Lace's Legacy - Track Grazing

27/07/2026

Fat ponies and track grazing.

Little ponies like Chopper, only 10 or 11 hands high, are always going to need extra dietary management even with the extra exercise tracks provide.

With a grass track others prone to laminitis and also obesity, like Leo, are also a challenge.

There are the ones like Richie who prefer not to run around much, weren't getting ridden and, although bottom of the hierarchy, are particularly good at making sure they get plenty of food!

Then there's Dancer who is the boss and therefore can monopolise the haylage bale all day if left to her own devices. She loses weight easily enough if in work but has back problems so can't do that much at the moment.

So that is when I use a muzzle or "bucket". I like to make my own as the one time I splashed out and bought one it lasted only a week the bottom being ripped open in no time. I often use plant pots as they are usually more robust than many buckets. Chopper's fine green mesh "bucket" is actually a peg basket and was ideal once I cut out a few of the wires on the bottom so he could get
some grass.

You have to add a lot of holes, guessing the right size for the amount of grass the pony/horse needs on the bottom (experience helps!) and adding large holes top and bottom on the side for breathing and drinking.

The smaller the pony the more they seem to bash and push with the bucket so good padding is essential for them or they will rub their noses raw 😬🙄😟. Or is it just that Richie and Dancer are arabs and so less food obsessed or more delicate? They don't require padding at all and their noses are fine.

No one gets the bucket full time. At some times of year like now they can be free around the track much of the time - currectly Leo hasn't had his bucket on for a few months, just shut up at night with hay.

So while requiring individual management and extra care the bucket is a great way for even the food restricted to enjoy the freedom and social life of a track.

07/04/2026

Thanks George

It was time to say goodbye to George last week 😭

At 29 his arthritis resulting in a fused fetlock had got to the point where more changes were happening and despite his special rocker shoes it wasn’t going to be possible to keep him happy much longer - thanks Anna Drabble Equestrian - Hoofcare, Bodywork, Education

So as they say, better a few days early than a day too late. With his tendency to get mild bouts of colic, and the latest one being a little less minor and taking a few days rather than hours to fully recover after pain meds… it was the right time.

He had a great day with lots of peppermints 🥲

03/01/2026

Once again people headed for warmer places over winter and I had several temporary boarders while their owners were off enjoying warmer breaks.

First were Missy and Houston. As a pair they were independent, not needing company, although Dancer desperately wanted to be friends with Missy… she’s over being the only mare in the herd!

Then I had two staying for four weeks each, although not quite overlapping. Halo got on well with Richie for his first week - as does everyone, he’s just totally uninterested in dominating anybody.

Then Pai arrived and with plenty of fresh grass as a distraction she fitted straight in (after a night on the other side of a tape to be sure) so Richie was able to return to the herd.

Pai and Halo had three great weeks on long grass and increasingly muddy track, then Halo went home and Max became Pai’s slave for her last week!

19/11/2024

Recently I had a horse come to stay while her owner was on holiday.

With such a short stay there’s no point trying to put them in with the whole herd but I also don’t want to be forced to keep any horse alone, without a friend.

Happily I have Richie who is the perfect friend for new arrivals. He doesn’t bully anyone and is very good at looking after himself. I can put him straight in with them and know he won’t hurt them and that he will be able to stay out of trouble himself ❤️

Sure enough he soon taught her about track life - I think he enjoyed having a girlfriend! 😅

Neither of them needed too much grass so we soon settled into a routine of haynets at night and a break of horse grasses in the mornings

28/10/2024

There is no way to set up a tape in the morning at the moment without ending up wet to mid-thigh! 😂😂🙄😩

18/07/2024

Found someone 😁😁

My flatmate is leaving 😢 so I’m looking for another

Horse/farm capable
Near Pirongia

Pm for details if interested

20/05/2024

The new horse, Arke, is settling in well... if not entirely according to plan.

While Richie and Dreamer were confined to the barn and the bale for a few days post drenching, Arke was free to hang out next to them and explore a smaller loop of the track system.

After a few days separated with half the bale he was able to be with them and share happily, they were back on the grass, all was calm.

But then Arke decided he didn't want to hang out with the bachelor bromance underling pair and started crying at the gate to be let in with the big kids. Nothing would do but to let everyone in together otherwise he was going to waste away pining at the gate 😟

Jimmy had been grooming him over the gate, which was a good sign as being the lowest ranking of the big kids he's the one who has the task of chasing interlopers away.

