Gravel is awesome!

Late Fall I was fearful that I would not have mud free pens. The rain had softened the sacrifice pens we have for the horses. I was determined I would not go through another winter with mud.

Why?
The sacrifice area for the horses has always drained fairly well. The ground is higher than the barn and the mud has never been deeper than 3 to 4 inches. The problem is the surface. Once the rain started, the pens would get muddy. It was impossible to remove manure from the pens and the horses were usually covered in muck from head to foot.

I’ve had problems with shelly feet and thrush. Because their feet would constantly be wet unless they were in the stall, I fought a constant battle to keep my horses’ feet healthy. Bringing them in from the mud made it nearly impossible to clean their feet without a great deal of work. The wet environment made their feet crumbly and they would lose chunks of hoof without shoes.

The Solution
Gravel! We scraped the surface of the pens and removed quite a bit of soft soil. We dug down to hardpan. Once the ground was level and we’d allowed for a swale off to one side to catch the surface water and carry it down to a ditch below the barn, we were ready to add gravel.

The total size of the pens is 50’ x 75’. We took away about 10’ to add the swale to the west side, leaving 40’ to divide into two pens. We added 2 transfer loads of gravel to the pens, paddock entries, and area in front of the barn where we lead the horses in and out. We used 5/8 fines as the footing for the pens.

It has been unbelievable! We’ve had a boatload of rain this winter and the pens are holding up wonderfully. Even if the water puddles on the surface it does not turn into the miry mess we’ve had in the past. The pens are EASY to clean. I keep them picked every day to avoid any material turning to mud. The best part is that the horses’ feet are strong, beautiful, and healthy! It’s truly awesome. They are clean and we are virtually mud free.

It has been quite a journey and it seems we’re never done, but I’m so thankful for the farm plan created by the Whatcom Conservation District. This is a valuable resource and I would recommend getting their input on designing your property to be the best it can be. They spent a great deal of time walking over the property, measuring the level of drop or slope and drawing up plans for us.

Future Plans
I still have to lead the horses in and out of the barn. Ultimately, it would be nice to have a shelter in the pen so they can get out of the sun and rain at will. The blankets keep them warm in the winter and in the summer we have some shade trees we fence off to keep them cool, but we want to add some shade trees in the sacrifice pens to give them more comfort. I will probably add some sand at one end of the pens just to make rolling a little easier for them.

I’ll keep you updated as we make more changes. Please take a moment and send some questions or successes you’ve had with your horse property. Email me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

For more resources on small farm management:
Horses For Clean Water: www.horsesforcleanwater.com
Whatcom Conservation District: www.whatcomcd.org

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