Thank you for supporting the businesses that support NWHS!

Flooring First – Barn design begins at ground level

Photo by Sara Malanaphy

Stall flooring isn’t the sexiest subject among the many considerations in building or updating a barn. But leave it to the last at your peril, counsels renowned barn architect John Blackburn. As the title of one of his most popular books, Healthy Stables by Design, suggests, Blackburn and his team … Read More

Want practical, safety‑focused horse care guidance like this?

Get it by Email

Footing Options for Confinement Areas – Gravel, Sand, and Hog Fuel are the Most Common Choices

Gravel works well particularly in wetter conditions or with more organic soils. Photo by Kim Roe

Footing is an important consideration for confinement areas. Using some type of footing, at least in the high traffic areas, will reduce mud by keeping your horse off the soil surface and avoiding erosion. Less mud equals less chance of nutrients and sediments running off and polluting surface waters, too. … Read More

Want practical, safety‑focused horse care guidance like this?

Get it by Email

The Case for Cleanliness

Horse farm owners spend a lot of time cleaning things. They pick out stalls and pens, sweep barn aisles, hay storage areas, and tack rooms; mow, rake, and weed-whack yards, mow and harrow fields, compost and spread manure piles, knock down spider webs, dust and wash stall walls, wash feed … Read More

Want practical, safety‑focused horse care guidance like this?

Get it by Email

Springtime Mud on Horse Properties

Across the Pacific Northwest many horse properties are showing the repercussions of a wet winter followed by spring precipitation. Muddy paddocks with miserable horses standing up to their ankles in filth aren’t fun for horses or their owners. Mud creates an unhealthy environment for a horse. It harbors bacterial and … Read More

Want practical, safety‑focused horse care guidance like this?

Get it by Email

Small Farm Makeover: Natural Solutions for Insect Control

Swallows Eat Thousands of Flies and Mosquitoes Daily by Alayne Blickle   Horse people love spring, but what gives us great hope of summer being just around the corner is the return of swallows to North America. Depending on where you live, you should begin seeing swallows in March and … Read More

Want practical, safety‑focused horse care guidance like this?

Get it by Email

The COVID-19 Dilemma

Information from a Veterinarian for Horse and Pet Owners COVID-19 is a term that has rapidly acquired worldwide recognition.  The seriousness of this highly contagious disease is inescapable.  The situation and information regarding COVID-19 is fast changing.  Below is recently collated information from three veterinary sources:  the American Association of … Read More

Want practical, safety‑focused horse care guidance like this?

Get it by Email

Use An Integrated Pest Management Approach To Provide Natural Fly Control for Horses

Note from NWHS Publisher: One of the best “Non-Toxic” products that I’ve found is Shoofly Leggins™. These boots are sturdy. I’ve washed mine several times and they are holding up great. It keeps those nasty biting flies from landing on their lower legs where these nasty pests like to land … Read More

Want practical, safety‑focused horse care guidance like this?

Get it by Email

Fencing to Protect Salmon

What’s Good for Salmon is Good for Horses By Michael Hipp   We’ve seen Western movies where thousands of cows are driven across a river by cowboys on horseback keeping them all in line. In these movies the rivers lack something we have here in the Pacific Northwest that makes … Read More

Want practical, safety‑focused horse care guidance like this?

Get it by Email

Farm Design Competition Winner Update

New Paddocks Make Life Better for Horses, People, and the Earth By Katie Pencke, Whatcom Conservation District   Are you a Sound Horsekeeper? Robin Probst is on her way…and her land and animals are thankful for it! As the winner of the 2018 spring Sound Horsekeeping Design Competition, Robin received … Read More

Want practical, safety‑focused horse care guidance like this?

Get it by Email

Drainage Tips for Horse Properties

Prevent a Muddy Mess on Your Farm By Alayne Blickle   Runoff from driveways, parking areas, hillsides, or even slight slopes can add significantly to the problem of managing mud in equine confinement and high traffic areas. Winter is the time of the year when rain and melting snow can … Read More

Want practical, safety‑focused horse care guidance like this?

Get it by Email

generac-home-standby-generator-banners