3 fixes for mud in horse paddocks
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I’ve lived in different areas of the country and seen many ways to deal with muddy pastures and paddocks. Some places don’t really have to deal with mud while others have lovingly nicknames spring ‘mud season’.
I currently live in Ohio. If I had HUGE pastures the horses might not tear up the footing but I don’t have huge pastures. Even in huge pastures the gate areas or water trough areas often get very muddy.
For our area I saw these choices:
Do nothing. Accept the mud, limit the horses time out in the paddocks until dry. If I did turn them out in deep mud, accept the risk of pulled shoes or strains.
Use mulch. This option can work and is often chosen if people have access to the material or if they are concerned about bruising horses feet. Mulch needs to be replaced fairly often in muddy areas as it breaks down.
Stone or stone with fabric under it. Stone holds up the strongest. The downside is the cost. The upside is not having to replace it as often. The need to replace would come from the stone sinking into the ground which depends on your base and the size stone you choose. The fabric can slow or stop the stone from sinking which is why they often use fabric designed for this use under driveways.
We did an experiment last year and ordered a large load of stone (20 tons) for a cost of about $250.00 in our area. We split this load into the gate area of both paddocks. In our area we have access to something often called river rock which is 3-4 inch mostly round stones. We put the stone down when the ground was muddy and soft so the stone could sink into the ground instead of rolling around on top of the solid ground in the summer.
Some people worry about stone bruising the horses feet. After our year long experiment we had no bruises from the stones. We trail ride frequently on ground that is stony and I like the idea that the horses hooves are being exposed to this material when they are turned out. The hooves can adapt if given the chance. While we have had no issues with bruising from the stone, I did have a horse bruise her hoof on the frozen ruts of mud out in the turn out. This lead me to want to stone more of the paddock.
I’m really pleased with the way the stone turned out and how it is breaking in. The horses seem to appreciate the high ‘dry’ ground during the rain and I enjoy taking hay out to the run in shed without fear of losing my boots!
Our total cost for the project was one load of stone delivered at roughly $250.00 and rental of a bobcat for the day of about $300.00. We did use the bobcat for several other projects so the full cost isn’t an accurate reflection. We could have rented the bobcat for only four hours at a lower rate.
Do you have mud in your area? How do you deal with it?
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I look forward to the day I get to make a track system and incorporate things like this. Especially because I know certain stones can help strengthen hooves, I need that for my girl, but we are doing the best we can while boarding. Oh the day I get to do things like this! I think everyone across the US is or will see a horrible muddy season!
We had a ton of rain in AZ this winter and my pens were under water. I ended up putting down 25 tons of sand. I wondered about the rocks, maybe I should have gone that route. My round pen is arena sand, too. Bobcats are the best machinery ever made- small, compact, yet able to move large amounts of matter effortlessly.
Well, we've built "playpens" built up with 6 or 8 inch wood at the edges, with fabric underneath, and sand. Easier to scoop manure out of. So far so good. We're aboit 3 years on for one, and needing to replace some sand. It does stick to the manure, so eventually it goes away in spite of the fabric. A couple high traffic spots are done this way, although I'd love to be able to afford more. No shoes on our babies btw.
Don’t the rocks hurt the horses feet? We make a path for the rain to go that is lower than the rest, seems to do the trick.
Unfortunately, the woman who owns the farm where I am involved, is 84, broke, and such a doll that we all plow through the mud. I love your idea and wish it was possible!
You know, after hurricane Matthew came through NC a couple of years ago a lot of earth was washed away revealing a load of stones underneath! We didn't even know it was there! It was awesome but going on two years later, I guess the stone has washed away bc we are back to mud! Putting straw or hay down before it rains does help a lot. I pick up the hay the horses drop around the hut and use that. I actually made a make do bridge out of plywood to cross the mudpit this year!
Oh I need that delivered to my house!! Lol we have terrible mud in between the two barns and up along the side of the 1st horse barn. They don't like to walk through it but when they do their feet are covered in sloppy yucky mud almost to their knees😩 I put hay down when I knew it was about to rain, that helped temporarily
Ooooo, I like that idea! I just board where I am so although I can suggest (and have a great Barn Manager), it's not really my call. We currently do option 1 and just leave it. We have other areas to work and the paddocks are big enough that only half the the current winter paddock is muddy, the rest has drained. All of our horses are barefoot though. Are there any concerns with bruising? Oh...no...I just read the rest of the post. Very interesting! Thank you for the post!
My horses don’t wear shoes, so if the mud is awful, I hose them off every evening and put them in a stall. Also, there’s a bunch of wasted hay from round bales they ate all winter, so they like to stand on the raised area, and they could walk out to the field where the ground is higher and get out of ankle deep muck. What size rock is that you used, or what do they call it? looks like 2-3” rock. No sharp edges I see.
Love you! We just leave it, however we are kinda thinking about just putting some sand in the high traffic areas.
so do you use river rock or Road Stone and what size
My riding coach puts sand and only replaces it once a year