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
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 |
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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 |
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| 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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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| 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 |
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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. |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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
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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 |
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