Dry lot
- Thread starter ~Julie~
- Start date
Help Support Miniature Horse Talk Forums:
My dry lots are relatively narrow (25 to 40 feet) and long (about 200 feet) so that the horses can get up a good head of steam and self-exercise if they so desire. And they do! Especially when it is cool outside. I keep even my show horses outside 24/7 with a shelter in each dry lot. A couple of the dry lots are wider in order to accommodate more horses (I keep the young studs together in an area that is 40 x 200, all the yearling fillies in another, and all of the weanlings in another). They don't get turned out on occasional grass...because there isn't any on top of this mountain ridge. The biggest one is approximately 100 x 200, which is where I bring broodmares that are just about to foal or where I put them for a week or two after foaling so they have time to bond with their babies before being put back in with the main broodmare herd.
nootka
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Dec 1, 2002
- Messages
- 7,547
- Reaction score
- 0
A dry lot is a paddock or corral/pasture that has little to no graze in it. It is used to manage the diet of the horses contained within. Size depends on the amount of horses and time it will be being used. Dry lots, like pastures w/grass, get overused and need rest or reconditioning (such as if it gets super wet and needs to be rested/dried, or filled where the dirt's been dug down and uneven).
It's mainly used for horsie "diets" as in those with weight issues or allergies that keep them from being out on pasture (sometimes horses consume poisonous plants on pasture and vets recommend dry lotting til you can find out what's in the pasture or IF it was in the pasture, etc.).
I personally would not have my dry lot right up next to my barn, I would prefer to have grass around the barn for water and mud control (we have lots of rain here in this region during the fall/winter/spring).
Our "dry lot" right now is our upper pasture, but it isn't very "dry" now, and I had to give up my dry lot for the multitude of vehicles we now own. It works ok for me b/c it's not very rich nor plentiful (the grass), and at times, gets eaten down to extremely sparse.
The easiest way to make one (dry lot) is to fence a good, level place, and let them in there to graze it down (or mow, mow, mow, til it is scalped close and then let them in.) They will graze it to dry lot in a fairly short time frame.
If it were me, I'd leave your 100X100 for good grass field and manage it accordingly (mares in foal about to foal love a nice, green field to be turned out into for exercise and perhaps foaling during the day as long as they can be observed) and section off the other into dry lot(s).
Many don't even use them, and I have taken to really not using one, though with show horses it's almost necessary. It's just far easier to know what they are eating when you are the one feeding it to them, and they aren't grazing selectively on whatever they feel like at the time.
My personal opinion is that horses like to be horses and I try to let every one of my horses spend a good deal of the year on pasture of some type. My "almost a dry lot" pasture works for that as they have a tiny bit of graze though to keep them healthy, I supplement with hay. My mares and weanlings go on the lower pasture, which has considerably more food value. We seed and fertilize and manage that one more aggressively, though.
Liz M.
It's mainly used for horsie "diets" as in those with weight issues or allergies that keep them from being out on pasture (sometimes horses consume poisonous plants on pasture and vets recommend dry lotting til you can find out what's in the pasture or IF it was in the pasture, etc.).
I personally would not have my dry lot right up next to my barn, I would prefer to have grass around the barn for water and mud control (we have lots of rain here in this region during the fall/winter/spring).
Our "dry lot" right now is our upper pasture, but it isn't very "dry" now, and I had to give up my dry lot for the multitude of vehicles we now own. It works ok for me b/c it's not very rich nor plentiful (the grass), and at times, gets eaten down to extremely sparse.
The easiest way to make one (dry lot) is to fence a good, level place, and let them in there to graze it down (or mow, mow, mow, til it is scalped close and then let them in.) They will graze it to dry lot in a fairly short time frame.
If it were me, I'd leave your 100X100 for good grass field and manage it accordingly (mares in foal about to foal love a nice, green field to be turned out into for exercise and perhaps foaling during the day as long as they can be observed) and section off the other into dry lot(s).
Many don't even use them, and I have taken to really not using one, though with show horses it's almost necessary. It's just far easier to know what they are eating when you are the one feeding it to them, and they aren't grazing selectively on whatever they feel like at the time.
My personal opinion is that horses like to be horses and I try to let every one of my horses spend a good deal of the year on pasture of some type. My "almost a dry lot" pasture works for that as they have a tiny bit of graze though to keep them healthy, I supplement with hay. My mares and weanlings go on the lower pasture, which has considerably more food value. We seed and fertilize and manage that one more aggressively, though.
Liz M.
Similar threads
