Track system on Welford Road in South Leicestershire, prioritising Freedom, Forage and Friends.
21/08/2026
Before and after of our most recent job - putting stone around the trough!
Walking on stone is actually great for horses' feet, and it keeps the ground around the trough a bit less muddy. Win win 🏆
I think it looks quite posh! ☺️
Love on the track 😘🤣
20/08/2026
Working on filling in some of the tyre tracks today.
Trying to dodge the huge rain clouds! 🌧️😩
Badger supervising the activities as usual. He's always on the job 👷
See if you can spot him 👀🔍🐶
19/08/2026
Well it's been a hectic few weeks with plenty of sweating in the hot sun, but we've made great progress on the new track!
⭐ Both tracks are now fully fenced with loafing areas, access to a hedgerow, natural shelter under trees and long forage.
⭐ We have walking poles set out along a small section up the hill
⭐ Feeding pens have been added, along with surfacing mats to get ahead of the muddy season!
⭐ A new misting system is now up and running! That has been a godsend during the heatwaves 🥵
⭐ Our poo picking trailer has been upgraded (very handy).
Looking forward to seeing the track progress even further with storage, shelters and sand pits on our to-do list 📃
Our brand new shelter is here! 🎉
Now we just need to get it down to the field and build it 🤔😅
What a holiday! 😍 Nothing could be better than this. We took all four of our horses to Thetford Forest this year and had the most amazing time 🌳🌲
Lark was her usual awesome self, Loki really stepped up, Drifter was such a wonderful boy and Sherry... What a fantastic horse she's going to be when she grows up!
We had loads of fun challenges, and learned so much about all four of our horses. A highlight for Paula Wroath was tackling that huge incline on Loki, and for myself I particularly loved swimming Lark for the first time. As an added bonus, we let Sherry off to walk with the herd through the miles of off road hacking. Such a fun experience!
It was also fantastic to have Makenna Leigh join us for a little while, riding both Loki and Kiki. She did a fantastic job coping with the bonkers stuff we tackled, like walking down the river under fallen trees and through deep water 🌊
Thank you to Clive for setting up and taking down the camper, it was the most brilliant base camp.
Thank you also to Sally, Rob and Charlie for the hay transport and all their help and support.
For anyone looking at horsey holidays in the UK, we highly reccomend Little Lodge Thetford Forest, near Brandon. Awesome facilities right on the river and miles of incredible hacking, along with cross country jumps and some fantastic training areas.
Roll on next year when we will be back again, but this time riding young Sherry!
Our hay is now baled and stacked!
First time EVER getting our own hay cut.
It was such an interesting process to see up close and personal.
Mum was a nervous wreck almost the entire time, and says she will never do it again 🤣
Thanks to Troy Sansom and his team for doing an awesome job and keeping Mum and me sort of sane through the process, they were not only timely and professional but charged a very reasonable fee for some brutally hard work.
Thanks also to Rob for carting and stacking it all for us - that was a long, hot day's work and we really appreciate it! 💚
We've learned so much, and we're thrilled with the results, so we put this video together to show the adventure to all of our followers 😁🐴
Enjoy! ☀️
05/07/2026
https://www.facebook.com/share/1BFmRqvAqe/
👉What science says about track systems for my friends on those track liveries which follow the science 🧬 ❤️
Recent peer-reviewed evidence suggests that track grazing systems are an effective and welfare friendly approach to managing obesity prone horses and ponies.
In a crossover study of 35 ponies, those on track systems moved significantly more (around 7km/day) when compared to strip grazed ponies (5.3 km/day) on strip and showed fewer aggressive interactions. This study was however too short to demonstrate significant weight loss (Kirton et al 2025).
A subsequent study of 19 horses at HorseWorld UK found that horses managed on track systems lost an average of 10.7 kg (3.4% of body weight) over the summer, while comparable horses on restricted paddocks gained 6.8 kg (1.5% of body weight), with no negative effects on welfare, behaviour, or hoof health (Cameron et al 2025).
Together, these studies indicate that track systems increase voluntary movement, reduce social conflict, support natural grazing behaviour, and can produce meaningful weight loss in horses susceptible to obesity, laminitis, or metabolic disorders while maintaining overall welfare.
References
Cameron, L.; Challinor, M.; Armstrong, S.; Kennedy, A.; Hollister, S.; Fletcher, K. (2025) Tracking the Track: The Impact of Different Grazing Strategies on Managing Equine Obesity. Animals, 15, 874. https://doi.org/ 10.3390/ani15060874
Kirton R, Sandford I, Raffan E, Hallsworth S, Burman OHP, Morgan R. (2025) The impact of restricted grazing systems on the behaviour and welfare of ponies. Equine Vet J;57(3):737–44. 1111/evj.14411
Please support the following tracks who do not spread misinformation (and message me if you want to be added)
PB Paddock Paradise
Abbotts View
Meadow View
Graveney Equine
Horse Haven
Fairlawn Farm
Pensilva Track Livery
Wharf Lane
Humber View
Blairfordel Track Livery
Barefoot Living at Oxhey Top
Cheshire Equine Track Livery
Offham Track Livery
KRH Natural Horse Care
Nurturing Nature Equine
Three Ravens
2by2 Track Livery
Fircrest Track Livery
Field and Forest Track Livery
Timber Edge Track Livery
Boundary View Track
The Humble Hoof
Meaux Track Livery
While we were out, an airplane landed in the field beside us. Sherry didn't mind a bit! By the time we walked up the hill, the owner had left and we decided to have a closer look since it was right on the side of the path.
Sherry is so relaxed with everything, it's really quite amazing.
Couldn't ask for a kinder, quieter, more emotionally intelligent horse ❤️
22/05/2026
Sherry was out today enjoying a walk in hand (with a few minutes of ridden - only third or fourth time she's been sat on!)
She's such a darling ❤️