Sacrifice Paddock 101

[Catersun]

Ok... so EVERYONE reccomends a sacrifice paddock.... but I can't find anywhere in my searches that suggest how Big a sacrifice paddock should be?

So... Lets do a thread of basics for sacrifice paddocks...


can anyone guess what is going on with the tone of my threads lately?!?

Who ever guesses gets an apple for a treat and a couple dumors thrown in. lol

[BuddyRoo]

I'm sorry...I'm not up to speed....:confused:

That said....

Sacrifice paddock...key components for us here in MI:

1) Good drainage. We most often use 'em in the muddy seasons and it's helpful if you don't accidentally pick the lowest portion of land.

2) Proximity to barn. Again, here in MI, we use the sacrifice paddocks for winter/spring/mud season...so it's nice if they're close to barn so you're not trekking out to the back 40.

3) How many horses will be in there and how well they get along helps determine size.

We have 3 regular sized mares and a pony mare that go into about a 1/2 acre paddock.

[webmistress32]

I have two "mud lots" that are on a slight hill (draining away into the pasture) and the horses have a shed roof at the top of the hill that's an extension of the barn roof to get under if they want shelter.

they are about 1/2 acre a piece I think, maybe a bit smaller. two horses in each.

[myhorsefaith]

PNWer here. Land is at a premium...the barn I board at is only 5 acres as it is, and we are making 9+ winter "all weather" paddocks- drainage + gravel. In fact, spread 40 yards of gravel last weekend (thank you to the neighbor who brought his tractor over + to my bodyworker for fixing me the day afer), another 40 this coming weekend, for the first 6 paddocks. (this is a work in progress)

The first 5 are 16ft by 50ft run-style. #6 is 28 x 60, and 7,8,9 are going to be more like the first five, perhaps slightly bigger. Next year we'll have 10,11,12, 13 installed in the back- but it is already too wet back there to do anything. Need to install gutters, drainage, geo fabric, the works.

It what is is- otherwise the options are destroying the little pasture we do have, which is already taking its toll, or keeping them in box stalls 24/7. :no:

[ShotenStar]

Mine is about 60 x 80 and holds 2 mares and 1 pony quite nicely. It is attached to the barn and has a series of gates that open to the three pastures, so I can use whichever one I need and keep the other two closed off.

Stonedust footing and multiple hay feeders with rubber mats under them keep every one happy.

*star*

[deltawave]

Mine is 1/2 acre, and judging by the hoofprints that criss-cross the area after I harrow it, I'd guess the 2 horses and 1 pony would be perfectly fine with something 1/2 that size. They are in the sacrifice area most of the time--out on grass when the weather is suitable, anywhere from 0-12 hours a day.

If it were any bigger I'd have a hard time keeping up with picking up the poop in it every day. This is something I swore I'd never do but it's gotten to where I really really like to have that area clean most of the time. Thankfully my girls are very good about pooping in one small corner near the gate most of the time, so I'm not trundling all over, well, hell's 1/2 acre picking up turds. :D

The drainage and soil here are excellent (for which I thank GOD every time it rains) and there is a natural crown to the dirt paddock so other than a bit of a squishy area by the gate (different than the poop area, thankfully) it's never more than coronet-deep in mud and usually a whole lot less.

My 3 stalls open into this paddock, and there is a 10 x 36 foot overhang off the barn with RR ties surrounding the sheltered area and filled with sand, soil and pelleted bedding. This is where they hang out when it's rainy, hot, or just when they want to nap by the barn. When it's really windy they hang out down by the thick brush at the other end of the paddock, a natural windbreak.

I feed hay in 3 large tires staked to the ground, sidewalls off, and filled with large (softball-sized or bigger) rocks to keep Bonnie from playing frisbee with them.

[jazzrider]

I guess I don't technically have a sacrifice pasture, but I use one of my four pastures as one in the winter -- meaning I know it's going to get trashed and it's where my horses are from November to March and in the bad weather during the summer. It's about 3 acres and holds 5 large horses. It has a run in with blue stone inside and out. I have blue stone down around the gate wear they mill and pace at supper time, blue stone around the water trough, and two higher areas wear the hay rounds sit nicely and stay dry. It's my higher ground pasture, right by the barn, that gets dried out quickly by the wind. I harrow it about every two weeks during the winter if it's dry enough.

