open up the field for now, as others have said I would be mxing straw with the hay - good clean barley or oat straw, which is supposed to be calorie negative.

 

[Dry Rot]

I have fed up to 100% barley straw to Highland ponies without problems BUT do make the change over gradual (as should be done with any feed change). Oat straw is meant to be better but mine spent most of their time going through it looking for unthreshed grain and wasted a lot.

I started out with two feeders, one with hay and one with straw, and gradually took a bit longer to replace the hay when they ran out.

Of course, they still need mineral blocks and water! A friend also supplies a balancer but mine seemed to do OK on straw with some grazing.

 

[scewal]

Soaking hay is't really possible due to the set up. Yo barefoot trimmer said to use track system all year. Did question them standing in thick mud over winter, but she said best to stand in mud than access to grass?! This is the first year of trying the track system, so it is still very much trial and error for us at the moment.

Vet didn't mention any specific straw. They have access to a stream, mineral and salt blocks. They all have a token feed containing brewers yeast, linseed and magnesium.

 

[MotherOfChickens]

track system didn't work for mine, I honestly didn't think they moved about any more with that than the 3 of them having the paddock to play in.

This winter has been great for getting the weight off of the Exmoors and you don't get much better 'doers' than them. I wouldn't feed only straw but have fed 50/50.

how long have you been keeping them like this? It can take a while to see a difference. Are you rugging/exercising etc?

 

[RolyPolyPony]

I used to keep my 2 at a yard with a track system. Altogether there was 2 acres (approx.) with a 7-8ft wide track around the edge of the 2 fields with it opening up at the end of one of the fields. We would fill up the big building bags full of haylage and put lots of small piles around the track. We did this twice a day. 2 big horses and 2 small ponies and there was always some left over. They had no grass at all. We did this all year round and it worked really really well. The weight dropped off my pony in no time at all.

 

[scewal]

They have been on it for 4/5 weeks. All unrugged, except when the weather is really wet when my mare wears a light weight, as her clip is growing out.
Exercise wise varies, but could do with increasing but difficult to work constraints.

 

[MotherOfChickens]

it's not that long really, I expect if you keep it up another 2/3 weeks you'll see it drop off. If they are hungry, you could feed them a bigger bucket feed-I am using the plain Honeychop straw chop plus a tiny bit of FF-so not much worry wrt calories (although with Exmoors there's no such thing as calorie negative!) plus leave nets of straw on the track for them.

 

[scewal]

One is fed on honey chop straw and my two are on ff. Will up the ff as my mare seems happier after a bigger feed of it.

 

[LucyPriory]

There is pretty much no grass and the hay isn't lasting anytime at all. It is currently fed in very small holed nets but still is eaten very quickly. Double netted today using very small nets which seemed to cause some frustration.

Not yet read through all replies but been there done that with the hay net/stationary feeder thing. Not my fav method.

We are in a very windy and wet area but have found that tiny piles of hay spread round most of the track is very satisfactory. Piles are so small that very little if any (read none) blows away. The herd tops each pile, then comes round for seconds, then thirds and so on til it's gone. Hay is put out twice a day. 30 piles for 4 horses.

My bossy mare does ensure that the herd keeps moving which helps with fitness a lot.

I've done this on my own track (rented land) and now the lady who looks after my horse for me at the moment does the same on her land (having never run a track before).

 

[scewal]

LucyPriory, did you feed ad - lib hay or weighed hay?

 

[LucyPriory]

LucyPriory, did you feed ad - lib hay or weighed hay?

Hay requirement assessed using bodyweight - but we feed nearer 3%. Then average bale weight assessed. We don't weigh precisely every day.

Horses are not fat. Bossy mare makes them work too hard for that

 

[amandap]

The track needs to be fairly narrow 12ft with wider corners and resting/feeding areas. Mine are yarded and I scatter feed (small piles) as well as using nets at various places. I have to soak my hay and it doesn't blow about except in high winds. I would increase to 2% for now and drop to 1.5% when the weather warms up.