Local Horsekeeper Shares Winter Tips

Sound Horsekeeper Terri Forslof knows exactly what it’s like to combat winter in the Pacific Northwest, and on October 5 she hosted a farm tour to connect fellow horse owners with the right resources and people to help.

Terri described her experience working with District farm planner Eric Schuh to participants, while Eric and fellow farm planner Michael Hipp described in detail how to keep horses out of mud and manure during our long, wet winters.

Terri purchased her equestrian property in 2016 after it had sat vacant for nearly a decade. Describing it as a “hot mess”, she told the group, “It was overwhelming.”

While our winters are beautiful with clean air and occasional sunny skies, an overabundance of darkness, mud, and manure can overwhelm anyone, and horse boredom is a common issue owners have to deal with.  Pro tip: One way to combat horse boredom is to spend lots of time with them!

A friend referred her to the Snohomish Conservation District, and after an initial site visit and assessment, Terri partnered with the District on a cost-sharing project to build an efficient waste storage and compost system, mud-free horse paddocks and some native vegetation planting for their pond. Now, their property is essentially “winter proof.”

“The partnership was everything we could have hoped for and more, and we are so happy to be enjoying our equines in a clean and efficient facility that doesn't damage our watershed,” Terri said.

Mud and manure management are crucial practices  for horse owners looking to last the winter. Not only do they benefit horse health, but they also help prevent runoff into our local waterways, some of which have higher than allowed levels of fecal bacteria, making shellfish unsafe to eat and potentially harming people and animals.

Would you like to find solutions to your mud and manure issues? Whether you have horses, cattle, goats or poultry, our farm planners can help you design a farm that works for you, your animals, and surrounding land and waters. Please call us for a free site visit. 

Do you have horses? Sign up for our quarterly e-newsletter and join our Sound Horsekeeping Facebook group to glean tips and have a laugh. 

This workshop was sponsored by Snohomish County Surface Water Management as part of the Lower Stillaguamish Pollution Identification and Correction Project. Thank you!