How can I create a track for my equine?
Read the book Paradise Paddock by Jaimie Jackson for some ideas. We have three tracks on the Donkey Whisperer Farm ®: one connected to our mares’ (horses) shelter, one to the standard and burro’s shelter, and one to the miniature donkeys’ shelter. Due to the diet of the miniature donkeys, they need their own shelter and paddock. After meals, we let them go out with the larger donkeys on the track.
Do I feed our equines on the track? No. The equines love to try and find food on the track and love to walk, run, and play. I want them to walk or return to the shelter for water and salt. Please understand that horses and donkeys walk fifteen to twenty-five miles a day in the wild. The track keeps them fit, prevents obesity and laminitis, stops cribbing for horses, and it’s a paddock paradise.
What size is the track?
Twelve feet wide corners are twenty-one feet to run and lie on. We drive the A.T.V with the cart behind to pick up the poop once a day. Remember to mow and bag the grass before letting the equine on the track. The track is for exercise and mental and emotional enrichment. Meals are fed in the shelter with portion control.
Materials:
Gate connecting to the track and back to the shelter.
GOD bless you and your family, two and four-legged!
Melody Johnson, Trainer/Owner
Donkey Whisperer Farm ®