Sustainability in the Equestrian World

[RoughOut]

I manage a few hundred acre farm and we actually just took “sustainable” out of our marketing. We direct retail meat that we raise. Sustainable has become trendy yet hard to define.

When people ask me what it means to be sustainable I say first of all our farm needs to be financially sustainable so we can maintain this land.

If we are talking about environmental sustainability we turned corn ground into pasture which helps carbon sequestration. But managing pastures is tough and it does require use of a barn so they dont become quagmires. Which means nutrient management becomes difficult when the cattle and sheep are inside for long periods of time.

I’m hoping to be able to put up a monoslope barn and utilize a bedded pack with sawdust made from ground up pallets. Much easier to control run off!

My horse lives out with the cows or sheep most of the year but again making hay requires a lot of fuel. Though I would agree that most hay is very low input and I wouldn’t seek out organic hay specifically.

I actually dont use much that’s labelled organic but that can be another thread! Interesting topic!

[Bluey]

@Scribbler

The more I think about this, the more I think that because keeping horses is a form of agriculture, the biggest environmental impacts are going to be in your land management, and probably protecting the water table is huge. The next is going to be in petroleum and energy footprint. As many people have pointed out here, good cost saving management practises also end up often being environmentally sound. Composting manure!

From the consumer end of things, marketing clothing as “sustainable” is something I don’t fully believe. Bamboo clothing for instance is by definition rayon, and that’s messy to make and wears poorly.Organic cotton made in a sweat shop overseas? Plastic gear?

I like to buy good stuff that lasts a very long time, and second hand wherever possible.

Transportation is today about 28% of human carbon footprint:

https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/sou…-gas-emissions

Carbon sequestration is not a simple few numbers measure:

https://www.skepticalscience.com/hum…-emissions.htm

(Sorry about the source, it was the first hit that had figures.)

Horses by any measure are some of the more heavy carbon footprint activities we do.
One reason, we waste so much they could be for us as a natural resource, and add to our use of them to manage that waste.
Didn’t use to be quite as bad as it is becoming today.
Today, the resources we use to have them are a carbon footprint human luxury.

If the powers that be ever decide to crunch numbers seriously and start axing or taxing the more carbon footprint heavy human activities, horses will be right at the top.

Then, humans also have a right to exist and that brings with it it’s own right to our own carbon footprint quotas.

In the greater scheme of things, some wish this world would not have humans so we don’t leave a carbon footprint.
Then, a world without humans would serve no more purpose than a world where we are part of the whole.

As we keep learning to properly measure and so be able to manage our resources better all along, I expect we will get closer to a workable balance, for whatever time we have to do so.

[Scribbler]

It’s very hard for individuals to reduce carbon footprint when the larger systems don’t support it or don’t exist, maybe locally.

Electric vehicles are great if your power comes from hydro, not so much if you have coal powered electric plants. And there is unfortunately no electric F250 for hauling horses yet.

If a lesson kid buys an organic cotton polo top but her mom continues to drive her 45 minutes each way to lessons in the SUV, that’s not really a counterbalance.

Horses could be much lower carbon consumers if you lived on your own land near a trail head, and did pasture board. That would also be cheaper overhead. Win-win. Except that any property within commuting distance of a job around here is going to be $5 million.

[Bluey]

@Scribbler

It’s very hard for individuals to reduce carbon footprint when the larger systems don’t support it or don’t exist, maybe locally.

Electric vehicles are great if your power comes from hydro, not so much if you have coal powered electric plants. And there is unfortunately no electric F250 for hauling horses yet.

If a lesson kid buys an organic cotton polo top but her mom continues to drive her 45 minutes each way to lessons in the SUV, that’s not really a counterbalance.

Horses could be much lower carbon consumers if you lived on your own land near a trail head, and did pasture board. That would also be cheaper overhead. Win-win. Except that any property within commuting distance of a job around here is going to be $5 million.

One person that worked in predicting the future for really bit firms mentioned that in less than a dozen years practically all personal vehicles will be electric.

As you say, hauling and such may still require other, but that is where car manufacturers and government regulations, according to those predictions, are headed.

That I assume is confronting the fact of the 28% carbon footprint today being transportation.

