Horses for Clean Water is a wonderful, local, educational resource. Most of their education programs/classes are free! HCW focuses on teaching horse owners and land owners better, greener, land management. I've added Horses for Clean Water on facebook, and provided a link to their blog "The Green Horse" on my side bar. Be sure to browse their Educational Events section and find classes in your area to attend!An example of HCW's class subjects is how to create a low-sugar pasture. Moving to Washington presented me with a new and deadly problem for my pasture-loving horse: founder. In the spring the grass here grows furiously. My only defense against founder was to ride my horse according to my veterinarian's instructions. "Low intensity and long duration." He said. For two months, every day, I was walking and trotting for three hours and sometimes longer. Seeing as my horse loves to run and move - I'm not willing to sacrifice his happiness by stuffing him into a stall like a jack in the box. So what do I do? Below, see HCW's solution to high-energy pastures:
Tour Cadbury Farm and its Low Sugar PasturesSaturday, March 27th, 2010 from 10:00am-Noon
"....Chore efficiency is central to the management of this facility. An ecology block compost bin collects stall waste in a highly efficient manner off one end of the barn, to be spread on the pastures later in place of commercial fertilizers..."Although I do not condone genetically engineered seeds, I'm interested in Cadbury's selection of plant types and pasture rotation methods. I'm also always fascinated by the different management styles barns and trainers have. I don't think I can miss this class!
"...This owner/trainer has a lot of experience dealing with EPSM and Insulin Resistant horses. The [subject] of pasture turn out has always been an issue for them. One way of solving pasture turn-out problems is to plant a grass blend that is also genetically engineered to support the health of metabolically compromised horses. Join us for a healthy discussion of pasture management, horse health issues and management..."
Source for logo, photo, and material is The Green Horse blog, and Horses for Clean Water website.
If you do attend the class, please post your findings. I need to know this! Thanks for the good info, I didn't know there were any solutions (besides stabling the horse).
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