Best Management Practices
Help Horse Owners Conserve Our Natural Resources

A watershed is a valley or system of depressions that water drains through and eventually follows into the ocean. King County has six major watersheds all of which originate in the Cascade Mountains. They each drain through a system of creeks and rivers and eventually empty into the Puget Sound. The quality of water in local streams, lakes and the Puget Sound effects and is effected by all people in King County. "Non-point" pollution - run-off from homes, streets, parking lots, farms, and forests - eventually reaches the water in one form or another through street drains, streams and waterways. This runoff may include oils, chemicals, sediments, septic tank wastes or animal waste. No matter where we live, the runoffs we produce each day effect the quality of water in Puget Sound, and eventually the quality of life we enjoy in King County. As horse owners, we need to be aware of how we impact the environment and take the necessary steps to minimize this impact. The end result will help preserve the equestrian way of life that each of us enjoys in our own community.

Horse manure in streams and wetlands causes a heavy impact on the environment. It clouds the water and the high nutrient content causes an unbalanced vegetation growth. This lowers the water quality and creates a poor environment for fish and other wildlife. Even if you don't have a stream on your property, contaminated runoffs from manure and soil erosion can eventually make their way into a local lake or creek. Poor management of horses can cause other damage to the environment such as eroded stream banks and slopes, overgrazed pastures, compaction of soil, and weed invasion.

The King Conservation District, in accordance with USDA Soil Conservation Service standards, has developed a series of Best Management Practices, or BMPs, for farmers. Working with farmers is something conservation districts across the country have been doing since the 50's. The KCD is not a part of the county government as its name suggests. Instead, it is a subdivision of the State of Washington charged with activities relating to the conservation of the state's renewable natural resources.

Implementing BMPs has demonstrated dramatic results in improving water quality and reducing soil erosion. Some examples of BMPs that we as horse owners can implement include:

Creating a sacrifice area (winter paddock) to be used during the rainy season or when your pastures are becoming overgrazed. This area should be on higher ground and away from wetlands. Using a sacrifice area keeps horses from destroying pastures. It also confines the wastes to an area surrounded by grass strips or pastures which can act as a filter for the contaminated runoff Using hogfuel or wood chips in a sacrifice area will help cut down on mud problems and have the added benefit of helping breakdown the nitrogen in the horse urine and manure. Installing rain gutters and roof runoff systems on barns or sheds to divert rainwater away from sacrifice areas. This will reduce the amount of animal waste washed from the sacrifice areas and it will prevent clean rainwater from becoming contaminated by manure. This also has the added benefit of reducing the amount of water, and thus mud, in your sacrifice area. Cross fencing pastures and rotating animals in order to keep pastures from becoming overgrazed and compacted. At least three inches of lea material is needed for rapid regrowth and for the biofiltration of animal wastes. Compaction of the soil makes water filtration and plant growth very difficult. A lack of good pasture management results in poor grass stands, soil erosion, nitrogen runoff and increased feed costs. Keeping horses off saturated and rain soaked pastures during the rainy season. Pastures in the Northwest simply cannot survive continuous grazing and trampling in the winter months when they are saturated with water. Covering manure storage facilities to prevent rainwater from leaching the nitrogen from the manure pile and reaching waterways. The covering can be as simple as a tarp or sheet of plastic over your manure pile. In the late spring and summer, when the ground is no longer soggy, the manure can be applied as a fertilizer to your growing grasses. Manure mixed with bedding material (shavings), sand or other material also makes an excellent exercise surface in covered riding arenas.  Keeping fill, especially manure and garbage, out of wetlands and wet meadows. These areas serve as natural filters for water moving into our streams and groundwater supply. They can not function properly when they are clogged with debris. Fencing off streams to limit livestock access. The direct input of animal waste and sedimentation into streams degrades the water quality and destroys the aquatic environment. Horses and other livestock tend to trample down streamside vegetation of trees and undergrowth. These plants are nature's filter system for contaminants from runoff They also help prevent soil erosion and provide food and shelter for fish and other aquatic wildlife. The overhead canopy that trees provide also keeps the water cool. When these natural elements are destroyed a toxic environment is created for fish and other stream life (cool water carries more oxygen than hot water which benefits fish). 

In this age of more and more urbanization, we as horse owners need to consider the impact we are making on our neighbors and the environment. Are we contributing to a lower water quality in our watershed, creating an eyesore and a fly haven? Or is our horse operation pleasing to look at, healthy for our horses and a home for wildlife? We need to take the steps toward becoming an asset to our community, and not a detriment.

Your conservation district can help you with what to do with your current backyard manure pile, how to reestablish a healthy pasture in one that's been overgrazed, what to do about weeds, and what grasses grow best in your soils. These are the kinds of things a conservation district can help you with -- for free and with no obligations.

If you are interested in implementing BMPs and would like to contact your conservation district for help call the Soil Conservation Service. In every county in the United States conservation districts work hand-in-hand with the SCS. Your local SCS office will be able to tell you the name, location and phone number of your conservation district. You can find the number for the SCS listed in the phone book under federal government, US Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. If you live in King County you can reach the King Conservation District in Renton at 425-226-4867.

Do your part as a responsible horse owner to protect your watershed, the environment, and the equestrian way of life in your community!

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