Why is this field so dry?
Hay is so expensive!
My horse has mud fever again!
Don’t ride by that field, it’s a lake.
There are trees down in the latest storm!
Why are there less birds and insects?
What is going to happen during my lifetime as a rider?
The first reason why anyone should care about climate change and the loss of biodiversity is that as a human living on this planet, you and your friends, family and offspring are going to be affected by the massive environmental challenges we will face. We all face the impacts of climate change, environmental degradation and at the very worst a loss of the pollinators that serve the very core elements of the ecosystem that keeps us all alive. As a horse owner though you have the extra issue of the welfare of your animals to consider and here the environment matters as well.
Changed Conditions for daily management
We are all already experiencing increasingly variable conditions, triggered by human driven climate change1. We are seeing increasing frequency of extreme events, droughts, flooding conditions, extreme winds and prolonged period heat or cold, and these heavily influence how we manage our horse’s day to day lives.
Is the field too wet to allow turnout? Are the bridleways waterlogged? Under predicted scenarios, in the UK, we are likely to see 10-30% increase in winter rainfall2 over the next 60 years. Alongside this we are expected to see an increase in drier summers.
Have dry conditions limited grass growth or prevented a good hay harvest? Did an extremely wet summer prevent crops being successfully gathered for feed production? Are changeable conditions making rugging choices difficult? Why do I keep hearing about the spread of equine diseases? All these factors must be considered to manage our horses lives.
We are entering a time where there will be even less predictability as while the trends discussed above lead to overall gradual change, we also know we will see greater extremes. The increased likelihood of these extreme scenarios also heightens the risks to our horses being impacted by flooding – in February 2020 the RSPCA had to rescue 5 horses from belly deep rising water in Hampshire3, and this isn’t the only instance of horses needing to be recused from floods in the UK recently.
If we are starting to get warning signs now, what could happen in the future if we don’t do something – from climate change to biodiversity loss or invasive parasites? The IPCC tells us that from a climate point of view, things can only get worse if we don’t do something. Many of the changes needed have to be driven by governments, but we also have our own individual contribution to make.
Impacts on Diseases
As our climate changes, so will our species distributions and this will influence the spread of insect disease vectors – this includes shifts to malaria carrying mosquitoes, and potentially to the distribution of certain species of midges in the Culicoides genus, which carry the viral African Horse Sickness4. Additionally, changes in seasonality may have an influence on the most common time-period for horses to be at risk of Atypical Myopathy, with increased strong wind events making sycamore seeds more likely to be distributed over larger areas. Sweet itch suffers may also be likely to struggle for a longer period of the year, with increased warm and damp conditions extending the midge season, while wetter conditions may increase risk of mud fever, due to increasingly waterlogged conditions in pastures.
Biodiversity Loss
Loss of biodiversity because of humans may not sound like it will impact our horses. They live happily in their fields and stables, so why would mass insect extinction5 affect their lives? This becomes much clearer when we think of our horses as being part of the whole ecosystem. We have a responsibility to the environment we share with share with our horses. Pasture is home to many other creatures that are essential to how our planet functions, for now and for future generations. Our insect populations are so important, they pollinate plants we eat and also feed to our horses. Many insects and Annelidae such as Earthworms are also essential in preserving our soils6 and improving soil quality7 that we depend on for grass and feed.
Worming Resistance
Our horse’s health are maintained by ensuring we don’t allow our horses to carry large worm burdens, which cause general poor health, colic and eventually intestinal and organ damage7. However, overuse of some chemicals used to worm our horses has built up resistance to these chemicals, meaning we are likely to become less effective in controlling worm burdens in our horses. While worm counts are now allowing more targeted worming treatment (80% of worms occur in 20% of horses), we still have well documented resistance. Additionally, worming a horse at pasture adds these chemicals into the environment, and these chemicals also contribute to the loss of insect biodiversity. This can be even more of a problem with some flea sprays and treatments8.
So!
As horse owners, we are therefore very likely to see the impacts of human driven climatic and environmental changes in our day to day lives. However, it is not all doom and gloom, our day to day yard and pasture management can be adjusted to ensure our actions are enhancing the environments our horses live in, to ensure they live in the healthiest environment feasible. We can also be active citizens and raise awareness of these issues. Many of the changes that are needed are far bigger that individuals and we also need politicians to understand that we care about these problems.
We will be exploring these issues on some of our later blog posts as we chart our attempt to be more sustainable horse owners and horse lovers!
1. https://www.ipcc.ch/srocc/chapter/chapter-6/
3. https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/rspca-storm-dennis-707303
5. Wagner et al., 2021 PNAS 118 (2) https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2023989118
6. https://www.grainsa.co.za/earthworms-and-its-role-in-soil
7. https://www.msd-animal-health-hub.co.uk/
8. Perkins et al., Science of The Total Environment 755, Part 1, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143560