The Paddock Trail

Segantini and Oatgiri grazing together in the pasture – that’s the life.
Naturally, most of the animals that end up at our farm aren’t completely healthy. This is also true for the horses. Laminitis is a metabolic disease that causes severe impairment of the musculoskeletal system. Horses with such a history must be fed with particular care. Fructan – an energy source for grass growth – should only be consumed in very small amounts, which is why horses with laminitis can’t really go out to pasture.

Kvikur and the late Brunka, our two Icelandics, were therefore only allowed to spend most of their day on the sand-floored paddock. This was a situation I couldn’t really stand to watch. Bea Enkelmann from “Be in Balance” in Hanstedt advised me to create a paddock trail.

In nature, a horse is on the move sixteen hours a day to satisfy various needs. We have now recreated these natural conditions by creating a ten-meter-wide strip of sand all around the pasture. We’ve set up various stations along this roughly six-hundred-meter track. At the very bottom, there are two feeders where hay is available 24 hours a day. To drink, the animals now have to walk 300 meters each time to the watering stations set up at the very top by the open stable. Along the way, they have the opportunity to visit the salt lick bar for their mineral needs or, on the other side…