Horse Farm Management – Feb 04
Enviro-Horsekeeping:
Win-Win Techniques for You, Your Horse,
Your Farm, Your Neighborhood --
AND the Environment!
Part 2 of a 3 part series
by Alayne Blickle, Horses for Clean Water
This series covers win-win-win farm management techniques useful for horsekeeping and land management as well as for environmental health. We began last month with an environmental overview. This month and next we’ll cover some simple techniques you can implement on your horse farm which will improve farm productivity and reduce non-point pollution.
We learned last month that a watershed is a system of valleys that water drains through and follows into the ocean. Everything we do in our daily lives affects water quality. Runoff such as oils, chemicals, soil, septic tank waste or animal waste has potential for reaching surface and ground water through storm drains, streams and other waterways. This is all referred to as non-point pollution.
As horse owners, we need to be especially aware of how we impact the environment and take steps to minimize this impact. The end result will help preserve the equestrian way of life that we enjoy in the Northwest. Runoff from livestock manure reaching streams and wetlands causes a heavy impact on the environment. Sediments cloud the water and nutrients can cause unbalanced vegetation growth. This reduces water quality and creates a poor environment for fish and other aquatic life. Bacteria from manure can make waters unsafe for recreation and can even contaminate shellfish living there. Even if you don't have a stream or water body on your property, contaminated runoff from manure and soil erosion can still make its way into a local lake or creek or your ground water. Poor farm management practices can also cause other damage to the environment such as eroded stream banks and slopes, overgrazed pastures, soil compaction and weed invasion.
Sounds pretty awful, doesn’t it? Well hold on, because the truly good news is that what’s good for the environment also turns out to be good for you, your horses, your farm and your neighborhood as well. Environmentally speaking, the golden rule for horse farms is to “keep clean rainwater clean.” When you do this you keep nutrients and sediments (from manure and mud) out of our surface waters as well as reduce mud on your farm.
So now you are probably beginning to see the win-win-win part: if you reduce mud on your farm and make your pastures more productive, not only will you be helping your place to look nicer and your horses to be healthier, but you’ll be doing the environment a great benefit as well. Let’s take a look at some specific examples of environmentally sensitive horse keeping techniques that we as horse farm owners can implement:
• Create a sacrifice area or winter paddock to be used to keep your pastures from becoming overgrazed during the winter. This area should be on higher ground and away from creeks, wetlands, ponds or other water bodies. Using a sacrifice area keeps horses from destroying pastures. It also confines the wastes to an area surrounded by a grassy buffer or pasture that can act as a filter for contaminated runoff. Using a footing such as hogfuel (wood chips) or crushed rock in a sacrifice area will help cut down on mud problems. Hogfuel has the added benefit of helping to breakdown the nitrogen in the horse’s urine and manure.
• Install rain gutters and roof runoff systems on all barns, sheds and outbuildings and diverting the clean rainwater away from high traffic areas. This will reduce the amount of nutrients and sediments washed into the surface waters. This also has the added benefit of substantially reducing the amount of mud created in your sacrifice areas.
• Cross fence pastures and rotate animals in order to keep pastures from becoming overgrazed and soils compacted. At least three inches of leafy material is needed for rapid regrowth and for the biofiltration of nutrients and sediments. Compaction of the soil makes water filtration and plant growth very difficult. Poor pasture management results in reduced quality and quantity of grass, soil erosion, nitrogen runoff, increased weeds and increased feed costs.
Next month we cover more simple win-win-win farm management techniques useful for horsekeeping and land management as well as for environmental health. Until then, good horse keeping to you!
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Alayne Renee Blickle, a life-long equestrian and reining competitor is the creator/director of Horses for Clean Water. HCW develops educational materials and programs for horse and livestock owners on mud, manure, pasture and other horse management techniques. Contact Alayne by email at ARBlickle@aol.com or visit the HCW website at www.horsesforcleanwater.com.
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Join HCW at the following upcoming events:
Horse Farm Management Series – Join Alayne Blickle & HCW in March for the full Horses for Clean Water farm management series. Learn techniques to reduce mud, manage manure, make pastures more productive and provide for wildlife at the same time. Maple Valley, WA. For registration & details contact HCW at 425-432-6116 or ARBlickle@aol.com.
Workshops for Livestock Owners – Join the King Conservation District for four FREE workshops in February on livestock management practices. Learn techniques that will help turn your farm into a more useable place for you, your animals and the environment -- less mud, better pastures & great ways to manage manure! Redmond, WA. For registration & details call the King Conservation District at 206-764-3410 ext. 120.
Manure Management Options for Horseowners – Learn techniques to manage manure, find out the latest on composting and get an update on the new manure management regulations. This evening event will be repeated throughout King County, WA, during March & April. For registration & details contact HCW at 425-432-6116 or ARBlickle@aol.com.
