Track systems have become more and more popular since the concept was conceived across the pond in response to obese horses becoming a crime in addition to starvation cases over there.
Many hoof rehabbers have come to realize that the track system can be a valuable tool for turning a serious hoof issue around.
Recently horse professionals and even horse owners have begun to see the possibilities of a track system as a body rehabilitation tool and the concept is very exciting, especially if it’s use can be applied to off the track thoroughbreds, who often need a complete overhaul after retiring from racing.
If a track system is set up properly one of the things that it is meant to do is encourage a lot more movement. Hoof rehabilitation specialists who have been turning around most of their cases successfully for a while understand that movement that is encouraged but not forced is one of the keys to changing a hoof in poor shape. Add in a variety of surfaces on a track and it becomes even more useful. In the horse world we know that in many cases the hoof adapts itself to the surface it is exposed to. This is why in swampy pastures horses often develop pancaked feet and horses who live in rocky areas will usually manifest a different hoof set up than ones who are kept in a dirt lot. Some horses introduced to a track system will need boots for a while to start them off on the road to recovery. If boots do need to be utilized it is important that they fit properly and are kept dry inside, or they won’t do what they are intended for. Boots take quite a bit of cornstarch or drying powder, and a mid-day switch out usually to do the job right.
To make a track useful for encouraging a horse to develop a better body carriage and ability to stretch themselves, low grade obstacles can be useful when added to a track system. There can be a gentle grade, a place where a horse has to pick its way through a bed of scattered, large rocks, a hill of dirt feature, and a series of logs or poles a horse would have to step over, set a prescribed amount apart for that particular horse’s size. As the horse starts to look more comfortable the ends of the poles can be raised and later on other configurations can be applied.
Additional beneficial areas to a rehabbing horse on a track would be a sand area and a pea gravel pad. Both of these textures allow a horse to dig into them and develop their own “wedge system” for providing relief to whatever limb or area is hurting. We often see vets and farriers work together to put a wedge in a shoe but the sand and gravel areas allow the horse to do it for itself, on an as needed basis.
Something that is very important to do is to think about how to encourage the most movement on a track. This means for most horses you will want to put the hay as far away from the water source as possible. It is also very important to keep out a high-quality loose mineral (not a red block) And a salt source on the track. For movement purposes and also to keep a horse from “resource guarding” these can be a good bit away from each other and hay also.
As with anything else we house horses in tracks need clean up. When thinking about the design of one make sure that you will be able to get your tractor or atv with manure spreader around in most areas of the track.
The neat thing about tracks are they can be set up and configured in so many different ways and tailored to the needs of the horse. There are oval tracks, rectangle tracks, figure eight tracks, tracks with sections that can be open and shut off, tracks with a diversion to a water feature…all kinds of tracks. We have even seen a track set up in a smaller area designed as a maze system and it worked quite well for the lady who implemented it. There are tracks with an inner pasture that the horse is let out onto at night and put back on the track during the day. There are tracks that some pieces of the fencing are moveable to add a strip grazing element. If this subject is intriguing to you, we strongly encourage you to look more about track systems and do a lot of thinking and research as to whether it may benefit your situation and what type of set up you might need. One thing to know about track people is that they are usually quite excited to tell you about theirs and often will invite you to have a look around theirs!
Track systems started out as a way to help control the weight of an air fluff but over time horse people have come to realize they have so many more uses than that and the possibilities are endless, really. In talking to most people who have built a track for their horses, they tend to do it in phases; starting very simple and adding surface and obstacles as they get the wherewithal to do so.