So I opened the gates and let them mix. 🫣
Dancer wasn't in season so predictably wanted him well gone and her lieutenants, Tigger and George, were quick to enforce.

But at 23 he's a canny lad and being a TB quick enough to get out of the way.

Now we're a couple of weeks along and they're starting to accept him. No one wants to finish the bale as the grass is still growing, so everyone is confined to the barn at night... except George and Arke who get to wander up a track to grass... so they're getting on a lot better as long as Dancer isn't around. Tigger looked like he and Arke were going to groom each other this morning, they didn't quite, but soon...
Jimmy alternates between chasing him away and being friendly.
Dancer still hates him, but he is determined to be one of her groupies anyway, he could hang out well away from them on a different part of the track as Richie and Dreamer do, but no.

He's seems happy and to be enjoying track life 😄 When he arrived his feet badly needed trimming... that is still the case and will be dealt with soon, but in the meantime it has been interesting to see how the movement of the track and the sand around the barn how much self trimming has taken place, no longer extremely long they are now just cracked and out of shape...

03/05/2024

New horse, drenching time and beetles.

I’ve always drenched all horses as soon as I can be sure the bots have finished. I also wait until the endurance season is over so my competition horses don’t have to cope with any extra metabolic challenges at Champs time.

Now I have dung beetles so it all gets more complicated as the residual drench in the manure will kill beetle larvae.

So when the horses are drenched they need to be confined for three days so I can pick up all the manure - the beetles don’t seem to like the manure around the barn, the sand I guess 🤷‍♀️ that’s also good as it lessens the chance of the hens eating them! It’s also a good idea to not drench the whole herd at once so there is still fresh, safe manure for the beetles.

Most of the beetles will be less active now as it’s getting colder, but I do have one species that remains active over most of winter. I got the four seasons deal 😁 Really looking forward to when they are all well established and all manure disappears 🤩🤩 but that takes about ten years apparently, I think I’m coming up to three years so getting there 😁

Add to that a new horse arriving and things get a bit complicated! But he’s a nice chap and while Richie and Dreamer are confined it’s a good time for them to get to know each other over the fence. Arke is a brave boy and has already taken himself off to explore one of the tracks on his own 😁

So rather than spend all day filling hay nets I decided to get a big haylage bale out, despite there still being plenty of grass… it’ll still be there once the bale is done!

Richie and Dreamer are allowed out again tomorrow, they’ll be staying with Arke while he settles in, then it’s time to drench the others. The three cattle can clean up the rest of the tracks for three days while they’re confined to keep the beetles happy!

01/04/2024

My horses love track life and I love watching their decisions. Where is the best shelter today? Seeing their problem solving when they were too busy eating and have lost the herd 😂. Who splits off into a smaller group, who are best friends.
And it’s amazing how stealthy they seem… one minute they’re hanging out at the barn, then next minute all gone.
Turning up back at the barn at top speed which needs several loops around the barn to disperse the energy.
I like that as well as fun this is their way of finding safety if something frightens them… back to the barn!

Turn your damn horses out.

Solitary confinement is used as punishment for humans, yet stabled horses are described as "living like kings".

Horses don't want to live like kings, they want to live like horses; horses run, play, roll, doze in the sun, mutually groom, fall over, get kicked, get bitten- it's just how herd life works and they need that entire spectrum to be functional individuals.

Maybe you have a horse who doesn't like his pasture time. I can assure you that your horse likes time outside. What he doesn't like is lack of shelter, lack of company/incompatible company, lack of hay/grass/forage and whatever else is it that the average pasture tends to lack.

Another argument is "my horse has all that and he's still waiting to come in every evening!", chances are that you feed your horse in his stable and he therefore has a positive association with it. What if you fed your horse in the stable then instead of bolting the door, left it open all night? Would he still be in there by morning, content to stare at the walls for 12+ hours, or would he be raiding the feed bins or going around saying hello to his neighbours?

Everyone is doing their best and the reality is that the majority of horse owners are bound by the rules of yard owners, so 24/7 turnout in herds is not always possible. However, let's stop pretending that the main reason we lock horses up for half their lives is because they like it. No being on this earth likes being locked up with no choice about when to come or go, so why would horses? Sure, all horses are different but all horses are horses!

Here's some of our mare herd letting off some steam with Spring living up to her name!🤠