paddock paradise urgent help

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Harveybear23

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Hi im doing a research project and I'd like to do it on the paddock paradise system, anyone know of any scientific research that agrees or disagrees with it? Any help welcome!
 
I'm not sure theres anything that could argue against it scientifically since it just replicates ideal conditions for hooves and exercising horses. The anti side is more just the practicalities, those on livery yards who can't do it, or those like me whose horse (because of lami dictated diet) no longer respect any electric fencing at all and so can't set up paradise!

But someone might correct me!
 
Sorry maybe I wasn't clear enough, my fault, I was looking for evidence that the horses travel more in a track system than a normal paddock or vice versa. But Thankyou for the reply :) x
 
Jaime Jackson, Paddock Paradise.
The book is very informative, what one gets out of it is up to the individual reader.

http://paddockparadise.com/

Do a search for PP, there are FB groups, forums and whatever. A lot of people think they serve a purpose, myself included, whether it is a hardcore track with all the bells and whistles, or just a 10' wide track around the outside of a couple of acres.

My minis use theirs as a race track! In a traditional paddock they just plod from place to place.

If tracks are set up correctly with water and feed 'stations' separate then horses have no option but to move around ;)
 
Harveybear23 said:
Hi im doing a research project and I'd like to do it on the paddock paradise system, anyone know of any scientific research that agrees or disagrees with it? Any help welcome!
Click to expand...

there was one paper-they found out that horses didn't move significantly more on a track system but I can't remember where it was published or if it was a decent study or not. It didn't work for my Exmoors-they share each pile of hay and finish it before moving on to the next lol, no energy wasted ;)
 
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It depends what you want to use it for. I think the main point is to reduce grass intake while still leaving enough space for the horses to run around (rather than leaving them in a tiny paddock). If you don't need to reduce grass intake or save part of the field for winter, it might not make a difference to how much your horses move according to this study.
 
Harveybear23 said:
Hi im doing a research project and I'd like to do it on the paddock paradise system, anyone know of any scientific research that agrees or disagrees with it? Any help welcome!
Click to expand...


You might want to post on the fb page at https://www.facebook.com/OfficialPaddockParadisePage

Brian Hampson did one attempt at a study but simply did not understand the premise of a PP so there were no herd dynamics or any sort of enrichment elements to the PP they used to compare horses walking around a square dirt paddock that was tracked versus one that is not tracked. Otherwise, lots of PP developers who have used GPS to track their horses and they liked the results. University of Massachusetts in Amerhest, Mass helped to provide a grant - with the Dept of Environmental Protection for a rescue to create a PP at their facility - they saw it as a best use project for managing horses on sensitive lands. To understand PP, you must read the book - explaining how the concept came to be developed is critical to the success of them. (I have one and love it. My horses only need trimming 3 times a year now instead of the usual 11-12.)
 
I did read the book, have a stable herd and enriched it and it didn't work for me. Not everything will work for everyone-particularly when you have it in soggy Scotland where the weather and the grass are subject to such fluctuations and you have the type of equine clever enough to not waste energy ;)
I would try it again on a bigger piece of land maybe.
 
Try research by temple grandin. She uses it in her designs for slaughter houses, based on its calming principles and therefore speed of production.
 
I know this is a late reply but I think still relevant to anyone researching the topic (as I am!). On the Paddock Paradise Facebook page a lady called Milli Heiniemi from Finland has recorded her horses' movement as data. She found the average movement on the track was 23km in 24hrs where as the field would be 3.9km. Obviously this probably isn't scientific but very interesting. Most people report their horses move a lot more than in a normal field situation. I'm just not sure if my paddock is suitable as its just a flat grass paddock, or whether my farmer will be impressed!
 
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