Designing a quiet retirement paddock

Yards planning a new retirement field or refurbishing an existing one.

• ◆Specify shelter that older horses will actually use
• ◆Choose footing for arthritic limbs
• ◆Plan water provision in deep winter
• ◆Match companion temperament to the resident

1. 01.

   Shelter design

   Open-front field shelters vs. windbreaks; orientation, drainage, bedding.

   • ·Why older horses under-use a badly-sited shelter and how to fix it
   • ·Orientation, prevailing wind and roof pitch — the three decisions that matter
   • ·Open-front vs. three-sided vs. enclosed with two entrances
   • ·Materials, drainage and bedding inside the shelter
2. 02.

   Surface & footing

   Hardstanding, mud control, gateway management.

   • ·Reading lameness back from poached gateways and standing areas
   • ·Hardstanding options: type 1 stone, geotextile membranes, rubber matting
   • ·Mud-control around water troughs and haypiles
   • ·Costing a typical 8m × 8m hardstanding refurbishment
3. 03.

   Companionship

   Bonded pairs, gelding/mare mixes, integration timelines.

   • ·Why a quiet companion beats an experienced one for most seniors
   • ·Integration timeline: 7-day, 14-day and 30-day protocols
   • ·Bonded pairs — protecting the survivor when one is lost
   • ·Goat, donkey and miniature companions — when they help, when they don't

Photograph your current retirement paddock from each cardinal point and note prevailing wind direction.

Produce a one-page paddock improvement plan for your own site; reviewed in a follow-up clinic two weeks later.

• §BHS Approved Livery Yard Standards — shelter and grazing sections
• §World Horse Welfare 'Field Shelter Guidelines'
• §AHT/BEVA 'Companionship and the geriatric equine' factsheet