Making a Paddock Paradise for Horses

We know that not everyone has the luxury of having the freedom to keep their horse however they please. With that in mind what we have created in North Wales is an experiment carried out to find out what the possibilities for this kind of system are in the UK. Some of the questions we want to answer are:
• Does this system help horses to function with better barefoot performance?
• Does this system encourage horses to move more?
• Is this system possible in our climate the whole year round?
• Is this system possible on a limited budget?

We started off in May 2005 with a 12 acre field in which we created a 40 foot square hard core area. The top soil was removed to a depth of about 8 inches and limestone aggregate laid with a topping of lime stone crush. We then took delivery of a field shelter and two sheds in which to keep feed and equipment. The horses spent the summer on the hardcore and a 20 foot wide grass track which we kept extending on a strip grazing basis. By the autumn however it was clear that the track would not hold up to the weather and traffic upon it so for the winter of 2005/6 the horses were given access to a five acre field and the freedom to come on and off the hard core as they wished.