GREEN HORSEKEEPING

These 4 tips will help make your farm more eco-friendly.

- ALAYNE BLICKLE

Most of us have horses because we appreciate being outside and enjoying nature. Did you know that you can enjoy your horse plus take care of the great outdoors at the same time? These days nature can use all the help it can get! Many of the choices we make in our lives, and especially in our horses' lives, can be beneficial to keeping our horses healthy as well as keeping our planet healthy, too. Let's look at four easy horsekeeping tips for being "green" and eco-friendly. These ideas are easiest to implement if you keep your horse on your family's property, but even if you board or lease a horse, the property owner may allow you to use these ideas with their permission.

1. PICK UP MANURE REGULARLY

Picking up manure from pastures every one to three days reduces the parasite (worm) population in your horse's gut, which will keep your horse healthier. It also gets rid of the places where annoying flies and insects like to live. Finally, it reduces the mud and muck that makes it hard for you (and your horse) to get around during the rainy season.

A good thing to do with manure is to compost it. Create a pile someplace that's easy to access. Make sure there are no creeks or wet areas nearby, as accidental runoff from manure can be harmful to fish or other aquatic animals if it gets in water.

To protect your compost from getting soggy from rain or snow and then creating harmful runoff, cover it with a plastic tarp. This will keep it from getting too wet in the winter and will allow the manure to begin composting. In a few months, it will break down into a product that is excellent for soil and plants in your pastures and gardens.

When the pasture ground is no longer soggy in the late spring or early summer, compost can be spread on the grass in a thin layer. Or you may be able to advertise and give it away to gardening neighbors-and maybe even sell it!