[Scribbler]

@Bluey

One person that worked in predicting the future for really bit firms mentioned that in less than a dozen years practically all personal vehicles will be electric.

As you say, hauling and such may still require other, but that is where car manufacturers and government regulations, according to those predictions, are headed.

That I assume is confronting the fact of the 28% carbon footprint today being transportation.

Yes, that is good news. But the electric infrastructure has to be in place. My condo complex is only now putting in regulations allowing you to install a charging outlet in your parking stall.

I live in a big metropolitan area, but we transition into genuine wilderness and back country where the mountains start 100 miles east. It’s sometimes hard to even find a gas station out there! Or cell phone access.

Technology doesn’t spread everywhere at the same rate.

[Guilherme]

@Bluey

One person that worked in predicting the future for really bit firms mentioned that in less than a dozen years practically all personal vehicles will be electric.

As you say, hauling and such may still require other, but that is where car manufacturers and government regulations, according to those predictions, are headed.

That I assume is confronting the fact of the 28% carbon footprint today being transportation.

The “reality check” is going to happen in someplace like CA with a HUGE auto population, long travel distances, and a demand curve that not going to be met which will result in large scale blackouts. Even now we are seeing how poorly the CA infrastructure is faring with the Camp fire and financial situation of PG&E. Rolling blackouts during the long, hot CA summers are not unknown.

FL and TX are the other two places it could happen (but likely won’t as there is less pressure to “go electric”).

IMO the headlong rush to electric everything is going to have some unintended consequences.

G.

[Texarkana]

I think one area horse farm owners can improve sustainability is with rotational land use.

Raising “crops” in monoculture is almost always an environmental stressor, whether those “crops” are livestock (including horses) or vegetation. Rotating land use between plant crops and grazing different animal species reduces the need for fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides (including dewormer), and mechanical land treatment (mowing, tilling, etc.).

The problems include that it’s less compatible with modern society and reduces yields, making it less financially viable.

[Guilherme]

@Texarkana

I think one area horse farm owners can improve sustainability is with rotational land use.

Raising “crops” in monoculture is almost always an environmental stressor, whether those “crops” are livestock (including horses) or vegetation. Rotating land use between plant crops and grazing different animal species reduces the need for fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides (including dewormer), and mechanical land treatment (mowing, tilling, etc.).

The problems include that it’s less compatible with modern society and reduces yields, making it less financially viable.

The most important component of any “sustainability model” is money. If it doesn’t make make a profit (not just a break even) then it is, by definition, unsustainable. Population levels are such that every society must work the land as hard as possible to keep up with food demand. It will interesting to see what happens to beef and Midwest row crops prices as a result of the floods there.

G.

[Denali6298]

I think the biggest thing we can do that is immediate is not be such big consumers.

Other than that, live your life without a lot of waste. If living by buzz words makes you feel good and you have the money to pay for the label, have at it.

[amg800]

@Denali6298

I think the biggest thing we can do that is immediate is not be such big consumers.

Other than that, live your life without a lot of waste. If living by buzz words makes you feel good and you have the money to pay for the label, have at it.

I totally agree. Buying second hand, or consciously when I do need to buy new. I don’t think I would consider buying Fair Trade, "sustainably, or organic is necessarily living by buzz words. I truly do believe that as a consumer I need to be more aware of where are products are coming from. I do think it is important to ask “who made this product?” were they payed a fair wage, ect.

[Denali6298]

@amg800

I totally agree. Buying second hand, or consciously when I do need to buy new. I don’t think I would consider buying Fair Trade, "sustainably, or organic is necessarily living by buzz words. I truly do believe that as a consumer I need to be more aware of where are products are coming from. I do think it is important to ask “who made this product?” were they payed a fair wage, ect.

They are buzz words. Things mass produced in third or second world countries are cheap because of the work conditions. This has been a reality for a very long time.

Everything that absolutely has to be bought new that I buy, grooming and first aide supplies, are typically made in the US.

Everything else can be obtained used. Really, beyond consumables and helmets, what HAS to be new?

[Scribbler]

One way to ensure the maker is fairly compensated would be to buy artisan products made in North America or Europe. That way you are not personally profiting from the huge gap in economies between the developed and the developing world. You are paying the fair value of making that item in your own economy.

