Control the Smell with this Easy Solution
by Alayne Blickle, Horses for Clean Water
The “black spot of ick” is how Jay Mirro refers to the paddock area where some horses repeatedly urinate so that it becomes nasty and smelly. Mirro is a senior farm planner for King Conservation District outside of Seattle, Washington, a populated area of the Pacific Northwest known for its high concentration of horse owners and home owners. These home owners want to live in a rural area, but may not be as tolerant of odors as horse owners.
“If an area develops where the horse urinates perpetually, you may have to dig out and replace gravel in that area. Don’t let it get to that point where you dread going to the barn or have to go out with a clothespin on your nose,” says Mirro with a smile. “Just replace a little bit of the footing once in a while.”
Since horses tend to urinate in an area where it won’t splash, use this to your advantage and create an inviting “soft spot” in their outdoor paddock where they might want to urinate. Then you can trap that urine in a compostable product that you regularly remove, creating a sort of a horse urinal. That’s just what Patricia Cosgrove of Enumclaw, Washington did on her four-acre horse property with three equines.
Here is her recipe for creating a horse urinal:
- Identify where your horse routinely urinates
- Dig out a shallow, slopped sided depression, approximately 3 inches deep, 2 feet x 4 feet wide
- Sprinkle with ½ bag zeolite product (for odor control)
- Spread one bag bedding pellets in the hole
- Hope your horse continues to use their favorite spot!
- Remove all (soaked & discolored) bedding pellets monthly, compost
- Repeat
Good luck and here’s to less odors this summer!
Check out the Horses for Clean Water website for information on innovative programs such as:
ENUMCLAW, WA
Trinity Ranch
Saturday, September 23, 9 am to noon
WORKSHOP: Small Farm Equipment for Horse and Livestock Owners Register at 425-282-1949 or [email protected] or kingcd.eventbrite.com
THURSTON COUNTY, WA
Location TBD
Sunday, September 24, 1 pm – 3 pm
WORKSHOP: Fall in Place for Winter Details & registration: [email protected] or 360.754.3588 ext. 105
Originally Published July 2017 Issue
Alayne Blickle began in the 1990’s as a pioneer in water conservation and natural resources conservation by creating the entrepreneurial consulting business, Horses for Clean Water, an award-winning internationally acclaimed education program that looks for horse-healthy, nature-based solutions to land management challenges. She continues this work today partnering with agencies, organizations, and horse owners throughout North America and worldwide. She is a regularly contributing writer and photojournalist to several equine publications.
Alayne lives with her horse trainer husband, Matt Livengood, in southwestern Idaho where they raise and train AQHA horses and mustangs on their eco-friendly horse ranch. Contact her through the Horses for Clean Water website or through their ranch website Sweet Pepper Ranch.
For more information contact Alayne at [email protected] or 206-909-0225.
