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When the Drought Breaks… Hold Your Horses!
After yet another dry and hot year in Australia, most horse owners and farmers are longing for some steady rain to kick-start the growing season and seeing some green and standing grass. And, while nature does seem to restore things in a short time when temperature rises and water becomes more abundant, there are some aspects that you should be aware of before letting your horses out on these green emerging pastures.
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All About Soil – Part 5 Using soil tests to improve horse pastures
In this All About Soil series, we have been ‘digging deeper into soils’ and explored what soils are, how soil is formed, the different types of soil (Part 1) and how they sustain life through the soil-food-web (Part 2). We learned about sampling and DIY home soil tests (Part 3), which allowed us to get […]
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All About Soil – Part 2 Soil Food Web
Soils are complex mixtures of minerals, water, air, organic matter, and numerous micro and macro-organisms that are the decaying remains of once-living things. It forms at the surface of land – it is the “skin of the earth.” Soil is capable of supporting plant life and is vital to life on earth.
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All About Soil – Part 1 Facts about soil
In this brand new Equine Permaculture series, we will ‘dig deeper into soils’ and explore what soils are, how soil is formed, the different types of soil and how they sustain life through the soil-food-web. Furthermore, we will discuss the importance of soil tests, in the lab and DIY, interpreting these soil test results, and […]
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Carob for horses
By Mariette van den Berg, BAppSc. (Hons), MSc., RAnNutr. (Equine Nutrition) Introduction In a previous article we describe the benefits of trees and shrubs as fodder and provided some examples of potential forage trees and shrubs for horses (see Alternative forages). Trees and shrubs can supplement the quantity and quality of pastures for grazing horses […]
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Pilot study tests ‘peat pads’ bedding as a way improve air quality in stables
By Mariette van den Berg, BAppSc. (Hons), MSc., RAnNutr. (MB Equine Services) A recently published pilot study compared the traditional straw with a novel bedding product suggesting it can reduce dust and ammonia concentration levels in stable barns. The Noord-Holland centre of technology (TCNN) worked in collaboration with the Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied […]
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Pasture hydration & the role of trees
Published in the Horses and People Magazine & Hoofbeats Magazine Hydration & Vegetation Management By Mariette van den Berg BAppSc.(Hons), MSc. (Equine Nutrition) In the previous section we discuss the value of using permaculture principles and Keyline design to build soil, improve soil carbon and fertility, and effectively capture and distribute rainwater. In this section, […]
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Compacted soils and Keyline Design
Published in Horses and People Magazine & Hoofbeats Magazine Its all about healthy soil By Mariette van den Berg, BAppSc. (Hons), MSc. (Equine Nutrition) Horses compact ground, and they especially love to do so in the corners of paddocks. But when soils are compacted by hoofed animals, rainwater is unable to penetrate the ground to […]
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Alternative Forages
Published in the Horses and People Magazine & Hoofbeats Magazine Forage trees & shrubs for horses By Mariette van den Berg BAppSc.(Hons), MSc. (Equine Nutrition) Introduction Adding trees in and around pastures can be beneficial for a number of reasons: it not only plays a major role in the hydration of the land and the […]
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