
The Smart Horse Keeping blog 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!

Keep Pastures Healthy With Rotational Grazing
Rotational grazing is a recommended pasture management “best management practice” to increase pasture productivity and prevent overgrazing and soil compaction. This technique guarantees fresh grass for your horses for a longer period of time during the growing season.

Washington Horse Farm Uses Rain Gardens for Mud Control in Paddocks and Mountain Trail Course
The owners of this recently purchased 17-acre farm are incorporating rain gardens in paddocks and on a mountain trail course to help with mud control.

Buffer Your Horse Paddocks
Alayne Blickle, of Horses for Clean Water, shares how buffer or biofiltration strips can help control muddy runoff in your paddocks.

Footing Q&A for Outdoor Reining Arenas
Interested in what kind of footing to put in your outdoor arena? Alayne Blickle, of Horses for Clean Water, discusses appropriate footing materials with reining horse trainer, Matt Livengood.

Spring Liming of Horse Pastures
Liming horse pastures is one big way you can help most horse pastures become more productive.

Spring Cleaning Tips: Getting Ready for the Growing Season
Spring is in the air! Here are some tips to help you get your horse property ready for the season.
Winter Boredom Busters for Riders
Alayne shares some mental strategies to help riders get through the winter blahs.
Winter Boredom Busters for Horses
What ideas do you have for dealing with winter horse boredom? Alayne Blickle, of Horses for Clean Water, shares some tips.

Tricks of the Trade
Sometimes in our horsey lives it’s the little things that make all the difference. That’s why I thought I’d share a few of my “little things” that I appreciate each day and find helpful for getting chores done easily and painlessly.

Winter Pasture Grazing
Even when you have a lot of pasture it’s very challenging trying to use it in the winter and still maintain its integrity.