Environmental Impacts of Equine Operations

This projects involves two aspects of equine operations: manure handling and a comparison of footing materials. Proper manure handling and disposal is a special concern for the horse owners operating on small acreage in close proximity to neighbors and water bodies. Rather than a liability however, horse manure can be a valuable asset to equine facilities. In this project we will evaluate two simple low cost aerated static composting systems for typical small acreage horse and/or livestock operations. Establishment of sacrifice lots are crucial to pasture management in horse farms. Sacrifice/exercise area is a small paddock where horses are confined during the rainy season or when pastures are not growing actively to prevent overgrazing and trampling. Footing is an important consideration for sacrifice areas and various footing materials has its own pros and cons. In this project we will evaluate various footing materials and provide the cost of operation and materials for each used material.