Thoughts please?

[Murasaki]

Our Welsh A and 16.3 draftX live out in a 2 1/2 acre field. They have a shelter which they use constantly and are both rugged -- we are on top of a hill and get a nasty North wind. For the last couple of months our field has been waterlogged with pretty well no grass left - we have clay soil. The horses are fed hay through the day and a small hard feed at night with more hay to take them through the night. They both seem so unhappy and I can not blame them as I find wading through the water and mud absolutely depressing as heck! The floor in the shelter is mud, and I have put bags and bags of bark chipping on it to try and give them at least one dry place to stand but the weight of the 16.3 just churns it up after a day or so. Really nowhere else to bring them out to - my question is: does this sound acceptable? I feel worried that these conditions are cruel... :( Also, if I can afford a concrete floor and say a concreted 'yard' area around the shelter would this be a good solution for next year...the concreting would prob cost a couple of thousand £s. Another possibility is to convert a small barn that is currently a garage and put 2 looseboxes in it with a concrete standing area outside. Thank you, would really appreciate your comments.

[Jessey]

Some horses wouldn't mind that at all, but others do :o
If your guys seem down and unhappy about it then thinking of a solution for next year would be a good plan.

In the mean time could you find something more stable than bark to let them stand on - perhaps road planeings (old scrap road surface that has been crushed up) as this is easy to lay (just tip it and level it) and with a bit of effort (a garden roller works well) it will pack down into a solid footing and is also cheap to get :D then some straw on top would make it homely :p though this job is easier on drish ground it is not impossible on wet ground so long as its not really deep already as it will just mush in like every thing else :o

Re the permenant solution - road planeings laid give a great base and is easier to do in better weather - it still allows drainage through it and grass will also regrow through it making it not quite so unsightly :D Concrete shouldn't cost that much, if you can do most of the work yourself :p you could also consider laying chalk - once packed down it goes really hard like concrete (but can get a bit slippy when wet) you could also consider getting some rubber mats (that would work now too).

[becs]

I'd definately go for the concrete floor to shelter option.

We did that a year last October, as we had identical yuck-factor like you (in Suffolk what a surprise) and it's transformed our winters.

Some builders were doing other work for us at the time - they put wood planks sideways all round (sure that has a name but I'm not a builder lol) then poured in concrete. They also did it at a slight slope draining outwards, to let wee run off (don't know how, guess made the concrete thick enough to manipulate? clever lads). And left the concrete scored slightly rough to aid grip of hooves when wet (but not so bumpy you can't sweep it clean).

But then we still ended up with a squelch-pad just outside, wiffy too from the wee run-off over months - so boggy they forlornly avoided entering the dry shelter!

So we got an area about 4 metres wide dug out and filled with hardcore round the entrances to the shelter. They topped it with road tarmac chopped up bits - can't remember what they called this but it's quite cheap 'cos it's broken up road surfaces, but softer underfoot for the horses than hardcore / rubble. That now has a light layer of discarded hay over it and they don't pick up so much in their hooves. Hoping it may grow over a bit with time.

They do need picking out from the rubble but it's better than it was. They use the shelter much more, every night in bad weather - judging by the amount of pooh & wee I muck out of the discarded hay every morning!

I wouldn't worry about feeling "cruel" though, with your tough breeds - many times when the weather is bad, I check on them and they're wedged in a hedge instead... My motto is "rug 'em up, feed 'em up and let them go where they like".

[Bexster]

We had the same last year and it wasnt nice. Weve MOT/Chattered an area of our land and built stables. The difference is 100% better. Chatter is the cheapest aggregate. I didnt use concrete as I was worried about my horses slipping.Good luck.

[Pink's lady]

We've got the same problem with all the rain we've had - our field is normally well drained but it just can't cope this year.

I second road chippings /planeing's/arggregate. It's dead cheap (you'v be looking at £30 or so to tip into the shelter.

As it's still so wet I would just temporarily put down the chippings now and spread it out. When the weathers better and you won't totally destroy the field you could hire in a digger (about £20 an hour) and have it properly dug out and back filled, including near the gate.

[scrappydoo]

You need an arggregate called 'crush and run' it compacts hard and isnt loose like chippings. Your best calling your local quarry to do a deal. We did our mile long drive and its lasted for years and many to come, even with tractors driving over all the time this stuff almost sets like conceret but is pennies compared with conceret.

[becs]

including near the gate. oops forgot to say that too - definately worth doing, wheelbarrowing muck out is so much easier.