How to Be Sustainable at the Barn
These days most of us are very conscious of what we use, how much waste we create, and more importantly how we dispose of that waste. Equestrians are often sustainable out of necessity, but there are easy additional ways we can be sustainable at the barn.
Ditch Or At Least Reuse Plastic Products
It’s unfortunate that every time you run out of supplements, retailers ship you yet another plastic tub-full to replenish your supply. Instead of throwing out (or at least recycling) these plastic supplement tubs, find a use for them around the barn. They can serve as buckets to prepare feed, or keep stored in your horse trailer for use around the show grounds. You can use them at home too – to organize a storage closet or even as a mop bucket or similar cleaning tub.
SmartPak’s Strips supplement program not only makes feeding supplements easier, they’re also a more sustainable option. The plastic wells are made from recycled plastic, and can be recycled again after you empty them. Empty, cleaned wells can also be useful around the barn – they’re the perfect size for keeping small items, like braiding elastics, hairnets, or even studs, organized.
There Are Vegan Equestrian Products Out There
Fabbri makes a pair of custom, vegan-made tall boots that use zero animal products. Robert Dover launched “Robert Squared” a new line of tack and equipment made completely from organic, and non-animal products. Ecogold makes a vegan half pad. If vegan’s not your thing, there are plenty of eco-friendly, sustainably sourced, horse products on the market, like Oaklyn Tack. Make sure to do your research before buying.
Invest In Rain Barrels
These large, often plastic, barrels are used to capture water run off from roofs and store it for later use on lawns and gardens. But rain barrels could work beautifully at the barn, too, especially during the wet summer season. Several cities and towns, and even regional agricultural extensions often hold classes and give away barrel materials for free. Barn owners can use it to water their landscaping, or use it to store extra water during hurricane season. Since the barrel is covered, it shouldn’t attract mosquitoes or other water-drawn pests. But it could be used to fill water buckets for other farm animals, like goats or chickens.
DIY
Outside of being mindful of leaving the fans running when the horses are turned out, or leaving lights on, or using too much water from the hose, horse enthusiasts can also get crafty with some of the waste they find lying around the barn. In most cases, I think it’s safe to say that horse people are generally pretty resourceful. We reuse bailing twine in a number of ways around the barn. But there are plenty “out of the box” ideas one could do.