Winter turnout pen - ideas?

[viceversa]

Hi all

Currently have 2 horses living out on a 1 acre paddock for the winter. I have a smaller pen area around their shelter where I was putting them at night to make poo picking more manageable however this became too muddy. So I’ve had to shut them away from their shelter while it’s wet weather which seems pointless! So I’m looking for new ideas for next year.

I’m thinking of getting another shelter and making them individual turnout pens possibly using grass mats? To use at night and when the weathers very wet. We aren’t allowed hardstanding as I rent the land.

Has anyone tried anything like this? What works best?

Thanks!

 

[whiteflower]

I think you will find grass mats may just sink into the mud unfortunately. Hardcore would be the way to go but not sure what else to suggest that won't go boggy. Hopefully someone may come along with some better suggestions for you

 

[viceversa]

I think you will find grass mats may just sink into the mud unfortunately. Hardcore would be the way to go but not sure what else to suggest that won't go boggy. Hopefully someone may come along with some better suggestions for you

Yes I did wonder if that would be the case which is why I haven’t bothered with them up to now, however have seen a couple of people use them with success recently which made me reconsider ..

 

[meleeka]

My hardstanding is just old paving slabs, bought cheaply on eBay/Gumtree and laid rough side up on a bed of sand. Obviously you’d need to do it before the mud arrives. There’s wooden boards round the edge to keep them from moving (and fence posts of course).

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

Hi all

Currently have 2 horses living out on a 1 acre paddock for the winter. I have a smaller pen area around their shelter where I was putting them at night to make poo picking more manageable however this became too muddy. So I’ve had to shut them away from their shelter while it’s wet weather which seems pointless! So I’m looking for new ideas for next year.

I’m thinking of getting another shelter and making them individual turnout pens possibly using grass mats? To use at night and when the weathers very wet. We aren’t allowed hardstanding as I rent the land.

Has anyone tried anything like this? What works best?

Thanks!

Can you not bring them into the shelter for the nights to get them off the grass. Do you have more land or just this 1 acre, but I presume you have more, why not get a stable instead of the shelter. The size of the horse would depend on the area they need, I would not want mine on 1 acre every day through the winter.


Type of soil also can make a difference to the state of the field etc, it's hard to give you more ideas without knowing the set up and how much land, time, storage etc


I would be inclined if you had more land would be give them two acres for the winter and use one side and rest one, to give th ground a rest and time to recover..

 

[TheMule]

Clip and ride is a mat system but more robust than the standard grass mats- may be worth having a look at

 

[Calico1]

I've used grass mats and had no problems, I think it depends on the land really. Mine is slightly sloping so drains well.