[rmh_rider]

We had many many dump truck loads overtime of what they in Seattle call "hog fuel". It is pretty much mulch. Bigger mulch.

This works temporarily. A couple few months. But it all depends on your mud and the traffic on it. One place we put it so I could get out with the truck and trailer on a very slight incline, the truck could not make it. It just spun it's wheels. I think the hog fuel made things much worse, slick. But it was the cheapest thing we could afford. Also mulch bark etc will become dirt and break down over a short period of time.

Now no question, rocks works. Rocks rock!

Wild Blue: I believe there is no such thing as too many rocks, or dirt. We should have got a load of rocks when the ground was like concrete so we could put them on an as needed basis. This will the the project come summer or when the ground gets really firm again. Rocks just disappear over time it seems.

[OTTBcooper]

Sorry is somebody already suggested this...a temporary, cheap fix that has worked for me this year. Lots of mud at gates and in front of run ins. $5.99 a bag pine pellets at Tractor Supply. Just pour the in the area. The pellets absorb the water and turn to saw dust.

This is what I use.... LOVE. I don't wet the pellets (like you would in a stall) and they really really help. For my 30'x24' "run" which is attached to a stall and where the hay is, I needed 10 bags initially (didn't go all the way to the edges and didn't put where he hay goes) and I add about half a bag a week. I pick the poop and pee spots every day. If it gets super wet and rainy ill add more.

[Real Rush]

Not to hijack the thread, but out of curiosity... if you are struggling with a serious mud issue, is it better to try and fix it now while it's still muddy and in the rainy season, or wait till the weather changes and everything dries out?

(and thanks for posting this thread, OP, I've learned some great ideas from everyone's responses to it!)

[OneGrayPony]

That's actually a really good question, and one I'm interested in as well - since I was thinking it would be better to wait until it was dry just so that the equipment didn't get bogged down...but I could be wrong.

[stryder]

I think it depends on whether you call in the drainage wizards or are determined to do something youself.

I opted to fix it now, and the drainage guys had the right equipment and experience to make it work. So ... low impact tread and a plan so they didn't sink in to their axles, or tip on the slope.

I also think a heavy clay that's going to set up really hard might be harder to dig out when it's dry.

[californianinkansas]

I have heavy clay soil. Once it dries completely out, you need a pickaxe to make even a dent in it. Learn from my fail.

[OTTBcooper]

I have heavy clay soil. Once it dries completely out, you need a pickaxe to make even a dent in it. Learn from my fail.

^^ THIS. But it also depends on the machinery, you don't want to completely destroy your field(s) and get stuck (learn from MY fail!).

[WendellsGirl]

Makes me feel better to know there's lots of others dealing with clay-heavy soil and soul-sucking mud! Thanks for the good ideas.

[showidaho]

Mud doesn't go away when you start adding natural, decomposable matter to it as that is a temporary fix...We spent the money (and it wasn't cheap or fun) to have three permanent all-weather paddocks put in at our house. The process is similar to building an arena and we have to go to painstaking lengths to maintain it (we clean turnouts every day, no matter what)...BUT we don't have mud and are able to do turnout every.single.day. I highly recommend talking to a professional about stripping out your top soil, creating a drainage plan, and installing the correct fabric, rock, and footing to permanently fix your mud issue. Best of luck! Mud is the worst!

[Jleegriffith]

Mud doesn't go away when you start adding natural, decomposable matter to it as that is a temporary fix...We spent the money (and it wasn't cheap or fun) to have three permanent all-weather paddocks put in at our house. The process is similar to building an arena and we have to go to painstaking lengths to maintain it (we clean turnouts every day, no matter what)...BUT we don't have mud and are able to do turnout every.single.day. I highly recommend talking to a professional about stripping out your top soil, creating a drainage plan, and installing the correct fabric, rock, and footing to permanently fix your mud issue. Best of luck! Mud is the worst!

We have done the same and although expensive it really is a life saver. I do a lot of horse that are recovering from injuries and the small paddocks with footing are perfect. In the winter, we don't even really turn out on our real fields and just use our all weather paddocks for turnout. I built them just like we built the ring. Scrap down, remove soil, build base, lay down fabric, more base and add footing on top. We touch them up every year right before winter but otherwise done correctly you just clean them daily and thank god that you have them

We also only feed using slow feed hay boxes that my husband builts which keeps mud from building due to wasted hay.

[showidaho]

We have done the same and although expensive it really is a life saver. I do a lot of horse that are recovering from injuries and the small paddocks with footing are perfect. In the winter, we don't even really turn out on our real fields and just use our all weather paddocks for turnout. I built them just like we built the ring. Scrap down, remove soil, build base, lay down fabric, more base and add footing on top. We touch them up every year right before winter but otherwise done correctly you just clean them daily and thank god that you have them

We also only feed using slow feed hay boxes that my husband builts which keeps mud from building due to wasted hay.

