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  Discussion on Eroding paddock
Author Message
Member:
Irwin

Posted on Thursday, Jun 10, 2004 - 8:40 am:

I have a paddock area off of my barn that slopes, and over the last few years has eroded to the point that the tree roots are exposed. We have built a short rock wall on the upper side of the paddock to prevent water run-off from going through, which has helped a little. Does anyone know what we can add to the paddock to keep it from eroding further? We had our county extension agent come out, and even he didn't have any suggestions that would work with horses. Thanks to anyone who can help!
Member:
Albionsh

Posted on Thursday, Jun 10, 2004 - 9:59 am:

Hi Sherry. Before we got our farm, I boarded at a friend's place which had a sloping pasture. To make level areas for the horses to rest, they placed large boulders on the low side, then brought in gravel and top soil. In effect from below it looks like a small wall. In another location, they placed used railroad ties to make the base wall. The end result gave a rise to the bottom of the hill that captured any dirt sifting downward. Would something like that work for you?
Member:
Irwin

Posted on Thursday, Jun 10, 2004 - 11:05 am:

Thanks, Nancy. There is a fence on the down side of the paddock. As a matter of fact, when we first put the fence in, there was 12 inches from the bottom board to the ground. Now the dirt is almost at the top of the bottom board. Right next to that is the gate which leads to the pasture, so I don't know how that would work. This has been a dilemma for quite awhile!
Member:
Cowgrl

Posted on Thursday, Jun 10, 2004 - 11:16 am:

It sounds like you may need to add drains or improve the drainage in your paddocks. Is the area excessively muddy from the erosion? If so, what you need to do is put in a layer of sand, a layer of drain rock and a layer of pea gravel (5/8s minus). This will keep the area mud free and stabilize the paddock. However, the area must be kept manure free to keep the drainage from getting clogged and churned up.
Member:
Irwin

Posted on Thursday, Jun 10, 2004 - 12:52 pm:

Holly, No - the paddock is not muddy at all except in the area at the bottom by the fence, and even that doesn't stay muddy very long. Everything - mud and all - washes to the bottom of the hill. We were considering sand but didn't know if there was something else that should be added. Will the pea gravel hurt the horse's feet? They stay in the paddock a lot during the spring and summer because they are very easy keepers and can't stay in the pasture too long. What is drain rock? We do keep the manure picked up regularly, so that won't be a problem.
Member:
Rose1

Posted on Thursday, Jun 10, 2004 - 1:30 pm:

Sherry,
First I should say my paddock slopes gently toward the horse pasture. After four years of being a paddock the mud problem has turned into an errosion problem. I have found these cost effective (free) efforts to have helped. I clean all the manure out of the paddock daily. Conditions permitting I toss grass seed out and in the evening when it's cool I feed the horses their hay on the ground in the paddock. I also toss refuse "yellow" hay out there also it protects the seed from birds, sun, dryness, it mixes with the top soil and gives it some teeth and slows the flow of water across the ground in a light to moderate rain. Weeds, grass it dosn't matter what grows it will do the deed. I flaten the ground useing my feet and fill in holes the horses feet make. The tamper is a little too heavy for me; it hurts my back. I do use it thou if the paddock starts to get very dumpy.
We were lucky in our area growing conditions have been good so far this year. I have managed to grow enough green stuff to hold the soil in place.
I'm trying to avoid adding soil to the paddock. I would have to buy the soil and rent machinary to spread it. Since you'll need to cover exposed roots it sounds like you'll might have to add some soil.
I hope this helps.
Regards,
Rose


Member:
Cowgrl

Posted on Thursday, Jun 10, 2004 - 2:29 pm:

Drain rock is about 2" in diameter and most landscaping companies or places that sell top soil by the truck load usually have that as well. The pea gravel won't hurt their feet. It's very small and will compact down and become solid. Of course they may pick up a little piece so you'll have to keep the feet cleaned. The key to maintenance is keeping it manure free.
Member:
Irwin

Posted on Thursday, Jun 10, 2004 - 2:43 pm:

Holly, No - the paddock is not muddy at all except in the area at the bottom by the fence, and even that doesn't stay muddy very long. Everything - mud and all - washes to the bottom of the hill. We were considering sand but didn't know if there was something else that should be added. Will the pea gravel hurt the horse's feet? They stay in the paddock a lot during the spring and summer because they are very easy keepers and can't stay in the pasture too long. What is drain rock? We do keep the manure picked up regularly, so that won't be a problem.
Member:
Irwin

Posted on Thursday, Jun 10, 2004 - 2:46 pm:

Oops! Didn't mean to post the message to Holly twice! I'm a little new at this.
Member:
Beezle

Posted on Friday, Jun 11, 2004 - 2:25 pm:

I recall a product I saw at a show that was basically a grid of plastic rings that you place on the ground and cover with soil. The rings hold the soil in place, and it was recommended for use in gate areas, or even as stall underlayment. I cannot remember the name, but I found a product on the web call Geoblock which looks similar. Here is the website: https://www.prestogeo.com/solutions/Geoblock/porous_pavement.html

I too have a similar issue in my paddock area, but it has not become too much of an issue yet to do anything about it.

Becky

Here is another simliar product's website:
https://www.invisiblestructures.com
Member:
Sparky

Posted on Friday, Jun 11, 2004 - 4:41 pm:

Sherry - going back to where does the water come from? Is it eroding just from general rain or is it washing off the roof of the barn? Do you have gutters on your barn? Water is the problem but here is it coming from?
Janet
Member:
Irwin

Posted on Monday, Jun 14, 2004 - 9:53 am:

Becky - Thanks for the web sites. I have contacted them for some information.

Janet - the water is mostly rain. We have built a small rock wall on the up side of the paddock to help divert/filter the rain water coming from the above pasture, which has helped. Guess that's why it has taken 10 years for it to get to this point.

Thanks for your input guys.
Member:
Paul303

Posted on Monday, Jun 14, 2004 - 8:07 pm:

Sherry: It sounds as though your problem stems more from the wear and tear of the horses feet than water erosion. My horses used to have a paddock that didn't just slope, it PLUNGED. The only way to manage it was to rotate. We divided the paddock in half and utilized the arena in the rotation. We would rotate turn out between the arena and one paddock, while the other paddock was recovering. We planted a quick sprouting contractor's grass seed mix after spreading ( by hand - too steep and fragile for machines )composted manure. We covered it with old hay as was mentioned above. The contractor's mix contains low quality coarse grasses that spread and cover quickly. There is usually a lot of annual seed that sprouts, grows, and dies. This makes a ground cover with a root system that helps to hold the soil, yet is not a heavy rich forage. The trick is to rotate before the paddock is destroyed. In a DrOught, the horses had to remain in the arena.
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