Sound Horsekeeping; Equine Farm Planning
Free workshop, part of Whatcom Conservation District 2018-2019 Farm Speakers Series
Thursday, July 19, 2018 6-8 p.m.
Sunset Farm Equine Park
7981 Blaine Road, Blaine, WA 98230
Read Full Press Release from Whatcom CD
Join special guests Michael Hipp, equine conservation planner from Snohomish Conservation District, Kulshan Veterinary equine specialist Dr. Holly Smith, local agronomists and a panel of your peers for the second workshop in the Whatcom Conservation District Farm Speakers Series. Bring questions and ideas about equine pasture management, track paddocks, composting manures, and other topics specific to managing horses on rural lands in the Puget Sound basin.
Michael Hipp is a resource planner with the Snohomish Conservation District who heads up their Sound Horsekeeping program. A native Texan, Michael built and managed a horse ranch for many years north of Amarillo, where he trained and traded ranch horses and performed rehabilitation for horses seized by law enforcement due to neglect or abuse. Michael holds degrees in both Chemistry and Biological Sciences with an Animal Science & Nutrition emphasis, and taught Biological and Animal Sciences at his alma mater Oklahoma Panhandle State University.
“It is a passion of mine to share my knowledge and experience of good horse keeping practices with everyone so that not only is the ecology of our beautiful home here preserved, but also so that the relationship a horse owner has with their horse can be improved.”
Dr. Holly Smith, DVM is specialist in equine medicine and surgery and brings many years of experience in the field both in Ontario and in Whatcom County where she currently works with Kulshan Veterinary. She will discuss equine pasture management and resulting impacts on parasite cycling and herd health.
Whatcom Conservation District staff will share our resources for horse owners in Whatcom County such as rebates and grants for farm improvements, free soil testing & technical assistance, and our new manure spreader loan program.
Panelists include local horse owner and Northwest Horse Source design competition winner Robin Probst, to talk about her small farm makeover. Local landowner and Friends of Sunset Farm founder and board member Roger Edmonds will close the event with a walking tour of the conservation practices in place at the Sunset Farm Equine Park.
Light refreshments will be provided.
