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The following are generalized recommendations for the environmental management of horse farms. Our office can provide site specific recommendations on a site by site basis. These specific recommendations will address any sediment and erosion control issues in addition to water quality concerns.

Roof Runoff Management

Install gutters and downspouts on all buildings. Downspouts should be directed into drywells or stormwater chambers.

Sacrifice Area

Create a sacrifice area (or drylot) that will serve as your horses’ outdoor living space. Note that multiple drylots may be required in order to accommodate differences in horse social behavior. Sacrifice areas are used in order to protect pastures from overuse at critical times, i.e., winter months, wet soils, and times of slow pasture re- growth. Sacrifice areas should be located on well-drained soils. Typically wood chips, gravel or sand can be used as footing material. For extremely troublesome areas it may be necessary to lay a geotextile fabric down and then 6-8 inches of footing material on top. A vegetated grass buffer of at least 15 feet wide should be maintained around the sacrifice area to act as a filter for any runoff leaving the area.

Pasture Management

“As a general rule, pasture quality can easily be maintained with stocking rates of 2 or more acres per horse with limited management. Higher stocking rates can be obtained by limiting the time that horses are allowed to graze and by rotating grazing pastures.” Source: Rutgers Cooperative Extension, Agricultural Management Practices for

Commercial Equine Operations. See this publication for further information regarding

stocking rates for a pasture based management regime.

Maintain pasture productivity by controlling the number of horses and the amount of time they spend in each pasture. If necessary, divide existing pastures into smaller areas to facilitate grazing in rotation. The movement of horses onto and off paddocks at critical times will prevent the formation of bare areas and allow for sustainable pasture growth.

Pasture Management cont.

When grazing cool season grasses, grazing should begin when the grasses reach about 8 inches in height. The animals should be removed from the paddock when the grasses have been grazed down to a height of 3-4 inches. Pasture grass should never be grazed below this height because it will diminish the root reserves of the plant and as a result the plants will decline in vigor.

Please note that it is also possible to maintain horses on a drylot regime. Please see the publication titled, Agricultural Management Practices for Commercial Equine

Operations, for an explanation of this type of management.

Manure Management & Storage

Manure must be removed from sacrifice areas and stalls regularly and either stored in a proper facility or composted. The base of the manure storage or compost area should be impervious to prevent leaching of nutrients into the groundwater. Manure on pastures can either be removed or dragged (spread out on the pasture) periodically. Manure disposal options include removal from the farm by a hauler, direct land application or compost. Manure that is to be hauled off site should be stored in an appropriately sized dumpster.

Manure pile areas should be utilized to temporarily store manure for later use (i.e., land application). Locate manure on a firm, flat (or slightly sloped) impervious surface in a dry area away from wetlands. Runoff water should be diverted away from the pile and any leachate leaving the pile should be filtered over a grass buffer. Ideally the pile area should be covered (with a tarp or other means) to exclude precipitation and minimize leachate. The addition of a buck wall will aid in unloading material from the pad. It is recommended to screen the manure pile area with trees in an attempt to minimize odors.

When spreading manure on fields or pasture it is crucial to apply only what the crop requires when it is needed. This is accomplished by conducting a soil and manure analysis and knowing the fertility recommendation for the crop. In order to minimize runoff it is wise to lightly incorporate the manure.

Source: Rutgers Cooperative Extension, Agricultural Management Practices for Commercial Equine Operations

Compost Facility

In the case of larger horse operations that wish to compost their manure on-site, a more formal composting facility may be needed. This type of facility will require grading the land to provide a 1-2% slope. The installation of a non-woven geotextile and 6-8 inches of compacted gravel or RCA (recycled concrete aggregate) on top of that is suggested. The compost pad should be large enough to form windrows but also to store the raw material as well as the finished product. All oncoming runoff must be diverted away from the pad and runoff leaving the pad itself should be filtered over a grass filter strip. It is recommended to screen the compost pad with trees in an attempt to minimize odors.

Filter Strip

Separate barns, paddocks and manure storage areas from any waterway or wetland with buffer strips of vegetation. This will filter sediments and absorb nutrients in runoff. The recommended minimum width of a buffer strip is 15 feet.

These recommendations have been prepared in cooperation with