Download Facilities and Waste Managment PPT

Facilities and Waste Management
Equine Science II
Equine Housing
 Should provide for the
welfare, safety, health
and comfort of horses
and human handlers.
 Make efficient use of
labor and be cost
effective.
 Provide for the environmental needs by
moderating temperature and humidity.


Moderate temperature above freezing are
acceptable if the humidity is low.
There needs to be enough air movement to keep
air clean to meet respiration needs of the animals
and dilute airborne disease organisms, control
and/or moderate temperature, and keep the
building free of condensation and moisture.
Building Basics
1. Various materials will work
a.
Metal siding building will last 15-20 year
without refinishing, but are subject to damage
from animals
b.
c.
Wood siding building will withstand abuse of
animals, but can be eaten. However, wood
siding buildings offer better insulating value
than metal or masonry, but need occasional
painting/staining and upkeep
Masonry walls require little maintenance but he
initial cost is high and they are difficult to
insulate.
2. Metal roofing is cheaper and required less
framing than shingles, but has less
insulating value.
3. A GOOD ventilation system is essential if
the building is tight. Natural ventilation is
provided by open eaves and ridge vent
system and is MOST common and MOST
cost effective. With natural ventilation a
4/12 roof slope works best.
a. Artificial ventilation systems must provide
three levels of air movement: the lowest
level operates continuously to met
respiration needs, the intermediate level is
used to control temperature and moisture
during winter conditions, and the highest or
maximum level is for summer temperature
control.
b. Horses require a summer ventilation rate of
200 cubic feet per minute air flow in a
building that is 55 degrees F. The normal
winter rate is 100 and 25 for minimum
flow.
Stall Design
1. Stall size
a.
b.
Stall height should be a
minimum of 8 feet and
alleyways 9 feet.
Stalls should be a minimum
of 10 foot by 10 foot with
12’X12’ preferred.
c. Square stalls help prevent horses from
getting down in a position close to a wall
where they will need assistance to get up
(casting)
d. Stallions and foaling should be a minimum
of 12’X14’
Stall Design cont.
2. Stall walls and partitions usually are
solid to a height of five to seven feet
with ventilation provided with open
space at the top.
a.
Solid walls help
prevent injury to
equine feet and legs
as well as prevent
cribbing (equine
chewing on the edges
of exposed boards)
b. Open space at the top should be spaced 3 ½
-4 inches apart to prevent the mature
equine’s hoof from passing through.
c. Rough cut oak is one of the best and
strongest materials: equine do not chew it
or destroy it as easily as tongue and groove
yellow pine which is cheaper, but must be
protected.
d. Concrete block or poured concrete walls
are easy to paint and keep clean but can
result in more serious injuries to equine or
foals. However, before block walls should
be sealed prior to use in order to prevent
pathogens.
3. Stall floors should be absorbent, easy to
clean, resistant to pawing and non-slippery.
a.
Clay and sand mixes are the least costly and
most easily obtained materials (2/3 clay and
1/3 sand will allow drainage)
b. Four to five inches of limestone dust make a
level, hard surface. When installed over 6-8” of
sand, watered and packed before equine uses the
stall, it will be nearly as hard as concrete without
the disadvantage of concrete. If rubber mats are
added to the surface of hardened limestone,
additional protection is provided to prevent foot
problems.
c. Wooden floor are slippery when wet and
tend to attract rodents.
d. Concrete floors are easy to clean and
sanitize: however, more bedding is needed
to soak urine and concrete often is
associated with more leg problems.
e. Flexible, fiber grade polypropylene is a
tough, yet flexible material designed for
support, strength, and chemical resistance.
It allows drainage with a non-skid surface.
It is a good shock-absorbing surface that
reduces moisture and is easy to clean.
However, it is expensive.
f. Other materials include clay, asphalt,
rubber floor mats and fiber-reinforced
polyethylene interlocking blocks.
Fencing Considerations
1. First priority is safety of people and equine.
2. Properly designed fencing result in less
stress from handling.
3. Cost is a major consideration.
4. Aesthetics is important for community
support and property values.
Height and Construction
1. Minimum height
should be 5’ for
perimeter pasture
fences (6’ for taller
breeds)
2. Paddocks are small
pastures or turn out
areas of less than two
acres per horse
a.
Stallion paddocks
should be doublefenced with a lane
between them and the
next paddocks.
3. Boards should always be secured to the
inside, or equine side, or the fence post for
stronger and safer applications.
Materials for Fencing
1. Wooden fences are sturdy and easy to be
seen.
a.
b.
High maintenance cost and expensive.
Useful life of 15-20 years
2. Post and Rail Fencing is attractive but
expensive to install and maintain.
a.
b.
Low to medium maintenance (does not require
paint, but rails may need to be secured on a
regular basis.)
Useful life of 15-20 years
3. Five diamond V-mesh wire is the best and
safest wire for equine fencing
a.
b.
c.
Close weave prevents injury from the equine
catching its foot in it and is actually safer than
board fending.
Is low maintenance with a useful life of 20-30
years.
Needs to be 10-gauge wire or heavier.
4. Rigid PVC produces a strong, flexible
fence.
a.
b.
Initial cost may be high, but maintenance is
low.
Useful life is 20-30 years.
5. High-tensile vinyl fencing with two or three
high-tensile wires embedded in a 4-5” vinyl
rail
a.
b.
It is flexible, safe and low maintenance.
Useful life is 20-30 years.
6. Other types of fencing including hightensile wire, rubber fencing and galvanized
metal fencing. Never use twisted barbed
wire for horses.
Bedding Material
Considerations
 The bedding material chosen
should be absorbent, dustfree, readily available, easily
disposed of, unpalatable and
affordable. Cost is often the
most overriding factor.
 Good bedding protects the horse’s feet from
thrush, and encouraged the horse to lie down,
rest and cushion its feet and legs from the
hard stall floor.
Types of Bedding
1. Straw is the most popular because it makes
an attractive bed.
Advantages




