Equine Wellness - Excellent Resources

Dr. Karen Kayes' web site "The Integral Horse" provides a wealth of information on caring for all horses - foals, the athlete, and the elderly - and offers sage advice on designing "The Perfect Stall" and on "How to Be the Perfect Horsekeeper". O2Compost was featured as "The Perfect Manure Management System" in Horsekeeper and she also encourages horseowners to use their finished compost as stall bedding.

Website: www.integralhorse.com

Katherine (Katy) Watts specializes in improving the health of horses that are susceptible to laminitis, foundering, and other feed related issues through proper pasture management and the selection of low non-structural carbohydrate (NSC) feeds. By applying well cured horse manure compost to the pasture, the grass is lush and vibrant, resulting in lower sugar content which, in turn, allows for longer grazing times without health complications.

Website: www.safergrass.org

Horses for Clean Water is an excellent resource for small farm owners who want to improve their horses' health and construct / rehabilitate a model farm. Alayne Blickle is an excellent speaker and leads workshops all around the country. She specializes in rotational grazing, pasture management, mud management, and other aspects of small farm management.

Website: www.horsesforcleanwater.com

Equine Wellness Magazine is an excellent resource for small farm owners who want to improve their horses' health using natural, holistic products and procedures.

Website: www.equinewellnessmagazine.com

Enviro Min produces horse mineral supplements that support a clean healthy digestive system. Equine Micro Minerals provides a gentle Daily Detox to support the body's removal of toxins. A clean digestive tract absorbs nutrients better, repels parasites, resists disease, and functions at the optimal level.

Website: www.enviromin.com

Alternative Stall Bedding

Wood Pellets / Micro-Shavings
With composting horse manure, less wood in the pile produces a much higher quality finished compost product with a strong market value. There are many brands on the market, including wood pellets for stoves. Not all pellets are created equal, however, so I suggest that you give several brands a try to find the one you ilke the best. Price is a consideration, of course, but should not be the deciding factor. Two brands that get very high marks include:

Horseman's Choice has also introduced a stall bedding material comprised of shredded coconut huskes (Tree Hugger Stall Bedding). O2Compost is currently in the process of testing the compostability of this material in one of our Micro-Bin systems and we will report the results on our Blog.

Automatic Horse Feeders

Many of our clients are very concerned about their horses' health. The Stable Grazer is a unique, programmable, automatic feeder designed to dispense flake hay, grain and medications from one to six times a day. Not only does this simplify stall feeding, it improves your horses' health and more closely replicates your horses' need to graze on a continuous basis. This device is well constructed and operates for six months or longer with only two D-Batteries. The Stable Grazer is highly recommended in Dr. Karen Hayes' book, "How to be the Perfect Horsekeeper" and is featured on her web site, www.integralhorse.com.

Websites: www.stablegrazer.com

Manure Spreaders

Having seen many manure spreaders for small and large farm applications, The Stablers' cylindrical screen design makes this chore easy and efficient. Towed behind a farm tractor or 4-wheel quad, this well constructed device lays down a light, even application of compost that allows the grass to grow lush and green and will not inhibit your horses' desire to graze on a rotational basis.

Website: www.thestablers.com

Stall Flooring

A wonderful stall floor system, ComfortStall, got high marks at The Perfect Stall and is now featured in "How to Be the Perfect Horsekeeper". This stall flooring allows the horse to minimize the amount of bedding needed which, in turn, allows us to produce a high-quality finished compost product. This stall product greatly improves the overall comfort for the horse while standing and laying down.

Website: www.comfortstall.com

Miscellaneous Barn Tools

Sweet PDZ "horse stall refresher" is a superior alternative to lime for ammonia removal and moisture absorption. It is an all natural, non-hazardous and non-toxic product available in both the classic powder a new granular form. Visit the Sweet PDZ website to locate a dealer near you.

Website: www.sweetpdz.com

The Ursa Field Wagon is Karen Hayes' pick for the Perfect Hand Cart. It is a well designed, durable and easily maneuvered cart that you will use every day and for years to come. It holds over 5 cubic feet and up to 500 pounds, and is well balanced for easy dumping.

Website: www.ursawagon.com

The Shake'n Fork is an effective, auto-sifting manure fork for stall cleaning. It looks and feels just like a conventional fork but has a unique shaking feature that allows the job to be done better and in a fraction of the time. Engineered into the fork head is a flexible pivoting feature that helps agitate the tines, automatically separating the manure from the bedding shavings. From a composting perspective, this is an ideal tool for minimizing the wood fraction in the compost pile, resulting in a higher quality finished compost product using the O2Compost System.

