The Environment

I grew up boarding my horse as my family did not have a farm. Everywhere Labyrinth lived, there were as many horses as could be tucked in each nook, cranny, and side pasture. There was never much grass, if any. And he got several quarts of grain morning and night to make up the nutrient deficit. So when we moved to this farm, I counted the pastures and figured I could put 3-4 horses in each and calculated we could have roughly 15 horses on the property, no problem. And my husband cocked his head at me. And the agricultural extension officer he invited out softly said, “not sustainably.” And I cocked my head.

There has been a lot of learning since then and a lot of fence post-hole digging. But the conclusion is this: For the winter of 2021/2022, we had to start feeding hay in October 2021 to sustain the five horses we had on the property. After fencing and a rotational grazing plan, for the winter of 2022/2023, we just started feeding hay yesterday on January 15, 2023. That is 3.5 months longer than just a year prior that this land sustained us. In dollars and cents, that is a savings of $1890 in hay (2 bales/day at $9/bale) this year alone. But more important than the money, our pastures will be green again next year and the next. And if we do things right, these pastures will feed our grandkid’s horses.

Did you know your local agricultural extension officer will come out and help you evaluate your place for free? And help you find programs that will help offset the costs of making improvements? If you live in Goochland, we can vouch that they are wonderful! https://goochland.ext.vt.edu