A la Jaime Jackson’s natural horse care book Paddock Paradise, this spring I set up my own version of a track in a small pasture. This field is gently sloping and about 1 acre in size, planted in pasture grass with lots of clover. Before letting the horses into it, I installed temporary electric tape fencing using step-in plastic posts and running an insulated electric line underground to make it hot.
Jaime Jackson’s concept basically is to create an interior walkway or track along the perimeter of a pasture, limiting the horses’ access to grass and encouraging them to move around more than they do when grazing in a large open area. This track is recommended to be no wider than 10-12 feet; if it is too wide the horses won’t walk around it as much.
His and others’ observations report a significant increase in the horses’ movement around such a perimeter path, as they search for new grass, water, mud or sand baths, shade, pea gravel, salt licks, wood piles, and other variety of interests which you may have laid out for them. The theory is to simulate more natural conditions in attempt to get domestic horses to mimick wild horses’ behavior patterns, who travel about 20 miles daily on paths criss-crossing their range.
Lower end of track inside 1-acre pasture, along woodline; our track is 10-12 feet wide for 3 horses, Jackson says up to 15 feet wide.
Some people have made their tracks by grading the grass off of them, making rocky and hardpacked areas to assist the natural hoofcare of barefoot horses. I didn’t do any grading, but after a while the horses took care of most of the grass and the dirt has packed down in spots. Some people feed out their hay in small piles around the track. I have used my track mostly as a holding area between spells of allowing them into forage grass. The center of the pasture, which they are barred from much of the time, is divided by temporary fencing into two grass halves which I let them into for a few hours at a time, and manage separately by mowing the weeds after they have grazed each half down.
Horses walking around perimeter track; their access to the lush grass in the pasture center is controlled and limited.
When confined to their track, my horses DO move around it a great deal, always searching for better grass. There is not much variety on my track, just upslope and downslope, dirt and mud path areas, a water tub, and 3 different sections of trees (which they chew and scratch on.) Also, the horses always have free access to return to the barn as they wish, and their path back to the barn is hard packed and somewhat rocky. I cannot yet say if their hooves are maintaining any better, but they seem to be staying shorter this spring that last. I do still have a few spots of pea gravel plus a run-in shelter with pea gravel next to the barn. They seem to be keeping a better fitness level on their own too; our horses have 24/7 turnout.
This perimiter track is a convenient way to limit horses’ grass access and to manage selective grazing. It is quite helpful for limiting one horse’s grass on the track (your easy keeper) while giving the other horses better grazing inside the center; this way the horses don’t have to be separated by long physical distances (which really upsets some horses.)
With a second water tub inside the grass center, I can leave them setup this way for long periods, while being cautious about buggy dusk times on hot days. My horses can get quite agitated when the gnats and mosquitoes are really bad, and I wouldn’t trust them not to run through a temporary tape fence if the bugs got horrible; they would be dying to run back to the barn for some bug shelter and dust bath breaks!
So I would positively say, if you are seeking more natural horsekeeping and have the capability, give the paddock paradise track a try. It is sort of a misnomer, because I’m sure horses would consider it more of a paradise just to stand around grazing lush grass all day– but your horses could well be healthier for limiting their amounts of grass and getting them moving on track!
In my ongoing experiences of raising two foals from birth, I have been a firm believer in very early exposure to things a domestic horse must learn. Having a very sensible, manageable and easy to ride momma mare makes it fairly easy to lead the foal by her side when you ride, so the baby learns while feeling secure. To the baby, all encounters thus seen are accepted as normal and natural, resulting in a much saner and therefore safer horse when he’s grown.
Connie ponying 3-month old colt Gilford in Acadia National Park Maine in 2003.
I must emphasize here the importance of having a steady and well-experienced lead horse. A green horse of any age can be ponied by any other horse so long as they get along with each other; however, the green horse will take his cues from the lead horse, so you don’t want him learning to be fearful and hesitant or to run away from threats. Also as the rider you must be confident in and have excellent control of your lead horse.
