Even though we started out the year with wonderfully warm, dry weather, the Northwest rains are catching up with us and reeking havoc on many of our horse farms. Many horse places are showing the repercussions of continuous rainfall with muddy paddocks and miserable horses standing up to their hocks in filth. With this in mind, now is the time to highlight a few tips on ways to reduce mud on horse properties.
Living in mud creates an unhealthy environment for a horse. Mud harbors bacteria and fungal organisms that cause diseases such as abscesses, scratches, rain scald, and thrush. Mud is also a breeding ground for insects, especially mosquitoes and filth flies. Horses fed on muddy ground can ingest dirt or sand particles leading to sand colic, a very serious digestive disorder. Mud also creates slick, unsafe footing that can cause slips and injuries (for horses AND humans!). And, as all of us horse owners know, mud is very inconvenient for owners, making chores difficult and life around the barn unpleasant.
Mud also has very serious environmental impacts, something we need to consider in a time when we’re each striving to reduce our impact on the world in our own ways. Mud carrying runoff of sediments and nutrients from manure can get into streams, ponds and wetlands. This can be detrimental to fish, shellfish, and aquatic wildlife. You don’t have to live near a creek or lake for this to have a negative impact as nutrients and sediments can also cause problems for ground water, a special concern if you are on a well.
Here is a list of horse-friendly tips for unraveling the mud problem around your farm:
• Create a sacrifice area or paddock to be used during the winter. This area should be on higher ground and away from creeks, wetlands, ponds or other water bodies. Surround this area with a grassy area. Keeping horses in a sacrifice area keeps horses from destroying pastures and turning them into a mud mess. It also confines manure to an area where you can easily pick it up and compost it. Surrounding the sacrifice area by vegetation provides a filter for contaminated runoff.
• Use some type of footing in sacrifice and high traffic areas. Use of a footing material will cut down on mud problems by keeping horses off the dirt and allowing rainwater to percolate through. Popular choices include hogfuel (chipped wood), gravel (crushed rock), or sand. Hogfuel has the added benefit of helping to breakdown the nitrogen in the horse’s urine and manure. Use 3 to 6 inches of footing throughout your paddock depending on how deep your mud is.
• Pick up manure in your paddocks and sacrifice area every 1 to 3 days. This is important for your horse’s health because it reduces parasite reinfestation and it will greatly decrease the build-up of mud. While you’re at it, pick up stray clumps of bedding or leftover hay. All organic material eventually decomposes and leads to mud.
• Tarp the manure pile. This will keep your manure pile looking like a pile of compost and not a pile of mush. The nutrients you are trying to save will stay in the compost and will not get washed out into the surface waters where they can cause problems. Store manure as far away as possible from streams, ditches, or wetlands to avoid more mud problems and potential environmental impacts.
• Manage surface flows. If surface flows run into your barn or paddocks, look for ways to divert this water away. Possibilities for dealing with surface water drainage include French drain lines, water bars (like a speed bump for water runoff), grassy swales and dry wells.
• Install rain gutters and downspouts on all barns, sheds and outbuildings and divert clean rainwater away from high traffic areas. A 12’ x 14’ shed can produce as much as 6,000 to 12,000 gallons of rainwater in one Northwest year. Diverting this clean rainwater away from your paddocks and high traffic areas will substantially reduce the amount of mud created. This has the added environmental benefit of reducing the amount of nutrients (from manure) and sediments (from mud) that get washed into the surface or ground water.
• In the winter and early spring keep horses off saturated, rain soaked soils and dormant pasture. This is critical if you want to avoid mud this winter (and dust next summer) and if you want a healthy pasture next summer. Soggy soils and dormant plants simply cannot survive continuous grazing and trampling in winter months. Horses are particularly hard on pastures – the pounding of their hooves compacts the soil and suffocates plant roots. In addition, when soils are wet, horse hooves act like plungers by loosening fine particles of topsoil that are then washed away by the rain, creating mud and more environmental concerns.
• Plant and maintain native trees and shrubs. Plants use a lot of water and can potentially reduce the amount of water around your horse place. A mature Douglas fir can drink 100 - 250 gallons of water per day. Evergreens have an added advantage in that they keep on using water in the winter when deciduous trees are dormant. Using water-loving native shrubs along the outside of paddocks may help keep the area dryer and it will reduce runoff. Examples of plants that might work include willow, cottonwood, red osier dogwood, and hybrid cottonwood.
Reducing the amount of mud on your horse place will create a healthier environment for your horses, a nicer place for you to enjoy, a prettier picture for you and your neighbors – and a cleaner environment for all.
Have a mudless spring and good horsekeeping to you!
This Spring Join HCW at the Following Events:
MONROE, WA:
The HCW Horse Farm Management Series A 4 week series to learn techniques to reduce mud, manage manure, make pastures more productive, provide for wildlife plus have healthy horses & a chore efficient farm! Monroe City Hall Council Chambers, Monroe, WA. Tuesday evenings 6:30-9pm, May 10th, May 24th, May 31st, and June 7th. To register or for more information contact Snohomish County Department of Public Works at 425-388-6401 or k.woodmcguiness@co.snohomish.wa.us.
STANWOOD, WA:
No Bugs Here! Tour a 5-acre horse farm with innovative, all-natural insect control techniques. Some of the insect control techniques include Victor Fly Traps, biological fly control, fly tape, goldfish in water troughs, resident swallows, and of course excellent mud and manure management techniques which substantially reduce insect habitat. See unique, gravity–based compost bins, gravel paddocks, a beautiful covered arena, recently established pastures! Saturday, June 11th, 10am to noon. Stanwood, WA. COST: $5/household or free to 4H households. To register and receive directions contact the Snohomish Conservation District at 425-335-5634, ext 4.
Copyright © 2008 The NW Horse Source, LLC
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