Absorbent
Relatively dust-free
Comfortable
 Disadvantages




Highly combustible
Some horses like to eat the bedding
High labor for cleaning stalls
Difficult to dispose of the high volume of
material
2. Wood shavings and sawdust are highly
absorbent but may be more expensive than
straw and may cause respiratory problems.
a.
Requires less frequent cleaning than other
materials, helps keep odors down, and is easier
to dispose of than straw.
b. Equines seldom eat wood shaving and sawdust
and these materials burn slower than straw.
c. Do not use hardwood shavings, especially black
walnut as it has caused founder and laminitis
d. Wood shaving and sawdust must be stored in a
dry location because it takes a long time to dry
out and is worthless as a bedding material when
wet.
3. Recycled newsprint is a new material that
helps equines with respiratory conditions.
a.
b.
Newsprint is a very absorbent, softer and more
comfortable than either shavings or straw, but
combustibility may be a problem.
Has less dust than straw or shaving and pollenfree
Reasons for Outside
Maintenance Practices
 Important for good relationships with
neighbors: flies and odors are controlled.
 Contributes to a healthy ecological system
for equine with disease and parasites
controlled.
 Promotes stewardship of resources: pollution
is controlled and water quality is protected.
Proper Maintenance Practices
 A good sanitation program is essential to
reduce or eliminate fly larval development
sites and consist of controlling standing
water in wet areas and manure management.
 Maintain the equine site at a slope of 2-6%
away from buildings, working rings, and
training areas to direct water without erosion
to grassed absorption areas.
 Develop a Water Quality Management Plan
to:


Reduce runoff that can carry soil and waste
contaminants into surface water sources and
cause non-point source pollution (does not flow
from a pipe) and
Protect ground water from pesticide and fertilizer
spills, improper waste management and careless
use of pesticides close to well water sources.
Area Maintenance is Needed
1. River and stream bank management is done
to protect banks from trampling,
destruction of vegetation and contamination


Best accomplished by fencing to restrict animal
access and pumping drinking water to a
holding trough away from the bank
Living fences of hedges and trees along the
bank or inexpensive electric fencing
2. Waste management includes manure
removal, storage and disposal techniques

Total volume of manure and soiled bedding is
2.0 cubic feet per day per horse

Properly stored and composted manure and
bedding helps in pasture management: reduces
chance of pollution when spread of fields,
provides nutrients needed along with
improving soil characteristics such as organic
matter and moisture holding capacity.


After composting for 1-2 months, the volume of
stall waste is reduced by 40-70% and many
parasites, pathogenic bacteria and weed seed are
destroyed
The manure holding facility must be covered and
protected from runoff.
3. Pasture management includes controlled
grazing to manage ground cover and
provide quality nutrition for equine
a.
The primary cause of runoff on equine farms is
overgrazing. Graze pastures when they are 6-8”
and rotate off when down to 3-4”
b. Equines are spot grazers and
need to be rotated among
several small pastures rather
than one large one to protect
from over grazing. Five or
six paddocks with weekly
rotations is ideal.
c. Drag pastures with a chain-link harrow at
least annually, but ideally after each
rotation so that the sun and air may reduce
parasite populations
d. Removing manure from paddocks on
weekly basis for composting with stall
waste is an excellent way to reduce
pollution and control parasites.
e. Pasture may need to be irrigated to provide
all the nutrients needed by equine and if the
farm raises livestock as well, a combination
of cattle and horses increases the
uniformity of grazing.
4. Watercourse and runoff management is
closely related to maintaining cover and
diverting water to reduce slope length and
runoff speed
a.
Divert clean runoff water away from barn,
paddocks, manure storage areas, and exercise
areas.
b. Reduce the length of slope on pastures with
terraces and water bars.
c. Plant grass in drainage ditches to slow
down runoff water
d. Plant at least a 10’ vegetative buffer strip
between the steep slopes and waterways.
THE END!!!