The first time I saw the before-and-after photos from Alayne Blickle’s “green” farm in Washington state, I was aghast with the realization that not every stable area had to turn into a miry pit of boot-sucking mud during rainy months. I just figured this was an unavoidable reality, and that the house’s mud room would be exactly that until the ground dried out again. Other things I’d never really thought about were the initial reasons for these improvements: Horses and their keeping can impact nearby water sources (via waste and soil/sediment runoff) and non-horsey communities (with wafting odors or airborne pests). I also learned that a side effect of preventing/solving these issues is a more chore-efficient barn area with healthier, happier horses.

Suffice it to say, I became such a fan of Alayne (who wrote our cover story this month, on page 20), her practices, and her little plot of horse-keeping utopia that when I heard she was moving to another state, I was disappointed! But I was also hopeful that the new owners would be as responsible stewards of the land as Alayne and her husband, Matt, were.

But the Blickles’ progress toward a better barn area has continued. When Alayne began blogging for us last year on “Smart Horse Keeping,” she and her husband had just moved shop to Nampa, Idaho, where they have been transforming Sweet Pepper Ranch into an eco-sensitive horse facility. We’ve been fortunate to follow along as they’ve been making improvements including everything from prepping pastures for winter to inviting violet-green swallows into the barn area. (These avian helpers will each eat up to 1,000 flying pests per day!)

Their ranch is an incredible example of responsible horse keeping; I urge you to read/comment on Alayne’s weekly posts