single learning post

How to Create and Manage Your Track System

Is creating a track system or paddock paradise for your horse an item on your dream project list? You are in good company! No matter how large or small your horse’s space, how you use it to stimulate movement and satisfy behaviors is more significant than its size.

Horse keeping is a work in progress; small, positive improvements over seasons and years. In this webinar, Ruthie will discuss why, what, where, and how to assess an existing space to make it more movement-friendly and chore efficient. You will see inexpensive hacks as well as top-of-the-line setups.

Topics include footing, fencing, feeding and manure management, as well as what can go wrong—safety, herd management and troubleshooting. A list of resources will get you started with ideas for your own future track.

Ruthie Thompson-Klein practices horse keeping and track management on Lopez Island, Washington on challenging terrain and in ever-shifting coastal weather. Ruthie graduated farrier school in 2003, transitioned to whole-horse hoof care by 2010 and forged a few useful things out of leftover steel shoes, but has since tried to make the world better for horses at every opportunity. This includes developing track systems to encourage free movement and expression of natural behaviors.

Ruthie is a PHCP Mentor with a special interest in equine nutrition and paddock/ track systems as important elements in whole horse health, especially hoof care. Her track system is a work in progress, now operating (functioning, performing?) for 16 years. Ruthie consults for horse owners, and is keen to share track system benefits and basics no matter how modest or grand the project. When not occupied with her horses she teaches horsemanship, hosts clinics, competes in Working Equitation and Mountain Trail, and does a lot of yoga to hold it all together.