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Discussion: Please read and give feedback, track design in attachments
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waymire |
Please read and give feedback, track design in attachments
Dec 13 2011, 7:52 AM EST
I hope this is the right way to do this.. it is labelled "Waymire track".After our recent feeding crises, (for those of you who have not read my previous posts we have a very diverse herd that was not doing well eating only hay on the track, the fatties were obese and the skinnies were starving, plus we have a serious hay shortage so I simply cannot get enough to support them on hay alone) I decided to start feeding them safechoice (the lowest nsc feed I can buy in my area) individually in stalls twice a day, it was the only way I could get the right amount of feed into each horse. Initially I was still spreading their hay out, but found that the TWH was still not getting enough feed, and my arthritic gelding was not eating enough of the hay, so I resorted to giving them both the feed and hay in their stalls and putting the TWH back on chops. This solved the feeding problem and everyone is looking good..... except now nobody is doing anything except standing in their stalls or taking a short walk to the water trough. There is no grass to eat, no hay to find, tummies are full, and they are all stall potatoes. Plus they are without feed for too long. So my solution at this point is to still feed in stalls, still give the two problem eaters their fiber, but put the rest of the hay out. I drew up a diagram of a plan for more tracks, I apologize in advance it is a bit rough... but will give you a good idea of what I am thinking. Would some of you be so kind as to take a look and see if you notice any problems? I would really like some feedback before I put up yet another track, and have to tear it down again, this will be the fourth version for me. Thanks bunches. 1 out of 2 found this valuable. Do you? |
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waymire |
1. RE: Please read and give feedback, track design in attachments
Dec 13 2011, 8:00 AM EST
PS: The hay net next to the hot walker is actually ON the walker... we never use it anymore so we took the belt off the motor so it turns freely. The net is attached to one of the poles and hangs about knee high. It not only swings, it moves around as well, they really like it, kind of a game for them to get the hay out. They will pull out a bite or two, walking around with the bag, then go back and pick up the bits that fell on the ground.
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waymire |
2. RE: Please read and give feedback, track design in attachments
Jan 23 2012, 5:07 PM EST
Well, no one ever replied so I have no idea if anyone read this or not. Anyway I wanted to post just in case anyone does. We finally got the time and money to put up the tracks... and they DO NOT work. The horses just cannot figure out the corners. I tore down part of it and redesigned to eliminate the 180 degree turns, only 90 degree, but still they would get as far as the first or second turn and just stop, completely confused. Tried leading them through multiple times, tried putting hay in trails to lead them through, nothing worked. After three days of having to fetch each horse every day, lead out each horse to water every day, and them becoming dehydrated from not going back to water when they should... I tore the whole thing down. Total waste of time and money. We are back to open connected pastures, water on one end (the arena), and hay nets on the other (far side of the round pen), which is functional.
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IndiraRandol |
3. RE: Please read and give feedback, track design in attachments
Mar 7 2012, 3:16 PM EST
I'm a newbie here, so I hope you don't mind me jumping in - any idea why they didn't take to the tracks?
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waymire |
4. RE: Please read and give feedback, track design in attachments
Mar 8 2012, 7:05 AM EST
"I'm a newbie here, so I hope you don't mind me jumping in - any idea why they didn't take to the tracks?"Hi! Best I can tell, the have a really hard time with paths that lead in a direction contrary to their goal. They kind of "lock on" geographically to the end resource they want, like water for example, and then find the most convenient way of getting there. If you have a loop, there is only one way to go, no matter which way they walk they are going to get to the goal. But with turns/switchbacks they were simply lost.. their "radar" was saying go south, but there was no logical way to do that, so they simply stopped. I do think the loop tracks work, but only if a few stipulations are met... you have to have horses that are similar in dietary requirements and physical capability, you have to live in an area that is relatively arid OR have a gravel/matted track with good drainage, and of course you have to have a piece of property where a loop is possible. You also waste a LOT of resources, but if restricting grass and increasing movement is your goal, this is a very good solution. It is simply not a "one size fits all" solution for every horse, or especially herd of horses. Do you find this valuable? |
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IndiraRandol |
5. RE: Please read and give feedback, track design in attachments
Mar 8 2012, 2:40 PM EST
That's good information to have. I'm going to try and set up a track system of some sort in the pasture my 2 share, with the aim of increasing movement to help rehab their feet, but I'm concerned about making the tracks too complicated with switch-backs. More things to think about! Thanks so much :-)
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SpottedTApps |
6. RE: Please read and give feedback, track design in attachments
Mar 28 2012, 12:42 PM EDT
Sorry it's been so long since I"ve been on here, but let me tell you what I do. I have several horses with different dietary needs. I feed grain in mesh feed bags that hang on their heads. My senior horses get all the grain they need plus supplements without coming in off the track. In my farthest point of the track I have a slow feeder that I keep filled with "cheap" hay. It's a filler meant to keep them busy, not nutritionally high. This provides motivation for them to move to the back of the track when there is nothing "good" up front. For the hardest keeper I bring her in at night and she gets free choice loose alfalfa hay and her grain. During the day she joins the others on the track to travel. I toss a bit of alfalfa type hay on the track at night for added nutrtional value for those that sleep there. The majority of the difference though is made up with grain and or alfalfa pellets fed in feed bags each evenning. I do not have to bring horses in off the track. They still travel the track to get to the hay and salt blocks at the back. Do you find this valuable? |
