The Modern Family connection
Our family loves the sitcom Modern Family. One of the three families central to the story features Claire Dunphy and her husband Phil. Claire is a neurotic, control freak, whereas her husband Phil is a lovable idiot. One of the classic quotes from the show comes from Claire when, frustrated by Phil’s lack of forethought on yet another ridiculous plan, she screams at him: “What’s the plan, Phil?”
In our family, that’s become a standing joke. Whenever someone (usually our children if I’m being honest) clearly hasn’t thought a situation through based on the logical consequences of their actions – consequences that everyone else can quite clearly see coming – out comes the catchphrase.
The reality of managing horses
Most people are doing their best when it comes to managing their horses, working with the time and resources they have available. We all muddle along with our current management systems, tweaking things here and there, making do with what we’ve got.
For many of us, it takes a catalyst of some sort – like a laminitis episode – to even consider doing something drastically different with our management and facilities. That was certainly the case for me.
The seasonal challenge
When spring and early summer roll around again each year, I see familiar conversations starting up. Social media fills with discussions about managing horses who struggle with grass, and often this involves confining them to small yards or stables to keep them away from the flush of spring growth.
I completely understand this response. When I found myself in a situation where I had no option but to lock a horse up in a small yard due to laminitis, I did exactly that. The challenge came during recovery, when I realised I had nowhere to put them that was both safe from grass and allowed adequate movement.
The movement puzzle
This is where things got interesting for me. Research shows that exercise plays a crucial role both in avoiding issues like laminitis and in rehabilitating horses who have experienced it. Not just 20 minutes of lunging a couple of times a week, but slow, steady walking, all day and all night.
This mirrors how horses are naturally designed to move. The basic design of their minds and bodies started evolving 56 million years ago, creating patterns of constant, gentle movement. The question is: how do we provide that movement while managing grass intake?
A different approach
Horse track systems are growing in popularity for their ability to offer horses a more natural way of life. What I discovered is that they can also be adapted specifically for seasonal grass management or for individual horses who struggle with pasture access.
A track doesn’t have to be a massive project and your whole-year horse boarding situation doesn’t need to be a track. Depending on what you’re working with, it could be:
- A simple addition to the interior of an existing paddock that you can use during spring or early summer
- The use of existing laneways or driveways around a property when the grass starts coming in
- A temporary seasonal setup just for the months when you can’t put them in the paddock
What made tracks work for my grass-affected horses is that they allowed me to control intake while still providing movement. By placing water, shelter, and feeding stations strategically around the track, the horses were able to move throughout the day and night to access what they need, without the risks added by access to lush grass.
On a track as small as 130m, a horse can routinely travel as much as 7km a day. I was surprised by this when I tracked it over 8 months – you can see those results here.
The flexibility advantage
One thing I’ve come to appreciate about tracks is their adaptability. They can be grass-free or they can have grass on them. They can incorporate access to pasture areas when it’s safe, or keep horses off grass completely when it’s not.
This means you can adjust your management as seasons change, rather than being locked into one approach year-round.
Thinking ahead
Looking back, I wish I’d had a plan in place before the crisis hit. Not because I was doing anything wrong – I was doing what most horse owners do – but because having options would have made that stressful time so much easier.
Some questions worth considering when things are calm:
- What options do I have when the grass comes through in spring?
- If my horse needed to be off grass but still moving freely, where could that happen?
- Could any existing infrastructure on my property be adapted for safer grazing management?
- What simple, temporary solutions could I set up now, just in case?
Where to start
If you’re curious about whether a track approach might work for your situation, this guide explains what a horse track system is and how it could be adapted to different properties.
The beauty of tracks is that they can be as simple or complex as your situation requires. Any property, even a small one, can incorporate some track principles to allow horses to move more while managing their intake. The key is just to start small, observe how things go, and adjust from there.