How about wood chips?? We have a few dozen very
large cedar & douglas on our property and need to be trimmed ALOT. If we put
them in a wood chipper and put them around gates and near feeding
areas--does that help mud?? We need to trim anyway so the cost would be
minimal. Any body else use wood chips??
You are exactly in the same boat (pardon the pun) as the rest
of us in rainy country. I, too, will not allow the horses out to
pasture. Their favorite trick is to hike up to the top of the hill
for water, then gallop full bore downhill until near the bottom, then slam
on the brakes and shred 12-foot long slices out of the turf. I know
it's miserable standing in mud, but I cannot allow horses to destroy the
land, and they will do that. We've never attempted to control the mud
by any other means than lots of shavings, which we produce. Shavings
don't do the job, either, unless in a shed, where they build up such a
hard-packed layer that it cannot be broken down. In one place, in
front of a feed bin (homemade, the size of an orchard apple bin), my
husband placed some half-round logs together for the horse to stand
on. They're a little unsteady, but perhaps a bit of rearranging will
help. Also, I've seen people use old belting from factories, as much
as 4 feet wide. I have some and plan to try nailing it on the logs to
help keep them from spreading apart and to create better footing. I
think mud is a fact of life.
> > > > > Rain and more rain.
I started building an Ark but stopped because I would > only be able to
take two horses. I won't let my horses out on pasture when >
the ground is soggy because they would ruin what grass is available.
I > keep them in corals and everything works out well except the more it
rains > the deeper the mud gets. It looks like they are all
standing in about a > foot of muck and water and it will seemingly take
forever to dry out even > if the rain stops. I'll probably be
doctoring for Thrush before it is all > over. I'd be interested in
learning how others deal with muddy corals. > Logically, I would think
mixing truck loads of gravel in with the soil > might help but I have no
idea if the gravel would do more harm then good. > If you have had a
similar problem and were able to fix it, I would > appreciate the
benefit of your experience. Thanks, Bob > > >
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