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It’s Vacation Time!

Summer time often means vacation time! Setting up your place to be chore-efficient with these tips will help your caretaker properly take care of your horses, and will help you relax on your trip.... Read More

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Make the Right Choices for Gates on Your Horse Property

Having the right gate is another key towards being chore efficient. There is nothing more irritating than not being able to get equipment or deliveries into a area because a gate is too small or you have to walk “the long way” around a pasture every time you want to put horses out or bring horses in.... Read More

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Recycling Down on the Farm

Looking for ways to trim your horse budget? Besides helping the environment and being “green,” another benefit of recycling is it saves money! It can reduce your trash bill, offer you free or low-cost horsey items, improve your pasture (as with the use of compost) so that you have more forage and less hay bills… the opportunities are endless! Recycling and using recycled products at home and on the... Read More

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Spring is Weed Control Time!

Believe it or not, it’s already time to talk about weed control. Getting a handle on weeds early in the spring is the most cost-effective, chore-effective way of dealing with these persistent nuisances. First off, good pasture management is the best weed control there is. Healthy grass will prevent weeds from becoming established and also keep horses from being tempted to nibble on weeds when they... Read More

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Dealing with Dust

While it may seem a little early to be thinking about dust, mud in the winter becomes dust in the summer. If you had muddy spots this past winter, that might mean you’re getting lined up for dust bowls this summer. The good news is that it’s still early enough in most parts of North America to deal with dust. Control dust by planting grass in bare areas now. Do you recall what happen during the 1930s... Read More

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Spreading Compost

It’s that exciting time of the year when grass is starting to turning green and we’re itching to get our horses back out on pasture. Once soils are no longer saturated and while we still have some spring rains ahead of us, do your horses and your pasture a favor by spreading compost. The nutrients, organic material and beneficial bacteria and fungi in the compost will help your grass plants become... Read More

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Put Native Birds to Work for Free, Natural Insect Control: Swallows

One of my favorite times of year is the March/April timeframe when swallows begin returning. These pretty little birds provide us with hours of entertainment with their graceful flight acrobatics as they dart about catching insects. But these birds are not only fun to watch, they also provide us with excellent insect control – one swallow can consume many thousands of insects per day! In this day and... Read More

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Manage Surface Flows

Like you, here at Sweet Pepper Ranch we are always working on some project. This week we’re working on drainage issues that need to be resolved before we begin putting in trees, shrubs, lawn and other landscaping around the barn and horse facilities. Once we finished building our new guest barn this winter, Matt and I kept a careful eye on surface flows around it. During heavy rains we watched where... Read More

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Native Birds for Insect and Rodent Control: American Kestrels

As horse owners, we often wrongly believe we are destined to “put up” with flies and insects as well as rodent infestations. Other times we become so frustrated with the situation that we resort to chemical warfare, potentially adding unnecessary and harmful toxins to the environment. This week at Sweet Pepper Ranch we took a step towards a least-toxic rodent and bug control method: we put up our first... Read More

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Slow Feeders

As I talked about last week, boredom for horses can cause health issues such as weight gain, ulcers, stall vices (chewing, pawing, weaving), bickering or fighting between horses, and even colic. Last week I talked a bit about horse toys. This week I’m going to cover another option to help deal with boredom: slow feeders. Slow feeders are a novel approach to feeding horses. In my travels while doing... Read More

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About This Blog

Smart Horsekeeping aims to provide practical advice for managing horses in a more environmentally friendly way, and on navigating difficult economic times as a hands-on horse owner. Our bloggers believe it’s possible to keep horses in an environmentally savvy way without breaking the bank!

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