So Stable Planet has been driven out of my desire to reduce the impact of the equestrian element of my life on the planet. Over the last few years, I’ve changed my life at home substantially, from using the early shampoo bars that used to leave a greasy residue in your hair (thank goodness they’ve improved), to making my own cheeses to avoid plastic, and learning a new way to shop with the rise of refill shops.
So now it is time to tackle the stable.
We’ve got a few areas that I feel we have already been pretty eco-friendly, prior to starting Stable Planet. We’re regular users of worm counts, and this is one of the easiest ways to help prevent further worm resistance and chemicals entering your pasture and being washed into water courses. We hand dig our weeds, again to reduce chemicals and to ensure we aren’t impacting our pollinators. Plus, it avoids needing to move the horses. We are actively encouraging a wildflower meadow for pollinators on an area of the field that has too many rabbit holes to consider using for horses, and I have taken up beekeeping, again to support our pollinators, make this section of the field feel more valued. Alongside this we have planted younger trees into the field to replace older ones as they have been deteriorating. This is a bit of a fight, as we have to protect the young trees from the large rabbit population that seem to thrive around us, and they also require regular watering when it’s hot – so last summer was very busy carrying buckets of water round the field. But hopefully they will thrive.
My tack for Ricky is second hand, which is probably more of a financial decision, and the fact he is tricky to fit with his short back and high withers, so our choice was reasonably limited, and his bridle is one of a couple I had before, so it made sense to use what I had. I try very hard to ensure I look after my tack and equipment, to ensure it lasts as long as possible, and I will repair things if they need it, which is great as it saves money – massive added bonus!
We have a few areas that are obviously in need to improving at the yard. We don’t have recycling facilities, so this is something we are working on to improve. I’m also hoping to provide somewhere for all the yard users to put there tricky to recycle items, like crisp packets and biscuit wrappers, so I can take them to my local TerraCycle recycling point. I am hopeful that people will be keen to recycle.
Across the yard we have a real mix of horses and therefore we also have a big mix in the feeds that are getting used. Like many of us, the feeds I am using for Ricky, Patch and Bramble-Jam come in a mix of paper and plastic bags, and our supplements shelf does have one of those stacks of small plastic scoops that have no use. So, this is an area we will have to consider further. Like many of us, changing my feeds that I trust to keep my horses well, is a bit worrying. I don’t want to upset any of them, and in Patch and Bramble-Jams cases, we are now using mashes for hay replacement, as in their old age, and having both been grazed on gravel fields for over 10 years, their teeth aren’t up to hay anymore, which adds extra complexity. Ricky on the other hand loves food, but as with many thoroughbreds I do keep him on a very low sugar and starch diet. I will do a feed room tour with you all soon so I can show you where we are at and hopefully, things we are able to change!
Our stables are currently requiring a bit of TLC, as the roof is pretty old and needs replacing. We’ve never had electricity over there so have had to rely on battery powered lighting. Ideally getting some form of led lighting would be great, but we don’t have control over our electric supplier, as our lovely landlady controls all of this. It’s certainly something we will have to ask her about in the long run, as it would be great if it was coming from a supplier using renewable sources. Potentially adding a clear roof panel in some areas of the roof could also be a way to help add more natural light. Lots to think about, and hopefully we will be able to improve the lighting and use sustainable materials to do the work on the stables.
Another big issue with my horsey life at the moment is my 14 mile round trip to the yard on every visit! Over the summer I do try and cycle once a week for a visit, but how successful I am with this seems to depend on the weather and how much else is going on. I am much happier on a horse than a bicycle! Ideally being closer to the horses would be great, but that isn’t on the cards for us at the moment. Potentially I could work out how much CO2 my journey generates a year and could plant trees to offset this, but it isn’t ideal. My other travel with the horses is minimal at the moment – we sold our horsebox while I was still a student, as my sister and I weren’t really using it much, but I am hopeful I will be off and out a bit more with Ricky in the future.
I feel like there is a whole lot of exploring options for me to be doing now, but I think have loads of places to improve. Just thinking about the environment more while I’m with the horses has increased my awareness of all the different areas that need to be targeted! But all the small actions really do count, and we all have to start somewhere!