Ponying requires paying a WHOLE LOT of attention to everything going on, both the horses you are managing and also the environment surrounding you. You must know a lot about horse behavior. You must be aware of your footing at all times, potential scary visual things coming up, and sounds around you, and be able to react calmly to the unexpected. Take my word for it, the unanticipated will ALWAYS happen!
Start first on the ground with leading on foot. Be sure your green horse or baby consistently yields to halter pressure, leads well, and can safely stand tied. The baby might have little patience and a short attention span, but he must accept restraint without pulling back or fighting, and stand quietly at least for short spells. Of course, with the younger foal, always have his mom (tied) in the same area you are working with him in.
Also, you will have practiced leaning your body and waving your arms over the baby’s back and above his head, and gotten him used to dragging a lead rope from his halter, and desensitized him to ropes rubbing and slapping him all over his body and being wrapped around his legs. Teach him to relax and yield each leg to the pull of a rope around it, and to a rope around his rump. Be sure he is used to sights and sounds of loose clothing. Have him in the stall while you tack up his mom, he will most likely be quite interested in the saddle. Mount and dismount a few times so he can see these movements. This prep work, along with moving his body away from pressure, was part of our foals’ ground work from birth; at two weeks of age they were ready to be ponied.
I use a sturdy thick rope lead line at least 6 feet long, with a heavy duty bull snap. For a full size horse I pony with a rope training halter which has the 10 foot rope lead attached. I mount with the ponied horse on the lead horse’s right, his lead rope held in my right hand at the seat of the saddle. I give enough slack not to pull the ponied horse’s head up, but not so much that he can walk off. Be careful not to kick the ponied horse when you throw your leg over the saddle! Be prepared to move off promptly, having the baby parallel to mom facing forward, and cluck to them or say Walk (or GiddyUp or whatever you say) as you start moving.
I steer Willy mom with my left hand and keep the lead rope in my right; I also have the knotted tail end of the lead line in my left hand alongside the reins. I want to be able to allow the lead rope to slide through my hand when necessary, but not lose hold of it. I would never tie the lead rope to the saddle. Steering is easier with a lead horse who neck reins, but you can bridge your English reins and still manage it, being careful not to pull on your own horse’s mouth with your right hand.
The reason to keep your leadline shorter is to correct the baby when he starts to go faster and move ahead of mom, or to lag behind. Gently use pressure on the lead rope to keep his head even with your calf ideally; I use short little tugs if he stops arbitrarily, making it uncomfortable for him to resist. Your timing is critical when making corrections, so you stop the little tugs or release the pressure at the first sign of yielding.
I speak to my guys often because they are used to being verbally praised, also scolded for behaving undesirably. I had to reprimand both my guys for trying to nibble on my half-chaps (highly recommended to wear!) or saddle blanket or saddle or stirrups or breastplate or my boots or nipping at mom. All this stuff may be sort of cute, but trust me, not paying attention to business is a hard habit to break. They might just as well get used to paying attention to what is required of them by people from day one– just don’t make your lessons so long that they get bored stiff!
Both our foals were quite happy to go out beside mom and see the world. Practice a few times in a confined, familiar area at first, teaching speed changes (walk/trot/walk transitions) and stops, standing and starting. I have often gotten the sense of mom mare understanding what this deal is all about; she totally can tell when I’m talking to her and when I’m talking to baby. With a foal, you can allow nursing breaks as needed; both mom and foal will be more comfortable for it. When out, be aware of and warn off strangers, on foot or on horseback, approaching a jealous protective mom.
Being fortunate enough to have a third driving horse, we are able to get babies used to the sights and sounds of a driving cart, and eventually to ponying behind the cart. It takes two people for this training, one to drive the horsecart and the other (passenger) to manage the ponied horse. Here again, the pony person must pay acute attention to the ponied horse behind the cart, regaining his attention as needed, warning him to back off if necessary, cueing before slowdowns and stops, keeping him from running up either side past the cart wheel or from nibbling at the cart or driver. When I am pony person in a cart, I spend almost all my time looking backwards. After a lot of practice, possibly some horses could be ponied simply tied to the cart, but I would be quite reluctant myself to do this (I usually err on the side of caution.) I would pony from a halter and not a bridle.
