 May 2008 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The official newsletter of Horses for Clean Water, http://www.horsesforcleanwater.com
Message from Alayne: The “Tingle Test”Years ago, while still in graduate school, a good friend introduced me to what he called the “tingle test”—how he evaluated whether a new idea was something he wanted to pursue. Basically, if every time he revisited his new idea he would get goose bumps, well then, his new idea passed the tingle test. To this day I still use the tingle test when I want to evaluate a new idea of mine. I’ll give something a thought, then pack it away for a few days, only to run it out again a few days later and see if it still passes my tingle test. If it continues to do so, then I figure I’m ready to follow my heart. That is how I came up with my the idea for Matt and me and the horses to pack it up and move.
In past issues and messages I have shared with you my excitement in learning new things. The time seems right to explore this in more depth; in Australian terms, I am ready for a “walk-a-bout.” I am ready to take a leap, a BIG leap. Matt and I have lived in Western Washington for 20 years, but for the past 5 years I’ve had the bug to search for a new place to reside. Matt would love to become an ex-patriot and move north to join our northern hockey-playing, horse-loving Canadian neighbors. But colder climes are not in the cards for me, so I’ve been on the lookout for that just-right new location—a combination of more sun, fewer crowds, rangeland, but still with pastures for the horses (that means irrigation!), and open lands to trail ride. While driving back from the Arizona show last March, we drove through Idaho. I had been to Idaho many times, but something this time inspired me to take a critical look: blue skies, mountains, rangeland climate, warmer summers, less crowds... I realized it had many of the components I was searching for. So I began working on my next task of convincing Matt to pack up and move away. We would like to move to Southwestern Idaho and have a small ranch of sorts. I plan to continue HCW work, but hope to add some new twists such as holding 2-3 day workshops that include trail riding, retreats and get-a-ways. Along with HCW themes, these might feature guest speakers or clinicians, be cowgirl retreats geared towards women, or be about reining or other aspects horsemanship and riding. I have a small-scale guest ranch/horse motel idea in mind. Maybe boarding, too. I am hopeful that friends and HCW contacts will stay in touch and come visit (hint, hint!) All this is a tall order so we’ll see how it pans out. Both Matt and I intend to continue work in the Puget Sound area “virtually.” And I can only imagine that we will always think of Western Washington as “home.” Change is never easy, but it can be therapeutic and stimulating—and all this still passes my tingle test! I am eager to learn new things and put HCW principles to work in a different climate and area—and I look forward to sharing what I learn with my HCW audience. YOU are a big part of this and I have no plans of saying goodbye to you! :-) In the meantime, if anyone is looking for a beautiful 10-acre conservationally managed, environmentally friendly horse farm that comes with its own herd of elk and is situated close to 160 acres of state land with great trail riding nearby—you know who to contact! P.S. - Let me know what you think of my ideas and stay tuned for updates!
Low Cost Options to Buying New Farm Equipment
With costs of fuel and feed rising so dramatically these days, owning horse property and considering things like pasture management, composting manure and paddock management are probably making your head spin. Even for one or two horses on a small place there is a great deal of basic equipment one can accumulate, from hand-powered implements to tractors and assorted attachments. But hold on, because things don’t need to be exorbitant. In this article we’ll cover simple, cost-effective alternatives to purchasing new equipment that will help you get your chores accomplished. For the few times a year that you use some pieces of equipment, it makes sense to find a cheaper way to acquire versus buying new. Your first option is to buy used. Check out the ag and farming/ranching side of life in your neck of the woods. Start by browsing the weekly papers dedicated solely to classified ads. They usually have farm, horse, equipment and tractor sections. Maybe you have a regional ag-related newspaper you could subscribe to, such as the Capitol Press in the Pacific Northwest. The equipment classifieds section in this paper would be a good place to periodically scan with your shopping list in mind. Check around for equipment auctions usually held at local livestock auction yards—ask horse friends or at feed stores for the names and location of these places. Talk with your horse friends, neighbors, farrier or vet about the equipment you want—they may know of a friend-of-a-friend who is getting out of horses, moving or has farm implements to sell. Also watch the paper for listings on estate sales or farm sales.
Renting equipment is another option that can save you the headache of maintenance and storage. Many equipment rental facilities have all sorts of farm implements for rent. If they don’t have what you want, they may be interested in acquiring it especially if you can make a case for them on usefulness. Borrowing from friends, neighbors or family is another option. If you don’t like the something-for-nothing idea, consider a trade or barter approach. Trade something you have in exchange for something you need. For example, trade some of your firewood for the use of a pasture harrow. If you have extra pasture, trade grazing privileges with a neighbor short on pasture for use of their posthole digger and fencing equipment. Or trade a day of your labor for use of the neighbor’s riding mower. Cooperative purchases are another option. If you belong to a horse club or another farming organization you work with, perhaps the club might like to go in on the purchase of a piece of equipment that everyone could make use of. This could even be between horsey neighbors. Issues like maintenance, storage and liability should be worked out and agreed upon beforehand. Examples of cooperative purchases could be a manure spreader or fencing equipment. Check with your local conservation district to see if they have any equipment they loan out. Many districts now have manure spreaders that can be borrowed for free, as well as weed pullers, soil augers (for getting a soil sample for a soil test), temporary fencing kits, forage core sampler and other equipment which they loan out. Don’t forget to consider building your own. Some implements are simple to make yourself! The harrow can be made from chain link fencing or and old boxspring from a bed. Throw an old-fashioned work party! Invite horsey buddies over for a fence building or pasture renovation project. You supply the barbeque and they supply different pieces of equipment and labor. When all else fails, consider hiring. When you consider how much it costs to purchase, maintain and store equipment it might turn out to be most cost effective to just hire out. A farmer or other experienced person who has the equipment and expertise to do the work can do so quickly and well. Examples include building fences, mowing pastures, spraying weeds, liming and spreading compost. Check with your local conservation district, neighbors and horse friends for recommendations and look for ads in your local papers. One more reminder: the more useful and easy-to-use your equipment is, the more likely you are to accomplish your chores and projects. To expedite the process further, plan to keep tools and equipment stored in an area central to your farm and projects. Good luck and good horsekeeping to you!
