Healthier Horses
Cleaner Environment

Links

Click here to view the
O2Compost Newsletters

Thank you for visiting O2Compost.com - I believe that you will also find the following websites helpful and informative. While several of these sites are related in some way to composting, many of the other sites pertain to horse health, small farm design and efficient chore management. In the process of creating my own business, O2Compost, I have crossed paths with many other small business owners who have taken a creative idea and started their own grass-roots business, with a focus on serving the equestrian community.

Equine Wellness
Alternative Stall Bedding
Barn Tools

Pasture Tools
Farm Sustainability
Equine Facility Designers

Barn Builders / Barn Kits
Professional Services

Equine Wellness

Dr. Karen Hayes' 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

 

Fly Predators is perhaps nature's original fly control. The Spalding family began using Fly Predators 33 years ago and for the past 32 years, they have provided them to hundreds of thousands of horse owners. The secret to achieving fly control is as simple as sprinkling a small, inexpensive pouch of Fly Predators around your farm every three to four weeks during warm weather. By increasing the ratio of Fly Predators to flies, you can almost completely suppress the flies. They do the work and you enjoy the benefit.

Website: www.spalding-labs.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:

Guardian Horse Bedding

www.guardianhorsebedding.com

Horseman's Choice Horse Products, Inc.

www.1888mybedding.com

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.

 

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 and 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

 

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 horse health and more closely replicates a horse's 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.

Website: www.stablegrazer.com

 

Pasture Tools

The Greystone Pasture Vacuum is an excellent tool for pasture maintenance and manure management, making this chore easier and faster than ever before. Vacuum it up from wet grass, dirt, stone dust, bedding - nearly any surface; then dump it out into your O2Compost system. Because the manure balls are broken down as they are vacuumed up, the fine uniform texture makes the raw manure very easy to compost and produces a beautiful finished product. In combination with composting, the Greystone Pasture Vac keeps your pastures clean, helps control flies, and greatly reduces parasites, pathogens and weed seeds.

Website: www.mybarnandgarden.com/paddock

 

Compostwerks LLC is a distributor for the Ecolawn self-propelled Top Dresser which is the ideal multi-purpose applicator for top dressing and compost spreading. The Top Dresser is commonly used to dress newly seeded areas for optimal seed germination. In addition, it can spread a wide range of products including natural fertilizers, granular lime, and even sand. Its versatility, ease and speed of use make the Ecolawn Top Dresser a valuable piece of equipment for the lawn care professional.

Website: www.compostwerks.com/EcoLawn-Applicator.php

 

The Stablers' cylindrical screen design makes this manure spreader 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

 

Farm Sustainability

Sustainable Stables is an organization that provides information on environmental stewardship and sustainability in horse farm management and day-to-day horse activities. Visit their website for more information related to greener practices.

Website: www.sustainablestables.com

 

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.net

 

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, they also offer consulting services - to promote and facilitate organic and sustainable practices.

Website: www.growingsolutions.com

 

Compostwerks LLC specializes in compost tea brewing equipment, premium quality compost and diverse microbial foods. In order to create a diverse and effective compost tea, you must start with specially prepared compost. They work with the Soil Foodweb Inc. for testing to assure the highest possible quality and consistency. Compostwerks' passion is to help individuals and business make the shift to sustainable horticultural practices.

Website: www.compostwerks.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

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 their beautiful pre-engineered packages.

Website: www.barnpros.com

 

Birdseye Building Company has grown from a small crew of carpenters and now includes architects, draftsmen, interior designers, cabinet makers, metal workers, equipment operators, project supervisors, accounting staff and some of the most skilled craftsman and carpenters in the trade. They take pride in the work they do and enjoy the satisfaction of creating lasting friendships and beautiful Vermont custom homes and barns.

Website: www.birdseyebuilding.com

 

Campbell Construction Quality Barns is an excellent choice for those of you who 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

 

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

 

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