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[RC] switching from pastures to pens....advice? - Sarah Seashols

Title: switching from pastures to pens....advice?

Hi everyone,

Id like some advice from those of you who keep your horses in pens, or in group situations in a sacrifice area, with additional advice on keeping your endurance horse from becoming a hay potato.. J  We are moving to a new house on 25 wooded acres, and will be bringing our horses home asap.  The land is wooded and undeveloped, and while there is plenty of it, there is no prepared pasture.  Weve already contracted out to clear the land (and to keep it endurance relatedplanned my conditioning trails J), but obviously we wont have good, usable pasture for at least 18 months (were in Virginia, and grass grows very nicely around here). 

Our horses are currently housed on 24/7 pasture turnout with free-choice hay, and they get along with each other I almost never see any nastiness (2 well-behaved geldings, one ancient Shetland/mini pony boss mare).  Well be putting in a very large run-in shed, and they will have free-choice hay.  Approximately what size of sacrifice area would you consider to be adequate to hold these 3 without cramping?  What types of fencing do you recommend since its a limited size?  Id prefer something that could be temporary, as the barn and pastures will not be in yet (i.e. electric, panels, etc)  And finally, would putting down stone dust on the entirety of the pen/paddock or just around the main use areas (run-in, hay, water) be preferred?  Obviously I dont expect any grass to grow in the paddock, so I dont want a mud pit..

Anything I should do differently with a pen-kept than with a pasture-kept endurance horse-in-training, besides regular exercise?

Thanks for any and all advice!

Sarah

Virginia