Our guys have been ponied on trails, streets, sidewalks, woods roads, across streams, through covered bridges, on carriage roads. They have seen barking dogs, cars and trucks, motorcycles and ATVs, snowmobiles, bicyclers, skateboarders, scary flags and mailboxes, birds flushing, deer, strollers, balloons, other horses and riders and carriages, all with a sense of relative security. I myself have witnessed a ponied horse on a hunter pace course, jumping over jumps in sync with the lead horse and its rider. It is amazing how much horses can learn– leading your youngster or greenie beside a more experienced horse can give terrific benefits. Enjoy your ponying excursions and exercise common sense safety at all times!
Search Blog on ponying for several other posts and pictures!
WOO HOO!!! as HorseGal would say… we spent most of a gorgeous Sunday trail riding with all THREE horses, down at Gelinas Farm in Pembroke NH, sponsored by New Hampshire Horse and Trail. About 30 riders showed up for the ride and lunch afterwards. For us, taking three horses was special because there were only two of us riding, and we ponied Glendale, our yearling going on two. Glen was taught how to pony next to his mom when he was 2 weeks old LINK [or search blog on ponying], and he got quite a bit of exposure to the world at an early age.
Last year, around his first birthday in August, his ponying became a challenge as he began to feel his studly oats. Before he was gelded last November, I didn’t pony him much, considering it too risky what with his belligerent attitude (he was pulling away from me.) Right after his gelding, I ponied him a couple of times while he was recovering and subdued, then winter set in.
So we were quite pleased that he remembered his foal training so well this year. I tested out his attitude twice before the trail ride and he did well, so he got to come along on the 10-mile trip over dirt and woods roads, paths, and streets. There was a lot of varied terrain, including rocky and river-rock stretches, rutted woods roads, and deep muddy spots with puddles; Glen finally gave up trying to keep his feet dry. Some trail was like a footpath, so narrow I had to let Glen follow directly behind his mom’s rump. Usually I kept him on my right and on about 3 feet of lead so I could steer him better, to keep him from trying to go on a different side of a sapling than I rode on.
Older shot from 2005, first teaching Glendale to be ponied. (Sorry I had my hands too full on this ride to take any pix– my bad!)
From the start I have used verbal cues to help Glendale anticipate speed changes, and because we want him to be a driving horse too. I can cluck to him or say trot and he will start trotting before his mom does, and he responds readily to walk, easy and whoa. He is very smart and a quick learner, he tunes me in and even seems to enjoy getting pats and scratches on the neck, and hearing me say Good Boy when he does something special. When he sees something strange, he looks hard at it; he will go right up to a mailbox or pot of flowers or bag of trash and sniff it.
We had only one incident, early in the ride– dad, behind me, was ponying Glendale next to his brother Gilford (age 4 and still a green horse) when some other riders came up suddenly from behind and startled Glen who spooked, causing Gilford to also spook. Dad was trying to bring Gilford under control and hang onto Glendale’s lead rope, and they managed to run on either side of me on momma Willy who I was holding in to keep her from spooking too. I ducked the lead line which pretty much got pulled out of Dad’s hand at that moment, keeping me from possibly being caught up in it or pulled out of the saddle. Glendale ran ahead a little ways then stopped when he realized no one was coming with him, so he came back to momma and I got hold of him.
Hopefully we can bring Glendale along on many more trail rides, and also pony him behind the cart, as we did Gilford when he was young and Abby was pulling the cart. I firmly believe this is a great and easy way to train a youngster and expand the range of his experience. I have actually witnessed one lady ponying a 2-yr. old around a hunter pace course, over jumps, side by side with his mother who was obviously a well-trained and manageable jumper. What I’m doing seems easy compared to that!!!
