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Discussion: Starting on my track
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Hubbardshorses |
Starting on my track
Aug 7 2010, 11:18 PM EDT
Hi everyone~I just wanted to say thank you for sharing all your tips and photos on this site. I am going to try and brave the heat in the morning and start fencing off my track for the horses. I am doing the step in posts for the time being with my hot wire poly rope . Once I get the layout like I want and the horses get to try it out I will make a prettier fence. I've been getting my two boys ready for this transition by scattering some hay along the fence line on away from their shelter and water. They seem to like foraging for the small piles hidden here and there. They each have a slow feeder in the run in shed that they use. ( I will post photos of that soon) My husband is getting some road fabric for me in the near future, so I can make a stretch of pea gravel.. Oh and I need to do water crossing too....(those things will be in the future) My property is small, but I am inspired by everyone and I hope to make this a nice place for my boys. I have a question... Do some of you ride your horses on the track? I am going to do that and I was thinking of making my track 16 ft wide with a few wider areas around the corners... I wonder if that will be wide enough for 2 horses being ridden? I'll keep all of you posted on my progress over the next few weeks/months. Happy Paddocks to everyone!! Do you find this valuable?
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Cinderella Slow Hay Feeder
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SpottedTApps |
1. RE: Starting on my track
Aug 11 2010, 12:39 PM EDT
Oh yay! A new track! Be sure to share pictures with us. RE: riding on track. In his book Jamie Jackson discourages it, claiming it should be for turn out only. Something about the track being the horses' down time. He also states that the center turn out should be for fun, not used for grazing. I break both rules. Generally I ride in the center of my track, but occasionally will ride on the track as well, more often for a cool down walk than work out. This time of year with the grass growing in abundance, my horses have 12 hours of access to the center pastures every day. I'll take all of the free feed I can get. Do you find this valuable? |
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Hubbardshorses |
2. RE: Starting on my track
Aug 11 2010, 9:24 PM EDT
Thanks for the input on riding on the tract. I am going to probably use it off and on for riding. Mainly it will be for the horses to play/ forage on. Like i said before, my property is small so I am limited on some things I can have space for. My neighbor lets me put the horses in her small pasture during the day. So, like you I can enjoy the free feed while I can. *ha *ha. I'm so excited about making this all come together...
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Hubbardshorses |
3. RE: Starting on my track
Aug 15 2010, 3:26 PM EDT
Well we put up the hot wire today. It has been tough with the heat. I made my track 14 ft wide and wider around the corners of the primary fence line. (that way they can turn and buck,roll) We also we bought a Big Bale Buddy and put our our roll out at the opposite end of the track. Because the horses were wanting to take a short cut to the water trough, I made the decision to try and block the track at one end, which makes them walk all the way around to get water and shelter. This is our first day with the track. I can say though that they both already walk the track to food,eat for a little while and then back to water and then they nap. I'm happy so far. They aren't yelling at me when I go outside either. Instead they look relaxed and happy. I know that I will have some tweaking to do with things. Once I get the center going with grass again it will look nice. Right now I have a dry sand pit..So many things to do yet. I do have my road fabric now, so that will be for the pea gravel when I have a little money to make it. And I will make my water crossing in the future too. This is neat to do. I'll post pictures when I am happy with they way it looks.*ha*ha
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tangledmanes |
4. RE: Starting on my track
Aug 15 2010, 4:34 PM EDT
" They aren't yelling at me when I go outside either. Instead they look relaxed and happy. "Yay!!! That's a tremendous mental benefit. :-) Sounds like you're off to a great start. Looking forward to more pics -- thanks for posting the slow feeder pictures, too! (I put your hard-sided feeder pics here: http://paddockparadise.wetpaint.com/page/Hubbards+Horse+Feeders in addition to them being in your album: http://paddockparadise.wetpaint.com/photos/album/178509/Hubbards+horse+feeders ~JoAnn~ Do you find this valuable? |
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Hubbardshorses |
5. RE: Starting on my track
Aug 15 2010, 6:49 PM EDT
I'm enjoying learning from everyone and being creative with ideas for our paddock paradise. This is a fun!! Oh and thank you for moving my pictures. I couldn't figure out how to link to the hard sided feeders. Have a great day~
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SpottedTApps |
6. RE: Starting on my track
Aug 16 2010, 9:44 AM EDT
awesome feeders! did you build those or buy them?
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Hubbardshorses |
7. RE: Starting on my track
Aug 16 2010, 8:29 PM EDT
Thanks SpottedT. My husband made them. He actually was trying to make a homemade "Grazer hay feeder" We saw those on the internet for 130 and they are metal. He decided to make ours and to see if the horses liked before possibly buying those. All in all ours cost about 50-60 to make. Only wish we made it deeper to hold more than one flake. :)
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Hubbardshorses |
8. RE: Starting on my track
Aug 16 2010, 8:35 PM EDT
So enjoying the track. Today is Day 2 and my boys came galloping around the track tonight for their evening grain. It was so wonderful! America was running and bucking, and he got my old timer Buddy to start trotting and he even did 4 little bucks. I haven't seen him move like that in quite awhile! Very entertaining to see indeed...... (Oh and our track is small right now. About 1/2 acre currently)
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Hubbardshorses |
9. Update on my paddock and finally took some photos.
Dec 17 2010, 2:32 PM EST
Well everyone I haven't been on here in a while. I unfortunately had to put down my senior horse this fall. It was a very sad time for all of us here. It also set me back financially with my track. I have been trying out different feeding ways. My track is only on about 1/2 an acre at this time. I feed out of the hard sided feeders, and out of my regular hay rack at night. I now put my husbands horse up at night in a run with his shelter. In the morning I open this run and he has access to the track. We purchased a Big Bale Buddy in Sept. The round bales were more cost effective for our pocket book at the time. So in order to keep the horses from inhaling the round bale. I have positioned the Big Bale Buddy away from his run and the water trough. He now has to walk a C- Shape track to get to food and walk all the way around to get to water and shelter. So far it is working. I am also able to open the other end of his track/run and let it be a full O (circle) to ride in or give him variety when needed. He runs and bucks down the straight away of the track daily. I even made a little grazing section in the center. (Hot wire keeps him off it.) I only allow grazing time for a short amount of time on the weekends. He also gets to go run on the neighbors acre for fun time. About twice per week... I usually let the water trough over flow to soak his hooves. I do have road fabric now. I just hadn't had the money for pea gravel, or the energy place it. I still have idea's and things I want to do. I will have to post updates when I complete them. As for now I need to figure out where to post my paddock track photos.... *ha *ha
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Hubbardshorses |
10. RE: Update on my paddock and finally took some photos.
Dec 17 2010, 2:35 PM EST
OH and with the Big Bale Buddy, it appears to me that I will have to break down and get a net for it. Our horse is a grass hog and is so rough on everything. He is trying to even waste the big bale hay. I scoop that part up that he tosses out of the big bale buddy during the day, and I load his hay feeders with it for nighttime...
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DutchHollow |
11. RE: Update on my paddock and finally took some photos.
Dec 20 2010, 3:53 PM EST
I just started putting a large Shires small mesh hay net on my bale buddy and it has been workign out great. Surprisingly the net isn't holding up nearly as well as the Big Bale Buddy is even with holes in it every 4 inches. http://www.alpacabytes.com/2010/12/08/big-bale-buddy-review-%e2%80%93-year-2/ I have a video on my post too showing how I attached the net to the buddy. Do you find this valuable? |
