Runoff from horse manure into streams and wetlands can damage the environment and reduce water quality. This is the type of horse property practice the government might aim to regulate. | Photo: Erica Larson/The Horse
The Environmental Protection Agency might not come knocking on your barn door anytime soon, but that’s no reason not to practice environmentally friendly horse stewardship
Regardless of whether you keep two horses or 20 at your farm, their grazing, stomping, and pooping is bound to impact the land at some point. But exactly what effect does your equine family—and your facility as a whole—have on the environment? And do federal environmental regulations apply to you? If you operate on a small scale, probably not, but let’s take closer look.
What kinds of things on horse properties might the government regulate? For one, “discharges (of manure) or land applications of manure as fertilizer,” says California-based environmental engineer Michael Beerends, of Conestoga-Rovers & Associates. Beerends, who aims to find agriculture and food-waste solutions for businesses, has helped several large racetracks and horse facilities comply with state and federal regulations. “Facilities need to eliminate discharges from their property if precipitation has contacted manured areas,” he says.
,"enableCustomVotingWeight":"no","votingWeights":[]},"results":{"showResultsMoment":["after-vote"],"customDateResults":"","showResultsTo":["guest","registered"],"resultsDetails":["votes-number","percentages"],"roundPercentage":"no","backToVoteOption":"yes","backToVoteCaption":"","sortResults":"as-defined","sortResultsRule":"ascending","displayResultsAs":"bar"}},"style":{"poll":{"backgroundColor":"#ffffff","borderSize":0,"borderStyle":"none","borderColor":"#ffffff","borderRadius":0,"paddingLeftRight":10,"paddingTopBottom":10},"questions":{"paddingLeftRight":0,"paddingTopBottom":10,"textColor":"#000000","textSize":16,"textWeight":"normal","textAlign":"center","labelGap":12},"answers":{"paddingLeftRight":0,"paddingTopBottom":0,"textColor":"#000000","textSize":14,"textWeight":"normal"},"buttons":{"backgroundColor":"#e11548","borderSize":0,"borderStyle":"solid","borderColor":"#ffffff","borderRadius":0,"paddingLeftRight":12,"paddingTopBottom":6,"textColor":"#ffffff","textSize":14,"textWeight":"normal","align":"center"},"errors":{"borderLeftColorForSuccess":"#008000","borderLeftColorForError":"#ff0000","borderLeftSize":10,"paddingTopBottom":0,"textColor":"#801835","textSize":12,"textWeight":"normal"}}},"total_submits":"110","total_submited_answers":"110"},"elements":[{"id":"406","poll_id":"406","etext":"How would you describe your horse
\u2019s<\/span><\/span> topline?","etype":"question-text","status":"active","sorder":"0","meta_data":{"makeRequired":"yes","allowMultipleAnswers":"no","allowOtherAnswers":"no","answersDisplay":"vertical","answersColumns":"2","answersAlign":"left","answersSort":"as-defined","multipleAnswersMinim":"","multipleAnswersMaxim":"","otherAnswersLabel":"Other","otherAnswersCount":1,"otherFieldType":"single-line","otherFieldSize":"small","otherMaxCharsAllowed":"0","addOtherAnswers":"no","displayOtherAnswersInResults":"no","resultsColorForOtherAnswers":"#058dc7"},"subelements":[{"id":"74010","poll_id":"406","element_id":"406","stext":"Strong and well-developed","stype":"text","status":"active","sorder":"0","meta_data":{"makeDefault":"0","makeLink":"0","link":"","resultsColor":"#058dc7"}},{"id":"74011","poll_id":"406","element_id":"406","stext":"Could use a little more muscle","stype":"text","status":"active","sorder":"1","meta_data":{"makeDefault":"0","makeLink":"0","link":"","resultsColor":"#ed561b"}},{"id":"74012","poll_id":"406","element_id":"406","stext":"Noticeably lacking muscle","stype":"text","status":"active","sorder":"2","meta_data":{"makeDefault":"0","makeLink":"0","link":"","resultsColor":"#50b432"}},{"id":"74013","poll_id":"406","element_id":"406","stext":"I\u2019<\/span>m not sure how to assess it","stype":"text","status":"active","sorder":"3","meta_data":{"makeDefault":"0","makeLink":"0","link":"","resultsColor":"#990000"}}]}],"total_submits":110,"messages":{"captcha":{"accessibility-alt":"Sound icon","accessibility-title":"Accessibility option: listen to a question and answer it!","accessibility-description":"Type below the [STRONG]answer[\/STRONG] to what you hear. Numbers or words:","explanation":"Click or touch the [STRONG]ANSWER[\/STRONG]","refresh-alt":"Refresh\/reload icon","refresh-title":"Refresh\/reload: get new images and accessibility option!"},"buttons":{"anonymous":"Anonymous Vote","wordpress":"Sign in with WordPress","facebook":"Sign in with Facebook","google":"Sign in with Google"},"voting":{"poll-ended":"This poll is no longer accepting votes","poll-not-started":"This poll is not accepting votes yet","already-voted-on-poll":"Thank you for your vote","invalid-poll":"Invalid Poll","no-answers-selected":"No answer selected","min-answers-required":"At least {min_answers_allowed} answer(s) required","max-answers-required":"A max of {max_answers_allowed} answer(s) accepted","no-answer-for-other":"No other answer entered","no-value-for-custom-field":"{custom_field_name} is required","consent-not-checked":"You must agree to our terms and conditions","no-captcha-selected":"Captcha is required","not-allowed-by-ban":"Vote not allowed","not-allowed-by-block":"Vote not allowed","not-allowed-by-limit":"Vote not allowed","thank-you":"Thank you for your vote","too-many-chars-for-custom-field":"Text for {custom_field_name} is too long"},"results":{"single-vote":"vote","multiple-votes":"votes","single-answer":"answer","multiple-answers":"answers"}},"date_format":"F j, Y","nonce":"41a64a2107","page_id":11309,"tracking_id":"https:\/\/thehorse.com\/111309\/federal-environmental-regulations-and-horse-farms"}
