My little Paddock Paradise mentioned in Horsemen's Corral magazine

Too cool, after the open house, my little paddock paradise was mentioned in the Horsemen's Corral magazine. It seems that the people who visited are talking and thinking about it! Who knows? Maybe more people will adopt this way of keeping horses!

Open house in Paddock Paradise!

On Saturday August 8th I had an open house in Paddock Paradise...
The Ohio Horse Council (Miami County chapter) had the meeting at my house, and after the meeting I took them for a walk to show them what the track was all about.
They noticed that Dyna and Freckles are in great shape, and I showed them the shape of their hooves and told them about Dyna's founder and Freckles' OCD (osteochondrosis). Some people saw the benefit, and hopefully it will help broaden their ideas of how to keep a horse in general and how keep them sound and happy.
I have had some questions and will continue to tell and show people!
In the mean time, we are getting ready for our second cutting, a nice byproduct of Paddock Paradise!

Summer 2009

Our first cutting has been baled and the grass is growing for the second cutting! We got 205 bales of hay, and the horses are in better shape than ever. Their frogs keep growing stronger, I need to take some pictures!
During baling we just remove the inside fence, which makes it really easy for the tractor. Once we were done, I put back the fence in about an hour, and made some changes where needed. Some areas are wider, others more narrow. There is some grass on the track, and there is a mulberry tree too, they love mulberries! The horses keep going around to find the best spots to graze. They also finish their hay each day.
I made myself a little drag from some fencing leftovers and I can drag the track to keep it nice and even.
I am now using the new Easyboot Gloves, and Dyna really likes them. They truly fit like a glove, and after trying a few times, it is now super easy to put them on. She can walk, trot and canter and run like the wind with them! Mud, water, etc doesn't bother the Glove, they don't come off!
I have used them on several trailrides on different terrains and also during a Parelli clinic. I put them on in the morning, and take them off when we are done for the day. Really easy!
The other thing I have been using for some years now are the fly predators. I didn't realize how well they work until we traveled somewhere and my horses were covered in flies. They needed flymasks and flyspray each day. At home, with the fly predators, I only put fly masks on during hot days, and fly spray is rarely needed!
Needless to say I am super happy with those little fly predators!
I will post new pictures soon....

The track after 10 months & mud control

The track has been proven to be very effective.
I was able to bale about 360 bales of hay - which is a nice benefit of using a track. Saves me hundreds of dollars!
Thrush is as good as non existent.
My horses are in great shape and have been exercising througout the winter. They are out 24/7.
My foundered mare Dyna has shown huge improvements, the rotation went down significantly. We are working on getting her thicker soles now with some extra biotin.
We cleared out the fence line and have replaced it with electric fence. 3 trees have been cut down, and the horses have enjoyed chewing on the bark.
This spring I hope to add pea gravel in the muddy spots & around the barn.
After 10 months of paddock paradise I must conclude that this is the best thing I've ever done for my horses!

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.