Sign in or 
Share this
What's Happening
"Horses For Clean Water" Educational Tour!
Wiki members can add photos, videos, and polls here. Show us your designs for Paddock Paradise tracks and slow feeders!
Click the "Join This Site" button to get started!
Look for discussion threads at at the bottom of each page. Or, go to the discussion forum to see all topics. Start a discussion thread by clicking the link near the lower right-hand side of the page called "Post a new thread." To see thread replies, click on the title of the first post in that thread. You must be signed in to post.
Combat Horse Boredom with Track Paddocks: Tour Laughing Horse Farm
Issaquah-Preston Washington area
Saturday, September 24
Choice of two tour times: 10 am to noon OR 1:30 to 3:30 pm
Do you complain about having small acreage, no topsoil, lots of rocks and slope on your horse property? Then visit Laughing Horse Farm to see how one farm has turned lemons into lemonade! Join us on this guided educational event to learn about horse keeping on very small (and rocky!) acreage with a steep ravine and a seasonal creek.
This property features:
o A track paddock—a long corridor that circles the property and encourages horse movement
o An extreme trail course that doubles as a landscape feature combining stumps, rocks and plantings with an obstacle course for horses
o A barn beautifully refurbished with reclaimed materials
o Cost-shared compost bins
o Mud-free confinement areas off the barn
o Outdoor arena
o Gardening innovations—raised beds, fruit trees & more!
Come see small acreage horse keeping that’s carefully done to be horse-friendly, chore efficient and good for nearby waterways.
Register and receive directions at 425-282-1949 or signup@kingcd.org.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Like to learn more about Track Paddock? Read on…
Track Paddocks: Combating Horse Boredom
By Alayne Blickle, Horses for Clean Water
A confinement area (or paddock) is an enclosure meant to be your horse's outdoor living quarters when keeping them off pastures. Using a confinement area protects pastures from overgrazing and soil compaction, especially during winter months when grass plants are dormant and soils are saturated.
If you’re familiar with confinement areas, you probably think of them as small areas that don’t give horses much opportunity to move. However, an emerging trend, called track paddocks, may change the way you view confinement areas. Track paddocks are large, long corridors that circle the perimeter of a pasture or other area. Thegoal of a track paddock is to encourage horses to move about more freely andinteract with each other.
Track paddocks are based on concepts brought to the forefront by author Jaime Jackson in his book Paddock Paradise, A Guide to Natural Horse Boarding. Jackson introduced a new way of looking at confinement areas based on his research into how horses live in the wild. Jackson’s ideas draw from his observations on how the horse's natural instincts stimulate and facilitate movement which Jackson feels helps keep a horse sound, both physically and mentally. Jackson and many others who have tried this approach feel track paddocks have many benefits including fewer vices, healthier hooves and overall improved horse health.
A track paddock is generally set up so that it runs along the perimeter of a pasture or property, with permanent fencing on the outside and temporary fencing on the inside. But there are any number of creative ways to shape a track paddock, including circling around a building or arena, or weaving through a trail course. The possibilities are endless.
Here are some things to consider when designing a track paddock:
· Soil type. Track paddocks require well-drained soils in order for them to be successful. Wet or organic soils will turn to mud with continued heavy use.
· Land available. Living with horses on one or two acres requires greater creativity in designing track paddocks. Paddocks may be shaped to fit around a building, arena or pasture perimeter. Be sure to avoid sharp corners on buildings.
· Track width. This depends on the number of horses you have, their age, breed and temperaments. The narrower the track, the more the horses will move. However, if it’s too narrow and you have multiple horses, one may get cornered by a more dominant horse.
· Additional movement can be encouraged throughout the track by strategically placing feed and watering points along with other stimuli (such as poles to step over) that activate curiosity or movement.
· Cost and chore efficiency. Remember, the bigger your track paddock, the more maintenance it will require (e.g., picking up manure and putting down footing in muddy spots). A larger track will also incur more costs (such as fencing or footing).
If you’d like more information on track paddocks, join King Conservation District and Horses for Clean Water on Saturday, September 24 to tour Laughing Horse Farm. This farm features a track paddock, along with many other innovative horse-keeping designs. Register and receive directions at 425-282-1949 or signup@kingcd.org.
