Would my horse/ field suit a track system?

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starry94

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My horse literally ballooned over night this year when the spring grass came through. He is a very good doer & it probably didn't help we hadn't been st the new yard very long & before this yard he was very poor grazing for most of his life.
The field he is in is probably about an acre-ish & he shares it with a little welsh pony (11hh) who drops weight quite quick in winter if not rugged enough, but who can put on weight quickly in the summer.
I was wondering if our field size & both our horses would suit a track system this year? Strip grazing didn't work for my boy last year & I did try a shires muzzle but he got really stressed wearing it.
If you have any pics of your track systems they would be good to see :)
Thanks, & happy new year!
 
I'm in the middle of setting up a track in half of my field, one half of the field is simply split in to three and we have never used the other half, this is what I am working on at the moment, the area is just under two acres. I have two square paddocks marked off and the track is a figure of 8 shape around those squared off (like a digital no 8 if that makes sense) three sides are up to the boundarys and the last long side is away from the other half of the field so that I have a long strip of grass that means I can drive right up the centre of the halves of the field and this can provide further grazing if needed

So in all I will have five paddocks, a figure of 8 track and a strip

Hope that all makes sense!
 
I just put electric fencing as a horseshoe around the top of my field in the summer. I would fence off the square in the middle but the field borders the pavement so if I'm keeping them a bit hungry I don't want them begging treats off pedestrians, of which there are many. It's really easy to do with electric fencing and you can move the track to make it wider/narrower/longer/shorter whenever you want.
FWIW, my horse self-harms rather than wear a muzzle and she is much happier on a track than on strip grazing as she has more space. She and her buddy use it as a racetrack!
 
I keep four of my eight ponies on a track system round my largest paddock to keep there weight down from spring through till autumn. In winter they all go into my winter paddock from dec till april to save trashing all my paddocks.

I put water at one end and to make them walk. I can adjust the grazing as neccasary by adjusting my electric fencing...


I wouldnt be without a track system now.

The ponies I keep on the track are two Fells, one Highland and a Sec A
 
Some pics of mine this yr - had FAR too much grass on it....!

This was round 8 acres mind :)

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My field with the track is about 4-5 acres which I rent.


I would do this on a smaller ammount also esp if I owned the land. I think your two on one acre would work. Do you rent or own....? sorry if that is to personal.
 
Native Lover said:
My field with the track is about 4-5 acres which I rent.


I would do this on a smaller ammount also esp if I owned the land. I think your two on one acre would work. Do you rent or own....? sorry if that is to personal.
Click to expand...

I'm on a small DIY yard, but it's a very much get on with your own thing kinda place :) we have our field ith our two in & basically can do whatever we want with it (divide it/ put up fences etc)
 
I was just thinking if it was your own land if you put chippings down at one end where they get water the at the other side where they get hay in winter,
it helps keep their feet trim too, so cutting down on the ammount of farrier trims needed in a year:)

But not possible as you are on a yard and I am renting on a farm.
 
Setting up a track system on our land is the best thing we have done here. If we were to move anywhere it is the first thing I would do!! Electric fencing makes it all so easy as well!!
 
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