How can we help equine clients to manage their land more ecologically? A case study from Ash Rescue Centre, Dartmouth.

How can we help equine clients to manage their land more ecologically? A case study from Ash Rescue Centre, Dartmouth.

At last year’s World Horse Welfare Conference, Jenny Rogers, from Ash Rescue Centre, was invited to talk about their remarkable work. Ash is both a rescue centre for elderly horses and a conservation site, encompassing wildflower meadows, species-rich grasslands, hedgerows, native trees and wildlife ponds, with rescue horses playing a key role as conservation grazers.

Jenny is thus able to offer unique insight into how horses can be kept in harmony with nature, and discussed a few of her ‘top tips’ at the conference:

1. Let your grass grow. Leaving fields for ‘standing hay’ reduces soil compaction, aids moisture retention, and provides a habitat for voles, mice and ground-nesting birds.
2. Grow wildflowers. Wildflower meadows, either as strips along the edge of pasture, or entire fields, provide a much-needed source of pollen for insects such as bees, and can provide a more varied diet for grazing horses.
3. Plant hedgerows. Hedges reduce rainwater run-off, bring minerals within the soil up to the surface, give shelter to horses, and provide a valuable habitat for birds, mammals and insects. Jenny highlights the importance of cutting hedges at the correct time (February to March) – too early and precious flowers are removed; too late and overwintering habitats and food sources are lost.
4. Create a pond. ‘Water is life’ – Ponds provide an invaluable habitat for many insects, as well as birds, amphibians and fish.
5. Turn horse stables/outbuildings into wildlife havens. Jenny suggests installing bird/bat boxes, adding herb pots for bees and butterflies, or building a bug hotel. Even a log pile provides a valuable wildlife habitat.

When it comes to ecological or regenerative methods of keeping domestic animals, our colleagues in the livestock sector are already a few steps ahead, but the equine sector can play an equally important role in this transition.

What, then, can we learn from Ash Rescue Centre to maximise biodiversity? How can we work with clients to enhance the natural world? And how do we bring this important issue to the table?

It is clear that change is needed. We must ensure that horses, rather than being part of the problem, remain part of the solution.

For more information on the remarkable work of Ash Rescue Centre, visit their website