See next post for HOW-TOs– Ponying the Baby Horse or Green Horse
Search Blog on ponying for more pix and posts!
Young Gilford (arabian/percheron) has always been an easy keeper, easy to keep weight on. Over this past winter he lost a good deal of weight which put him to a normal weight for his size. This was a blessing in disguise, because overwieght horses like most other mammals can have very serious health problems and other issues.
Our menagerie, VeeJay and Peaches watching Gilford and his mom enjoy the backyard!
It’s not that he was overfed, he gets about 1 quart of grain a day and no more hay than the other 2 horses, but he got plump last year just on grass. So now we have started using a grazing muzzzle on him to limit his grass intake. It slows him down but doesn’t prevent him from eating unless all the grass gets really grazed down too short for him to reach. With the muzzle he can join his family in pasture instead of having to be isolated on cold turkey, plus he will continue to benefit from the exercise a grazing horse gets instead of being shut into a paddock.
When we first put the muzzle on him, he hung his head like a sad puppy dog… he would walk up first to me then to hubby and hang his head, shake it a bit, and look at us. He would walk away a little and just stand there. It was so pathetic! Like he was asking us to take that thing off. Finally he gave that up, found some deeper grass and figured out he could get at it after all, and proceeded to graze.
Wearing the muzzle he gets about 1/3 to 1/2 the grass he would get without it (my guess based on how fast he appears to eat.) With no muzzle on he appears to gulp down grass at least twice as fast as his mom or brother. Also I think his metabolism is a good deal slower than theirs. We will monitor his weight using a girth measurement tape and observation. Carrying less weight will be healthier for his feet and legs and his overall condition, and better for his athletic training as well.
This grazing muzzle is a rigid metal cage with fleece padding around the top. Early on it rubbed raw spots on Gilford’s chin.
After only a few days, this muzzle (worn above) was rubbing sores on the horse’s jawbone, so we replaced it with different style BEST FRIEND muzzle.
Unfortunately, after 2-3 days of use this muzzle was rubbing sores on his lower chin bone. Wrapping it with more fleece didn’t help; padding it with a soft neoprene splint boot under his chin just caused it to rub in a different place on the side of his face.
This was too much; I removed the muzzle and began separating the 3 horses into different pasture areas, allocating Gilford to the places of least grass and/or limiting his time in thick grass. This makes our horsekeeping much more time-consuming and inconvenient having to relocate them and lead them around manually. (Typically in the summer we just open a gate and let them go, and call them back to the barn at night. Later in the summer when grass is eaten down we would leave them out all night in pasture.)
I have another style muzzle on order, a Best Friend brand. I think a muzzle could be an ideal solution to the thorny problem of an overeating horse, so long as I can find a muzzle he can wear without soring himself. The metal one is just too rigid and heavy. The new one coming will have a rubber/plastic cage with woven nylon webbing and a halter built into it, which is adjustable at the poll and also has a breakaway snap. Will keep you posted how the next one does.
Anyone who has used a muzzle, please comment if it fit your horse without soring!
Gilford last winter dreaming of grass…
Arabian mom mare Willy with yearling Glendale (Rt.), who, having a higher metabolism like his mom and still a growing boy, does not need a grazing muzzle (we hope never…)
At last I got the chance to ride Connie’s beloved mare Willow’s Bask!!!! She is everything Connie said she is!!! I got on her and we became fast friends. I barely have to move and she knows what I want. [ED.NOTE: I call her a Cadillac, she is always willing and ready to go!] Connie had me ride around the paddock for nearly an hour while she observed me and the sweet mare getting to know each other. It was so much fun! I would talk to Willy as we rode. I love to talk to horses whether I’m riding or just around them. I really believe it makes a bond between rider and horse.
On Willy momma mare (sons Glendale and Gilford in paddock)
Does HorseGal look happy or what?
Willy is extremely comfortable and easy to ride. If I felt I was starting to lose my balance sit-trotting, I just posted. I need to work on that, by the way. I feel like when I post I’m exaggerating the movements too much and almost vault myself out of the saddle. I’ve never been taught to actually post, since my lessons are all western.
