The Green Horse section provides practical information on managing environmentally sustainable horse properties, readers stories and tips, as well as advice and articles from equestrian experts in their fields.

In this issue of The Green Horse you will find the following articles:

Ants Away by Mark Brown Envirapest
So, what can you do to deter ants from your house and your stables??

Recovery after the fire
by Wendy Elks

Eventually the rains come, and the land will begin the road to recovery. Dryness and the volatile oils present in eucalypts and other species make fire part of Australia’s landscape; in many cases, it’s part of the renewal process.

Deeds Steeds and Weeds

Calculating the number of wildlife destroyed by the fires.
Water for wildlife ... without the mosquitos.

MY PLACE with Melissa French
in Lovely Banks, a suburb of
Geelong, Victoria.

Urban dwellers make up a large percentage of horse owners, and fortunately, due to our nation’s affluence and wealth of space, many fringe-dwelling urban horse lovers are lucky enough to own a few acres, enabling them to keep their horse at home instead of at an agistment centre.

Land Management and Regenerative Farming
- including steps to make a difference

What is regenerative farming?
The principle of regenerative agriculture and regenerative pastoralism is to enhance natural ecosystem services, resulting in sustainable production, an improved natural resource base, healthy nutrient cycling, increased biodiversity and resilience to change.

Going Solar on the Horse Property
You want to install solar for your property, so what do you need to know before investing in a new system?
Dr Anne Rainbow takes us step-by-step through an understanding of solar basics in this, the first in a series on the topic.

Consider composting for deceased horses

It’s a touchy subject but an important one: what does one do with the body when a horse dies?

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PREVIOUS ARTICLES
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DJ19/20 KEEPING SNAKES OUT OF THE STABLE by Wendy Elks
Snakes may be protected under Wildlife regulations in Australia, and they may be great for keeping the mice and rats down, but do we want to find them in our stables near our horses and pets?

ON19 - TERMITE S- common myths
by Rhiannon Brown, Envirapest
Your house and stables are looking wonderful this spring, but do you know what is happening inside the walls of your brick or timber building?

AS19 - OUCH THAT HURTS
by Catherine Bird for Country Park Saddlery
The extent of the swelling is usually an indication of the severity of the infection or injury and the cause needs to be established before giving herbs.

JJ19 - MANAGING PASTURE
by Rhiannon Brown, Envirapest Healthy pasture means healthy horses.

A/M19 - STOP THOSE WEEDS
Property biosecurity
by Rhiannon Brown, Envirapest
Putting simple precautionary steps into place can make it tough for weeds to get a hold on your equine paradise.

Keeping ANTS
out of your house and stable.
by Mark Brown - Envirapest

Ants are tough little insects and no matter how clean your home or stable is – sometimes they simply come to visit and have no trouble finding their way in. At some point it’s likely these little devils will find their way to the top of your ‘to kill’ list. Whether you’ve watched them slowly take over the stable feed room or been greeted each morning by them in the home bathroom or kitchen – you’ve had enough. And while they have a very important role in the ecosystem…they are not OK in our house or stable.

Ants don’t run this world, even though they think they do. In fact, they outnumber us mere humans 1M to 1. So I think we’ve got our work cut out to deter them from visiting our house and stables.
Inside The Enemy.

Ants are highly developed social insects who live together in large colonies. They are active throughout the year and there are basically two main feeding types. Some species are sugar eaters, and this is why you can find them eating those molasses treats on the top shelf of the feed shed. Other species are protein feeders - so you’ll find them deep in the protein-rich feed bags. Some species travel in army-like march-lines up the wall and others spread over a benchtop like bread crumbs thrown from the roof. They can have a single colony (monodomous) or some species can consist of many nests (polydomous). In addition to all that, some species have one single queen, and some have many and only when you have effectively controlled the queen/queens will you win the battle.

Location. Location. Location
Where’s the source of this ant problem? You’ve located them in the feed shed, sure – but trace them back home - its important. One, it makes the treatment you choose easier to apply. Two, you can check how well the treatment’s gone by checking back and seeing the ant nest directly. Three, you can identify what the ants are eating – sugar or protein? By determining those points, you can then choose the best plan of attack. Whether to treat the outside or inside of the building with a liquid product or use a granular bait or liquid bait product that the ants take back to the nest.

Choosing The Right Weapons
It’s important to know what bullets to load in the ‘ant’ gun. This will take some research obviously; some from good old Google, maybe your local agriculture department for pest and weeds, or even by calling a pest professional.

Regardless of how you identify them, make sure you do. The amount of dollars we see wasted by our clients by simply using the wrong products is astounding. It’s not always about the price of the product, it’s about what’s in it. We often hear “I spent over $100 on this stuff and nothings happened!” That’s simply because the wrong product was bought for the ant they are trying to treat.

Do your research on the ant species before you open your wallet and those little invaders will no longer be greeting you for breakfast each morning or stealing those molasses treats any more.