# Track grazing - would this paddock be too small?



## kiwi79 (Nov 11, 2011)

Hi
At the moment my horse and mini are way too fat, so much grass - even for my little block!
Our paddock is split (or will be when we finish the fencing) into 3 paddocks and then have been using tape to make those smaller due to so much grass. I want to make a track that they can live on together for most of the time rather than keeping them separate (the mini is taped off during the day and night with almost no grass then out with my gelding in the afternoons with a grazing muzzle on) and let them into the other areas for some grazing each day. The problem is is that my pasture is quite steep and only one paddock is really suitable to be able to run a track around the outside, the other paddocks have very steep banks around the outer edges that my older gelding wouldnt be able to get up and down easily.

I have read that a track should be on at least 1 acre but this paddock works out roughly to be 225 square metres or half an acre (I think!). I don't think of it as a small paddock but I guess that's because I am on a small block to begin with! For someone with acres and acres it would probably seem pretty tiny 

This paddock also has the only very big tree in our pasture which is great for shelter from sun/rain. Does anyone else use a track system and can they offer any tips? I would make it fairly wide so there would be less chance of anyone getting stuck in a corner or kicked.
Thanks


----------



## tim62988 (Aug 30, 2012)

as long as there is enough space for everyone to get away from eachother 1/2 acre would be fine

will they be able to stay in it as long as they would a full acre....nope but other than that as long as it's wide enough I woudln't see any problems.

use a temporary step in post with poly wire to lay things out before putting in hard wire. then you can make changes as you go and figure out where the best places for gates are before pounding posts and 2 years from now "darn, i wish I had placed that 10' farther down the hill and moved the gate to the opposite side"


----------

