Paddock Maintenance |
You have your’ horses, you have the acres of land needed and now you are thinking about building a new paddock for them and in this article we are going to talk a little about paddocks and paddock maintenance.
Just why would anyone want a paddock? Paddocks are a great way to allow your horses to stay outside while giving their pastures time to recover from their grazing and help the grass rejuvenate.
Having a paddock is as essential to your horses’ welfare as a dry stables or barn is, a good paddock also has the advantage of being a great way to help your horses lose weight - sometimes horses need to spend some time in the diet pen.
To have lush green pastures you need to make sure that your horses are kept out of it for a while so the ground and grass can recover. All pastures need a period of rest to allow the grass to rejuvenate. We normally stick to the rule of anything below three inches and it’s time to let the grass recover - there is some science behind this; When grass is below three inches it loses the majority of its nutrients because when it dips below this crucial level the grass begins to die. Should it die out completely then you are left with bare patches of dirt and earth.
For both horses and horse owners, mud is a huge pain. We don’t like it because it makes a mess and is a pain to clean and horses don’t like it because it contains bacteria and other organisms that can cause infection and disease to spread. The slightest scratch can become infected when exposed to mud and dirt.
A great paddock offers good paddock will be lush and green with plenty of room for your horses to run about and be free.
Your horses should be confined to their paddock during the winter and early spring when the grass plants are dormant and the soil is soggy. Once summer rolls around then you should use your paddock only when the grass is close to the three inch mark. Horse paddocks are also extremely useful if you need to separate horses.
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This article was written by Charis Alexandra on Friday, July 10th, 2009 for Horse Searchers
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