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Most horses will spend at least some part of their lives in a field, so as a farm owner it’s essential to have a plan when it comes to designing your pastures. Not only do they need to be safe for the horses, but they also need to continually provide nutritional benefits over years of use.
Layout And Design
Choosing the layout of your fields should occur at the beginning of the farm design process when you are creating your master plan. According to the University of Minnesota Extension, the average adult horse will consume about 1-2 percent of their body weight per day in the form of pasture forage. Depending on the quality of your fields, the general rule is one horse per 1-2 acres. Acreage needs will increase with poorer quality land.
“It’s important to have enough pasture to support all the horses on your property,” said Lachlan Oldaker of GH2 Gralla Equestrian Architects. “When you have a large amount of horses, we want to look at how to minimize the steps required of turning horses out and have good access everywhere with efficient lane and gate systems.”
Lorri Hayward of Hayward designs recommended incorporating smaller paddocks near the barn into the farm design.
“The smaller the paddock, the less likely you are going to grow grass,” said Hayward. “If it’s small, I recommend pulling up the top soil and compacting it down, placing a plastic or rubber grid, then backfilling it with screenings. You can put down the soil on top and re-seed. With the grid, the horses will never tear up the footing.”
If your budget doesn’t allow for installing products like Invisible Structure (which is also being incorporated into ‘green’ parking lots) in your fields, Hayward recommended at least considering them in gate openings, around automatic waterers and around run-in sheds.
“Any places your horses might hang out and linger or where you can’t grow grass is a perfect application for this system,” said Hayward. “You’re maintaining your property by keeping it from becoming a muddy, nasty mess.”
Facts About Fencing
“The safest fence for a horse is one they can see, and they won’t go near,” said Hayward. “Horses are smart and savvy, but when they’re scared all sensibility goes out the door.”
While fencing materials can vary greatly, the most important thing to remember is that it is installed safely and is made of materials that will cause the least harm.
“The ideal scenario is some sort of plank and highly visible fence product,” said Hayward. “To me, you can’t beat four-board fencing. Mares and foals are the biggest issue with fencing choices, and with four-board fencing, there’s something down at the lowest level. They can’t roll underneath the fence.”
There are many appropriate materials for fencing. A few to consider include:
