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Discussion: Switchbacks on PP
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empathyequine |
Switchbacks on PP
Dec 5 2011, 1:21 AM EST
| Post edited: Dec 5 2011, 1:37 AM EST
Hello everyone.It's been a while since I've posted, so hello again! Love this site!! I have a 2 year old PP and am looking to make a change. We are dealing with a huge MUD situation right now. The PP is about 5 acres with 5 horses on it shaped like a figure '8'. At the top of the '8' we put down $1000 worth of gravel or 'bony pit run' which has been fantastic for giving the horses a dry spot as well as keeping their hooves tidy. The problem is in certain parts of the year the parts without gravel, specifically where we have our slow feeders gets sooo muddy that the horses are up past their pasterns at times. What would like to do is to put a switchback in the track so that the horses can spend more time on the higher ground but still have somewhere to 'go'. My question is... does anyone have switchbacks on their tracks? Can anyone see safety issues with doing this? Please let me know if I need to clarify what I'm referring to.. it's late at night ;) Thank you!! Do you find this valuable?
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waymire |
1. RE: Switchbacks on PP
Dec 13 2011, 1:53 PM EST
I'm sorry, I don't know exactly what you mean by a switchback... but I have found that moving the feed location even just a few feet every day helps keep the mud down. Try to use movable feeders or scatter the hay in high/dry areas. I live in S. Louisiana, so I definitely know about mud. We allow much wider areas than usual for movement so there is some space to change their main travel paths to go around bad spots, in areas that have to be narrow you have to fill to stabilize the ground. Also, you need some form of ground cover. Try not to let them eat every bit of grass, the roots hold the ground together.... or put down shavings, gravel, straw, anything that will bind the mud together will help, at least in the boggy spots.... or scrape off the topsoil (but you may still need some ground cover because it is usually clay underneath, no mud, but slippery). We get what is called "bottom road ash" here.. it is basically ground up roads, much cheaper than gravel, and very good about not sinking. if you have some stall mats or plywood they can work in a pinch to get you through a temporary problem (like a huge mud hole in front of a gate) until you can fix it right, not a permanent solution though... we have even used heavy duty tarps, anything to spread out the horses weight so they do not sink. You can also move your existing dirt around to fill low spots or dig a low ditch to direct water flow, look at the lay of your land, we have a couple of strategically placed drainage ditches that do amazing things. They do not have to be deep, just enough to get the water to run away from areas you need dry. If it is really horrible and sloppy out, feed them in their shelter. A day or two of reduced movement is better than completely destroying your track during a short period of heavy rain.
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empathyequine |
2. RE: Switchbacks on PP
Dec 13 2011, 8:13 PM EST
| Post edited: Dec 13 2011, 8:16 PM EST
Thanks for the advice :) I like the idea of moving the feeder a few feet every couple of days and will try that with the one movable feeder. Unfortunately the rest of the feeders are hanging from unmovable posts :( I do also like the idea of using plywood or stall mats in a pinch for around the gate areas. As much as I would love to use something like bottom road ash, I have some concerns regarding toxins that would have accumulated into a material like that. Something to research further into though. We definitely have plans to put in more gravel ditches to direct water flow but are restricted by limited finances right now. I'll try to explain the switchback idea as best as i can. The existing track as I said before is a figure 8. To break down the figure '8' there are basically 2 loops. The very top of the upper loop is where we have our gravel, one slow feeder, shelter and water trough. The 'sides' of the top loop are good footing also but the path that goes through the middle of the 8 is quite wet as well as the rest of the bottom loop. Our perimeter fence is permanent electric and our interior is one strand of movable electric. I'd like to add an additional third movable one strand electric running along the top and sides of the upper loop. Kind of in this shape ' n ' So they can have the top go down the side but then when they get to the middle of the 8 they could come back up the side along the top and back down inside top loop of the 8 between the two temporary electric fences. This way they can stay in the higher elevation which tends to be much dryer. My major concern with doing this is that if the horses separate (which they often do) and there is only a small fence between them I'm not sure they would respect the fence enough to go all the way down and back up to where the other horses are if they get upset about something. Do you find this valuable? |
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empathyequine |
3. RE: Switchbacks on PP
Dec 13 2011, 8:14 PM EST
| Post edited: Dec 13 2011, 8:51 PM EST
If they hopped over, I'd be fine with it but my nightmare is someone getting tangled in hot fence :(I'm going to attempt to draw and post a picture of what I'm trying(and failing) to explain Do you find this valuable? |
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waymire |
4. RE: Switchbacks on PP
Dec 14 2011, 11:22 AM EST
I think I understand now, you want to run another path along the same path as the top of the loop, doubling your track on the same path. Ok that sounded wierd lol, but I do think I understand. My horses have used a few "maze" patterns and some get it better than others, For example, we have a "c" shaped barn with a paddock in the middle of the "c", that connects to our arena which is near the bottom of the "c". If you walk down the aisle of the barn you come to an opening with an electric gate, you can see the arena, but the horses cannot go that way, they have to walk around the bottom section of the "c" and go through a path that way. Many times they have simply stood there and fussed, watching me put hay in the arena, until I physically walk them around. A few caught on quickly, but most took several times, and still every once in a while I have two that get "stuck". I think with only one strand of fence and no obvious way to get to what the want (feed, water, friend, whatever) since they would have to walk away from their goal to get to the corner.... you would have "stuck" horses. They do not seem to do well with complicated logic puzzles. Mine are scared to death of the wire (actually we use electric tape about 1" wide, which I highly recommend for the visibility and ease of use, plus safety if they do get caught it doesn't cut like wire), so they never challenge it, but they just sit there, fuss and starve until I do the thinking for them. I dont know how big your top loop is... but my suggestion would be to move your interior electric fence in toward the middle of the loop, to widen your track and let them walk around the mess, OR make a temporary track through the middle of your top loop creating a single smaller loop with a space in the middle so they can just continue around the circle and get to what they want without having to double back, OR make two large turn-arounds ....
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waymire |
5. RE: Switchbacks on PP
Dec 14 2011, 11:42 AM EST
.... at the ends of your top loop, like a bent dumbbell, so they can walk along the path, turn around, and walk back the same way. Maybe put food at one side and water at the other to get them to go back and forth......I am actually considering a sort of switchback on my place, but it will be very large, with quite a bit of grass and space to lead them through so "hopefully" they do not "stick" Basically just dividing a large paddock into three sections, with large openings at the fence opposite from each other to force them to go the long way and increase movement. Lots of room to go around problem spots. I know narrow paths are the typical, and I'm sure they do create movement, because the few I have they like to canter through, but with our weather we have to give them a lot of room to avoid erosion/mud. If you live somewhere that mud will be a problem, you may want to make all of your "amenities", moveable as much as possible, or invest whatever time/money you have on making your "stations" weather proof. For example, we made our existing stable "home base" it is on high ground, with an aisle and awning, and push comes to shove I can feed and water there. Sure, I want them wandering all over, but if it rains for a week straight, I can fall back on "plan B". It's pretty cheap to pick up several slow feed nets and move them around, at least for the interim. I think they are like $6 at chick's, in fact I'm ordering some more today. As for the ditches, even a quick "one shovel wide" depression will direct water temporarily. Slope it so it does not catch a leg. We have sloped shallow ditches all over our place that they simply walk through or step over. You can lay down a tarp, or some feed bags, and get a few bags of gravel at home depot to "patch" a boggy spot to make it usable. Then worry about fixing it permanent when you can. Do you find this valuable? |
