What's this method of grazing called? And does anyone use it?You

T_K

T_K

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You make a circular track with electric fencing so that the pony has to walk around the track whilst grazing.

Does anyone understand what I mean? It's been driving me mad remembering what it's called so I can find some more info!

:confused:

ETA apologies for the random 'You' in the title..... :p
 
NiknKia said:
I am sure its called paddock paradise and a friend uses it for her horse.

Nikki xxxx
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Thanks, it looks like Paddock Paradise is the name of a book written about these kind of methods. Have found this picture when googling paddock paradise which is the kind of thing I mean.

paddock-paradise-track.gif
 
appylass said:
I use this system and call the outer bit 'The Track'. I did it after reading the 'Paddock Paradise' articles. It has worked well so far.
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How many acres/horses do you have?

I'm thinking of doing this on my 2 paddocks (one is about 2 acres, the other is about 1/4 acre but has the gate to the hardstanding and stables which I want them to use.) I have 3 ponies, one of which is a stupid shetland I'm worried about her getting trapped.
 
The guy who came up with the idea in the first place was Jaime Jackson and he called them Paddock Paradises. There are some videos of various ones on here, also lots of advice on how to set them up etc : http://paddockparadise.wetpaint.com/page/Paddock+Paradise+Videos

Jaime has also written a book called Paddock Paradise which you can buy from Amazon. Other people have copied the idea and call them Track Systems but the original idea and research behind them is all Jaime's.

PPs are fab ways of utilising your land and encouraging your horses to move around more. PPs result in fitter healthier horses and the land you no longer use to graze can be used to make hay/haylage (unless you're on the side of a fell like me!).
 
i use it for my 2, and its a great way of keeping the oldie active (31 this year) as he has to be on restrictive grazing. rather than a small paddock they have to go round and round. i only have a 1/2 acre paddock at the yard so in the winter they turn out on the whole thing and in the spring and some they have the ring, i will move the fence every so often so they get fresh grass and the best thing is to wait for them to be at the far end and watch them run!! so there you have it sneaky exercise
 
I had no idea there was such a system! I inadvertantly adhere to it as I thought splitting my horses field in half (as I need to rest 50% of it) would be very boring for him so I have set it up like this...

Grazingarrangement.png


Sadly I don't have the space to have the whole centre set aside, but he at least has further to walk from one end to the other now :D
 
I use this system in the summer, I use the top half of my field, which is about one and half acres.
My lot live out with natural shelter and this method allows them access to shade all summer.
I have 2 large ponies and 2 shetlands.
It does require lots of posts and tape.
 
T_K said:
How many acres/horses do you have?

I'm thinking of doing this on my 2 paddocks (one is about 2 acres, the other is about 1/4 acre but has the gate to the hardstanding and stables which I want them to use.) I have 3 ponies, one of which is a stupid shetland I'm worried about her getting trapped.
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I have two patches, one is 1 1/2 acre and the other about 2. Currently I have three very good doers and two skinny ones :) I wanted to do the track round the outside of the whole lot but this was a step too far for my brother (farmer) as it would have involved moving gates and making holes in existing fences!! He is getting used to it now especially as he can see how much less the fields have been trashed over winter. So, I have one track round each field. I have wooden posts at each corner and a few in between and I think this was important as the horses (especially wily Sec A :)) seem to respect it more than just plastic posts. I will eventually persuade my brother to permanently fence it but this may take me another year or two!

It works really well for me, the fatties have lost weight on this system with no really change in their diet. It is fascinating to watch them and how they move round, they walk miles more than they would in a normal field! Incidentally one of the fatties is an elderly mare who is fairly arthritic, she has been far less stiff this winter and I'm sure it's because she spends less time stood in the (muddy) gateway trying to persuade people to feed her!


If there is anything else I can tell you ask away, I am a real convert (as you can probably tell!)
 
what do you do with the bit in the middle? do you eventually graze it? I like the idea of the system for the horses, but do not have enough land to leave bits ungrazed.
 
Like you I don't have enough to not graze the middle, some people move the fence a little every few days to give a strip of fresh grass, I put the skinny ones in the middle. This winter I had an elderly mare who decided she absolutely could not be stabled at night (she worked herself into such a state she colicked :() so she stayed out on the middle bit. Her friend stayed out too but on the track so they could both eat in peace but not feel they were on their own.

This year I'm going to divide the middle up into small patches (probably half an acre ish each) so that I can do some serious weedkilling and they will still have some grass to eat.
 
Sounds a good idea but what about horses that like to have a good rip round in the field. If they are contained in a somewhat narrow strip, is there a problem with running into fences or turning very sharply and causing an injury to themselves. Ideally they would just lap round the edges giving themselves a workout. I bet mine wouldn't though! Just wondered if anyone knew?
 
For those of you who don't have enough space to leave the middle empty you could try something similar to what my sister uses.

field-1.jpg


The blue is the water trough, the tree is where pony likes to doze and the other green blob is a bramble patch he backs into when it's windy :).
 
I use a track . It is very useful for many reasons..
I have a small paddock (under an acre) and 3 ponies on it. It used to get trashed every year as its on a slope and very wet. 1 of my ponies is a laminitic so I need to limit his grass intake but don't like small starvation paddocks as the ponies don't have alot of room. The track system means that the ponies need to move about alot ie to get to the water, grazing, shelter or hay. It has been a life saver to my laminitic but has also been great for my other 2 ponies who are looking better than ever with less grass and more movement. If I had a big enough field I would have my horses on it too. I have a yard and shelter incoroprated into mine with a hardcore track at one entrance which has helped to transform the ponies hooves which can now cope well without shoes on all surfaces.
I have 2 ungrazed areas which I let them onto for a treat every now and then. Some people (depending on how big it is) grow it and cut hay from it. You could use it as a schooling area or just alternative grazing when you want to rest your track.
MIne is mainly dirt because of my laminitic and I supplement with hay. Mine still hooly about too. Just make sure your tracks are wide enough.
This is mine:
020620094108.jpg
 
Yours looks great _HP_. I'm planning on resting the middle bit of the 2 acres for winter (as it is very wet and poached ATM) and using the middle bit of the smaller paddock for schooling which will be ideal.

This is my plan:

fielddiagram.png


The thick lines are existing fencing (The gates are shown for the diagram but aren't in the way so much in reality!). The thin lines are where I plan to put electric fencing. The brown is my stables with hardstanding around. The grey is the muckheap (at the side of the stables) and the places they like to poo! The green bits are hedges and trees so the field is pretty well sheltered, and of course the blue is the water.

What do you think?
 
Wow, I've never heard of this before, sounds like great idea. I might have to get the book... although.... I don't have my own land or horses atm... lol
 
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