I gave some thought to creating a smaller dry lot or sacrifice paddock -- but this just has seemed to work out for us. We split it up in the spring with electric fencing to work on recovering it (overseeding, etc.) for the summer rotation. Since I have three other pastures (two acres each) we're able to rest it long enough.

[JSwan]

I take it that I should be shopping for farmwarming gifts???? :);) I've already got nest eggs set aside for you!

Usually the size of the sacrifice paddock is dictated by the number and type of livestock you have to keep in it. Horses tend to fight when kept too close together more so than sheep, for example.

So it's more that the number and type of animals, overall acreage, and anticipated level of use dictates the size.

A soil and water conservation district rep can help you figure out what programs you may qualify for to help pay for such BMP's. If you prefer not to enter into agreements with gov't, heck, take the free advice. My favorite word is "free". But I don't know what district you're in.

This link may help. http://www.sc.nrcs.usda.gov/

Also, your extension agent will help you identify the best location and/or the size. I only have a 5 stall barn (thank God, because the stalls tend to fill up magically), and my sacrifice paddock is about 2500sq ft. No wait.... maybe a bit bigger. I'll check when I go out to feed this am.

I have my place laid out so that the sacrifice paddock is right outside the barn, and there are gates leading out to each pasture. The sacrifice paddock acts like a barnyard - whatever pasture is being used - that gate is open and the rest are closed. So there is no leading or herding livestock where I want them to go. If they need to stay in the sacrifice paddock - I just close the pasture gate.

To let them in for feeding, I just open the gate from the paddock to the barn and they walk in. To let out, I just let them out and they walk out into the sacrifice paddock and out into the field. I never have to touch an animal - which works out during hunting mornings because someone invariably wants to slobber on me. :)

I can't posture pictures anymore, but I think I have some from when we were building the new barn and I think you can get a good look at the sacrifice paddock and the setup. I'd be happy to email them to you or send them to someone else to post on-line. Excuse the weeds. I'm a redneck. :winkgrin:

[Paddys Mom]

Here you can see my sacrifice paddock, open from the stalls all the time. There is the gate that opens to the pasture, which I ration.
Most of the paddock is just dirt but bluestone is laid from the barn to the pasture gate every 3 years - about 20'x40'.

This serves a pony, a small donkey, and a horse with plenty of room to get away from each other.

Edited to add: I put a sand pit in one corner (thanks, MistyBlue for the idea) and they love to nap and roll there. It is in the corner at the top of the picture, so you can't see it because of the trees.

[equest]

Here you can see my sacrifice paddock, open from the stalls all the time. There is the gate that opens to the pasture, which I ration.
Most of the paddock is just dirt but bluestone is laid from the barn to the pasture gate every 3 years - about 20'x40'.

This serves a pony, a small donkey, and a horse with plenty of room to get away from each other.

What a nice property.

[Luckydonkey]

Oregonian here...so LOTS of rain all winter. Each of my stalls are run in style with large runs off them-and we are doing the geotek fabric with sand over it in a 60X80 flat spot behind the barn that will double as an outdoor ring/ turn out area.....keep them off the pasture all winter with the run-in stalls and it has helped alot....

[Alagirl]

I have seen nice examples of all weather turnout that included pavers and sandy areas for rolling.

I guess it depends on how your farm is set up, an individual paddock or a small pasture that can be trashed through the bad weather with time to regenerate during the rest of the time. it has to be well drained and picked up. My sister had her horse boarded once where the initial care dropped off and in a wet winter month the paddock as not cleaned enough, so the hooves started to flare out like pancakes...(not to mention all the other little wetness related problems!

Unlike cows I think horses don't do good in knee deep mud.

Oh, and close to the house/barn and a bit protected from the elements (if possible) would be nice features!

