A paddock is a small enclosure for horses. In the United Kingdom, this term also applies to a field for a general automobile racing competition, particularly Formula 1.

Description

In Canada and the United States of America, a paddock is a small enclosure used to keep

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million y ...

s. In the United Kingdom, this term has a similar meaning, and also applies to a field for a general automobile racing competition, particularly Formula 1. The most common design provides an area for exercise and is often situated near the stables. Larger paddocks may have grass maintained in them, but many are dirt or a similar natural surface. In those cases

drainage Drainage is the natural or artificial removal of a surface's water and sub-surface water from an area with excess of water. The internal drainage of most agricultural soils is good enough to prevent severe waterlogging (anaerobic conditio ...

and a top layer of sand are often used to keep a suitable surface in the paddock. In the

American West The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...

, such an enclosure is often called a corral, and may be used to contain cattle or horses, occasionally other livestock. The word paddock is also used to describe other small, fenced areas that hold horses, such as a saddling paddock at a racetrack, the area where

race horse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

s are saddled before a horse race. Horse breeders may let stallions loose in a paddock or field with mares that they would like the stallion to impregnate. This allows the most natural form of mating to occur and the regularity of mating using this method promotes the chances of a mare becoming pregnant. However, high-value stallions are rarely used for breeding in this manner, as uninterested mares may severely injure them.

References

{{wiktionary, paddock Horse management Buildings and structures used to confine animals Agricultural land