It all started when we moved house and horses just over two months ago.  This whole blog might more accurately be called 'My Family and Other Animals' but lest I digress too far, I have confined it to matters more tangible.

Up until the move, our horses had been kept for five years in a herd, turned out 24/7, rugless, shoeless, unclipped and slightly wild!  During this period, we had rather smugly embraced the barefoot movement, transitioning rather easily the two with shoes and deciding not to inflict a metal fate upon the two others.  What we didn't appreciate was that with the horses living on a well draining sandy field and having largely off road hacking on sand, we were doing barefoot the easy (cheats) way!  It was therefore a shock to the system when we moved to clay soil with lots of roadwork.

Then there was the rain!!  2012 will be remembered by many and in particular the equine community as the year that rained and then some.  Even usually well draining fields turned into something resembling The Somme and life turned into a long battle against the elements.  Even riding proved somewhat miserable with the amount of surface water and the wonderful comments of the Chef D'Equipe in the film International Velvet come to mind.  He described a similarly wet dressage arena as 'dancing Swan Lake in clogs in a bog'!          

Thus we were faced with a dilemma, horses that couldn't be turned out due to our sodden field and hooves that were growing softer by the day and unable to withstand the roadwork they were being exposed to.  For a heartbeat we considered being drawn to the dark side, to putting on shoes and having an easy life.  I should at this point state that I am not anti shoeing, in many cases and for many people it is the most practical option and one that is ultimately in the best interests of the horse.  However, not being people to ever take the straightforward option and not bearing to think about our horses' lovely feet being compromised, we realised a serious plan of action was needed.

Ever since reading Jaime Jackson's iconic book, Paddock Paradise, I have harboured dreams of creating the ultimate track system.  Stretching over several acres and incorporating different surfaces, gradients and watering holes, it would come close to the ideal of Wild Horse Country.  However, as my husband would remind me, my beer budget would not stretch to my champagne taste and so the idea of a track system in our field was ruled out as an option.  How then could we enable the horses to be turned out during the wettest weather whilst stimulating and conditioning their feet?  How could we do this with a minimal budget and with minimal space?

The answer in the end was an easy one.  Adjoining our stable yard was a strip of bare earth bordered by various trees and shrubs.  It only measured approximately 20 metres by 4 metres but together with the concrete yard could constitute a turnout area.  Below is a picture showing this area before any work was done.

The idea started as simply as this but as many ideas have a habit of doing, (at least in my life), it suddenly gained a momentum of its own.  What would make the turnout area most effective in terms of being dry and conditioning the horses' feet?  How could we stimulate movement?  My heart warmed as I realised that what we were actually contemplating was our Own Little Paddock Paradise!  

We decided that the most practical and beneficial option would be to cover the earth area in pea gravel.  Dr Robert Bowker has found in research that blood perfusion through the foot is highest when it is on pea gravel and other foot care professionals have found that gravel gently wears away the sole and discourages peripheral loading due to being conformable.  After some research, we decided to put down gravel measuring between 20-40mm.  Although many people prefer a smaller size, we were concerned about it becoming wedged in the horses' collateral grooves.  As we also live just below the South Downs, we were also keen for the surface to mimic the larger pieces of flint that are found on the Downs.  

We also decided to incorporate a muck heap into the grand scheme and to move the fence slightly to grab a little more space.  I should say at this point that we had a very understanding landlord who kindly agreed to what must have seemed to him a rather hair brain scheme!

Having got some very frightening quotes for the work to be done by contractors, it seemed the most economical option was to source the material ourselves and to hire someone to put it all together.  That someone was Ruben Watson from Earthworks, (see links), who proved to be worth his weight in gold!

As we are all very much Paddock Paradise pioneers, there is no blue print for how far you should dig down, how much gravel you should put in, what membrane to use etc etc.  The whole project was very spontaneous, (disorganised), and instincts were relied upon rather than hard engineering facts!  On day one, with the fence down and the top layer of soil off, the yard resembled an archaeological dig as the photo shows.  I fully expected to uncover a body or two at any moment!