Yes! I forgot to add that we too have feeders for hay, in addition to rubber mats on which we place the hay bins. It's all about keeping the hay and manure off of it!!!

[TFF]

Does anyone have pictures of their limestone areas? I'm dealing with mud, but also high wind when it dries out, so the dirt under the eve of one side of the barn just disappears! Would this happen with limestone too or is it dense enough not to fly away?

Curious to see what these mud solutions look like...I'm having trouble visualizing

[mayfair]

Not to hijack the thread, but out of curiosity... if you are struggling with a serious mud issue, is it better to try and fix it now while it's still muddy and in the rainy season, or wait till the weather changes and everything dries out?

(and thanks for posting this thread, OP, I've learned some great ideas from everyone's responses to it!)

We had someone come in during the rainy season and look at the problem so he knew where the water/mud areas were and then waited until everything dried out to have the work done. There wasn't a way to get machinery in during the wet season.

[Jleegriffith]

We also place our hay feeders on rubber mats which allows us to clean the hay out from under them and it also prevents a hole from forming in front of the feeders. Our paddocks look like this:
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5100/5...4e791eb393.jpg

Hay box- http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7065/6...6d0fb8a9f3.jpg
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7196/6...2f45fdcb4d.jpg

[eponacelt]

We also place our hay feeders on rubber mats which allows us to clean the hay out from under them and it also prevents a hole from forming in front of the feeders. Our paddocks look like this:
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5100/5...4e791eb393.jpg

Hay box- http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7065/6...6d0fb8a9f3.jpg
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7196/6...2f45fdcb4d.jpg

Is it weird that these photos make my heart go pitter-patter? I'm jealous.

We're planning on doing two sacrifice paddocks, possibly this winter. I have the boards and posts for the fencing here already, and am currently trying to figure out the best plan for the install. I think we're going with two 40'x50' paddocks, so the materials will be costly. Fortunately, we're not looking at an area with a drainage issue. I just want to be able to keep my horses off the fields when its really wet. And I think you probably can't go wrong with having a good dry lot.

So...as soon as I know I can afford it, we're putitng it in!

[TFF]

We also place our hay feeders on rubber mats which allows us to clean the hay out from under them and it also prevents a hole from forming in front of the feeders. Our paddocks look like this:
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5100/5...4e791eb393.jpg

Hay box- http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7065/6...6d0fb8a9f3.jpg
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7196/6...2f45fdcb4d.jpg

so beautiful! Those paddocks are just gorgeous. And the bungee cords in the hay feeders...that's ingenious. I may just have to convince the SO to build some of those! I'm too dangerous around the power tools

[mattv]

Could you perhaps post a couple more pictures of your feeders, maybe measurements as well? Looks great

Do your horses ever get frustrated with the slow feeding imposed by the feeders?

[ReSomething]

Another person who went oooooh at the sight of what is, basically, an equine parking lot. You'd think we'd be drooling over lush grass - no - we're drooling over the lack of shoe stealing, ankle wrenching mud. No or less scratches, no ice cuts, no or less thrush, huge savings on time and much safer for everybody. The dances I've had to do at our muddy gate opening, hopping from hummock to hummock or better yet trying to make sure my mud boot stays attached to my foot as I lift my feet while all the time hanging on to a horse who doesn't like the muck any more than I do - your drylot Jlee, is a thing of beauty.

[Jleegriffith]

We just ran our drylots on each side of the barn and then divided them in half so they are 50 ft wide by 72ft long but dividing them they are only about 32ft in length. My stalls open right out to them on each side of the barn and generally two horses hang out comfortably in the divided halfs. The slow feeders keep them busy and I don't find they get frustrated by them.

Once you get your base built up (like building a road) then you just touch up the footing each year. I like to touch the paddocks up in late November to get ready for winter. If you add the stone dust then it will keep the paddocks from getting so wet because the fresh stone dust absorbs the water faster and then you have no laying water to create ice. If you don't put down enough stone dust (my contractor didn't this year) than you still get water that lays and that leads to mud.

I just divided with the no climb because I felt like if I was to have a dividing fence in there where they could look/touch each other than it would have to be something they couldn't put their legs through. The gate that divides is also the mesh screen on the bottom so they can't kick through it.

[TrotTrotPumpkn]

Those paddocks are SO BEAUTIFUL!! I am jealous. Of course we are in a drought, so mud is sort of a non-issue. Except on my sad driveway that needs to be rebuilt, but I digress....

I have read comments on COTH on similar feeders where horses damaged their teeth on the metal...have you had any issues?