That would mean having your saddles and bridles, etc., built by a local small craftsman (possible in Western, not so easy in English) and having your riding clothes made by a local tailor or seamstress.

That is of course much more expensive. That’s why people had so much less stuff back when manufacturing was based in North America, and even less stuff when things were handmade. Like one pair of shoes. Because they were so expensive relative to the average person’s income. Imagine if every pair of shoes were custom hand made and cost you $1200. We sure wouldn’t have many shoes!

[Haylter]

I don’t find it really possible or practical to factor “sustainability” into my equine related purchases. Feed comes in bags or it will be spoiled, hay has to be driven by truck, supplements and medications come in plastic packaging for preservation and dosing accuracy, items need to be replaced for safety reasons, spray bottles and those plastic hose thingies break!!!, the appropriate barn is X miles from work and home etc etc. I do try and reuse/recycle what I can, but in all reality when purchasing something for the barn other than trying to buy used and high quality/long lasting for economic reasons mostly, sustainability is not a consideration.

[longlanefarm]

I agree with what some others have said regarding the difference between those who have land and those who don’t. Since moving to a 20+ acre farm from a tiny parcel of land, we have become much more conscious about what we put on our land chemical-wise, how water drains/runoff, manure management, etc. I care about where my hay comes from for my horses sake and I’m lucky in the sense that it is grown and baled in the field next door by a farmer who uses organic and sustainable practices without ever uttering such words. I’ve learned that farmers, especially the old school farmers, are some of the best conservationists around.

What I’ve personally seen is that those are the people who have been “reduce, reuse, recycling” in one way or another forever. It seems to me that the people who appear most concerned with the environment are often the ones who contribute the most to the problem. Often due to convenience. Online shopping shipped across the country, lots of plastics because vegan, out of season food because they want it, etc. etc.

Personally, I do try to make the most conscious decisions when making a purchase, including for my horses. But I find that people on farms are generally already making those choices, and they did it before it was “cool”…and they don’t talk about it.

[Denali6298]

@longlanefarm

I agree with what some others have said regarding the difference between those who have land and those who don’t. Since moving to a 20+ acre farm from a tiny parcel of land, we have become much more conscious about what we put on our land chemical-wise, how water drains/runoff, manure management, etc. I care about where my hay comes from for my horses sake and I’m lucky in the sense that it is grown and baled in the field next door by a farmer who uses organic and sustainable practices without ever uttering such words. I’ve learned that farmers, especially the old school farmers, are some of the best conservationists around.

What I’ve personally seen is that those are the people who have been “reduce, reuse, recycling” in one way or another forever. It seems to me that the people who appear most concerned with the environment are often the ones who contribute the most to the problem. Often due to convenience. Online shopping shipped across the country, lots of plastics because vegan, out of season food because they want it, etc. etc.

Personally, I do try to make the most conscious decisions when making a purchase, including for my horses. But I find that people on farms are generally already making those choices, and they did it before it was “cool”…and they don’t talk about it.

This x1000. OP this is why I say they are buzz words. I grew up on a mini farmette compared to our friends and neighbors. They all had huge farms and it was a farming town. It’s not so much any more unfortunately.

This is exactly why my eyes cross when people start talking about eco friendly or sustainability or what have you.

People who grow up in this environment just do it. It’s what we have always known and how we have been taught.

And it really comes down to consuming less. We all know someone, or are that person themselves, with more cars than drivers in the household, TVs in every room, multiple computers, just tons of stuff.

[EcoHorse]

Reducing your carbon footprint is one thing and a much bigger overall issue where you are massively reliant on what is available in the market - whatever you buy.

Even vegan leather is questionable as most of them are made of plastics and doesn’t last very long. Whereas vegetable-dyed leather is probably in our world a much more viable solution.

[Weezer]

I have chosen to put my head in the sand when my husband mentions the carbon footprint associated with my little horse farm! Since Covid I am working from home so no more driving 2.5 hrs for work every day is a significant improvement!

I was going to set up barrels to collect rain from the barn roof to water the garden until I read that the water collects impurities from the roof and should not be used for veggies or livestock - too bad!

[Weezer]

I agree!