The Central Watering Point System can help increase your horse’s daily exercise, reduce pasture erosionand minimise property set up costs.

This article is about a system that can be utilised on a horse property. The system works by utilising the naturalgrazing behaviour of horses to your advantage. It works best on a non commercial property where the horses livetogether as a herd. It assumes that there are times of the year when there is too much grass/too little grass.Commercial properties can also use this system by adapting it to suit their own and their clients needs. Once you geta basic understanding of this system and the many benefits it can have - you should be able to think of ways that youcan incorporate it into your own management system.

In this system (which can be modified to suit your own property) all the paddocks are linked to a communal yard areaby gates and/or laneways. This communal yard could also be an arena in order to further save space and expense on asmall horse property. The smaller the property the more facilities need to be dual purpose whenever possible. Thediagram shows a property with both a communal yard and an arena.

Instead of watering points in each paddock there is just one watering point which is situated in the communal yard.The communal yard must also have plenty of shade. It can be sand covered or have some other surface. Bare dirt is notan option as it will be dangerously slippy when wet and dusty when dry.

Individual yards may also be necessary if you plan to feed horses concentrates. Concentrates cause horses to fightand so it is not safe to feed them to a group of horses yarded together. Any necessary hay can be fed either inindividual yards or in the communal yard if the horses get on well enough. In this case the surface of this yardneeds careful consideration as sand ingestion can lead to sand colic.

In the morning, you open the gate to the paddock that you are currently using; the horses walk them selves to thepaddock for a grazing bout. During this time they are free to return to the communal yard for a drink but you willfind that they rarely do. After a grazing bout (usually 2 - 3 hours) the horses return to the communal yard for adrink (as in the wild, they travel between the grazing area and the water). After drinking, the shade and the softsurface may encourage the horses to rest before returning to the paddock for another grazing bout later in the day.At the end of the day the horses return to the yard to await you and any supplementary feed that they may bereceiving. This system has many benefits:

• This system encourages the horses to return, rest and congregate in an area of your choosing. You do not have to goand get them. This is particularly handy if you have to see to your horses in the dark, after work.
• This system encourages horses to move. Of course this may not be very far on a small horse property but it isbetter than no movement. When the grass is dryer the horses may have to walk backwards and forwards several timesduring the day for a drink. It all adds up!
• Horses do not hang around gateways in paddocks (waiting to be let back into the yard) which cause soil compactionand bare areas. Don’t forget the idea is to reduce any unnecessary pressure on your valuable, grass coveredpaddocks.
• Horses only spend time in the paddock grazing (and therefore reduce wear and tear on the land enormously) Theyprefer the yard area for any other behaviours not least because if the yard is near your house no self respectinghorse will miss an opportunity to keep watch for you coming out to give them feed.
• The expense of installing water systems to individual paddocks is spared. The corresponding compacted/muddy areathat surrounds a watering area and the tracks that develop too and from a water trough in a paddock are also avoided
• The expense of installing individual paddock shelters is avoided along with the tracks that develop too and fromthem.
• Relatively inexperienced helpers are better able to take care of the horses for short periods if you have to goaway because this system involved less direct handling of horses if necessary.
• The amount of time that horses spend grazing a paddock can be strictly controlled if necessary so that the horsescan be allowed more grazing bouts when there is enough pasture and less grazing bouts when pasture needs a rest.Alternatively horses that need to have their intake reduced can be managed accordingly.

This system, once established can result in healthier horses due to more movement, better grass and the ability tointeract with other horses etc. It also reduces your workload, the horses come to you, where you want them. It alsoreduces the pressure on you pasture particularly around traditional gathering points such as gateways, wateringpoints and shelters.

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