Sound Horsekeeping Video Collection
Check out our collection of videos on a wide range of horse-related topics like manure storage, mud prevention, and techniques for growing healthy pastures! If you’re interested in learning more or would like some guidance on how you can put these actions into place on your own horse property, just click here to submit your question or request a visit from one of our farm planners!
Pasture Tips
5 Tips for Spring Pastures
It’s that time of year when the grass gets greener and grows fast! Here are some things to keep in mind before you open up the gates to the pasture. And be sure to check out the accompanying infographic and fact sheet to this video for a more detailed glimpse at ways to manage those spring pastures. Adapted from an article by Alayne Blickle, Director of Horses For Clean Water.
Pasture Management Basics
Alayne Blickle walks us through the basics of how you should manage your pastures.
Managed grazing
Avoid letting horses out on soggy ground
Pasture Management
Learn how to get the most out of your pastures! This eight-minute video features Bobbi Lindemulder from Snohomish Conservation District and Clo Shapiro, Manager of Liberty Bell Farms. Get an overview on managing grass height, controlling weeds, liming, rotational grazing, mowing and dragging.
Soil Testing
Whether you're growing a lawn in the suburbs, a pasture for your horses or a garden in your back yard, a soil test is the first step in understanding what amendments your soil actually needs. We guide you through the process of taking soil samples and help you understand what the test will tell you about your soil.
Compost & Manure
In these videos, you'll learn the basics of composting, common challenges and solutions, and how to put your compost to use once it's finished.
Composting Manure
This video features farm planners Alan Shank and Caitlin Price-Youngquist from the Snohomish Conservation District.
Building a Manure Compost Bin
This three-minute video is a companion to our Composting Manure video and provides more detail on building compost bins and composting systems.
Covering Compost
Why should we cover compost? Great question! Learn about the benefits to covering your manure or compost pile.
Working with Nature
Roof Runoff: Rainwater Harvesting
SCD engineered this system to prevent mud and water the horse.
Native Plants for Buffers and Mud Management
Natural screen
Soak up water
Solar Power Use on Horse Properties
A way to go green and add another green best practice. Curious about solar on your farm? Check out our REDA grant.
Pest Control
Least Toxic Fly Control
Want to control flies naturally? Check out this video featuring Alayne Blickle from Horses For Clean Water.
Swallows & Bats
Interested in natural insect control? In this four-minute video, Snohomish Conservation District Farm Planner, Alan Shank, talks about the benefits of violet-green swallows, barn swallows and bats and how to attract them to your horse property.
Paddocks
Winter Paddocks
Solve mud problems and protect pastures by creating a winter paddock for your horses. In this video you'll learn the essential steps in building a paddock, choosing the right site, sizing it for your horses and keeping it dry.
Footing Choices for Paddocks
Want to choose the right footing for your horse's paddock? Check out this video with Alayne Blickle from Horses for Clean Water to get some tips!
Learn from other horseowners!
Featured Cooperator: Shannon Finch, Black Dog Ranch
Hear from landowner Shannon Finch about working with Snohomish Conservation District to install compost bins, confinement areas, fencing and complete a pond restoration project.
Robbie Johnson: Conservation Leader of the Year
Robbie is a very proactive and enthusiastic cooperator who enjoys implementing best management practices and seeing them have a positive impact on his land. This includes everything from new heavy use areas, manure bins, and renovated pastures to re-foresting 50 acres to preserve as a mixed conifer forest. He and his wife run a therapeutic horse experience for young people on their property.
Featured Cooperator: Clo Shapiro, Liberty Bell Farms
Learn how this stable keeps their 14-horse, 10-acre facility free of mud and how using an aerated compost system helps reduce the volume of manure they need to handle.
Robyn Smith: Conservation Leader of the Year
Robyn runs Equine Life Solutions, which is a facility that offers horse riding lessons and therapy near Bear Creek. She also operates a small educational farm to expose and educate at-risk youth from urban areas to natural resources and farming. Robyn met with various SCD staff and the result was the installation of a manure composting system, a rain garden, and a set of cisterns to reduce storm water runoff load to the creek and allow for the collection of rainwater on site for watering livestock.
Horses by Marriage (Featured Cooperator: Dorothy Aalseth and Earl Aalseth, DVM)
The Aalseth's both have an extensive veterinary background and their knowledge brings a unique perspective to the management of their horse property. Hear about their experiences with hogfuel versus gravel footing, french drains for mud control, and how they manage grazing for their horses.
View more of our videos on a variety of natural resource protecting practices on our YouTube channel.
