Sacrifice Paddock Planning

[ladymcts]

I’ve seen rules of thumb before for how many horses per acre, but what are your thoughts on size of sacrifice paddock for horses?

I’ve had horses for 12 years but always boarded until I bought a farm last summer. Now as Spring approaches, I’m thinking about putting up some more serious duty fencing, and trying to figure out how\what\where I want to put it. By sacrifice paddock, I mean a place where I bring the beasts in at night and where they will be forced to stay when I want to keep them off the pasture either for too much rain or because I want to restrict their grass intake.

I think the area I have for paddock right now is about 1/2 acre and with 3 horses that seems plenty or even more than enough. But whatever I do, the existing boundaries will change, so I might as well figure out a good size.

[costco_muffins]

I have 2-3 in a 60’x70’ space and another 4 in a 70’x110’ space. It is plenty as long as the horses get along. We have open run in shelters in there as well.

[UpHillFarm]

I keep mine separate in their sacrifice paddocks - so not sure if this is any help for you if you’re looking to pop them all in together, but 20 x 60 each gives them enough room to play around a little bit / eat / roll / itch, and is a good size for me to maintain.

[hosspuller]

Our local extension agent put this out in his weekly “Pile” …
Thanks Ben Chase, NC Extension

Speaks to your exact need.

So many folks want to maintain nice, green pastures for your horses? To do so, Why not set up a sacrifice lot for your horses to use when pastures are unable to sustain them? A sacrifice lot is a small non-grazable paddock or exercise lot for your horses. It requires little maintenance and can be used whenever your pastures are muddy, over-grazed; or under renovation.

A sacrifice lot is an excellent tool that allows your horses freedom of movement and exercise, while keeping them off of sensitive pastures that should not be grazed. Horses can be very destructive when allowed access to a pasture that is wet. They cause soil compaction which leads to decreased growth of desirable plants and more competition from weeds. If your pasture is too wet to drive a tractor on, then it’s too wet for your horse to graze on.

If you utilize a rotational grazing scheme for your pastures, then a sacrifice lot is a necessity! You can use a sacrifice lot if additional regrowth is needed in your pastures. It is very hard to predict the weather. We never know when the next rain, snow or prolonged drought will begin, but if you have a sacrifice lot, you’ll have a safe place for your horses while protecting your pastures. During a drought, grass growth declines, while forage consumption continues at the same rate, increasing the risk of over-grazing. An overgrazed pasture favors weed growth and desired grass species will be smothered out. Depending on the condition of the soil in the pasture and your management techniques, horses can stay in a sacrifice area for several months. The more limited your pasture space is, the more important it is for you to have a sacrifice lot and use it wisely.

Now that you know what a sacrifice lot is, you’re probably wondering how to set one up!

Size: Keep the size to a minimum. If your sacrifice lot is larger than one acre, it is really more like an unmanaged overgrazed pasture and it will become overrun with weeds. However, you should allow for at least 600 square feet (30’ x 20’) per horse for comfort’s sake. If you plan on utilizing your sacrifice lot for long periods of time and/or for exercise, a larger size is better.

Shape: The shape of your sacrifice lot should be determined by its location. It should take into account topography, drainage, access to water, shelter and your horse’s needs. An unused arena can be easily converted to a sacrifice lot. You don’t necessarily have to build anything new.

Surface: Again, the location of your sacrifice lot will help you to determine this. Sacrifice Lots Surfaces can be anything from a grass cover (if you’re lucky!) to bare soil, sand, crushed rock or stonedust . Make sure that the area stays dry because your horses will spend a lot of time in this area during inclement weather. A dry sacrifice lot will help prevent hoof diseases and parasite problems.

Location:

DRAINAGE is the key word here! Locate the sacrifice lot in an area with good drainage, preferably in an area with less than a 5 percent slope. Any drainage off your sacrifice lot should go into a buffer area or vegetated filter strip; NEVER into any body of water i.e.: streams, rivers, wetlands etc. Avoid low-lying areas, as they will accumulate mud and be difficult to maintain. Don’t locate your sacrifice lot over a septic system, including leach fields. DO locate it in a south or east-facing area. West and especially north-facing areas will be more difficult to dry out because they are shaded. Offsite water runoff should be diverted around the sacrifice lot to help keep it dry.

Maintenance:

Most sacrifice lot maintenance issues involve safety. Make sure the fences are strong and free of any sharp projections. Remove manure on a regular basis (frequency will depend upon the use and concentration of horses in the area). You may want to consider a vegetated sacrifice lot, but unless you have adequate space and very carefully rotate your pastures, this will be difficult to achieve. If you have a shelter in your lot, make sure it is also maintained so that it’s safe for the horses. Be sure to have proper gutters and downspouts on any buildings and divert storm water away from the lot to a safe non-erosive are outside the lot.

