Horse News & Views - March 2006

Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs

Ontario Association of Equine Practitioners

• Horses are very environmentally friendly and they are rarely a source of, or concern for, groundwater contamination. To help prevent groundwater contamination, horse owners should:
  • Refrain from using porous floors in stalls when the subsoil is gravel, sand or light loam.
  • Maintain high volumes of bedding to absorb all urine. Sand-lined stalls could potentially allow for urine to leach into the porous subsoil and affect the groundwater.
  • Ensure that all wash water used on horses or to clean stalls is directed away from field tiles and water courses.
  • Ensure that run-off and water from eavestroughs is directed away from manure storage areas.
  • Maintain buffer strips of grass between winter pasture areas and waterways to prevent contamination of streams.
  • Provide water bowls and/or water tanks year round, rather than depending on ponds/streams as water sources for horses.
  • Maintain low stocking densities (1 horse per acre or more). With higher stocking densities, special considerations, such as frequent manure pickup in fields and pastures, may be required.
• A horse produces 3/4 to 1 cubic foot of manure per day, in addition to an equal amount of bedding. Plan for 2 cu. feet of storage space per horse per day, with a 250-day storage period. This means that a minimum of 144 sq. feet of storage space, 3-4 feet high, will be needed per horse per year. With proper composting, this volume can be reduced to half.

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