Creating the Perfect Paddock, Part 1 in a 3 part series

Create the best possible paddock for horse, human and environmental health
by Alayne Blickle, Horses for Clean Water

Tired of confining your horse in that muddy, dusty, smelly and fly-infested pen? Are you looking for some new ideas on how to care for your horse during the winter months or rainy season? Or where to keep your horse when your pastures are on the brink of being overgrazed? Or when your horse is in need of a “diet pen”? Having a horse-friendly, easy to care for paddock for your horse is central to horsekeeping. The bonus for you is that having the perfect paddock will be better for horse health, more chore efficient for you, nicer for all to see and cleaner for the environment. In this series we cover key techniques for setting up and managing a horse paddock, including location, footing, and fencing as well as controls for mud, insects, odors, and dust. We begin by looking at where to locate a paddock and how big it should be.

The Problem with Mud
Living in mud is unhealthy for a horse. Mud harbors bacteria and fungal organisms that cause diseases such as Scratches (pastern dermatitis), rain scald (also known as rain rot), thrush and abscesses. Mud is also a breeding ground for insects, especially filth flies and mosquitoes -- a big concern for all of us now with West Nile Virus in most of our neighborhoods. Horses fed on muddy or dusty ground can ingest dirt or sand particles, leading to sand colic, a very serious digestive disorder. Mud also creates a slick, unsafe footing that can cause slips and injuries for horses as well as humans. As all horse owners know, mud is extremely inconvenient, making barn life unpleasant and an eyesore for all. And the summertime version of mud is dust – unhealthy for us, our horses and our neighbors.

Probably the most important aspect of managing pastures is the time when you take your horses off your pasture. You can greatly improve the health and productivity of your pastures by creating and using a paddock (often called a “sacrifice area” since you are sacrificing that area as grassy pasture for the sake of the rest of your pastures), while allowing your pastures a rest period. For pasture health and productivity, it is important never to allow pastures to be grazed below three inches. Once grass plants are grazed below that amount, they begin losing vigor and strength; the downward spiral of bare soil, dust and weeds begins to take hold.

The perfect paddock also offers good environmental controls with fewer run-offs of sediments and nutrients (from mud and manure) that are harmful for creeks and drinking water. More productive, grassy pastures will hold onto valuable topsoil and filter out nutrients and sediments – more pluses for the environment. All of this adds up to bonuses for everyone.

The Right Spot
If you don’t already have a location for your perfect paddock, begin by choosing an appropriate site.
• Choose an area on higher ground, away from creeks, wetlands or other water bodies and well away from surface water flows.
• If possible, choose well-draining soils, not organic, mucky ones.
• Look for a slight slope (about 1 to 2% is optimal) that will drain away from your barns and confinement areas.
• For chore efficiency, your confinement areas should be convenient to your barn and manure storage area.

One paddock per horse makes it easy to monitor each horse’s health as well as intake of food and water. It also helps to alleviate problems that might occur during your absence, like ending up with a fat horse and a skinny horse, or an individual that might trap a subordinate in a corner. Having horses in adjacent paddocks so they can see each other helps alleviate stress. If you have a barn with stalls, you may find it easiest to set up paddocks as runs off of each stall. This chore efficient arrangement gives the horse free access to a paddock to move around in as well as the stall for shelter and a clean, dry, convenient place to feed. 

The size of a confinement area can vary from that of a generous box stall, say 16' x 16', to that of a long, narrow enclosure where a horse can actually trot or even gallop about to get some exercise. If you want your horse to be able to run or play in his paddock, an enclosure of about 20' or 30' wide by 100' long is recommended.

The amount of land you have available, the number of horses, their ages, temperaments and the amount of regular exercise they receive all play an important role in determining the size you choose to make your paddocks.

Next month we continue with part 2 of Perfect Paddocks: Manure and Mud Management, where we'll look at fencing considerations, safety tips and chore efficiency ideas for your horse’s outdoor living quarters.