Connie suggested just letting my lower legs and heels slide up and down against the mare’s flanks– as if to lower my weight down into my heels then let the mare’s movement lift me up again onto the balls of my feet in the stirrups– while keeping my seat close to the saddle. (In a way, it’s focusing on DROPPING your weight lower, as opposed to lifting yourself out of the saddle.) I’m going to have Kerry, my riding instructor, help me get the technique down. It’d be so great, by the next time I see Connie, to show her an improvement in my posting!
HorseGal trying pivot turns even before she observed Tom Curtin’s natural horsemanship clinic. Here the mare turns mostly on her forehand, and a little on her haunches. Willy is quite well schooled to do turns on the forehand and haunches, but it’s HorseGal’s first ever attempts. Not bad, huh!
Riding Momma Willy really made me feel like I’m becoming a good rider. It was a wonderful confidence-booster for me. Getting on top of her however, well, that was ugly!! Poor Willy!! She stood so patiently while I bounced up and down, would get almost into the saddle and then have to try again. And again! And yet again!
First starting out, trotting… rider is kinda bouncy and mare is putting her ears back in response.
After some practice, mare adjusts to HorseGal and vice versa; mare now has a happier attitude.
[ED.NOTE: HorseGal is a much better rider than she gives herself credit for! She tunes way in to the horse, as shown in the 2 movies above. When first on the mare, she is bouncy in her lower body because the mare has more action than a quarterhorse plus they are not in a soft-footing level riding arena. By the second movie, HorseGal has relaxed and softened her body at the sitting trot, and does a little gentle posting. Mainly you can tell by the attitude of Willy, who puts her ears back at the beginning as she always does when someone is bouncy on her sensitive back, but in the second video she's going happily.
This ability to tune in to what makes the horse happy is I feel more important than skills and riding lessons, it is an instinctive feel that is hard to teach or learn and many riders never get it. Ultimately it will separate the adequate riders from the truly good riders who get the best out of each horse they spend time with.]
Trotting on trail ride in the pasture!
After that first hour of riding, Connie saddled up Gilford and off we all went on a trail ride through woods and fields. It was fantastic!! I think we must have ridden about two hours. Then we rode again later in the week. After our rides, there were carrots for everyone!!! And I’m re-living our rides over and over in my head!!
I am looking forward to many more rides with Connie, Gilford, and Willy!!!! woo hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Look what you’ve started Connie!!!!)
Saturday June 2 we took 4 year old Gilford on an organized carriage drive in Bear Brook State Park. It was hosted by the Granite State Carriage Association which we are members of. This time I did not ride Willy as I have many times in the past, because Gilford goes better without her along. When she’s there he spends too much time worrying about where she is, especially when she’s behind the cart. He gets distracted and keeps trying to turn his head around to see her, thus he meanders and has trouble walking a straight line.
So it helps his training and builds his confidence to go out alone. He is a laid back guy even alone and does not get spooky or silly. These videos give a passenger’s view of being in a Meadowbrook horse cart on a training drive– the route was about 6 miles of walking and trotting. Gilford’s wearing a net face and ear mask to protect from bugs, especially deerflies which are the worst.
Setting up before the drive, Gilford and hubby at the horse trailer.
In training while on a drive like this, the whip (driver) will try to help the horse keep an even tempo or cadence in his steps. When trotting, you want the horse to keep the same rhythm going upslope or down as he has on level ground. This means he has to put more effort into going uphill, leaning into the harness and pushing off harder with his hind legs; then he must hold himself and the cart back going down hill, sitting back onto his haunches a little and slowing down his steps. This challenges young Gilford, who also has trouble balancing himself going downhill with a rider on his back. With lots of practice the horse eventually learns to do these things and develops the correct muscling to be able to. When it becomes ingrained enough, he will mostly do it on his own.
