Track System.. I'm going to do it, a few questions

Queenbee

Queenbee

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Right then, I have decided to create a track system for ebony and ben. Currently their paddock is about 2 acres and I had been doing what I have always done and partitioning and rotating them. I have kept ebony without shoes this summer, mainly because she is not doing enough work to justify me putting them on. We are going out a few times a week for an hour or so each time but she gets footy on stones :( I am thinking that I may well give in and get some shoes on her next month. Ben is a youngster and unshod (only 2 at yrs). There is already a nice area of hardcore type material in their field where I feed them and water them. My main problem with rotating has been that I want to rotate so the paddocks do not overgrow. I also want Ben to get as much grass in him as possible, he is looking good but just about to go into another growth spurt, so he can take as much grass as he wants! Ebony on the other hand blows up like a barrel on new grass for about 2 weeks before she settles, this is not weight gain, it is literally gas, she looks pregnant. :eek: I was thinking about the track system, I have always liked the idea, and think the constant movement will obviously benefit them both, and will help her feet. In addition I can always let Ben into the middle when during the day to scoff that grass.

Bit of a numpty question though, would you buy a fencing unit and have a complete circuit (an expense I would rather avoid if poss) or would it be as good to have the track going around 3 of the 4 perimiter edges.

Also any other tips on creating a paddock paradise system would be great :D
 
From personal experience I think you need a complete loop to get the extra exercise benefit from a track system. It is interesting to watch them, the lead horse will keep the others moving as he or she wanders round the track, obviously this happens in an ordinary field to some degree but not as much. If I sit and watch mine they will do several complete circuits over a very short period, they seem to trot and canter more too :). The trouble with an 'L' shape is that one or other will get 'trapped' in the blind end which reduces activity (at best) and causes scraps (at worst).

I would recommend you make a complete loop if you possibly can.

Some of my less good doers graze the middle, some all the time, some for a few hours, it works very well and makes my grass last longer :)
 
if you get a length of hose you can pass the tape through this and leave it on the ground, the charge will still go through and the pony if they stand on it will not get a shock. and a ring is the best shape for this.

simarillion, the track system is a way to give more normal exercise to a pony whilst at the same time reducing the amount they eat, it is better than a small paddock for a fatty, the best way to have a look is go to youtube and put in paradise paddock and you should see loades of different versions. some even have ponies going through woods up hill across gravel etc, whilst mine is just green round and round

hope this helps
 
I use a track along three or even two sides of the paddock - all four sides are too much grass for mine and they'd not get the movement between food/water/shelter if it was a loop the way my stable/water trough are positioned.


If you are worried about bullying just make the ends wider so no getting trapped. :)
 
I am going to do a 3 sided track system due to being the only way I can use the field effectively (it is very long & thin). My thoughts were to feed them at one end and have the water at the other, some other horses are also at the top end (they belong to my neighbour) and they like to hang out with them, so I am thinking it has to encourage them to move more even if it isn't perfect!
 
Silmarillion said:
Sorry for being thick, but what is this "track"..?
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rather than allowing horses to graze over a square paddock, there are lanes made up to make the horse walk about and therefore use some energy, in the best case scenario the tracks will include hard stone paths so the feet [barefoot] get hardened up. Some horses are so sensitive to sugars in grass that they need to be kept off grass and on concrete/hardcore and bark, some barefoot practitioners have pea gravel work areas and a variety of other conformable surfaces to work on.
See Rockley farm and read the book, very interesting even if you want to stay with shod horses.
Sorry OP, I hope this is what you were meaning!
 
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canteron said:
I am going to do a 3 sided track system due to being the only way I can use the field effectively (it is very long & thin). My thoughts were to feed them at one end and have the water at the other, some other horses are also at the top end (they belong to my neighbour) and they like to hang out with them, so I am thinking it has to encourage them to move more even if it isn't perfect!
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Mine isn't technically a track to control weight, it just happened to be there and unused, so there is about 8 or 9 acres they have. It is on a half mile oval track, with woodland, rough grazing, ponds and a couple acres of meadow, with about 100m taken out, so it is in effect a three sided track. About 30' wide at each gate end. Surrounded, and surrounding more paddocks so there are horses all around it. Hay is fed at one end, water is at the other, they trek down for water two or three times a day depending on temperature. Interesting to see the herd move about according to time of day and the weather. I have 11 mares on there, sometimes more.
 
A very interesting idea! I assume you'd have to have a certain sized field to do this with - mine are tiny and can only just support the two horses that graze on it. Now, if I could get my hands on the field next door that would double the size of the area... ;)
 
well, I have done it, and I am very proud of my achievement! Took bloody ages though! The spare fencing wire was a nightmare to untangle and then it took hours to try and thread the sodding wire through the tube so I could run it over the track. Ideally all I have to do tomorrow is pop a handle in the middle track so I can let ben in and out of there easily (thats if they don't trash the whole thing overnight! It took nearly 60 fencing stakes in the middle! I have also left plenty of room for them to roll in the corners :D

On another note, Ben's head has grown, he is now on the last hole of a cob size headcollar, I am slightly pleased in that I have never owned a horse that fits anything bigger than a cob size and that means shopping! On the other hand, I am a bit miffed in that I have to spend more money, and I have only recently brought him a brand new headcollar!

I am now planning on getting a mineral lick and putting it down in the very far corner of the track and also the possibility of putting down a proper gravel track along the bottom (If the system works) ontop of a membrane.
 
I'm thinking of doing it but one of mine(the fatty:rolleyes: ) will jump the green plastic posts to get to grass so I'd have to use wooden posts and persuading hubby to help me rearrange all the fencing could take a while:o
 
Ibblebibble said:
I'm thinking of doing it but one of mine(the fatty:rolleyes: ) will jump the green plastic posts to get to grass so I'd have to use wooden posts and persuading hubby to help me rearrange all the fencing could take a while:o
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My mare jumps for a pass time in the field! :) even now at 17 she is still partial to popping the odd bit of fencing when the mood takes her, luckily she leaves it up and pops herself back :D I am thinking of popping a few logs in the field for them to play over :) Its brought out the pet owner in me, its a bit like when I had hamsters as a child and kept them in a habitrail! lol! If you don't want to wait for hubby to agree to wooden fence posts, invest in stallion posts they are a substantial bit higher and used to deter ebony when her jumping was a real problem :)


P.S. if anyone has any suggestions of fun obstacles and things I can add into the track that would be fab :)
 
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