01.28.08
Pea gravel for natural horsekeeping, update
I’ve seen a lot of interest in my blog posts about using pea stone gravel to help naturally condition barefoot horses’ feet. Furthering this discussion, here is how my pea stone, installed over a year ago, is faring so far in its second winter.
Under our 12×24 shed roof overhang, where I wanted our three horses to primarily hang out and condition their hooves, I put in pea gravel fill 4-6 inches deep on top of a packed clay base in Nov. 2006. I fed their hay on this gravel for the first 10 months. They also had a pre-established habit of dropping their manure in one corner of this shed roof area, so the gravel got a lot of manure deposits. We picked the manure very often and tried to keep it cleared, but the horses walked on it and broke up the clods, so sediment was gradually collecting into the gravel. As well, their urine collected and I had to lime the gravel occasionally, which also added to the sediment.
Last summer I attempted to clean the gravel by hosing out the hay fines/manure/lime sediment, but it did not work because there is no place for the sediment to go and the gravel is very heavy. Possibly a pressure hose would have been effective, especially if combined with effective drainage. We added some fresh gravel on top of our existing base a couple of times during the first year.
During the first winter the gravel was brand new and reasonably deep and did not ever freeze solid; even with snow on it, it stayed loose on top. Now this winter the gravel is quite filled in with sediment and has frozen solid so is probably no longer serving its purpose of toughening the horse’s soles because it is not deep enough. It still seems to be keeping their hoof walls worn down because it still provides a rough textured surface. I have not had them trimmed since late last summer; we do our own rasping and shaping about every 4-6 weeks as needed, mainly to control flaring and long toes. In the winter our horses’ hooves do not grow very much.
We have decided from our experience that our pea gravel will need more serious maintenance and periodic total replacement. We plan to scrape out the gravel/sediment next spring when it thaws and place all new pea stone. I will not feed them hay on it anymore, and I will not use it in the corner where they put the most manure, doing something different there that is easier to clean. I hope they will walk on it often enough to condition their hooves when they seek shade and fly relief in the summer.
We will reuse the old gravel/sediment in gateways and around water tanks, gravelling more high-traffic areas as we can. The pea stone in our gateways has been quite effective in countering and stabilizing mud. If does however get pulled away and thus has to be replenished at times.
JENNIFER COMMENTS recently on her own pea gravel experiences:
I have two barefoot horses and put pea gravel in and in front of their run in barn this summer. At first it was FANTASTIC! Their hooves looked great, no stones were getting caught in them, they stayed cleaner. Then the sediment started to build up. I picked out manure and excess hay every day but it just built up little by little. This winter it has gotten much worse. We have had temps down to 0 F and at that temp the gravel is frozen solid and the urine freezes too. In fact the manure and hay get frozen to it as well. It has done a great job to eliminate the mud and deep hoof prints that ultimately used to freeze just outside the barn. I am anxious to see how it is in the spring/summer since I have only had it a half year. I can’t see myself sifting and rinsing 5 cubic yards of pea stone. That would be a lot of work.
AND– Here’s a different approach idea… I got an email inquiry from someone considering using pea gravel as footing inside their horse stalls…
See all the blog info on peastone gravel for horsekeeping… and be sure to look for other folks’ COMMENTS at the end of these posts.
For our backyard Herd we use other hoof-maintenance and natural practices as well, see:
paddock paradise posts.
24/7 natural horse turnout posts
PLEASE ADD YOUR COMMENTS here!!! Thanks!
