Managing a horse property well is a big job!
The good news is: what’s good for the environment turns out to be good for you, your horses and your neighbourhood. Good land management protects your horse health and water quality. A horse property that is well organized and well managed can prevent disputes with neighbours, attract wildlife and increase the value of the land.
Making a few small changes in managing your property can lead to a healthier and happier lifestyle for you and your horses that saves money, improves environmental outcomes and supports a property that is sustainable into the future.
When too great a demand is placed on the land it becomes stressed and will begin to fail and cost time and money to correct. Indicators of stress appear in a many ways: bare patches in the pasture, soil compaction, erosion, bogs and weeds to name a few. These stresses lower productivity of the property, affect surrounding properties and ultimately bank accounts.
What can we do?
Protect the land:
- Determine the demands placed on the land and match with its capacity
- Protect the pasture and other vegetation – aim for 30% of the land to have trees
- Native grasses are best suited for horse grazing. Pasture improvement is for fattening cattle and milk production, not horses
- Do not let horses onto bare paddocks
- Cover bare areas of paddock with mulch to protect soil from compaction and erosion
Protect the waterways:
- Understand your land and identify how water flows across it
- Protect water ways and vegetation with suitable fencing
- Water horses from troughs rather than dams or creeks
- Have a buffer zone of native vegetation along creeks and dams to stabilize the banks and help filter out nutrients
- Manage excess horse manure to minimize nutrients contaminating waterways
Brochure
Download this information as a brochure here
