Create a Paddock Paradise - About 15 years ago, I was boarding my mare, Diva, at a private barn in Victoria, BC. The paddocks were very small and flat, with electric fence covering all the boards to prevent chewing, and Diva was on the end of the paddock row beside a forest. It was close to home, which worked for me, but Diva was deeply stressed, making it almost impossible to safely work with her or ride her.

Paddock Paradise is a natural horse keeping method focused on producing sound, fit, and healthy horses like those found in the wild.

Create a Paddock Paradise - About 15 years ago, I was boarding my mare, Diva, at a private barn in Victoria, BC. The paddocks were very small and flat, with electric fence covering all the boards to prevent chewing, and Diva was on the end of the paddock row beside a forest. It was close to home, which worked for me, but Diva was deeply stressed, making it almost impossible to safely work with her or ride her.

A track system like Paddock Paradise allows your horse to live more naturally. It also utilizes small acreage to its fullest! In this system, there’s an interior and exterior fence that create a track around the perimeter of your land. In the center, you’ll find grazing land, riding space, or even fields for other animals. […]

How to add a natural pond or waterhole to your Equine Permaculture or Paddock Paradise set-up - or even just a regular pasture - and WHY it's such a great idea!

I’ve been doing quite a lot of research lately into varying theories on horse keeping from the Paddock Paradise Track System to general rotational and strip grazing and Jane Myers Equicentral System. I’ve been pondering over what is the best system, what works and what doesn’t and most importantly what is best for the environment of the horse and human. This is the first installment in a report of my findings: Paddock Paradise is the brainchild of Jaime Jackson a veteran hoof care professional who spent from 1982-1986 travelling among wild horse populations studying the nature of how they live and of their environment. From this study and further research he discovered three main points : horses need freedom of movement and engagement within their environment ( in a natural life, although they like familiar surroundings and keep to a ‘home range’ horses are constantly on the move between feed areas, resting spots, watering spots, rolling spots etc ). horses need variety in their food ( given free choice, horses eat a wide variety of grass species as well as legumes and other broad leaved plants, bark, trees and leaves) horses need to behave like real horses in a herd situation (horses living a natural life live in herds). As Jaime points out these three criteria are very often not met within our current horse keeping systems. We tend to keep horses in confined spaces be it paddock or stable/yard, we tend not to feed them a vast variety of food types and quite often we keep horses in the abovementioned places alone, removed from the herd environment which comes naturally to them. Jaime postulates that when these three criteria are not met horses have the propensity to develop ailments from poor hoof quality, to laminitis, to emotional disturbance and general ill health. To remedy this Jaime has come up with a unique horse keeping system which uses a track design to encourage movement. The general gist of it is that the horses live in a herd on a track shaped paddock being very long and narrow. The horses are encouraged to move along the track by providing ‘desire lines’ different experiences for them in different areas along the track. Experiences include being fed with variety all along the track, providing a spot for mineral blocks, rolling, resting, salt licks, watering holes, mud baths, walking on rough ground etc. The movement is intended to improve hoof condition to the point that the horses can be barefoot and also general health and well being. The plan below will help explain it further. Generally, I really like this concept. It makes total sense to me to keep horses moving as I believe that having them move very little is bad for their health in all the ways Jamiee points out. Horses move very little in paddocks, especially small ones. Tweet From a Landscape Architects point of view, I also really like it as it provides tremendous opportunity to improve the visual amenity of a horse farm by making much more land available for landscaping as you won’t have horses walking over your entire property. So screening of unattractive areas, growing trees, growing shrubs, growing crops, can be done outside the track protected from horses. Inspecting a Track System in Europe. Note the track cannot be seen. From an environmental point of view I can’t see a lot of problems with it either, unless you live in an extremely wet area where the track would constantly be muddy (there are, however, ways you could prevent this from happening and the actual construction of the track needs to be thought out better than just removing the existing vegetation in order for it to be maintained in a good state). Your land use possibilities could be greatly improved by keeping a large part of your land available for occasional grazing, cropping, arenas, jumps, general riding etc. I see the track as not any more invasive on the land as a dirt road and I like the flexibility of the inner electric fencing. On the downside I think the amount of time spent removing manure and feeding along the track would make it impossible for some people, both financially and time wise. Also I'm not all together comfortable with the idea of horses having no access to grass as it would not take long for the track to become pretty denuded of vegetation. But most importantly, from a designers point of view, there is not enough information on the requirements. Just simple things like what is the minimum amount of land needed to do this? How wide should the track be? What is a safe size for a camping area? How much feed will you need for your horse? I would hope that some time in the future Jamie could team up with a Landscape Architect (there are so many accomplished ones in the USA) and formalize some of his theories as more detailed information is needed. Having said that I still believe Paddock Paradise is a great idea that would work for some farms. It is definitely worth exploring to see if it suits you and your circumstances and environment. Jaimes' book, Paddock Paradise, A Guide To Natural Horse Boarding is extremely informative and his research into wild horse populations is interesting. The book is well worth getting if you would like more information. Jamies books can be purchased here:http://www.paddockparadise.com/ Tweet

Horse track systems are a way of keeping horses to maintain weight, avoid laminitis .... get tips on creating a budget track for your horse.

Create a Paddock Paradise - About 15 years ago, I was boarding my mare, Diva, at a private barn in Victoria, BC. The paddocks were very small and flat, with electric fence covering all the boards to prevent chewing, and Diva was on the end of the paddock row beside a forest. It was close to home, which worked for me, but Diva was deeply stressed, making it almost impossible to safely work with her or ride her.