Alayne Renee Blickle
Creator & Program Director
Horses for Clean Water
206-909-0225
Nampa, Idaho
www.horsesforcleanwater.com
www.sweetpepperranch.com
alayne@horsesforcleanwater.com
| Natural Boarding News From Around the Web: | |
| New Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis (EPM) website is available. No sales, No endorsements, No miracle cures. Information from the latest journals and trials. Explanation of the the disease, symptoms, tests, and four FDA approved drugs. www.EPMhorse.org Sorry, there are no Fast Facts for this complicated disease; just resources and help. Blog shows slow feeder used during recovery. | |
| Equine Cushings List has launched a new web site with valuable information about treating insulin resistance in horses. http://www.ecirhorse.com. Details at: http://paddockparadise.wetpaint.com/page/EC%2FIR+Research+and+Support+Group Also see this wiki's section on using slow feeders and grass-free turnout tracks for IR horses. | |
| |
| Dr. Lydia Gray discusses our wiki in her blog about weight management for SmartPak: http://askthevet.smartpak.com/equine/weight-management/slow-down-hay-eating/ | |
| According to his blog, Joe Camp has moved his hillside Paddock Paradise from California to middle Tennessee. http://thesoulofahorse.com/blog/ | |
| Jaime Jackson's official web site URL is http://jaimejackson.com/ (no hyphen) | |
| Our friends at Natural Horse Resource are spotlighting individual Paddock Paradise tracks in a series of interviews. These are worth reading! Part 4: Spotted T Apps in Florida Part 3: Blue Heron Farm in Tennessee Part 2: Due North Farm in Connecticut Part 1: Tangled Manes in central New York |
Wiki members can add photos, videos, and polls here. Show us your designs for Paddock Paradise tracks and slow feeders!
Click the "Join This Site" button to get started!
Look for discussion threads at at the bottom of each page. Or, go to the discussion forum to see all topics. Start a discussion thread by clicking the link near the lower right-hand side of the page called "Post a new thread." To see thread replies, click on the title of the first post in that thread. You must be signed in to post.
tangledmanes |
Latest page update: made by tangledmanes
, Sep 6 2011, 8:54 PM EDT
(about this update
About This Update
Edited by tangledmanes
4 words added 2 words deleted view changes - complete history) |
|
Keyword tags:
events
jokes
slow feeding
updates
weather
More Info: links to this page
|
| Started By | Thread Subject | Replies | Last Post | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| tangledmanes | moveable fence posts for low-hanging small-mesh hay nets? | 4 | Dec 5 2011, 1:44 AM EST by empathyequine | ||
|
Thread started: Oct 16 2008, 9:37 AM EDT
Watch
Has anyone tried hanging a smhn from a temporary fence post? What I'm thinking is filling a tire with cement and putting a cedar post in the middle, like a short tetherball post. Then hanging smhns from a screw-eye in each one. That way, I could move them to higher ground in the wet weather, shallower snow in the winter, and shade in the summer. Should I be concerned about the toxicity of the tire?
Any suggestions? Will the horses just tip them over anyway? My first idea was 5-gallon buckets filled with cement, but my equine destruction team would certainly wind up keeping that tipped over. Or I could line a Rubbermaid soaking container with a garbage bag and fill it partway with cement, for a rectangular base. I don't think Don's excellent fence post suggestion of concrete blocks would work for a hay net post, since it will be tugged sideways, rather then passively holding fence line, which was his point. Maybe I'm just trying to avoid digging more holes. The other option I thought about and discarded was using a t-post with the plastic cap; I don't think that's sturdy enough or safe enough to be congregated around.
Do you find this valuable?
Keyword tags:
hay net hang
|
||||
| ChristinaSchumacher | URGENT URGENT | 3 | Feb 19 2011, 11:52 AM EST by Barnflye | ||
|
Thread started: Feb 9 2010, 2:10 PM EST
Watch
Hello all. I just found out the following info. PLEASE GO SIGN THE PETITION IMMEDIATELY. The deadline is tonight. Rollkur is an unnatural and inhumane act on horses and its becoming more and more prevalent in FEI competitions. Please pass this on to any horse owning friends you have.
Tomorrow, February 9, 2010, there will be a Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) closed-door meeting to discuss the practice of hyperflexion, also known as "rollkur." This highly controversial technique is often employed at the upper levels of dressage training and involves hyperflexing the horse's neck until his chin is almost touching his chest; often the horse is forced to maintain this position for extended periods of time. Pat and Linda Parelli stand with dressage master Walter Zettl in support of those who denounce rollkur. Rollkur represents artificiality taken to the extreme and performance put before the good of the horse. Convincing FEI officials to take a stand against rollkur will be a major step forward in ensuring that performance horses worldwide are being ridden and trained without force and mechanics. Rollkur has a few passionate opponents who will be present at the FEI meeting next week, but they need our support to make an impression on the FEI officials. If you believe in the Parelli vision to make the world a better place for horses and humans, please add your name to one or both of the following petitions. Please share these links with your horse-loving friends, family and neighbors. Let's show the FEI that compromising the natural dignity of the horse for the sake of competition is NOT permissible! Register your support to ban rollkur by adding your name to a petition which will be presented by Dr. Gerd Heuschmann – veterinarian, clinician and author of the book Tug of War; Classical versus Modern Dressage – at the FEI meeting on February 9, 2010. I will post the links above. Just click and fill |
||||
| Hubbardshorses | Can't load photos | 0 | Dec 17 2010, 3:57 PM EST by Hubbardshorses | ||
|
Thread started: Dec 17 2010, 3:57 PM EST
Watch
I'm trying to load photos for you all to see. But it says they are too large. I have no idea how to make them smaller. Anyone have any ideas? I'll have to wait and post an album once I figure this out..
Do you find this valuable?
Keyword tags:
events
jokes
slow feeding
updates
weather
|
||||
Showing 3 of 15 threads for this page
- view all
