The five-year project, titled “Environmental Impacts of Equine Operations,” will focus on three areas: horse and pasture interaction; nutrient management and manure management; and water, soil, and air quality in horse operations.

The regional project was proposed by Michael Westendorf, PhD, associate extension specialist for the Department of Animal Sciences, at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Westendorf proposed the project to the USDA after noticing the knowledge gaps in those areas. Little is known about the environmental impact of equine operations, so project participants will conduct research to fill in some of those gaps. Using extension and research channels, extension agents will then disseminate findings.

According to Stowe, information will be distributed through short courses, fact sheets, or online seminars toward the end of the five-year project. Research is still in the planning stages, but it will begin soon