Grazing naturally

Keeping horse naturally in a confined area (less than 10 acres per horse) if difficult. Horses naturally wander as they graze, it helps their digestion and avoids colic. When they are kept in a small paddock or field they don't move as much and tend to just eat in one spot.

But - there is a natural alternative - no matter what size field you have. It's called a Track System designed by Jaime Jackson Author of Paddock Paradise.

It's quite easy to set up - and you can try it temporarily with electric tape and standards.

Once on the track system, your horses will move more - more than 10 times more than if they are in a square paddock. I watch my horses go round and round and round - they love it - especially once the weather cools in the evening - then the 'wacky races' start - as my husband affectionately refers to them. They start at one end of the track and canter or gallop right round to where they started again.

And you know what the fascinating thing is? We are in the Southern Hemisphere, and my horses mostly go anti clockwise round the track.

The track is narrow - about 4 metres (13ft) wide and it encourages them to naturally follow the track, like a path in the wild. So they walk so much, eating briefly along the way. Doing what they would naturally do in the wild - as much as possible with the fences and space anyway.

Horses love to roam - they are prey animals so they feel safe not standing in one spot for too long, and they like to roam for forage too - so they like to pick and choose what they eat - rather than just devour a 1ftx1ft square of grass.

So - you have a square paddock and you want to make it into a track?

Tape off the outside 4 metres or 13ft, (it can be narrower if you only have 1-2 horses) of the paddock so that the track is around the outside edge. Make the corners wider so there are no sharp turns or posts to run into, and obviously make sure there is access to water.

Here's our track from the air. You can see the middle paddock is used for riding, training, hay, what ever you want, and the track around the outside of the middle paddock, for the horses. I also have access form the track to covered yards which they have free access to. They choose when they want to stay dry, and or eat hay in the shade. You can also see I have a round pen in the middle paddock.

Once you've tried it with electric tape and standards, you can make it more permanent like I have in the above photo. I used posts and Electrobraid which is the safest horse fencing in the world. It's electric but it stretches if a horse runs into it - so you'll never have fence injuries again. Much like a boxing ring it stretches and regains it's shape if a horse runs into it (literally bouncing the horse back into the paddock). It's also electric so the horses soon figure out they don't go near it anyway.

I have had this set up on my Track System with the Electrobraid for 4 years now and it's required no maintenance at all. It's fed by a solar panel so it's free to run after you buy the battery solar charger.

This is one corner of my track - a bit wider so they can have a sleep!

As you can see it's very subtle in it's look so perfect for a track where you don't just want to see fencing everywhere.

Once you have your track set up, just watch how much more your horses move. I find it's equally good for horses that need less grass as well as those who have trouble keeping weight on. This system seems to sort them all out.

You can add hay when the grass is low - either at points around the track or in the free access covered area (if you don't have lovely trees). The horses like moving round even when there is limited grass so they'll come and have a hay snack then head out onto the track again to see if there's any new grass growing yet!

You'll find your horses will be healthier, happier and less likely to have hoof problems ( the more movement the better with feet), less likely to suffer from colic, less likely to have excess weight while not in work.