Stretching down with neck, relaxed frame (seen from cart)
If you can hear the hoofbeats in this video, you’ll notice a variation in Gilford’s cadence at the trot. Starting out he is carrying his head a bit high because he’s not totally relaxed and is looking around a bit, and he shies a little after the bridge at something off to the right. Note how his head goes up when he shies, showing some nervousness.
Here later in the drive he is more relaxed and steady in the walk, stretching his neck out and carrying his head lower, in a better driving frame. In this video you can see the light rope sliding side reins I have started using on him.
Sliding side reins made of light rope, a training aid…
The sliding reins are a gentle encouragement to him to balance himself by dropping his head and neck, which allows him to raise his back and be able to push a little harder with his hind feet more underneath himself. I found this tip in a book about training the driving horse. I have also used these sliding reins when he’s under saddle, and I feel they are effective there too. They are not tight enough to force his head down, and run through his bit rings and belly band but are not fastened to it. They are only fastened onto the girth at the sides.
In the walk, the horse should go forward in a steady rhythm as well. The driver encourages him to take long strides and maintain an even pace. With Gilford a strong walk is a challenge too, because he is not a very forward horse; thus he tends to be a bit pokey, drift a little at the walk and look from side to side. The correction for this is to urge the horse to walk a tad faster.
Whip’s (carriage driver’s) view
One technique to teach a stronger walk is to trot a few steps, walk, then trot again; these are called transitions between gaits, and serve to keep the horse more ready to go faster because he’s being asked to do it more frequently– he’s kept on his toes, so to speak.
This day however Gilford did really well; he was quite willing to trot and stayed energetic most of the drive. At the trot at least he stayed straight most of the time. Hubby and I took turns driving him and it was a lot of fun! It seems his weight loss over last winter has done him a world of good.
Demonstrated here is the young horse slightly dubious about the tents and strange sights in a campground. You can see his head goes up, he is hesitant, he veers away from the scary things trying to give them a wide berth. He has his ear turned back listening for instruction and reassurance from his driver.
He stops of his own accord, so hubby lets him check things out for a minute, then asks him to go forward. It is our belief that the horse gains confidence this way, as opposed to trying to force him to keep walking past something he is unsure of. Let him face his fears and learn that it’s OK– it is a great deal preferable to having him turn and try to run away, or getting angry with him for stopping.
Last year when we drove him through this campground it was full of people, packing their gear, playing, cooking out etc. I got out and walked beside his head to reassure him and as a safety precaution. That is the groom’s job in a carriage. He handled it quite well, especially for a 3 year old. He looked at things without freaking out. Gilford’s driving bit is a mullen-mouth, which is an unjointed smooth curved bar, considered a mild bit.
Here are some of the other folks on the carriage drive…
Two teams of haflinger draft ponies, one pair put to a 2-wheeled cart and the other team to a wagonette,
and these guys rode– riders are always welcomed by Granite State Carriage Association!
a pony put to a road cart,
Post-drive unhitching and care of horses,
Folks getting together for lunch afterwards…
and good boy Gilford gets his reward– grass, hay, water and rest!
Carl Sagan Pale blue dot.
A parting gift from Voyager
Inspired by the words of Carl Sagan in 1991, as he presented to the world, the most distant image yet taken of ourselves.( from 4 billion miles )
What ever each of us believes in , this is something we all share, and through sharing, we might some day learn humility.
Copyright Carl sagan.Used with kind permission. [youTube]
Just had to tell this!! While out horseback riding with a friend, hubby and I came within a block of a huge black momma bear crossing the street in front of us, with 3 quite small cubs tagging along. The three horses stared and stared but didn’t try to run. A car passed the spot, THEN right afterwards a FOURTH cub ran out and followed the others. Was I glad that car didn’t hit the cub!
I was truly stunned to see four cubs with this black bear. Is this an unusually large family?
Sorry I didn’t have my camera at the time. While trail riding we have encountered moose and many deer, but this is our first bear(s) though others have been spotted in our neighborhood and even in our pasture. Woo hoo (as HorseGal would say!)
