Maybe make a sand spot in one or two places in each paddock? Horses like rolling and peeing in sand. That might give you the best of both worlds.
I’ve dealt with sand colic a couple of times so the mention of sand makes me cringe. If you are using sand as footing, please be sure to put mats or some other footing under your feeding stations. Mats are slippery in cold, wet weather so I have chosen gravel or a bit of mud over the risk of sand colic.
We’ve had as many as 10 in the group, but honestly that was a little too many. We’re currently at 6-8 and that is a good number. This way everyone is allowed access to the run-in, and when we do large squares in winter, everyone gets as much as they want.