Taken from University Of Maryland Extension Publication “Sacrifice Lots”

[UrbanHennery]

My sacrifice lots are 20x80. They are linked at the end by another that is 20x40. That allows me to make it one big U-shaped sacrifice lot if I want to. Which is what I do most of the time. The U-shape also keeps them moving as when the gates are opened I put hay in both stalls and the walk the U back and forth.

[OneTwoMany]

Our largest sacrifice paddock is about 40’x80’. There is a large attached run-in shed that provides an additional sheltered area that is 30’x46". All told, the space is about 4.6K square feet. The shed is matted and the paddock has 8" of professionally installed stone dust. We can safely keep three horses in that area. When we raise it to four horses, there can be a bit of mischief. I wouldn’t want to test any more than four horses in that space.

The sacrifice paddock opens to a larger field that is 6+ acres. The horses are confined to the sacrifice paddock when the large grass paddock has ice, the ground is too soft/wet for safe turnout or the grass is spent and needs a rest.

If you are considering a half acre sacrifice paddock for three horses, the area sounds more than ample. A half acre is slightly larger than 100’x200’ which is bigger than most indoor arenas. However, you may wish to consider the footing. If you are going to remove the top soil, install 8" of crushed stone and roll it, you’ll love the result. You’ll have firm footing that is easy to pick. But the cost is not insignificant.

If you don’t plan to do anything on the footing front, you may end up with a lot of mud depending on your geography.

[stb]

I have two horses at home. I have a half acre dry lot with a sandy soil surface. I do pick manure daily, so it always stays clean. Works great and I’m happy with the size.

[danacat]

My three horse sacrifice paddock (stone dust with tech fabric underneath) is approx 100x100 with run-in shed plunk in the middle. Horses exercise and play round and round the shed – plenty of room for antics.

[clanter]

we have five paddocks, three are adjoining 40 by 30 and one in the 20 meter round pen, the last one is for the pony 15 by 40 … if we are baby setting a horse for friend that horse is placed in the southern most paddock which keeps it separated from our guys… usually none of our aged animals want to run but if they do we just open access to an adjoining pen or pens or just put them in the round pen

[fordtraktor]

I have several different sizes. I have one that is 25 by 30 ish. I use that as a layup paddock. Not enough space to run around but enough for light movement. It has a private but small run in (8 by 20).

i have another larger dry lot that is about 1/2 acre. One horse lives in that, but 2 have done so comfortably before. The barn’s Dutch doors open into this area, so the current occupant has free access to his stall. When I have 2 in there I don’t permit the doors open but I have a 10 foot overhang on the barn so they don’t really need it.

Then I have a 2 acre, 3 acre and 8 acre paddocks. I use those in winter too because I don’t have many horses in them (1 in the 2 acre and 2 in the other two combined). I do mud management by the gates but really the pastures look great as soon as the grass comes back.

I like all all the different sizes because I can accommodate lots of different special needs!

OP, I think the real question for your setup is whether they all get along well enough to be in 1/2 acre, or whether it would be good to break that into 2. I kept finding a need for my smaller layup paddock, and was using temp fencing over and over. Eventually I just made it permanent and it has been very useful now that I have a Senior with deteriorating tendons…she likes to go out but needs to be forced not to move too much. Before that I used it for my pony at night for weight control, then as a paddock for a horse with a leg injury…I love the option.

[Guilherme]

@hosspuller

Our local extension agent put this out in his weekly “Pile” …
Thanks Ben Chase, NC Extension

Speaks to your exact need.

So many folks want to maintain nice, green pastures for your horses? To do so, Why not set up a sacrifice lot for your horses to use when pastures are unable to sustain them? A sacrifice lot is a small non-grazable paddock or exercise lot for your horses. It requires little maintenance and can be used whenever your pastures are muddy, over-grazed; or under renovation.

A sacrifice lot is an excellent tool that allows your horses freedom of movement and exercise, while keeping them off of sensitive pastures that should not be grazed. Horses can be very destructive when allowed access to a pasture that is wet. They cause soil compaction which leads to decreased growth of desirable plants and more competition from weeds. If your pasture is too wet to drive a tractor on, then it’s too wet for your horse to graze on.

If you utilize a rotational grazing scheme for your pastures, then a sacrifice lot is a necessity! You can use a sacrifice lot if additional regrowth is needed in your pastures. It is very hard to predict the weather. We never know when the next rain, snow or prolonged drought will begin, but if you have a sacrifice lot, you’ll have a safe place for your horses while protecting your pastures. During a drought, grass growth declines, while forage consumption continues at the same rate, increasing the risk of over-grazing. An overgrazed pasture favors weed growth and desired grass species will be smothered out. Depending on the condition of the soil in the pasture and your management techniques, horses can stay in a sacrifice area for several months. The more limited your pasture space is, the more important it is for you to have a sacrifice lot and use it wisely.