Seeing how wet the soil was, we decided that drains would be a good idea!  As we'd hired a mini digger, the ever enthusiastic Ruben dug some trenches into which we placed drainage pipes thereby creating French drains.

The wooden structures in the photo are the start of our muck heap.  Railway sleepers were driven to a depth of three foot into the ground and then cemented in to form support structures for the horizontal sleepers.

The drains in and another layer of top soil taken off and the remaining soil compressed by the mini digger, we then put down a layer of geotextile membrane.  This was to stop the pea gravel mixing with the soil and to prevent weeds whilst permitting moisture to run away.  This was a relatively cheap, (£40.00 in total), and easy to lay but a worthwhile part of the project and one that I would highly recommend anyone doing.

So to the shingle, oh the shingle!  We had contemplated laying to a maximum depth of 10cm on the advice of our local building materials supplier.  However, upon contacting other people who have horses on track systems, they recommended a depth of 20cm.  Knowing that our horses would be on a relatively small space and knowing our little herd contains some characters, (thugs), we decided to over engineer and go for a depth of 25cm.  The cheapest way to do this was to order a bulk tipper load which for an area of 20 metres x 4 metres came to 20 tonnes of gravel!  I came home from the school run on day three to find a small quarry in the yard with the horses looking on incredulously- what was mum up to now?  Would this be a new free shaping game with a beach theme?

The fun then started of spreading the gravel around first with the mini digger and then with any shovel/spade/rake/shavings fork that we could lay our hands on!

At first we were concerned that our over engineering had got us into trouble and that the horses would be buried in piles of pebbles!  However, after a couple of sweaty hours pushing and smoothing the stuff into place, we stood back to admire what looked like a blue flag beach!

I should also mention that we put down kick boards at the bottom of the fencing to a height of 30cm to keep in as much shingle as possible.  The railway sleeper muck heap was also a great success, giving quite a bit of space inside.

We used reclaimed sleepers made of softwood which are cheaper but just as study as hardwood options.  In fact, when the whole thing was finished, it resembled more a Zen garden from Grand Designs than a Paddock Paradise!  I almost couldn't bear to put horses on it but felt a sudden desire fill it with sculptures!

The finishing touches were some wind chimes in the trees, water buckets, plenty of haylage and salt licks in abundance.  The question remained, what would the horses think about it, would a Paddock Paradise on such small scale work, would the horses go on the gravel, would it be deep enough?  It was with bated breath and beating hearts that the grand opening happened and the horses were put out on it for the first time.

We were amazed when the ponies having cautiously sniffed the gravel began cantering around and around on it!  Watching them plough through it, I was glad of our not so conservative 25cms, size truly does matter!  It soon became obvious that with our motley crew, anything less would have soon resulted in the membrane becoming exposed and general disaster!  After half an hour of high jinks, the gang soon settled down to eat and interestingly chose to go on the gravel over the food on the concrete.  

At the moment we are feeding from hay nets which is not our preference but we are concerned about loose haylage mixing in with the gravel.  I'm currently researching more horse friendly solutions for this and will update this in a future blog.

The herd seem remarkably happy in their Little Paddock Paradise and we can't get over how comfortable they are on the gravel, often seeking it out to rest on or eat.  They are also enjoying using the railway sleepers as itching posts although Alfie seems determined to chew them, perhaps he is creating his own sculpture?

We're experimenting with different enrichment ideas.  The favourite thus far is multiple branches to strip and chew, Willow being in a firm first place with all the ponies.  I'm intending to go off tommorow and fill a builders bag with heather and gorse as they all show a preference for this whilst out and about.  Now I will truly be considered the local freak, not only do I go around walking and not riding my horses and clicking intermittently to them, now I am out foraging for them with builders bags in the depths of the woods!!

The horses' feet are already looking better with much of the flaky sole worn away and with all the ponies seeming more comfortable on the road already.  I'll be getting photos and recording progress in future blogs.

I hope this all gives an idea of what it takes to accomplish some form of Paddock Paradise and it is my intention to use this blog to continue to share ideas and experiences.  It's going to be an experiment for us which I hope will be of benefit to other people and their equine companions.  For now, we're really happy with the outcome but I'm sure there will be some ups and downs along the way.