Our Own Little Paddock Paradise

One of the items Dr. Thomas Teskey talked about at some length during his presentation in Arizona in August was the importance of keeping a horse moving to ensure a healthy hoof. In Jaime Jackson’s latest book, Paddock Paradise, A Guide To Natural Horse Boarding, he describes the methodology used in a paddock design to imitate the constant movement of horses in the wild.


Lined up just after the morning feed enjoying their Bermuda hay.

We used this theory to inspire our own paddock set-up last week. We have five horses that are using one large paddock just over one acre in size. We are located on the outskirts of northeastern Scottsdale, Arizona, which means there is no grass: just lots of decomposed granite, several trees for shade and a wide sandy wash that runs through the property and makes for a comfortable horse bed at night.

We secured the feed tubs to the fence along one of the short sides of the rectangular paddock. It is directly opposite the water trough, which means the horses have to cross the entire long side of the paddock to get to the water. With daytime temperatures well over the 100 degree mark all the way into September, the horses drink a surprising amount of water. That means they are adding up miles by crossing back and forth along the paddock, through the wash and back up to the water countless times during the day.

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