Website: www.shakenfork.com

Growing Solutions, Inc. specializes in Compost Tea brewing equipment and related products. Compost tea is brewed with well cured compost or vermi-compost (i.e. worm castings) as the primary ingredient. Growing Solutions designs, manufactures and distributes products for the worldwide sustainable agricultural and horticultural markets. In addition to products, we also offer consulting services - to promote and facilitate organic and sustainable practices..

Webiste: www.growingsolutions.com

Water Management / Farm Sustainability

Living Systems Design helps their clients manage all on-site water issues from stormwater mitigation to wetland accommodation, turning problems into opportunities. Many of their clients are very interested in achieving a sustainable farm life-style. One important aspect is water management and therefore we've included a web site that offers consultation and design services featuring economically viable, holistic water management solutions.

Website: www.harvestrain.com

Equine Facility Designers

Laurel Roberts has a lifetime of experience building and running equine facilities. She works with some of the best builders and suppliers available. You will understand after a single consultation that you are working with a professional that understands you and your specific needs.

Website: www.laurelrobertsequestrian.com

Lorri Hayward of Hayward Designs, Ltd. offers knowledgeable insight into the design of equestrian facilities. She has 20 years of professional experience in the design field, and the personal and professional experience of horse ownership and maintenance allows her to bring "practical" expertise into the design and planning of your next equestrian facility. Hayward Designs specializes in facility planning, barns/stables, outbuildings and restoration/remodeling.

Website: www.haywarddesigns.com

Thomas L. Croce Architects, Inc. Tom Croce is a recognized leader in equine facility master planning and design. He brings to each project over 20 years of architectural and equine experience and his passion for creating facility master plans and designs that are healthy, safe, comfortable, and functional. Being an active equine competitor and managing his own small farm provide him with the understanding of the importance of planning and design in the breeding, raising, and training of happy, healthy horses.

Website: www.tlcrocearch.com

Barn Builders / Barn Kits

Campbell Construction Quality Barns is an exellent choice for those of you whoe are building barns and equine facilities in Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

They pride themselves in quality first and have over 20 years experience with design and construction and can offer customers everything from an indoor riding arena to a turn key horse complex.

Website: www.campbellconstructionbarns.com

Blue Ribbon Manufacturing has over 56 years of combined experience in the livestock and construction industry. Today, metal horse barns and building systems require sound design, quality material, and manufacturing that maintain durability. They customize and fabricate each metal building to their customers' specifications - barns, buildings, corrals, mezzanines, or metal accessories - providing them exactly the layout they need with the quality they demand.

Website: www.blueribbonmfg.com

Barn Pros was founded in 1987 and provides high quality traditional wood horse barns throughout the Pacific Northwest. Due to increased demand, Barn Pros also offers a nationwide program of quality pre-engineered barns, houses, shops, garages and arenas. Currently, Barn Pros has hundreds of units sold and constructed in over 40 states. Barn Pros is expanding worldwide with barns shipped to Canada, Italy and Japan. Barn Pros will continue to push the edge of development and technology with our beautiful pre-engineered packages.

Website: www.barnpros.com

Rodeo Barns™ - Traditional Timber-Frame Horse Barns. Architect-designed Rodeo Barns™ combine the traditional appeal of timber framing with the benefit of modern pole building economy and ease of construction. Available in Monitor or Gable styles, our Horse Barn Kits an Pole Barn Kits can be shipped anywhere in the world. Our classic Wood Barn Kits are complete packages with interior features that include stalls, loft, tack room & a wash stall (please see Barn Kit specifications for details). Quality of Barn Design and materials is assured by our parent company Rodeo Construction, Inc., experts in the specification and construction of equestrian facilities in the Pacific Northwest.

Website: www.rodeobarns.com

Arena Consultation, Design and Construction

Brian Philip McNeil is owner of E=MC Equestrian Project Management and believes that proper arena construction is critical to the performance of the competitive horse and to its health and wellbeing. He lives and works initimately within the equestrian community: with owners, competitors, trainers, farriers, equine veterinarians and a myriad of vendors and suppliers. Brian is married to a certified USDF trainer and Grand Prix Gold Medalist. His purpose is to "Respect, honor, and maintain the health and safety of your horses."

Website: www.equestrian-arenas.com

Professional Services

Doug Emerson works with professional horsemen and horsewomen struggling with the business half of the horse business. He trains, consults and coaches horsemen who don't have enough time, money or the right people in their businesses. With the use of 8 key strategies, Emerson's Profitable Horseman program helps professional horsemen create a business with more profit in less time. Subscribe to a Free electronic newletter about the horse business on his website.

Website: www.profitablehorseman.com