Would you be willing to take us on a tour via video and post it? Your layout looks so diverse and interesting. All the gates are such a great idea too.
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Yes! I need to do that when we’re not under a foot of snow (otherwise it just looks white which is considerably less interesting 
It’s not as romantic as some of the beautiful places but I am aiming for something like femkedoll when it’s all done!
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Ok that makes sense. Who is femkedoll? I don’t know that name. Someone here on this board?
Ok yeah, have never seen her website. Looking forward to checking this out.
And, I have to add…the pressure I feel to get a track system going for my PSSM mustang dude…is also the idea that he once roamed a HUGE HUGE area in the Bighorn Basin in WY. We know these horses move on average 10 miles a day or more. So, while I offer him a big dry lot of 40 x 200 and daily roaming my weeeeee 4 acres of turnout, he often looks at me like…“Is this it?” I do take him out on my property but mostly, most of his day is spent on a tiny area.
So more than ever I feel like I want him moving all day long. And know it would be so much better for him AND getting off grass would be better. From what I understand, most PSSM horses do better off grass mostly.
And my PPID mare is like playing Russian Roulette having her out on grass - even muzzled. Her insulin was still at 43 last year and she shows signs of problems. She would crest, she even developed a protracted sole. God she needs a track system to move more, get her insulin even lower and NOT be on grass except a few hours muzzled.
Just sayin.
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Oh I feel that pain deeply. Results for us so far have been really positive.
My fatty fatty mcfatterson ASB who was becoming metabolic has lost weight since being on the track. He seems to enjoy heading everywhere at a brisk trot.
My elderly DSLD gelding with arthritis is so much more limber. He walks a fair amount.
The herd bully still bullies everyone, because he’s had resource issues in the past (he came from a lesson horse string and I think he had to fight for hay) but he’s stopped biting everyone.
And the dingbat is much calmer, even though he utilizes about 1/2 the track most of the time because he’s scared of the front of the property and the back of the property. He will go but he tends to go rather quickly. He’ll get there, he’s not used to being outside at all so he tends to want to stay near the barn more than the others.
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Your observations inspire me sooooooo much. 
This is new to me and an interesting subject. I’m just curious. I’ve never seen this manner of horsekeeping. How wide is the usual track and how do you keep it from becoming just dirt, or is just dirt OK?
Usually it’s about 10-15’ wide. The way mine is varies from a corner at more than 30’ wide to 10’ at a pinch point. I have wider loafing areas which I like, but I’m sure that has an impact on movement. Mine is half dry lot surfacing. I don’t have too many issues with mud because that’s not where they hang out. Some people will lay a central mat or just surface the wear paths.
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If you’re on Facebook there are some amazing videos of tracks around the world.
Horse Track Systems is the group.
Here’s one gal who posts and has quite a track system:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/808480805889892/user/100003518218643/
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The days are getting a touch longer and I was able to spend a few minutes clearing brush for my planned track before I ran out of daylight. I have a little more to do and then I will start putting in some T-posts to give the horses access to the start of it.
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I’m not on Facebook , but thanks for answering all the same. 
Following this thread with rapt interest! The track system is a new concept to me. This is such a wonderful idea to plug into the total biology of horses!
Question: The one caveat is that the track system seems to wall off the best grazing. Blocking the horses’ access to it. Grazing is the best nutrition and lifestyle for horses (depending on what’s growing). Of course they don’t need to graze 24/7, but it’s good if they have some daily hours for grazing.
How can the track system give the horses periodic access to grazing, then keep them moving, with another grazing stop later? For stretches of time moving, nutrition stops, grazing, and moving?
Thanks for all of this horse-centric information! 
So, most metabolic horses can’t deal with grazing, so we don’t do it. Our feeding stations are slow feed hay nets. We supplement omegas to make up for the lack of grass.
Many people save the inside of a pasture for a few hours of grazing for horses that can handle it. None of mine can.
Along my fence line, to the inside, I am planting different browsing plants for my horses. The pipe fence protects the plants a bit. They love to browse what is there, and seem to avoid anything that would make them sick.
My horses never run out of hay, and that makes it not the cheapest thing in the world. But even DSLD can be linked to Cushings so I am inclined to believe that more modern horses suffer from metabolic disease from rich grasses and feeds than not. That’s just an opinion based on my observation and interpretation of research.
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I would say it depends on the horse and the pasture. Track systems can be used in conjunction with rotational grazing or for pasture management. There are no rules saying just because you have a track your horses need to stay on it 24/7. Or that a track has to be completely grass free. There’s an approach called Equicentral that uses a track as a component of a pasture management system.
Would love to hear about which plants specifically, this is also on my list!
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I’ve picked a couple of native prairie mixes for next spring and I’m checking with our local extension to doublecheck that there’s nothing toxic or invasive in them (they say native, but I want to be sure). In pots I have some live herbs (they flop through the fence to protect the pot) like peppermint and coneflowers. I just saw a neat one that has the herbs in old tires with a cage on top (like the ones used to prevent horses from self-maiming), but that wouldn’t work for me because I have a zip-tie popper who would make quick work of that - most horses likely wouldn’t bother it. I’m careful with mint to keep it contained because that will overrun everything else!
It will entirely depend on where in the world you live as to which native plants are appropriate. My horses also love to denude wild raspberry bushes and willow canes. Naturally, in the space that the forbes get planted that’s also where things grow up because it used to have a cattle lane (this property used to be used for cattle roping). So that lane was between two layers of pipe fence, with the arena to the inside, and it was too narrow to mow. So there are lots of little trees etc. that just…grow there and the horses love to eat the leaves. They do stay away from the toxic ones because there is so much to eat. They also like stripping the bark of one particular tree that I haven’t identified (I grew up in a different area) but they all seem healthy enough, so I take it there’s something medicinal in that little tree that they are after…or maybe it’s just tasty! They don’t do it to all little trees, and they can’t reach the big tree bark, so I’m not sure. They do love to eat the overhanging leaves as well, which is hilarious because you’ll see a horse standing there like a giraffe, pulling branches into their mouths. They’ve got plenty of hay available, but there are certain times of the year those trees are just delish!
I also put the chaff from the hay wagon down (the stuff that falls through the flakes of hay) because it is seedy, as well as sprinkling whole oats in places. Sure, the birds will get a lot of the seeds (and I have a healthy population), but I’ve had some grass, alfalfa sprouts and oat sprouts grow, and because the birds eat most of them, it’s a mouthful or two here and there for the horses.
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Here’s a podcast exclusively on track systems and interviews with people from around the world. I highly recommend it
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Nice to see a post about this - I’ve been building my track for ten years now, it’s a labour of love for sure!
I run mine as a commercial track livery in the UK
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Please do share more! We want everything!
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I have my track around the perimeter of my pasture. In the winter they are on the track 24/7. But Spring/Summer/Fall they get turnout on the grass for daily grazing. 6-8 hours for my current two. I just open the gate to the grass from the track or turn them out to the other pasture.
I have also seen people incorporate strip grazing into their track and I may try this out this summer!
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