# Paddock paradise/track system at a livery yard????



## kittykatcat (24 March 2011)

Hi all,

I am wondering if anyone has had experience of doing this and how it worked out? As it is, I have about 12 horses at livery, they all pretty much go in together whilst my two are on a track system.

I am thinking about introducing the system to the rest of the liveries as they are all obese and some are laminitic....but am wondering if anyone else has had experience of this and liveries?? I see some potential hurdles but lots of benefits too!!


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## Ali2 (24 March 2011)

No way would my YO do that!  I'd love it if she did - can we come and live at your yard?


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## kittykatcat (24 March 2011)

Haha of course my love!!! A slight commute to the yard for you...but hey your horses will be fit and healthy!!


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## MissTyc (24 March 2011)

Great idea! 
I run my herd on 50 acres, but if I could afford the fencing, I would love a perimetre track (maybe 5m wide), and use the inside just in the winter or for rescues/oldies/imaginary cross country course (though it's a pretty steep hill!)!


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## JoBird (24 March 2011)

Could you explain exactly what this is to me and what the reasoning is - it sounds very interesting?


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## kittykatcat (24 March 2011)

Hi Jobird!

'Paddock Paradise' is a term coined by Jaime Jackson (barefoot guru) as a more natural way to keep horses. In a nutshell it basically involves keeping horses on a track, rather than in a rectangular paddock (people normally just put an electric fence on the inside of the original paddock fencing) which helps to keep the horses on the move. Although originally designed with the barefoot horse in mind to help the barefooters keep their feet in tip top condition, it's also a brilliant way of housing fat/laminitic/cushingoid/IR/metabolic horses as it helps to keep weight down, improves fitness and mentality. 

It also means that you have the rest of the field to ride in or make hay.

Die hard paddock paradisers make the track so it is all weather (i.e. with hardstanding etc) but mine is purely dry weather as it's only on grass.

Hope that's made it clearer!x


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## SusieT (24 March 2011)

What do your liveries think?


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## kittykatcat (24 March 2011)

not sure...haven't approached the subject yet...they're all pretty easy going and i'd like to think they would want to do the best for their horse...when i say some of these horses are obese...im talking disgusting (imo anyway!) keeping on the move will certainly help get the fatties shedding some weight as the owners appear to be unable to do anything about it!


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## piebaldsparkle (24 March 2011)

Ask them.  I am not sure how wide the track is, but might have some concerns about a herd in a restricted area, with little grazing.............sounds like the recipe for a kicking match to me.

That said fat horses is no good either.


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## jinglejoys (24 March 2011)

JoBird said:



			Could you explain exactly what this is to me and what the reasoning is - it sounds very interesting?
		
Click to expand...

http://www.ukhooftrimmers.co.uk/paddock-paradise
http://www.bitlessbridle.co.uk/articles/wake-up-to-welfare.php


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## RolyPolyPony (24 March 2011)

Some liveries on my yard have theirs on a track system all year round. It works really well for them.


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## skint1 (24 March 2011)

I really want to try this with my laminitic boy but all of the fields are really far too big for it to be practicable, maybe I will talk to my friend about it see what she thinks


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## miss_bird (24 March 2011)

It is a brilliant system, a friend of mine brought a seriously overweight horse and used the track system, he now looks fab after losing serious stones in weight (equivalent of friends body weight)


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## Laafet (24 March 2011)

Very interesting - not sure about the electric fencing one in our fields, mine either charges through it or jumps it (both when electified to either a leisure battery or the mains) even upto a height of 4 ft.


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## misterjinglejay (24 March 2011)

I might be being dense here, but whilst I love the idea of keeping horses moving, do they move around more on a track than in a normal paddock? And do they have room to play, chase and generally hoon around?


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## SusieT (24 March 2011)

bring it up and see what they say, but I suspect the answer will be that some may want to try it, some wont'. 
For the ones who don't, sorry but I  don't think it is for you to force your horse keeping ways on your liveries. One would assume that if they haven't done anything about their obese horses you are more likely to offend them. At the end of the day they are the owners and you are simply providing a stable/grazing and possibly some care, not making the management decisions. 
You can of course give notice to any who don't want to follow the track system to move off but it would not be a very economical move.


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## Fii (24 March 2011)

SusieT said:



			bring it up and see what they say, but I suspect the answer will be that some may want to try it, some wont'. 
For the ones who don't, sorry but I  don't think it is for you to force your horse keeping ways on your liveries. One would assume that if they haven't done anything about their obese horses you are more likely to offend them. At the end of the day they are the owners and you are simply providing a stable/grazing and possibly some care, not making the management decisions. 
You can of course give notice to any who don't want to follow the track system to move off but it would not be a very economical move.
		
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 I would have though making management decisions was exactly what a yard owner should be doing, and as for offending the owners of fat ponies, there have been anough posts on here moaning about how a yard owner won't intervene when a liverie is'nt doing anough!

 Sounds like a great idea op, go for it!


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## SpruceRI (24 March 2011)

How many of the owners know their horses are obese?  A lot of people don't seem to see it, so will you just offend them?

