Paddock Paradise

Hoof care professional Jaime Jackson pioneered the Paddock Paradise concept of natural horsekeeping. The idea is for the horses to live outside in a natural way, and the paddock or pasture is designed to keep the horses moving around throughout the day, as they would in nature. Generally the idea is to have a circuit or track with activity stations along the route.

FINDING OUR PROPERTY
This is our second Paddock Paradise and it is better than the first. When we searched for property in Florida there were certain things we knew to look for after our previous experience.

For instance, traditional horse properties are cleared of trees and feature big barns surrounded by rectangular paddocks. We deliberately avoided looking at horse properties and instead found a 3 acre residential property that had lots of trees (oaks, pines and palms) and a pond in a park-like setting.

SHELTER
We do not have a barn. The trees provide shade from the sun and some relief from rain. Since this is a tropical climate we do not worry about the horses freezing. (Having said that, we moved here from a cold climate where the horses lived outdoors and did well even during snowstorms with just a primitive shelter.) Here in Florida we experience a lot of lightning and sometimes there are hurricanes. We have been told that horses can die from lightning strikes or in hurricanes, even if they are in a barn! During a hurricane it is advised to leave the halter on the horse with contact information attached. Some people actually spray paint their phone number on the horse’s body!

SIZE
Our entire property is 3 acres and the Paddock Paradise occupies roughly 1/4 of the land (map is very rough). This is plenty of room for our two horses.

The sunny side of the Paddock Paradise is along a busy road with traffic day and night. Other parts of the Paddock Paradise are heavily wooded and in deep shade.

HORSE HEALTH
Most of all the Paddock Paradise has helped my horses’ minds. They hated being cooped up in stalls all day. They love being outdoors, together, living as close to natural as possible. They are much more relaxed and happy now. They have fresh pond water, natural footing, a slow hay feeder, salt/minerals, trees for shelter and grooming, and they interact peacefully with wildlife such as deer, armadillos, raccoons, squirrels, turtles, snakes, egrets, loons, herons, owls, woodpeckers, vultures and falcons.

HOOVES
I am a strong advocate for keeping horses barefoot. I deliberately sought out horses that had not been kept shod and I’ve never shod them either. We have a farrier who comes out every six to eight weeks to trim their hooves. He says they have excellent feet.

HAPPINESS IS A PADDOCK PARADISE
We’re very pleased with this second Paddock Paradise. There are a few things we’d like to do in the future, for instance, add some gravel or pebbles in certain areas to improve drainage and to give the horses another variety of footing. Other ideas include building grooming stations or designing toys for them.

Our horses are healthy and happy, and let’s not forget to mention that it’s much easier and more pleasant for us too. Our friends enjoy seeing the horses in their natural environment.

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