Book Review: Trail Riding and Horse Camping BooksIf you are interested in trail riding, horse camping, or endurance riding (my passion that I hope to return to some day), the following books are helpful and interesting. You might check with your local horse club’s library, public library, or you can purchase them through these Amazon.com links and help support Horses For Clean Water programs and services (like this newsletter).
Summer Pasture Management ScheduleMAY: Implement rotational grazing systemNever graze below 3" and don’t allow grass plants to go to seed. Fertilize. Spread 1/4" to 1/2" layer of compost or commercial fertilizer at rate recommended by your local conservation district. Mow weeds and tall grasses. Harrow manure in grazed pastures after rotating grazing areas. JUNE: Rotate livestock on pasturesGraze to 3" or 4", remove animals, mow, harrow. Wait until pastures re-grow to between 6" and 8" before re-grazing. Mow and clip weeds and tall grasses. Harrow to spread manure after rotating livestock. JULY: Rotate livestockInspect for weeds. Contact your conservation district office for help with identification and control methods. Continue harrowing to distribute manure and clipping tall grasses. Repair and/or build winter confinement areas and covered manure storage areas. AUGUST: Conduct soil testTake samples and send in for analysis (if not already done in spring). Continue to rotationally graze, mow, and harrow. Finish winter confinement areas and covered manure/compost storage system. SEPTEMBER: FertilizeSpread compost 1/4 " to 1/2" thick or use commercial fertilizer and spread at rate recommended by your conservation district. Finalize preparations for winter confinement areas. Order any needed additional footing. Continue to rotate livestock and mow and harrow. Check gutters, downspouts, and outlets.
Your Questions on Composting AnsweredHi Alayne! I met you a couple of years ago while you were teaching classes in the San Juan Islands. I now live in Oregon, and have a 14-acre ranch. Composting is becoming very important to me so I purchased HCW’s Tip Sheet 5 Easy Steps to Compost, but have a couple of questions: Q: Is the set-up dependent at all on the sun? Morning or afternoon sun?A: No, it is not dependant on the sun in any way. In fact most commercial composting is done inside buildings. Beneficial microbes create the heat as a byproduct of their metabolic process. Q: I have 3 horses, (possibly 4 in the near future), so I will do a 3 bin. I have an idea that instead of the bins being a straight line, can they be made like a square form, back to back with a shared wall (16' long)?A: Great idea—go for it! I always encourage creativity and chore efficiency! And be sure to send me a photo of what you decide to do! Q: I bed two horses pretty heavily (about 5") and remove about one large wheel barrow full each day of poop/shavings. Also, my paddocks are wood chips, some of which inevitably stick to the manure and end up in the compost pile. In the Tip Sheet it mentioned that wood products take longer to compost. How much longer do you think?A: If the ratio of shavings to manure is high it might take a very long time (from 6 months to several years). Another option is that your compost may end up more like a “mulch” (a woody product) vs. compost. If it is mostly woody, be sure to only use it as a beauty bark landscaping type product. I would not recommend spreading it on pastures as it may leach out nitrogen from the soil (because the carbon-based product will need nitrogen to break down), thus robbing nitrogen from your pasture’s grass plants. An alternative is to bed less, using an more absorbent-type bedding, and only use a litter or dusting of bedding across the stall. This technique works best with rubber stall mats. Q: Why a four foot tall pile? I understand 3' just doesn't compost well, what if 5' tall?A: Anything 3' or taller with work, but you need a minimum of 3 cubic feet to generate heat. Q: What should the floor of the compost bin be made of? Earth? Or do I need cement /wood?A: Either dirt or cement will work, but cement is recommended for use with a tractor to avoid tearing up the ground with tires. Q: Do you recommend the tarp (for a cover) to be the cloth kind or plastic?A: Anything waterproof will work fine, but usually tarps are made of woven plastic. The cover can be a roof, too. Q: Does the 4th side need to be boarded/sided too? Most of the pictures show it opened.A: It can be boarded. Many times boards are added across the front as the material in the bin accumulates and the pile gets bigger. Q: At what stage do you insert the perforated PVC pipes into the pile?A: Anytime you want to get air into the center—so whatever is easiest! Thanks for humoring me by answering these question and I’m looking forward to hearing back from you! Cat You are very welcome!
Educational EventsSpring your horse property into summer with great ways to manage pastures, tips on composting, ideas for insect control and more. Check out the web site, www.HorsesforCleanWater.com, for new events added regularly.
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If you have any questions or would like to submit an article for publication in The Green Horse, please e-mail info@horsesforcleanwater.com. |
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