Super rutted/deep hoof holes in paddocks and pastures - till or fill or "other"?

[julesp313]

So in a number of spots in my paddocks and pastures, the ground is rutted and “holed” to the point where I am turning my ankle. I suspect this is a result of hoof churn during wet weather but even when we had three solid days of rain, it didn’t turn to mud and re-level. It’s not animal burrows - it’s rock hard, and even a hand tiller is not having any effect at all.

It’s a problem in front of all the gates, plus all the way down the “run” between a paddock and a pasture. Thinking we should maybe rent a PTO tiller to dig the heck out of it, and then re-level and add some topping like class five to help avoid in the future, but I would appreciate advice from those who may have had similar issues.

Thanks for the help!

[danacat]

If this is an annual ongoing problem for you then I would (in front of gates) fill holes with dirt, rake level, then put down HoofGrid or similar product and fill with either dirt or stone dust.

In the ‘run’ I would first fill holes with dirt, rake level then put down geo-tek fabric and cover with stone dust. Not as pretty as a nice grass run – but you’ll never have holes/ruts/mud ever again. You could use HoofGrid here too – fill with dirt mixed with grass seed and grass will grow in it – but if the run is long, Hoof Grid will be an expensive fix.

[S1969]

Depends on how big, and how many. If just at the gate area I agree with the post above - I’d repair and find a way to prevent in the future by improving drainage, using fine gravel/stone dust, or something like the hoof grid idea. My pastures have a few spots with deep hoof marks. In general, I don’t do anything but I would fill them before I tilled a whole pasture…that’s just trading one problem for another (not being able to use it for a year, for example.)

If you tilled down the side of a run, would you be able to still use it? I might fill and roll it instead…but hard to know what will work. It’s a lot of time/expense if it’s just going to happen again every spring.

[paintedpony]

I have seen a grass ring suffering from spectacular damage, (think torrential rains, and horse traffic) recover after rolling. While soil was very moist, owner rolled the entire ring with a 2,000 lb roller. Results were amazing.

[julesp313]

Not sure if this is an annual problem as we’ve only owned the place for a month, but it’s definitely a problem! The challenge is that this is in several places and it covers a large area. It’s in front of four gates in one paddock, the run and gate area on a second paddock, the run between paddock and pasture (probably 80’ x 15’), and a wide sweeping area in front of the gate of the big pasture. I’m guessing this is cost prohibitive with Hoof Grid or something similar, which I had planned for a small section of our main paddock to make a semi-dry lot.

I’ll look into the stone dust or similar to fill the existing holes, but if we have a super wet winter (snow melt) we could end up with the same issue next year - but then maybe we can have mud to smooth out the surfaces and go from there with geotex fabric and a covering. So frustrating to inherit this!

[Horseman15]

Another option, instead of the stone dust, would be to inquire about what’s called quarry waste. Depending on the quarry it may be a lot cheaper. It’s sorta like what’s known as CR6 or Crush and Run. The difference is the stone isn’t as uniform and will have some big chunks in it. If you have a front end loader you could dig out some of the topsoil, lay down a couple inches of this and then backfill over it. The geotextile fabric isn’t that expensive and I’d recommend putting it down first. Seed it and keep the horses off it for a few months in the long run if you can. If this is a fenced run, then maybe just put the stone up to grade and roll it flat. I haven’t done it yet, but having stone at the gates is more for safety (your own) than anything else. Unfortunately if it wasn’t an established farm, and only having the place for a month you’re going to find a lot of “issues” on your own

[danacat]

@julesp313

I’ll look into the stone dust or similar to fill the existing holes, but if we have a super wet winter (snow melt) we could end up with the same issue next year - but then maybe we can have mud to smooth out the surfaces and go from there with geotex fabric and a covering. So frustrating to inherit this!

Big YES on using geotech fabric – you need that mud barrier. Stone dust alone won’t hold up – it will sink and mix with dirt = muddy stone dust dirt.