Jessica Jahiel's HORSE-SENSE Newsletter Archives

Paddock footing

From: Donald

Dear Jessica,

I would like to know if you had a choice of what kind of paddock area to have, whould it be sand or dirt. I prefer sand because Nic's paddock is half sand and half dirt. The sandy area seems to always be easier to keep clean, it has excellent drainage, and it never smells of urine, while the dirt area has poor drainage and smells of urine sometimes. I'm thinking of changing it all over to sand. I do realize that a horse owner has be careful of how much sand a horse may consume. For this reason Nic always gets fed his grain in his barn, so any droppings of grain he can pick up from the floor of the barn, and not have it mixed with sand outside. I do feed Nic his hay outside on nice days. Before I make any moves to changing to sand I thought I should get your opinion on this matter.

Thank You, Donald

Hi Donald! You are right to be concerned about Nic eating sand along with his hay, but there are ways to get around that problem. There are hay feeders that combine racks with built-in trays; these catch most of the bits of hay that fall from the rack. And if you have sand in the paddock, or your horse grazes on sandy soil, it's a good idea to feed psyllium for a few days every month to carry any sand OUT of the horse's intestines.

From Nic's point of view, sand would be wonderful. It's a clean surface that drains well, it's not slippery when wet, and wet or dry, it's a horse's preferred surface for ROLLING! When it gets dusty, you can put the sprinkler on it without creating dangerous mudslide areas, and clean sand stays relatively odour-free and won't irritate Nic's lungs.

If you do opt for sand, be sure to get angular, medium-to-coarse sand, not fine or "beach" sand. If you were putting it in an indoor arena, you would want washed sand, which has had the clay and silt removed -- for an outdoor paddock, this isn't as vital, but you may still prefer washed sand, as it doesn't get as dusty. Avoid "dead sand" or "builder's sand", which often contains MORE clay and silt particles than sand! This will pack down and become hard, which is not what you want. Two and a half inches of clean, coarse, angular sand will make a fine surface for Nic to play on.

- Jessica

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