Great progress!

Dyna and Freckles have been on the track for almost 5 weeks now, and the results are interesting!
First of all, their hooves have made great progress. The frogs are getting wider and stronger, the hooves are harder too! Of course the weather has been dryer which helps. I am adding some pictures.
Second, Freckles has lost weight and Dyna is not gaining any, they both are in great shape!
I had to increase Freckles' feed, and Dyna has been losing her belly a little.
They have developed a routine and have their favorite spots on the track. They truly move a lot more, but not always clockwise, sometimes they go counterclockwise, looking for their favorite hay. (I have 2 kinds)
I had to drag the track and cut the weeds. There is a little bit of grass on the track, they nibble on that and it's ok for them, I won't completely scrape the track to get rid of all greens.
The center of the pasture will be baled in the coming weeks.
So far it is a good experience!

Paddock Paradise in Ohio

This is a place where you can follow the creation of my own 'Paddock Paradise', as described in Jaime Jackson's book.

To make any sense out of what I am writing, please read the book!

I am working in phases to get the ultimate track for my horses.

I am working with limitations such as location, budget, time etc.

So I have designed a track that is possible within my means.

I am sharing this information with you so you don't have to make the same mistakes & get a head start on your own Paddock Paradise!

The Pre-phase was preparing the pasture perimeters and cleaning up the pasture.

During that pre-phase I spreaded out the hay as if there was a track, so the horses needed to walk around to eat their hay. It was January-March so not much grass to eat yet.

Just spreading out the hay as if there is a track will make your horse walk around a lot more already. It is a great alternative for people that cannot have a track for some reason.

It is a first step towards getting your horse to move around more.

Phase 1 started in April 2008 : I set up an electric fence and created a track around the pasture.

The pasture is about 440 feet long and 293 feet wide. It has woods on the west side and a treeline on the south side, so plenty of shade.

The fence is set up as a temporary fence, so I can make it wider or narrower, depending on what is needed.

I have an Arabian mare and an appendix Quarter horse, both pretty 'hot' horses, who are also very sensitive. It took them a couple of days to figure out what was going on.

They ran around like crazy horses on certain parts of the track, were 'camping' on other parts, so I saw where they had too much pressure (too narrow) and where there was not enough pressure (too wide).

I had to widen the corners, I rounded them off a bit more because they were a hesitant to go around the corners.

The pasture has muddy spots and a spot that floods naturally, so that will be the future waterhole. Right now it is a water trough, as I said, it is a work in progress.

No gravel yet, I am waiting to see what patterns my horses develop: where is more mud, where are their new rolling spots, etc.

Depending on those patterns, I will put pea gravel, river rocks and other gravel where needed.

I already see the paths they created on the track, and this is only after 1 week. I see where they like to hang out, where they nap, where they roll, where they go faster, it is great to see how it all is coming together and the horses start to feel better, they are alert but not scared, they are active and not bored.

I strongly suggest to start with a fence that you can move around, as it is learning by doing and I already had to move it around a bit for better results = more comfort for the horses.

How easy is setting up a track:

I set it up alone, in 1 weekend.

I prepared the track for months: I had the track designed on paper and discussed it with several people, I read the book several times and started buying the necessary fencing and a solar electric charger.

Depending on how many horses and what kind of horses, your set up may have to be different. My horses will not try to push through a fence, but a Fjord for example, may be a bit more pushy and try the fence a bit more. I had one staying at my place for several months and he showed me the weak areas in my fencing! So think about the personalities of your horses to decide what will work for them.

Electric fence is a must, at least for the inside fence.