Now that you know what a sacrifice lot is, you’re probably wondering how to set one up!

Size: Keep the size to a minimum. If your sacrifice lot is larger than one acre, it is really more like an unmanaged overgrazed pasture and it will become overrun with weeds. However, you should allow for at least 600 square feet (30’ x 20’) per horse for comfort’s sake. If you plan on utilizing your sacrifice lot for long periods of time and/or for exercise, a larger size is better.

Shape: The shape of your sacrifice lot should be determined by its location. It should take into account topography, drainage, access to water, shelter and your horse’s needs. An unused arena can be easily converted to a sacrifice lot. You don’t necessarily have to build anything new.

Surface: Again, the location of your sacrifice lot will help you to determine this. Sacrifice Lots Surfaces can be anything from a grass cover (if you’re lucky!) to bare soil, sand, crushed rock or stonedust . Make sure that the area stays dry because your horses will spend a lot of time in this area during inclement weather. A dry sacrifice lot will help prevent hoof diseases and parasite problems.

Location:

DRAINAGE is the key word here! Locate the sacrifice lot in an area with good drainage, preferably in an area with less than a 5 percent slope. Any drainage off your sacrifice lot should go into a buffer area or vegetated filter strip; NEVER into any body of water i.e.: streams, rivers, wetlands etc. Avoid low-lying areas, as they will accumulate mud and be difficult to maintain. Don’t locate your sacrifice lot over a septic system, including leach fields. DO locate it in a south or east-facing area. West and especially north-facing areas will be more difficult to dry out because they are shaded. Offsite water runoff should be diverted around the sacrifice lot to help keep it dry.

Maintenance:

Most sacrifice lot maintenance issues involve safety. Make sure the fences are strong and free of any sharp projections. Remove manure on a regular basis (frequency will depend upon the use and concentration of horses in the area). You may want to consider a vegetated sacrifice lot, but unless you have adequate space and very carefully rotate your pastures, this will be difficult to achieve. If you have a shelter in your lot, make sure it is also maintained so that it’s safe for the horses. Be sure to have proper gutters and downspouts on any buildings and divert storm water away from the lot to a safe non-erosive are outside the lot.

Taken from University Of Maryland Extension Publication “Sacrifice Lots”

Ya gotta love Extension!!! It’s one of the most useful of all government services for day to day issues. And it’s paid for by tax money so the user has already paid for it. Take advantage whenever you can.

G.

[SugarCubes]

A 1/2 acre for three horses would give them plenty of room to move around and wouldn’t be too hard for you to maintain. I have two, 35x90 stonedust paddocks for when it’s REALLY wet, and a 1/2 acre sacrifice grass paddock (well, mostly dirt) for the rest of winter. If I left my horses in the smaller paddocks all winter they’d be tearing down the barn by spring. The 1/2 acre area gives them plenty of room to run and be stupid but it’s still easy enough to pick daily. Come spring, I can throw them out on the pasture that’s been resting all winter while the sacrifice recovers.

[ladymcts]

Hey there, thanks all! I apologize that I’ve had enough time to read but not write.

I think you’ve convinced me that going from 1/2 acre down to 1/4 might be fine. I can try it out for a while with temporary fencing and see how I like it thru the rest of the mud season.

I’ve started working on some drawings that I’ll be able to post when I finish them. Basically I’m trying to figure it out in stages, because I haven’t got a lot of money to work with.

Stage 1 this year will be a “service road” to get a truck/tractor/atv out to the pastures without having to wallow thru a mud pit on the way. That’s going to cut a 20-25 foot wide strip off the back of my paddock. Since it has plenty big enough, it won’t matter that loss of area.

Stage 2 may or may not happen this year, but it would be redoing the fencing for the paddock only, and turning it from a trapezoid into a square, and re-defining the perimeter which right now goes out to the edges of my property. That was the part I was posting about. I’m thinking of bringing the outer edges of this more secure fencing in a bit from the edges of the property, and the new paddock could always be split up into “runs” with temporary or more permanent fencing inside the secure perimeter fence that I want to build first.

Stage 3 will be additional barn. What I have now is a very unfunctional garage-o-barn. Too small to store my big-ass truck and much of anything else, so the truck is living outside and hay lives inside. Another building next to or close to the first garage-o-barn would let me turn the current place into vehicle & tack storage, with the new barn being used for hay & equipment storage. (And direct access to the “service road” I mentioned in stage 1.)

sigh I just spent more time writing that than I meant to … especially not having drawings ready. Sorry! But I at least wanted to come back in and acknowledge that I appreaciate all the answers I got, I did read them, and I’m mulling it all over. Many thanks!!!