Or will they think you're being 'tight' (stingy) with the grazing?

I think it's a good idea.  It would be ideal for my Shetland pony, but I just don't have enough electric fence tape or stakes!!


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## spookypony (24 March 2011)

I think it's a great idea if you can manage it! I've been trying to think of a realistic way of doing this on a livery yard---there are a few others on our yard that are interested, and the YM is open to ideas. But finding a way that would work given the sucky Scottish weather, and the tendency of the horses simply to carefully uproot any electric fence posts whose position they don't like, is another matter. It would be a good way to restrict the Spooky Pony's grazing, too, which will become relevant again in a very short time. Neither mostly solitary confinement in Pony Jail, nor the Darth Vader mask, appears an ideal solution.

*Piebaldsparkle*, in a nutshell, Jackson's reasoning is that horses as observed in nature tend to spend much of their time walking along fairly narrow tracks, following the same paths year after year. When these same feral horses were caught and placed in fields, he observed that they became far more sedentary in their habits. He suggested the track system to replicate their natural behaviour: apparently, a well-constructed system will encourage them to start following it, getting much more exercise. 

An ideal track system according to Jackson, IIRC, would vary in width, and have some bulgy places along it with things such as a watering hole or a copse of trees, and there would be provision for letting the horses into a larger area to hoon about in random directions, as well. Of course, to do that, you kind of need your own digging equipment, vast wads of cash for pea gravel and fencing and who knows what else, and preferably a nice chunk of rather dry land such as might be found in the American West. Implementing it in a wet place traditionally divided into rough rectangles, where most people don't already own lots of farm equipment, planning permissions are needed, and raw materials cost lots, isn't the most trivial of tasks, shall we say!


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## tallyho! (25 March 2011)

I think: Go Fer It!!!!

What a great system if you can afford to get it as close to JJacksons original idea... a muddy track doesn't really count as PParadise...

Wish I could convince my lot... I keep mine with owners who are VERY set in thier ways but it's a challenge I'm willing to take even though it may take another year...


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## hollyandivy123 (25 March 2011)

do you cut your own hay or buy  in .......................if you cut or might think of cutting then you could use this as a reason for the change as in more forage for the winter and the fat pony owners will not have to know the real reason!


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## LucyPriory (25 March 2011)

I had a track system on some rented land.  No digging equipment or intensive investment required.  Hefty boyfriend, some wooden stakes for stress points (corners), a lot of tape and two 'kickers' did the job very well.

I had one horse which was very territorial and prone to running backwards and double barrelling whoever took their fancy.  The track system drastically reduced this behaviour.  Whichever horse was the target could always get out of the way because the track was a loop (so they kept just going round) and the kicking horse gave up because they could never corner their victim and they got tired of chasing them.

All the horses got very fit.  Injuries were rare and those that arrived with or acquired injuries recovered in super quick time.

'Resources' such as water, salt licks and sheltered spots are spaced well apart from each other so movement was encouraged.  I left a couple of wider sections for 'loafing', but the rest of the track worked best if it was kept pretty narrow, otherwise they returned to paddock behaviours.

The horses loved it, they looked well, the were very content and they developed some very interesting behaviours and routines. For example at night they preferred to doze under the street lights at the top of the hill, even though it was windy and exposed, rather than go down the hill to the sheltered area which was very dark and there was no view.  

Done well they are brilliant.


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## BBH (25 March 2011)

I've been looking at this for a while and I've designed it for my 4 acre field and have managed to utilize one lot of natural water for the summer track ( river cove )  and a natural pond for the winter field. Just got to get around to doing it now.


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## amandap (25 March 2011)

Joe Camp sums up reasons in this video. Not sure horses evolved in the Great Basin though. lol I'd love an extreme track like this but you need the weather for it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTI4afF3JA8&feature=player_embedded


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## My_Eeyore (25 March 2011)

I would love to be able to do this but only have 3 very small paddocks. How wide does the track need to be for 2 horses?

 My cobs live on air and I normally restrict them with strip grazing and muzzles.  I would be worried that to implement this they would have four sides of the field to graze rather than one.

I can imagine my two just starting at the beginning and munching to the end with no extra movement at all lol.


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## amandap (25 March 2011)

I believe 12ft is about the minimum and is definitely wide enough for two horses. You can make the corners or one corner wider for a lounging area or pick where they prefer to lounge.


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## Fii (25 March 2011)

I would be very interested in trying this, but our field is over nine acres and has footpaths through it, it might work with a little thought, will have to geat my thinking cap on ,


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## hollyandivy123 (26 March 2011)

My_Eeyore said:



			I would love to be able to do this but only have 3 very small paddocks. How wide does the track need to be for 2 horses?

 My cobs live on air and I normally restrict them with strip grazing and muzzles.  I would be worried that to implement this they would have four sides of the field to graze rather than one.

I can imagine my two just starting at the beginning and munching to the end with no extra movement at all lol.
		
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my paddock is about 3/4 acre and it works well during the summer, size is not important!


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