How To Make Your Horse Barn More Sustainable
Do you want your horse barn to be a home for your animals and have a positive effect on the surrounding environment? We can help with our guide on making your horse barn more sustainable with simple and effective strategies!
Prevent Water Runoff
Unfortunately, one of the main ways that many farms and horse barns contribute to pollution and water contamination is through nonpoint source pollution. Livestock manure and other waste, such as fertilizer, can contaminate nearby waterways and groundwater. So ensure your barn has preventative measures for reducing runoff.
One strategy for preventing water runoff from barns is to plant vegetation by the stable’s wash stall to absorb and filter out chemicals and soaps that would otherwise contaminate groundwater. Some farmers and stable owners also plant rain gardens consisting of native plant clusters in shallow areas like downspouts where water frequently flows. Doing so helps capture and filter contaminants.
Pro-Tip: Green roofs are also becoming more popular for farmers and barn owners. They’re natural ways to absorb water and provide insulation on the roof through grass and vegetation.
Plastic Fencing Materials
Barn owners can also make the barn more environmentally friendly by utilizing sustainable resources like plastic fencing. A plastic fence for your horse instead of regular wood is a much more sustainable, safe, and reliable material option.
Plastic fencing can improve your horse’s quality of life since it’s easier to maintain and sturdier than wood. It creates a safer and cleaner environment for your horse. Plus, since plastic materials like HDPE make it up, it can come from recycled plastic items like milk jugs. As a result, you also help reduce plastic waste in landfills by using it.
Compost
If you’re not composting in your horse barn already, you should know it’s one of the simplest ways to make it more sustainable and is an excellent manure-management alternative. Dealing with manure isn’t anyone’s favorite part about horse barns, but it can serve a purpose. While some barn owners like to spread it as fertilizer over pastures without doing anything to it, that can be hazardous because parasites and pathogens can proliferate in the manure.
Composting is the better manure-management strategy, as it creates nutrient-rich fertilizer while also killing most parasite eggs and pathogens for a cleaner and safer stable. Composting also helps reduce the fly population that can infest barns when raw manure is around. Not to mention, composted fertilizer is better for pasture soil.
Plant Native Vegetation
If you help the environment, the environment can also help you! Another way to make your horse barn more sustainable is by surrounding it with more natural plant vegetation. Native shrubs, trees, and flowers frequently get lost due to land development, but you can help natural vegetation survive by surrounding your horse barn with them.
Natural vegetation isn’t just for show—it also offers advantages to horse barns because it attracts more birds that eat insects and other pests and provides windbreaks and privacy buffers for your horses and barn. Planting natural shrubbery and foliage around your horse barn makes it more sustainable and beautiful!
