This message is from: Lori Albrough <l...@bluebirdlane.com>
On 2/07/11 7:20 PM, Alice MacGillivray wrote:
I would really value advice on how best to set up the paddock. I have lots of info about fencing. Mud is an issue here (I plan to put some gravel in at least part of the paddock, but it isn’t easy on the property to get in with equipment so some of the work will be hand work). The questions I know I have are around vegetation.
I hate muddy paddocks. When I was young I always vowed "when I get my own place, the paddocks WON'T be muddy!" Ha. Easier said than done. Even though our paddocks drain well being on a slight slope, and are dry most of the year, the fact is that horses are just so hard on the ground. What I have done here is to use what we call in this area stone dust, which is basically fine chippings of stone, both in my run-in sheds and as a wide apron around the barn and also in front of the gates. This gives a clean well-drained area where we can walk around and do our turn-out and turn-in, and this is of huge value in minimizing the sort of daily aggravation that mud season entails. It also gives the horses themselves somewhere to stand during the wet weather. We pick up the manure daily to make sure it doesn't mix into the stone dust and thereby lose the good drainage. To install it, we removed all the top soil, laid down big rocks, then smaller rocks, then some sort of tough fabric, then about 4-6" stone dust on top. There was an article in Horse Sport way back when on how to do this, although I think any excavating guy would know how, as it seems kind of like road-building technology.
On the vegetation question. I think a Fjord confined to any sort of area less than about an acre in size is going to eat it down to nothing in fairly short order. To call these guys "efficient foragers" is the understatement of the year. I would be sure to remove in advance everything that is known to be fatal, like the yews, red maple, etc. Once the horse is turned out they will eat everything yummy, and whatever you see left behind is less desirable and therefore might be poisonous, so if it is a small area I would identify it and probably dig it out before the horse gets bored and finishes that off too.
Lori -- Lori Albrough Bluebird Lane Fjords R.R.#3 Moorefield Ont Canada N0G 2K0 phone: 519-638-5598 email: l...@bluebirdlane.com http://www.bluebirdlane.com Important FjordHorse List Links: Subscription Management: http://tinyurl.com/5msa7e FH-L Archives: http://tinyurl.com/rcepw Classified Ads: http://tinyurl.com/5b5g2f
