Manure Management Practices and Educational Needs of Florida Small Scale Equine Operations.

Thousands of Florida horses are kept on small-acreage farms and residential ranchettes. Proper management of horse manure on these farms can help mitigate impairments to water quality. The purpose of this study was to assess horse owners’ current manure management and disposal practices and to investigate impediments to adoption of best management practices (BMPs). An online survey was developed (Qualtrics) covering three key areas: farm demographics, knowledge and implementation of manure management practices, and interest in educational programming. A questionnaire link was distributed through west central Florida equine organization list serves. Sixty-nine horse owners participated in the survey. The majority of owners kept 1 to 3 (62.3%), followed by 4 to 6 (21.7%), more than 10 (8.7%) and 7 to 10 horses (7.3%) on property. Most farms managed horses on 1 to 5 acres (58.0%) with one farm indicating less than 1 acre for 7 to 10 horses. Several farms (52.2%) have surface water, wetlands and/or open surface ditches and 91.3% have drinking water wells on property. Wood shavings were the most common bedding material used (63.2%) followed by other (39.7%, e.g. horses kept on pasture, pelletized bedding, and rubber mats). Many horse owners (63.2%) were unfamiliar with BMPs for equine manure and reported a low level of confidence (32.8% Not Confident) in their ability to manage manure to prevent water impairment. Manure management practices (combination of methods used) included stockpiling (30.9%), composting (23.5%), disposing with household garbage (4.4%), paying for removal (4.4%), spreading on property (60.3%). Aminopyralid plus 2,4-D use was reported on all farms (100%, n=19) applying herbicide to pastures. Horse owners’ preferred format for receiving information about manure management included workshops (38.0%) and websites (32.3%). The results demonstrate a critical need for BMP education and development of practical manure management options for small scale equine operations.