Streams and Horses

[CanterForever]

Hello all! Who has a creek/stream or free-flowing body of water that either starts on your property or runs through it?

I work for a nonprofit organization in Pennsylvania that is interested in watershed health and restoration. We work primarily with the ag industry but one world we have had little experience in is the horse industry. With that being said, I’m interested to hear from you all.

What do you think about having a riparian buffer installed on your property? In your opinion, what are the benefits/drawbacks? Do you have horses that utilize said stream? And for reference, what is the rough size of the property?

The big question: Would you have a riparian buffer installed on your property if you didn’t have to pay for it and manage it?

Give me your thoughts and don’t hold back! This will be very helpful information.

[B_and_B]

Long time member of an inland wetlands commission here (Connecticut), local land trust board member, and horse owner with a wetlands area.
I’m obviously ALL for riparian buffers.
Pros: if horses are fenced out of riparian/wetland areas, better water quality, habitat etc. Horses can make a very treacherous muddy area very quickly if the bank is wetland soils, this is a health hazard for the horses (torn ligaments, tendons, lost shoes…)
Difficulties specific to horses/livestock: are the horses using the creek as their drinking water? If so, can an access point be created? Or alternative water source supplied? (can the alternate be part of the funding within reason?). If the riparian area cuts through a field, can safe fencing and crossing points be created? The plants used: a lot of plants are either toxic to or incredibly attractive to horses or both! Can the planting lists be modified to be horse specific but still ecologically sound?
Payment. We all like free things, but what is the grant process, what is the maintenance, access for maintenance, how much control over the plant list (ie those toxic things) can the horse owner have, and over the fencing being safe.
For a lot of horse owners (at least on this forum!!) safety, non toxicity are big things. And horses are, as they say, just looking for ways to kill themselves every day!

[Cowboy_Girl]

In the west these innocuous requests lead to very bad things from Federal and Stare regulatory agencies. Including trespass by said agencies, up to and including loss of use of property and fines.

[wildlifer]

I’m a freshwater biologist. So yes, my horses are fenced out of my stream’s riparian zone. Safer for the horses, safer for wildlife and habitat, safer for water supplies.

And no, protecting buffers does not “cause bad things.” Negative interactions are caused by poor communication, bad faith participants, and/or lack of clear agreements.

[Texarkana]

About 20 years ago as a college student taking courses in PA, we were volunteering with a group doing the same thing with cattle farmers.

A big consideration was installing water crossings, since while the ideal thing for the environment would be to fence the stream off entirely, many farmers rely on the water source. Same is true for horses.

A lesser consideration, but problematic in much of PA, is Potomac Horse Fever. Freshwater snails and freshwater invertebrates are the hosts. As you bring back all those wonderful freshwater invertebrates to the healthier waterway, PHF risk goes up. A good barrier between the buffer and grazing areas is critical.

[StormyDay]

@Cowboy_Girl

In the west these innocuous requests lead to very bad things from Federal and Stare regulatory agencies. Including trespass by said agencies, up to and including loss of use of property and fines.

Yes, I dealt with this in Washington state. Unfortunately sometimes the want to protect something goes so far that people get essentially punished for reporting it on their property. I know people in Washington state that filled in wetlands on their property so that the government wouldn’t find out and put protection status on it.

In Virginia the rules seem to be much more property owner friendly. They will pay for fencing if you want to put it around your stream. But it’s not forced. My friends used this to fence off a small creek from their cattle. Because the creek ran though the middle of the property they allowed a small portion that the cattle could access to cross the creek when necessary.

[Horsecrazy3]

Lower mainland, BC, Canada. Have 2 creeks, one is the beginning from several artesian springs that flow year round and another who’s water comes from the US side and dries up in the summer which use to flow year round but stopped when the US side of the creek was messed up by a botched attempt to put in a gravel pit. Fenced with a 10 meter riparian zone per embankment. Year round creek has a bridge crossing and the other is a gravel crossing that is fenced to keep the horses from traveling up/downstream. Grazing area is only used in the summer months. Not allowed to touch anything in the riparian zone without permission from the Province and Federal agencies as both creeks are listed as Class A meaning fish bearing or flow directly into a fish bearing stream. I agree protecting the riparian buffers are a good thing.

[foggybok]

My horses are not allowed near any of the water on the property. They are fenced off from all areas high on the hillside above. Preserves the hills and the water. And I don’t have to worry about stupid horses killing themselves running down the steep grade, getting stuck in shoreline mud or falling through thin ice in the winter.

I knew a place in CA that had a horrible system. They had a creek running through that went straight to the ocean and they piled their manure within 20 feet of it. All the rainwater runoff went straight into the creek. And they kept horses on the hillside next to it so they tore that all up, and the dirt all washed down there too. Was a horrible mud pit in the rainy season. Can’t believe they got away with it