Let’s Talk MUD on the Horse Farm

where it will not become contaminated with manure or mud. Roof runoff water can also be captured by a rain barrel.
If your paddocksacrifice area is located in a lowlying area chances are you have seen surface runoff water flowing onto it. If it is not possible to move your paddocksacrifice area to a higher and drier location you may want to consider diverting the overland flowing water.
Surface runoff can be diverted by creating a berm to direct water away from the paddocksacrifice area. Alternatively a French drain can be constructed to reduce the amount of runoff. French drains are trenches that are dug into the soil and backfilled with gravel. Surface runoff water flowing onto the gravel percolates down into the trench where it then flows towards an outlet. Therefore French drains intercept the overland flowing water preventing it from flowing onto the paddocksacrifice area.
Footings
Even with proper paddockpasture area mud management you may still find that certain hightraffic areas within the paddock experience muddy conditions at certain times of the year.
Special attention should be given to these areas. Mud control in high traffic areas such as food and water stations and gateways can be improved by installing improved footings.
Common footing materials used include sand gravel or wood chips. Each has their own advantages and disadvantages. Sand is very comfortable for the horse but horses should not be fed on it as if ingested can contribute to sand colic. Gravel drains extremely well and provides a firm footing but gravel that is larger than 58inch can be uncomfortable for horses to stand on. Wood chips provide a very stable platform for your horse to stand and walk on but because wood chips are an organic material they will decompose and require periodic replacement. Footing materials are most effective when they are placed on top of landscape filter fabric. The filter fabric prevents the footing material from sinking down into the soil and reducing the firmness of the footing. Footing materials should be placed at least six inches deep so that footing stability is maximized. There are also a number of commercially available soil stabilizing grid systems that can be used in these high traffic areas.