Paddock Paradise Track System, Pictures!

[secuono]

Hello, all!

I was against this at first, but sometime in spring 2016, I think, I jumped into the deep end head on! And haven't regretted it one bit!

Please add in your pictures, if you have tried this.

Here are some pictures of the original track on our farm property. We since bought the land next door and the horses, and their track, were moved out there. This freed up space for my beloved Babydoll Southdown sheep!

At first, it was just step-in posts with some tposts for corners and 2 hot wires, top wire cold for added height.

Then I added 1/2" white hot tape, because my baby gelding was moving in and he needed to see the fence better.

Sticking to the program and not giving into their big puppy-dog eyes, they lost weight and looked great.

There was one area that was flat, straight and narrow, which I used for trotting practice.

And with the minis racing around us, it was great practice to listen to me and not spook or bolt off with the minis when they rushed us.

The horses did an excellent job of cleaning up overgrown fence rows. So good, in fact, that I had to build a new fence to keep my dogs contained! The weeds were blocking the old, failing fencing...

Then they all got moved! Flat area by the barn became their new home base. The track went up with the idea to use them to clear fencing again and to beat down a large junk weed area. With the track including this open area, I am easily able to drive down to mow the junk regularly, it will soon be good grass and the track will shrink to make room for it to be hay area.

The new land has a pond, it drains through my old land. Hate it. It makes two areas the horses must cross to get home or go out. It has rocks, mud and various depths. Horses hate it when its muddy, but they cross, the minis attempt to simply fly over it...haha!

New area is two lines of hot tape and various types of hot fence posts. The track will eventually go completely around the 20 acres. Plenty of hills, one large ditch they will need to learn to jump over, a couple of steep hills, a wooded hill section that they've made paths through and some flat areas to bolt in.

 

[secuono]

Yellow, roughly the current track location. Extended at the bottom now.



Old track, Arial view.

 

[MindySchroder]

I have had a Track System for two years now and have loved it! I took a lot of flack for it and still do once in awhile but it has been the best thing for my ponies. I have a lot of rocks where my track is and they just navigate around them. I have two feed stations and one place for water, but my track is pretty small. I made it on my old dry lot because it was just a bit too big for them to keep ahead of the grass that grows there and none of my ponies can have grass. So my track is all dirt and I feed hay 24/7.

I have a few posts about it on my blog but will share a few photos here. If I can figure out how!

The first photo is of my track from above. My uncle brought his drone over and took this for me!


One of the feed stations. I use the hay nets in this station. I tie them to the bottom of T-Posts. We rent so I can't use wood posts because all of this is temporary. I have rubber mats under the hay nets so they aren't eating off the dirt all the time.


These photos are a little older and there are some changes to the track but it gives you an idea!







Here's a more recent video.

I love visiting about track systems and how they have helped my horses. I think they are a wonderful way for horses to live as a herd.

 

[susanne]

I've considered putting in a track to serve a somewhat different purpose: to take better advantage of our limited space and to give our horses more dry (make that drier...) ground during the rainy season. We have just under four acres, but three acres are in forestry deferral, leaving just one acre to currently divided up amongst corrals, driveway, garden, and house. Our forested area is on a hillside and is rather densely planted, but it has a logging road that could be fenced for part of a track, then I would make a switchback coming back down the hill through the trees, giving them a longer track in a fairly limited area.

 

[Zarah]

These tracks are really interesting. I’d not heard of them before. Great that you posted them so I can learn of such things. I hope more post their versions.

 

[minihorse]

@MindySchroder I like seeing how you do this via rented land. I would not have thought of the rubber mat at the feeding stations to keep the hay in good condition.

@secuono I love the photos of your tracks, too. The ones where the horse head is seen and headed up the track are my favorites.

 

[secuono]

 

[Zarah]

That reminds me more of Texas than of Virginia. I love the open rolling hills for your minis.

 

[KLJcowgirl]

Secuono, I do believe you replied to me once on another forum when I asked about doing a track for my horses and I just love yours!

Mindy, I've watched yours come along and only dream of doing what you have done!

I have my horses on my in-laws property, so I am somewhat limited on exactly what I can do, but still have some say. They're on less than an acre, so it's been a little hard to come up with something that works. But I have a track and have loved it. Its helped shed lbs off my QH and both horses seem so much more happy. They also have more dry footing in the spring which has been wonderful.

Here's what I have...

Yellow is outer fence
Red is inner fence
Forgot to show gates into the pasture. Have one up by the logs, and one down by where I want gravel.

I have a few things labeled, and I would love to put more terrain in that track... but we'll see what happens.

I have been thinking of making the track a bit wider as well.

I have BIG plans for my own big property one day. Love seeing g what everyone has.

 

[Zarah]

@KLJcowgirl, I am liking how you are making maximum use of what you have to work with. How many horses do you have?

 

[KLJcowgirl]

@Zarah Thank you! I just have two (for now hehe).

 

[secuono]

I got a 5th pony.
And so I added a loop around the pond & kept the area around a thorny patch, too.

Yes, I made a 60ft round pen, too. Works for fence respecting horses.

 

[secuono]

I've been cutting down trees and the straight sections, 4in thick or more, will be used for an obstacle area. I'll add a gravel patch when I have more $ in the pony fund.

 

[secuono]

Shrank the track's width yet again. Then fenced out the weedy hill, 2 trees and the grass around them. Hoping this finally helps shrink their fat butts or I'll have to try and smother/kill sections of grass that are left, but I can't ruin the grass in one big section because I'm working on making it into hay one day. But I can further move the fence over, so that'll be next, along with tarps on narrow sections.

This fence I could move even further to the right-

Weeds they don't touch along the sides.
Grass to kill off.

The big area I can have the fence come over into.
done shrinking here.
done shrinking around the pond.
fork in the road!
going to try and narrow up these paths some more.
done shrinking
you can see where I mowed junky plants inside the track on the right side of spillway.

 

[secuono]

Haven't updated in awhile.
Track was shrunk down, no more loop around pond.
Waiting on something before starting the permanent redo.
It'll be wood & metal posts, 2-3 high tensile wire & 2 hot wires.
Will follow most of current track, but go up around the back, cut across mountain and come down a bit from the pond. There's sheep paddocks up around the pond now, so track will butt up against the far ones.
Some of those paddocks haven't been made yet.