[Catersun]

farmwarming... that has a nice ring to it... I don't want to jinx myself yet.... but if everyone keeps jingling and the cosmic stars keep aligning and this is what God wants for us right now, our own farmettte is a very real possibility right now. The land owner may be interested in selling, I'm waiting to hear back from him today on a price, the bank is happy to finance us. *big sigh of relief I was afraid NO one was lending with the current economy* and the best part is that we don't have to move cause the property is the acerage around us that I've been eyeing up since we moved in. It will put us at a total of 4 acres, so my front yard (we live on one acre right now that is across the street from the MILs' farm)is going to become a riding ring *evil laugh* mwahahahaha So it also won't be far to move the horses.

I haven't been able to sleep hardly at all i'm so excited... I've been doing the layout of what I hope will be our farmette. It looks likes it's going to be a 1/2 acre saccrifice paddock with a run-in shed and two 1.25 acre pastures that we'll be able to rotate on and off of. I keep looking at the map I have of our property and thinking... This is surrreal... I'm just waiting for it to fall apart.. just because I want this so much! And on top of that hubby's Job is waving a possible promotion under his nose.

BTW I'll happily take a couple americaunas off your hands :-) The toodler and I got 3 more chicks a couple weeks ago. 2 barred rocks and I think a white rock.... we'll see if any are hens. I'm trying to give away two cockerelles right now cause well... one is mean and that isn't such a good thing with a little kid around. Once we get rid of those blasted boys we'll have room for one or two more hens in the coop/run.

SO, yeah... that is why all the questions lately.. and here is another...

any reason NOT to used periannual ryegrass instead of annual ryegrass when seeding for winter?

[Catersun]

Unlike cows I think horses don't do good in knee deep mud.

Oh, and close to the house/barn and a bit protected from the elements (if possible) would be nice features!

Cow's don't do well in mud either....

[MistyBlue]

Paddy'sMom...what a lovely place!!!! Seriously...it's so neat and lovely. can I ask what your driveway is paved with? It looks fancy. And even more so since it's so nicely edged.
Don't your animals just adore the sand pit? Mine practically live in ours...rolling, napping and even standing on a softer surface to snooze upright. Well, right now my newer gelding thinks it's also a Horsie Litterbox and pees in it...we're working on changing that, LOL! Which reminds me...after 3 years I'm finally needing another pickup load of new sand.
Catersun....BEST of luck getting a new place! :D How exciting! :yes: I cheated with my sacrifice paddock. Since in my area I'd never have huge pasture anyways...when we cleared trees for turnout I made my entire main turnout a sacrifice paddock. It's about 75x220 or so, attached right to the barn. We "sacrificed" it by first making sure it's sloped from one end to the other a few degrees. Then after backfilling and tamping the heck out of the stump holes, we had the entire amount of topsoil removed, scraped right down to the subsoil. There's a 10x8 foot area in front of the barn door that's made like a dry well...when the foundation for the barn was dug I had that area dug out also and backfilled with rocks and processed stone, packed. So it doesn't get mucky there because that's where I dump buckets...right out the barn door. :winkgrin: Even if we get a solid week of rain...there are only two small spots of that paddock that get mud about 4" deep...lower spots that have worn out. We'll fix those next year...but those areas are only about the size of a stall each. The rest of the paddock sheets any water off of it and on oout of the paddock. The worst/deepest that paddock ever got was soft wet stuff about an inch and a half deep, it's too solid and packed and sloped to absorb any water.
Some water does run into the sand pit...but sand doesn't get muddy. :D

[subk]

Here's another question--if the OP doesn't mind. It seems to me that the more pasture you have per horse the less the need for a sacrifice paddock. Is that correct?

I have a 3/4 acre paddock (with a fence line and gate dividing it so it can be one larger or two smaller spaces) that meets all the criteria off a sacrifice paddock. (New property that doesn't have horses yet) However, I also have two 5-6 acre pastures and one 10 acre pasture for a 6 stall barn that I hope won't have more than 4 horses. (Yeah, yeah, I know.) Does that ratio seriously cut down on mud problems in my regular turnout or is that just wishful thinking?

