Do you know what Paddock Paradise is?
Horse breeding model inspired by Jaime Jackson’s research, aims to encourage owners to raise their animals in environments similar to their natural habitat.
Published on December 15, 2022
Interview with Débora Brandão By Redação Cavalus
Paddock Paradise is a closed-circuit horse breeding model that is conducive to domestication but simulates the animals’ natural habitat. Developed through studies and research by Jaime Jackson, author of the book “Paddock Paradise: A Guide to Natural Horses,” the system’s proposal is to encourage horses to behave and move naturally according to their instincts. According to the author, this is the secret to having physically and mentally healthier horses.
The author’s research was based on the lifestyle of wild, free-roaming horses that live in the United States, the Mustangs. For the author, the purpose of Paddock Paradise is to provide domestic horses with an environment that resembles their natural habitat.
Paddock Paradise aims to provide domestic horses with an environment that resembles their natural habitat.
Débora Bz Brandão, Industrial, Interior and Equestrian Designer, is a specialist in that works on the development of breeding facilities based at Paddock Paradise concept and explains that the main objective of the system is to promote both the physical and mental health of horses through accommodations that resemble their natural habitat.
“Facilities that follow Paddock Paradise are an ideal preventative for many of the diseases and disorders that plague domestic horses that are forced to live in stalls or other forms of small confinements or, equally dangerously, on lush, sugar-laden pastures,” says the expert, who points out that facilities that follow this model “can eliminate the risk of laminitis, colic, navicular syndrome, Cushing’s syndrome and other debilitating conditions caused by an unnatural lifestyle and diet. Plus, it allows horses to eat as they do in the wild – on the move!”
Paddock Paradise is an ideal preventative for many of the diseases and disorders that plague domestic horses that are forced to live in stalls and small paddocks.
Benefits of Paddock Paradise
According to the research that underpins the Paddock Paradise concept, horses belonging to the same group move along familiar routes or trails, as they cover great distances in different places and territories. Since horses are prey animals, they instinctively move in close formation (single file, with the youngest and oldest in the center, protected by the others), and always through familiar regions, as they search for forage, water, rolling points, other herds with which they wish to interact, and other activities essential to their biology and survival.
“The horses walked practically 24 hours a day, every day of the week, eating along the way, always in small portions, and not stopping for long in the same place. Today, we have studies that prove that this way of eating is the healthiest, due to the digestive tract”, explains Brandão.
In this breeding model, horses always feed while on the move.
Another point highlighted by the specialist is in relation to the space in the stalls. According to the Débora, “the ideal is for horses to have a free space to be domesticated. If this is not done, by placing horses in stalls, small paddocks, they begin to have numerous health problems at all biopsychosocial levels, not to mention the constant stress to which they are subjected just by being confined”, she warns.
Also according to the specialist, horses are prey animals in nature and as such they always need to be alert, whether eating, hydrating or while sleeping, and for this to be possible, in a herd while some are feeding, others are always on alert, in a rotation. “Therefore, within a closed space, where the horse has no outside vision, nor vision of its saddle companions, they begin to have all kinds of health problems, initially social, psychological and biological somatization.”
The horses are in constant movement, following already recognized trails
In a stall, the specialist points out, horses live in constant stress because they do not have the freedom to escape at any sign of danger, which can be a simple noise. “That is why many stallions are placed in larger stalls, because they are more active, more restless and need space to expend all this energy and even then it is not enough.”
Owners who have their herd living in Paddock Paradise, the specialist points out, have healthier animals, because they are always exercising, their muscles are always worked and they have fewer health problems.
“In addition to the happiness of seeing your horse come to you freely and spontaneously, without needing to be offered food, treats or any other primary need, the relationship changes completely”, concludes Débora.
Find out more about Paddock Paradise on Débora Brandão’s profile @paddockparadisebrasil.
Por Camila Pedroso. Redação Cavalus | Tradução Débora Baruzzi Brandão
Fotos: Arquivo pessoal / Jill Willis, AANHCP fornecidas pela Débora Baruzzi Brandão
link https://cavalus.com.br/geral/voce-sabe-o-que-e-paddock-paradise/
