On different note (I had a convo with a coach about this today), I was told that spreading your OWN muck-heap on your OWN fields isn't good (Makes keeping worms at bay difficult). Do you have a reallysuperawesomeironclad worming progamme, or do your horses do just fine anyway?
I'm not very eco-friendly really. I take the bus a lot and recycle most stuff. My collage has a recycling system in place, with all the different bins and a severe talking to for not using them. And they bag and sell all their manure (But that's just buisness innit?). My own yard isn't particularly eco-friendly either, although I did get given out to for cold-hosing my horses leg 'cause of the environment' (?).
Nice topic though, I like the rainwater collecting thing!
I hadn't heard anything about problems with worming, though it's an interesting thought. I do have a pretty swell worming program (if I do say so myself), and we don't spread on pasture - we have a lot of acreage that is for hacking and hay production (we don't do our own hay; our neighbor round-bales it for his cattle).
When we built a new barn a few years ago we worked with a local company that recovers lumber and other building supplies from projects that would otherwise send them to a landfill. About 90% of our barn and round pen are re-used lumber. (I have to say it gives the barn certain oddities though, like a door that doesn't like to latch without really slamming it while lifting UP.)
We use fly predators too, and have for awhile. I've experimented with making my own fly spray and didn't find it worked very well, so we switched to something approved by our state's organic food association to be used on cows raised for beef. Worked better...
Manure tends to go to people's gardens...
I have to say, I'd really love to be able to answer this question by saying "and my horse has replaced my car." How awesome would it be to ride that much and use gasoline that little?
Cool about the reused lumber! I saw an article in USEF's magazine not too long ago about some barn builders who used the side of old computers for the walls of their indoor. Seriously!
My barn: -purchases fly pretadors -grows their own hay(which is also SUPER helpful with board costs) and feeds roundbales. -spread the manure on the hay fields, so essentially re-using the hay we've fed to fertilize hay to be eaten ;) -my trainer purchases flyspray by the gallon and splits the cost in board, that way we don't have 80 billion different bottles/formulas/chance for leaks/ect. -employ a barn cat staff in attempts to rid the area of pests...when they decide to actually do their job. -use pipes(like the kind used for oil drilling) in place of wood planks on the pastures. Super easy maintainence and eliminates continued purchasing of wood planks. -do pony laundry(winter blankets mostly) in an industrial washer at trainer's friends eventing barn. -in the summer, hang pads/polos/ect on the clothes line. -we also; save bailing twine and re-use it for everthing! -oh and we have a compost pile -and and and and we use peat moss instead of straw or shavings.
I don't want to be mean or start anything here and I don't mean to be rude but it is my understanding that peat moss is a slow growing basically non renewable resource, and once peat is harvested the bogs, which are home to many endemic species, are changed forever. So I personally would not see peat as a green alternative.
Although I suppose one could make a similar argument about harvesting wood and killing slow growing tree species....often times there really is not one clear correct answer
I haven't really been able to be very green at the place I was before. I'm hoping to get some more tips on how to be green when you're just a boarder (instead of a barn owner or trainer) from this thread.
I know I will be making my own fly spray. I'm also good at taking care of my saddle pads to make sure they don't have to be washed excessively. I do buy mostly locally and check to see that what I'm using on my horse is environmentally friendly. For example, I purchased natural soaps instead of the common shampoo, because the ingredients are all, obviously, natural. Plus, I had it recommended to me because it washes out easily and therefore uses less water when washing the pony.
This is an awesome thread, I'm picking up lots of things to improve on! :)
- Use Equine Fresh bedding, which is minimal on waste & lasts forever - Use Fly Predators (my mom and our horses were totally in one of the ads once, lolol) - Had our barn built partly from salvaged lumber - Compost manure - Buy local hay only - Use CFLs instead of fluorescent bulbs wherever we can - Wash our blankets at a local laundromat and hang them outside to dry - Use bad/old/donated hay as an anchor for grass seed on our gross, bright red clay ground - Recycle our feed bags either typically or as (biodegradable!) trash bags - Save runoff water for washing things - Save and reuse baling twine, of course!
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I'm not very eco-friendly really. I take the bus a lot and recycle most stuff. My collage has a recycling system in place, with all the different bins and a severe talking to for not using them. And they bag and sell all their manure (But that's just buisness innit?). My own yard isn't particularly eco-friendly either, although I did get given out to for cold-hosing my horses leg 'cause of the environment' (?).
Nice topic though, I like the rainwater collecting thing!
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We use fly predators too, and have for awhile. I've experimented with making my own fly spray and didn't find it worked very well, so we switched to something approved by our state's organic food association to be used on cows raised for beef. Worked better...
Manure tends to go to people's gardens...
I have to say, I'd really love to be able to answer this question by saying "and my horse has replaced my car." How awesome would it be to ride that much and use gasoline that little?
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-purchases fly pretadors
-grows their own hay(which is also SUPER helpful with board costs) and feeds roundbales.
-spread the manure on the hay fields, so essentially re-using the hay we've fed to fertilize hay to be eaten ;)
-my trainer purchases flyspray by the gallon and splits the cost in board, that way we don't have 80 billion different bottles/formulas/chance for leaks/ect.
-employ a barn cat staff in attempts to rid the area of pests...when they decide to actually do their job.
-use pipes(like the kind used for oil drilling) in place of wood planks on the pastures. Super easy maintainence and eliminates continued purchasing of wood planks.
-do pony laundry(winter blankets mostly) in an industrial washer at trainer's friends eventing barn.
-in the summer, hang pads/polos/ect on the clothes line.
-we also; save bailing twine and re-use it for everthing!
-oh and we have a compost pile
-and and and and we use peat moss instead of straw or shavings.
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Although I suppose one could make a similar argument about harvesting wood and killing slow growing tree species....often times there really is not one clear correct answer
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The reason I included peat moss as a green alternative=more absorbancy and not having to change it as often as say straw or shavings.
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Many worries, it should not be used.:)
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I know I will be making my own fly spray. I'm also good at taking care of my saddle pads to make sure they don't have to be washed excessively. I do buy mostly locally and check to see that what I'm using on my horse is environmentally friendly. For example, I purchased natural soaps instead of the common shampoo, because the ingredients are all, obviously, natural. Plus, I had it recommended to me because it washes out easily and therefore uses less water when washing the pony.
This is an awesome thread, I'm picking up lots of things to improve on! :)
Reply
- Use Equine Fresh bedding, which is minimal on waste & lasts forever
- Use Fly Predators (my mom and our horses were totally in one of the ads once, lolol)
- Had our barn built partly from salvaged lumber
- Compost manure
- Buy local hay only
- Use CFLs instead of fluorescent bulbs wherever we can
- Wash our blankets at a local laundromat and hang them outside to dry
- Use bad/old/donated hay as an anchor for grass seed on our gross, bright red clay ground
- Recycle our feed bags either typically or as (biodegradable!) trash bags
- Save runoff water for washing things
- Save and reuse baling twine, of course!
Yay for Earth Day!
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