A soil and water conservation district rep can help you figure out what programs you may qualify for to help pay for such BMP's. If you prefer not to enter into agreements with gov't, heck, take the free advice. My favorite word is "free". But I don't know what district you're in.

This link may help. http://www.sc.nrcs.usda.gov/
Just a heads up. Anyone interested in gov grant money whose property is equine exclusive might want to get going with it. I had my NRCS guy out last month and he believes it won't be long before equine exclusive properties get cut out of the grant programs. Production of "food or fiber" is the goverment definition of "agriculture. Prior to the slaughter ban equine properties were included because of the technicality that the end use for horses could be "food." Without slaughter equine exclusive properties don't meet the "food and fiber" definition and may very well get dumped.

[JSwan]

You know, I could send you a killing cone along with those nest eggs...... Mr. JSwan made some out of scrap sheet metal and.... ahem... they work very well. ;)

Winter is coming.... chicken and dumplings taste right good, ya know!

On the ryegrass question.... it depends on what you want to do. Both grasses are high in sugar, and both are "good" forage.

But that's for beef or dairy cows.

For your purposes, it'll depend on how you're going to manage the place. The annual dies back about the time other grasses start to emerge, so you have more diverse grasses and legumes in your pasture, including perennial ryegrass.

Annual ryegrass is usually used as a covercrop, and it's the only grass sown. Overseeded into a horse pasture, it germinates at colder temperatures and will grow longer into the fall/winter, when even perennial ryegrass goes dormant.

On the other hand, it's high in sugar so you have to decide if that's ok with your horses. You'll have small paddocks and not many horses, so it may be ok to use annual rye and also provide hay or restrict grazing. Or, don't seed it heavily like you would if you had dairy cows.
Otherwise, seed a fescue free pasture mix that's right for your area. I think your area would use bermuda? (I'm not sure). But I think perennial rye is included in your standard mixes down there.

If you decide to close off the pastures or just one pasture, you can overseed annual rye and just use it as a cover crop; stabilizing soil over the winter.

I guess that doesn't help much. Every answer I give on this stuff starts with, "It depends".

subk is right about the USDA and horses. It will take a strong equine lobby to keep horses in lumped in with agriculture. God help the horse world if we're not considered ag anymore. Yikes.

Catersun - I will be crossing my fingers and toes, and thinking happy happy joy joy thoughts!!!! Keep us posted!



I'm trying to give away two cockerelles right now cause well... one is mean and that isn't such a good thing with a little kid around. Once we get rid of those blasted boys we'll have room for one or two more hens in the coop/run.

SO, yeah... that is why all the questions lately.. and here is another...

any reason NOT to used periannual ryegrass instead of annual ryegrass when seeding for winter?

[MistyBlue]

Here's another question--if the OP doesn't mind. It seems to me that the more pasture you have per horse the less the need for a sacrifice paddock. Is that correct?

I have a 3/4 acre paddock (with a fence line and gate dividing it so it can be one larger or two smaller spaces) that meets all the criteria off a sacrifice paddock. (New property that doesn't have horses yet) However, I also have two 5-6 acre pastures and one 10 acre pasture for a 6 stall barn that I hope won't have more than 4 horses. (Yeah, yeah, I know.) Does that ratio seriously cut down on mud problems in my regular turnout or is that just wishful thinking?

Actually, a sacrifice paddock will protect your large grass pastures too, even though you have enough acreage. When it's been wet for a while or after a single heavy rain...the ground under the grass gets soft. It might not do anything when us humans walk on it, but put a couple 1000+ lb animals with small hard feet on it and you get holes, ruts, etc. And if they decide to get "jiggy wid it" and rocket around, you'll be spending ages walking those grass pasture kicking over the huge divots and trying to put it back together. Deep hoofprints and ruts made in wet pasture ground dry that way later on and after a year or so you can have one heckuva very bumpy/rutted/chewed up pasture area. So even with a lot of acreage, I'd keep them in a sacrifice until the ground dries out in the grass ones.