We have all done strip grazing but have you looked into track systems? This blog is all about strip grazing vs track systems. Which will you choose?

Based on the behavior of wild horses, the Paddock Paradise Track System encourages your horse to exercise, search for their food and travel

Create a Paddock Paradise - About 15 years ago, I was boarding my mare, Diva, at a private barn in Victoria, BC. The paddocks were very small and flat, with electric fence covering all the boards to prevent chewing, and Diva was on the end of the paddock row beside a forest. It was close to home, which worked for me, but Diva was deeply stressed, making it almost impossible to safely work with her or ride her.

From dream-barn makeovers, to do it yourself stable hacks, we turned to the Western Horse Review readership on Facebook to ask what their favourite tips and tricks are around their own barns. Here are five of our favourite barn renovations we rounded up, big or small. 1. Revolving Saddle Rack Wall. A revolving saddle rack wall

Howdy Friends, Horses love to move about. Jamie Jackson, after years of studying and observing wild hoses not only gained a vast understanding of the natural way of the horse, and their feet which he was instrumental in bringing to the horse world, but he also learned how horses move in the wild. He put his observations on horse movement, travels, health and habits into his book he titled, "Paddock Paradise," I highly recommend it. You can buy his book here on Amazon – in it he clearly explains his observations and details how anyone, anywhere, can create a track system for their horses. You can also make a lot of friends on the Paddock Paradise facebook page who have implemented this practice for their own horses. (Photos for this story provided by Paddock Paradise FB) One of the many things Jamie observed, noted and proved, was that horses left to their own choices in the wild, move in regular tracks. They have well established routes, or tracks, for grazing areas, watering, resting, foraging and even playing, and they don't graze in lush grass, they nibble and browse, while moving. It is these known facts that he incorporated into his idea of Paddock Paradise, and many folks have adopted. I believe it is the most natural and healthiest way to house and keep a horse. Great track system - notice how you can add fun little obstacles to keep them thinking. The track system goes hand in hand with maintaining a barefoot horse's feet, strong, beautiful, and healthy. Movement is a key ingredient to the barefoot paradigm, and nothing I have ever seen encourages movement like the track system. Lush grass, lazy grazing is as unnatural to a horse as couch potato sitting and gorging is to humans … but we lazy humans force it on our horses, and then wonder about a plethora of health issues. Stalls, barns and shoes are a human convenience, not a horse first philosophy. A simple example of a track system Many times folks say, "It looks too inconvenient or expensive to set up." To that I say, in the long run, and even the not so long run, it will be far less expensive than vet bills, injuries, and anguish – the person's and the horse's – and missed riding and competing dates due to injuries. Yes the track system works for shod as well as barefoot horses … and folks who know me know I believe every horse should be barefoot. One very wrong answer to the "too much grass" syndrome is to confine their horses in stalls, use frustrating grazing muzzles, small paddocks or "sacrifice" lots. Rubbish all. None of these things are either natural to a horse, or healthy to their bodies or minds. Let the horses roam at will, I say. Just roaming along, because we can. Paddock Paradise, or the track system, incorporates every aspect of a horse's natural and instinctive urge and desire to be on the move. Explained briefly, the track system is a track 10 to 20 feet wide inside your already existing big pasture, (which may have too much grass) with various footings such as dirt, pea gravel and rocks. Also incorporated within the track are wide places for play, sleeping and rolling, as well as various hay feeding stations and watering locations, and run ins, strategically placed to encourage movement. Many folks add mud holes, streams and bridges to help their horses overcome issues, or just for fun. Hay feeding stations and water should be scattered about to encourage movement. Your track can be any design that fits your land, plan, and budget. I once saw a terrific track on an acre and a half rocky, grassy hillside that offered long winding trails instead of just a useless hang out spot. Many folks, when they set up their first track, simply use step in posts with electric fence, easy and very affordable, and if the horses escape the track, they're still within the original pasture. Of course the original grass pasture can be opened for limited grazing with far less risk of over eating and all the health problems associated with the high sugar content of most pasture and field grasses. Here is a good example of a field that is conducive to creating all sorts of health problems, but can easily be turned into a Paddock Paradise by simply running a track system around the border full of entertaining obstacles, watering and feeding stations. Another common rejection to creating the track system is, "We have all this grass and we can't afford to not use it." Some folks then bale it or even graze a few cows on it. Sometimes it takes years for the symptoms of sugar related health issues to show up in horses, but don't be fooled, eventually symptoms are likely to occur – often not connected to the true cause of too much grass and not enough movement. Bottom of my mare, Kessy's, foot - She roams her Paddock Paradise all day and all night. The Paddock Paradise, and track system is the easiest, best choice for maintaining a healthy horse and healthy hooves. Combined with proper all forage diet, limited vaccinations and very limited chemical de-worming (I recommend fecal counts, have not wormed Kessy chemically for 3 years, I do use herbs though), the track system will create rock crushing hooves, and a happy healthy horse. Don't forget to make a wide soft place for napping. For the health and happiness of horses everywhere it is my hope many more people begin to see horse care from the horse's perspective. Gitty Up ~ Dutch Henry

by Linda Chamberlain Meet Marc Ferrador. He was a much-respected farrier who had serious doubts about nailing shoes to horses’ hooves and decided to do something about it. Colleagues thought …

Designing the right herbal pasture will give your horse access to better nutrition and healthy treats, helping him to become a calmer, happier horse.

This luxury equestrian property in Texas was designed and built by Clayton Boyd Luxury Barns in just five months.

April, 2012. It is time I updated this page. For my original post introducing the system, see below. When I wrote the original post I had not taken the ponies barefoot. They are now barefoot a…