Healthy Horse, Healthy Pastures and Healthy Land
Healthy Horse, Healthy Pastures and Healthy Land
Making a Difference -
LLCI026-006
The issue
In an ideal world, most horse owners would like to have healthy nutritious pastures on which to graze their horses all year round. Unfortunately, the reality for many horse owners is far from ideal. However, armed with a little knowledge it is usually possible to make a few simple changes in your management system to create an environment which produces healthy, horse friendly pasture, which in turn leads to healthy 'happy' horses.
The solution
Upper Shoalhaven Landcare decided to education horse owners with the main aim to communicate that healthy horse, healthy pastures and healthy land go hand-in-hand. Correct management of manure, water and vegetation on a horse property is also essential to the well-being of your family, your animals, your property and the wider environment.
The impact
The seminar run by Jane and Stuart Myers from Equiculture educated horse property owners about the value of sound property management practices, not only in terms of horse care, horse health, financial benefits and aesthetic improvements to their property, but just as importantly the environmental benefits, including the effects on water catchment, weed control and erosion and the benefits to the wider community. Pasture management principles are similar for large or small horse properties. The main objective is growing the correct grasses and other pasture species in order to reduce the feed bill, whilst maintaining good groundcover, reducing erosion and run off into waterways, reducing the worm (parasite) burden of horses and controlling weeds. Horse owners who attend the seminar learn all about these important subjects and much more besides.
Learnings
Caring for your horse property is equally as important as caring for your horse. Horses are not native to Australia, and can cause a huge impact on the environment if the land that they live on is not cared for properly. Caring for your horses and the land that they live on does not need to be an expensive undertaking. In fact often a slight change in the way that you do things can lead to big savings in both time and money and have many benefits, including:
Improved health for the horses and people who live on the property.
Lower feed bills due to more grass for a longer period of the year.
Happier neighbours, fewer flies and less dust and mud.
Cleaner water and more habitat for wildlife.
An effective horse property management system saves time and expense while at the same time is good for the environment.
For example, pasture grown for horses also protects the soil. Trees grown for shelter provide habitat for insectivorous animals. In turn these animals eat pest insects by the thousands. A well managed horse property provides a variety of plants that in turn support many animals – an ecosystem. The more diverse the ecosystem, the better it can cope with environmental stresses such as floods, fire, drought, pests and disease.
Key facts
- 25 local horse owners with increased knowledge and capacity to manage their horse paddocks in a way that cares not only for the horse health but the landscape and wider environment