Horses role in permaculture. How do you use them?

I noticed there wasn't a separate topic on horses, but some people wrote about theirs. So maybe a general topic on horses in permaculture? I know they can be a challenge, because they are more picky than most other grazers; they won't eat some stuff, but they also won't destroy other stuff (like goats).

The first thing that comes to mind, is how Peter Andrews regenerated land while breeding racehorses, which was his first passion:



It's somewhat similar to my story, because I've always been a city girl, but I met horses as a child and I was passionate about them since then, which also kept me connected to more rural areas. I also discovered permaculture at a farm which started with horses (and the horses brought us together, so in a way all of us discovered permaculture through them).

I know that some animals can be especially useful on certain types of land - sheep on meadows, goats in bushes/fire zones, ducks and pigs in ponds, etc.
Horses require a lot of space and need constant movement, and are happier in herds, which means a lot of land. The land needs good fencing most of the time. All that would be a limit in some more populated areas...

Another thing I discovered recently - is a Polish society for bird protection, which keeps a small herd of native ponies in their sanctuary. I don't know if they picked the ponies as animals that would be especially beneficial to this land, or they just wanted some grazing animals to keep meadows from overgrowing. They don't seem to be riding them or using for any other purpose, but preservation of the breed is a good thing already.

And of fourse there is The Pleistocene Park in the Arctic, which uses animals to recreate permafrost, and they reintroduce various species, including some native ponies.

And the dear Journal of Ravenseyrie, a Sorraia Mustang Preserve. Not a permaculture site, but I "know" these people virtually for such a long time, that I consider them good old friends...

Do you have horses on your farms? Or maybe mules, or some native breeds? What do you use them for?

Edit: as I posted this, the "horses, donkeys and mules" forum magically found itself... but I couldn't see it earlier. Sorry! But maybe we could still discuss the purpose of horses in permaculture as a more general topic.

Peter Andrews Reminds me of Sepp Holzer.Rebel Farmer struggling with the law but all the while seeing the bigger picture.The Rebel Farmer one of my favorite books..I take horses out to sheepherd with me.They help me sheep herd and I step down and let them graze.They aerate the ground and provide nutrient to the ground.I also use the manure as a seed starter as it has less nitrogen then cow or sheep manure.Perfect for seed starting.We also use the horse manure to smoke the beehives we have here.I use the horse hair that I brush out for felting and to make rope.On the mountain I use wild horse manure to heat and cook with.The key is to not overgraze the land but rotational graze seems like.Cool documentary thank you for sharing Flora.

Ben, it reminds me of the mare I used to have. She had a very long mane, and sparrows were using her hair in their nests. Then they had long flowing curtains dangling from the nests. Looked gorgeous!

Hi Flora,

I am glad you mentioned pleistocene rewilding projects. I don't remember the name of the one in the Arctic, but the one in The Netherlands, north of Amsterdam, is called Oostvaardersplassen.

In such instances, my reading of the material suggests that horses are valuable as one of a number of herding species on open plains or grassland, as they graze differently than, say, bison. By including a diversity of herbivores, we get virtually everything grazed, and we draw more types and numbers of predators, and the resultant scavenger and detrivore species. There is more overlap, and a higher population overall of living organisms, which translates to more soil generation, if it's being done right.

Otherwise, as in, on a homestead level, horses are difficult for me, conceptually, unless they're literally the engines of my tractors. Even as such, they're really expensive tractor engines.

On other levels, it may be another story. I know there was a member on at one point, Travis by name, if I recall correctly, operating an equine rehabilitation and therapy centre somewhere between Oshawa and the Lindsay/Peterborough area here in Ontario, and they were trying to do it according to the principles of permaculture. If the focus of the operation was directed to emphasize the intangible benefits, and their psychological and physiological knock-on effects, of interacting with these animals, in the context of an eco-tourism and educational entertainment attraction, I could see it working much better than trying to justify the expense of a hay-fuelled hairy-fetlocked giant underpowered tractor over the cost of an ever cheaper and ever improving solar electric alternative.

Mind you, I knew a guy who did horse skidding of timber out of his family's managed tree farm in the winters, when the ground was frozen, to harvest selectively whilst not buggering up the soil structure. If they were to operate in such a specialised fashion year-round, that would be another matter altogether.

I would still have to say that they are highly specialised, skilled workers, and cost as much to feed. If one lacks the need for their speciality, or can't afford them and their maintenance over a mechanical alternative, it becomes more difficult to justify their expense.

I think that you'd essentially need a horse-centric system, one planned around them, and it might be necessary to add in elements of the rewilding systems, such as other ruminants, or herding dogs in place of predators, to replicate the herding patterns seen in nature.

Though I would be hard-pressed to find traction-oriented tasks more suited to horses than to oxen, which are arguably easier, on the pocketbook and the ecology alike.

Still, I love the look and attitude of those giant beer-wagon-pullers. Makes me think of the determined horse from Orwell's Animal Farm.

-CK

We have one horse here on our 12 acres, he doesn't have a dedicated purpose persay. The fencing is old dilapidated barbed wire that im tearing out slowly and replacing with electric, for interior fencing only one strand is needed and now that he is used to it it doesn't even have to be on and he won't ever touch it. Heck one strand keept him in all winter without a charger (6 months).


I tried making small padocks that would last two or three days but found out quick that horses need more room than that to run, so now I have him in about a half acre to acre plots and rotate him every two to three weeks. I also leave six acres untouched all growing season and once winter comes in October I will put him there. The standing grass is a favorite over hay and he will pick at it all winter no matter how much snow there is.


The manure is by far the best benefit of having a horse, i mulch around fruit trees with it, and make a great manure tea that i use heavily in the garden. He has one favorite spot to manure in in the winter so that makes it super easy for me to collect.


He is broke to ride but I'm just to busy to really ride much without having a purpose to do so. I am training him to carry packs aswell and will use him for packing animals out that were harvested (hunted) in hard to reach heavily wooded areas.

Horses are communal animals and the reason I only have one is so he is bonded with me and when I go to the fence he runs up to be with me. My experience is when you have two or more they stay together and actively try to avoid you making working with them much harder. Plus I found my 12 acres which only 8 are used for the horse is perfect for 1 while keeping brought in hay to a minimum.

Another movie I found recently:



A man wants to travel 14,000 km across Eurasia. I was reading an interesting book about goats today (I will write a review of it on Permies later, because it really seems to belong here). The author says that the early farmers had a much higher mortality rate than their hunter-gatherer counterparts, as they were just learning how to farm. It promised them a more predictable source of food, which motivated them to continue, but poor skills and a sudden change from nomadic lifestyle to staying in one place reduced the diversity of their diet and compromised their health.

Maybe keeping horses in modern permaculture-ish farms could bring back some aspects of that nomadic life, which many of us still love, and it would keep such communities connected. That's how I'm "using" horses now. I do a lot of trail riding, and many such trail rides are from one farm to another. There are even maps of places which welcome people who travel with horses, allowing them to stay overnight. It's definitely one environmentally friendly form of tourist transportation.

Regarding the costs, it's definitely cheaper if one can grow their own grass and hay, or the pasture is large enough that the horses won't overgraze it. I know some farms who manage to do that.

I'd rather live close to a farm which keeps horses, than have my own; or maybe I would keep my own horse in someone else's herd. The perfect candidate would be some breeder of native/primitive types, which are my favourite; and they would do trail riding or endurance or both. Maybe it could keep the nomadic me satisfied while I would have to stay rooted in one place ;)

As for using horses in forest maintenance - that's a good point! It's becoming popular in some countries.