Fall is Here, Sound Horsekeepers
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Fall is officially here. Are you and your horses ready? The ideal time to prepare in western Washington is prior to the rainy season, however, it’s not too late! Here are a few tips and tricks to beat the winter weather and establish more permanent solutions for next year.
Prepare for shorter days.
Now is a great time to install lights so you don’t end up doing chores in the dark as the days get shorter. Establishing a consistent routine can also make chores more manageable, and your horses may appreciate it as well.
Update or create a paddock for winter confinement.
A heavy use or sacrifice area is a space you “sacrifice” and use for winter confinement in order to keep your pastures healthy and mud-free. Horses should be kept in confinement areas throughout the wet season. Saturated soils and dormant plants simply can’t survive continuous grazing and trampling. When soils are wet, they are easily compacted, suffocating the roots of grass plants and doing long-term damage to vital air and water channels in the soil. Having a heavy use area allows your horse to be outside without negatively impacting pastures. Common types of footing for heavy use areas are gravel, sand, and hog fuel. Footing helps to reduce mud and can also be used on walkways and around gates.
Manage manure.
To keep your heavy use area working for you, pick manure at least every three days in dry weather, and daily or twice daily in periods of heavy rains. Cleaning manure out of confinement areas is the simplest and most important thing you can do to prevent mud. Horses produce about 50 pounds of manure a day. If manure is left to be trampled into the soil, it will quickly turn to mud. Locate your manure pile near your heavy use area to help make cleaning more efficient.
Covering your manure pile is also important. A tarp is the most inexpensive option and can be weighed down with boards to keep it in place. Covering manure helps it decompose faster, reduces odors, and prevents weed seeds from landing on top. It’s also crucial for protecting water quality. By covering your manure pile, you prevent bacteria and nutrients from being washed off your property and into nearby streams and rivers. Many water bodies in our area exceed the state standard for bacteria and nutrients making them unhealthy for swimming, fishing, and other recreational activities. It’s important to consider our impact on these shared resources when planning for manure management. Building a compost bin system is another fall project to consider. Bin systems are a great way to efficiently contain manure and speed up the composting process.
Build shelter.
Do your horses have somewhere to get away from the weather? It’s a great time to get those shelters built or repaired to keep wind and rain off your horses. Feeding in a shelter is also recommended to keep hay and grain dry.
Divert rainwater.
It’s critical to direct water away from high-traffic areas during the winter months. Install gutters and downspouts on barns and shelters to divert rainwater away from heavy use areas, stall entryways, and other high-traffic locations. Ideally the outlet for the gutters should send water to a well-vegetated area that does not receive a lot of use.
Rainwater can also be collected by stock watering tanks, rain barrels, or cisterns. If water exceeds the capacity of stock watering tanks, the excess should be diverted away from confinement areas. Have a backup water supply for your horse(s) if you lose water due to a power outage. It’s also important to have a way to supply water when temperatures are freezing.
This project has been funded wholly or in part by the United States Environmental Protection Agency under assistance agreements PC-01J18101 to the WA State Dept. of Ecology and PC-01J18001 to the WA State Dept. of Health. The contents of this document do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Environmental Protection Agency, nor does mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation for use.
