How many on 4 acre Paddock Paradise system

Native Lover

Native Pony Fan
Jul 13, 2009
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Just curious.... I found a place with just under 4 acres...... If I were to do a paddock paradise track for my Native Ponies.... ( think all chubby good doers) how many ponies could you keep do you think ? I would be feeding hay all year round as needed ? and have hard standing where the hay would be fed.... I know in normal land use it is one acre per pony but even at thett stocking density I have far to much grass in the summer and still did when we had 11 on our land
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Just trying to work out how many of my ponies we could keep if we paddock paradise it....:D
 
you’d manage on 4 acres with 3 maybe? comfortably.. its honesty not as much as i used to think it is. Its not so much the grass but how trashed it gets and time it takes to recover, even with hardstand.
 
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It depends on the ground. I am on free draining fertile sand and keep 2 horses (14.2 and 15.2) comfortably on 3 acres with a track around the edge for the summer and the centre strip grazed in the winter. So if reasonably good grazing, 3 ponies maybe?
 
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I don't see the system as any different to rotating field or strip grazing.
It depends on how it recovers. I would want somewhere with water to be able to soak hay as needed.
 
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If you go full paddock paradise you can probably put 8 or more on there as you want the grass completely erradicated and you don't graze the off track bit but you'd have to be prepared to put some work into putting surfaces on the track so it will hold up to that many hooves in winter. I saw an awesome track a couple of weeks ago, they have 8 on 5 acres, all natives :)

I personally like my horses to have some grazing, just not loads, I've managed my current property with 2.5 on it (hank only counts as a half) and I think I could put another on aswell if using a track but when in traditional paddocks it didn't cope with 2.5 and we had to have 1 sacrifice paddock that got completely trashed, there's about 2.5 acres currently.
 
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I don't see the system as any different to rotating field or strip grazing.
It depends on how it recovers. I would want somewhere with water to be able to soak hay as needed.
True paddock paradise is very different, they don't graze the middle and try to kill off all grass on the track, the ideal is no grazing but plenty of hay.
 
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I am thinking 3-5 on the paddock paradise on 4 acres.... 5 would mean we keep all the ponies we want to keep..... with two smaller middle paddocks for riding in and jumping in if possible or at least one school sized paddock..... melody and storm may not be suitable for PP as melody kick out badly at the other ponies shes a bully.... so maybe they could be stripped in the middle so 3 on a track system ?
 
I am thinking 3-5 on the paddock paradise on 4 acres.... 5 would mean we keep all the ponies we want to keep..... with two smaller middle paddocks for riding in and jumping in if possible or at least one school sized paddock..... melody and storm may not be suitable for PP as melody kick out badly at the other ponies shes a bully.... so maybe they could be stripped in the middle so 3 on a track system ?
Jess kicks too, I actually find she's happier on the track with Hank than when they're in the middle, I get far less squabbles then. I think the trick is varying the width, so some narrow bits to keep them moving and wider loafing areas.
 
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The track systems with alternate grazing, gravel and sand I've seen have got more horses than acres, usually they use the middle for hay then after its cut make tracks through it until winter then closed off again.
 
True paddock paradise is very different, they don't graze the middle and try to kill off all grass on the track, the ideal is no grazing but plenty of hay.
Maybe that's where the livery went wrong. Horses were in deep mud over winter. But, we are clay soil.
Perhaps with a more varied surface it would work out.
Friend left so I never knew if it worked.
 
Maybe that's where the livery went wrong. Horses were in deep mud over winter. But, we are clay soil.
Perhaps with a more varied surface it would work out.
Friend left so I never knew if it worked.
The mud bit seems to be accepted by many here, I think the original inventor (having a brain fart and can't think of the right word) was from california or somewhere equally dry! The good ones I've seen here all laid a surface to prevent a total mud bath.
 
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Jaime Jackson? Or that might be who wrote some books I read.

That's the only downside of not being able to manage your own land. I am on a yard and we get told when to move and where.
 
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4 acres of grazing for my 2 is barely enough. I did try a paddock paradise one year when I had just one horse but I hated the mess and the not having grass to eat. In our wet climate it doesn't work. I personally prefer to strip graze so they have fresh unspoilt grazing each day.
 
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4 acres of grazing for my 2 is barely enough. I did try a paddock paradise one year when I had just one horse but I hated the mess and the not having grass to eat. In our wet climate it doesn't work. I personally prefer to strip graze so they have fresh unspoilt grazing each day.
We are clay soil and one place I was at did strip grazing and that worked well.
Saying this it was the most unhappy the pony had ever been despite being the slimmest.
 
I think five on four acres would be cutting it fine and not give the field any chance to recover. I've got 3.5 acres and it's good for two as minimised the need for hay in winter but could comfortably fit three. Wouldn't want any more on it
 
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