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High Traffic Areas For Horses - 10 Common Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make

Debbie Disbrow

I just love owning horses! And I have had many over the years. From the time I was little and had the best "puppy dog-teacher" horse, to later when I would go to the thoroughbred auctions at the track to find young hunter prospects, I have loved horses. Every horse had their own personality, and every horse had a habit that was unique to that particular horse. Just like us, horses have their own good and not so good sides... I have found that when the day is over and our horses are turned out in their own "living quarters", what we provide for them to live in will be what we maintain for our beloved horses.

Throughout many years of being a fencer, I have seen many proj-ects that failed to do what the horse owner expected their fence to do for them. To the owner’s dismay, they did not know that what they had created for their horses was a "high traffic" area. We coined this term due to the abuse that the fencing had to with-stand until ultimately the fence system failed *. What was needed was a better planned fence layout, otherwise, no fence that is on the market could work. Ultimately it would fail.

These are some of the most common mistakes that can create a high traffic area:

1: If you have a dry lot, make sure that your horses have enough grass hay to keep them busy. Horses are grazing animals and need to have food if they are in a dry lot for long periods of time. Horses will tend to lean or push on the fence for grass outside of the fence. This will put wear and tear on your fence and posts. Solution: Feed grass hay to the horses throughout the day. Consider electric fence with your existing fence system to help save on your fence investment.