Fixing deep hoof holes in fields

[SugarCubes]

I brought my horses home before our “real” pasture was set up. They currently go out for a few hours a day in a fenced grass area, which is going to be turned into my outdoor arena come spring.

With this freeze/thaw we’ve been in the middle of, the field has developed some deep hoof holes (6"ish?) and I’m wondering the best way to fix them. The area will be completely re-graded when we put in the arena, but I do want the field to be safe for the horses in the meantime. Luckily, they are very sensible and are cautious in the bad footing.

They also have sacrifice paddocks, so I keep them out of the grass field when I know it’s going to be warmer and the ground is going to be soft, but the past few days it’s been frozen when I turn them out and thaws just enough for them to punch big holes in the ground during the day.

So what options do I have? Again, this area will be redone in the spring so temporary fixes will work! I don’t have access to a tractor, unfortunately, so anything I do will have to be done manually!

Also, in the future, how would I go about fixing any hoof holes that form in their “real” pasture? Fill them in? Drag the field? We have heavy clay soil if that makes a difference

[kcmel]

For our sacrifice paddock, we use a roller behind our lawn tractor right before a big freeze. We clean out the manure first, and some big gouges I might have to hand rake. This works best when it is a little but not too muddy. This packs it down so you don’t get huge holes with brief thaws (unless it is super muddy). Good luck!

[Humblepie]

OP- was the field timbered at some point? Be sure that these holes aren’t where trees used to be - have a friend who has an arena built over a poorly timbered area. Monster size deep holes appear frequently and have to be filled in with gravel ( they bought the farm this way and it was not discovered during the purchasing process)

[mzm_farm]

Holes punched by hooves in normal “wet field” - cheapest and easiest manual fix - put a pile of horse manure in hole, mounded over top. Horses can see the spot is iffy/unlevel, come spring the manure will decompose and the edges of the hole will “soften” with weather and while not 100% level, it will do.
Refill as wanted/needed.
FYI, 12" manure will decompose to about 1" soil.

[Gamma]

[QUOTE=Humblepie;8497563]
OP- was the field timbered at some point? Be sure that these holes aren’t where trees used to be - have a friend who has an arena built over a poorly timbered area. Monster size deep holes appear frequently and have to be filled in with gravel ( they bought the farm this way and it was not discovered during the purchasing process)[/QUOTE]

This, so much. Big holes are usually where roots were and have rotted away.

[SugarCubes]

[QUOTE=Humblepie;8497563]
OP- was the field timbered at some point? Be sure that these holes aren’t where trees used to be - have a friend who has an arena built over a poorly timbered area. Monster size deep holes appear frequently and have to be filled in with gravel ( they bought the farm this way and it was not discovered during the purchasing process)[/QUOTE]

Nope! It was just an open field in the middle of hundreds of acres of old fox hunting property. I don’t know why the ground isn’t firmer…I guess it’s the soil we have. In the summer it is hard as a rock and develops deep cracks that looks like we’re in the desert, and all fall/winter it’s a squishy wet mess. I’m hoping when we have good grass growing instead of the sparse weeds we currently have, that will help stabilize things a bit.

ETA - I was completely guessing when I said 6" deep. I looked closer yesterday and they’re probably only a few inches deep. The horses are muddy up to their fetlocks but no deeper.