Q:
I recently moved and now that my horses have been in their paddocks a while the dirt has turned to powder. I’ve installed feed bins so they are not eating it and I wet it down daily however it dries out quickly and is extremely dusty. What can I mix with this powder to eliminate this dusty situation? I’m thinking of putting gravel into their shelters. Thank you.
A:
Dust in the summer becomes mud in the winter. Come winter all those bare dusty spots will likely turn into mud so you do want to tackle this problem now. Fortunately, there are some low-tech solutions for avoiding dust and soil erosion: cover bare spots with some type of footing. Where you can, growing something to hold onto the soil is the best solution. This might be dryland grass (species of grass that are tolerant to low levels of rainfall) in the non-irrigated areas. In areas where you get rainfall or irrigation it might be trees, shrubs or native plants. If it’s pasture, then plant pasture grasses.
For sacrifice areas, like paddocks and turnouts, cover with some type of crushed rock or other footing material — gravel, sand or chipped wood — wherever possible.
For more specifics you might check my Horses for Clean Water website. I have lots of resource materials there as well as Tip Sheets for sale for a small fee on different topics, including footing choices.
– Alayne Blickle
Alayne Blickle began in the 1990’s as a pioneer in water conservation and natural resources conservation by creating the entrepreneurial consulting business, Horses for Clean Water, an award-winning internationally acclaimed education program that looks for horse-healthy, nature-based solutions to land management challenges. She continues this work today partnering with agencies, organizations, and horse owners throughout North America and worldwide. She is a regularly contributing writer and photojournalist to several equine publications.
Alayne lives with her horse trainer husband, Matt Livengood, in southwestern Idaho where they raise and train AQHA horses and mustangs on their eco-friendly horse ranch. Contact her through the Horses for Clean Water website or through their ranch website Sweet Pepper Ranch.
For more information contact Alayne at [email protected] or 206-909-0225.
