This study provided valuable information to an area of research that aims to development a reliable and simple faecal test to identify those horses who are at risk of developing acidosis or laminitis.

Feeding horses rapidly fermentable carbohydrates and abrupt dietary transitions are very common practices in the horse industry.
Gram-negative bacteria are typically your cellulolytic bacteria – fibre fermenting bacteria, or the ones that we want in the hindgut, i.e. ‘good microbes’.
Gram-positive bacteria are the lactic acid producing ones, which we label as the ‘bad’ microbes in the hindgut.

High sugar diets cause Gram-positive bacteria to overgrow and the Gram-negative die off, resulting in massive shedding of their membranes, which contain endotoxins. These endotoxins then can pass from the gut to the blood, and trigger the dangerous laminitis process.

The horse’s hindgut microbiota (the microorganisms that live in the colon and caecum) can react highly and rapidly to abrupt diet changes, with researchers observing these changes as early as five hours after feeding concentrate to horses that were previously on a hay-based diet(1).

Abrupt changes, such as when there is a rapid increase in grass sugars (water soluble carbohydrates, or WSC), or when feeding excess levels of starch-containing grain or cereal based concentrates are known risk factors for the development of digestive and metabolic disorders, such as hindgut acidosis and laminitis(2,3,4).

You may have heard of equine hindgut acidosis (acidosis means the gut content – the fluid – is acidic or has a low pH). This occurs when ‘resistant’ starch escapes digestion in the small intestine, or when the dietary starch, or WSC, concentrations are too high to be absorbed and digested before they reach the caecum.

When the undigested starch or WSC arrives in the hindgut, anaerobic bacteria ferment it rapidly and produce lactate, which quickly lowers the pH of the hindgut, resulting in hindgut (sometimes called lactic) acidosis(5,6).

Various studies monitoring changes in caecal microbial populations of the equine hindgut in response to excess starch or fructan (oligo-fructose) suggest Gram-positive bacteria, such as Lactobacillus spp. and Streptococcus spp.(5,7,8,9) play an integral role during the onset of hindgut acidosis and laminitis.

The direct pathways that trigger laminitis through this acidosis phase are still largely unclear and equine researchers around the world have suggested a variety of theories.
It seems that different active compounds (e.g. amines and endotoxins) that are released by either Gram-positive and/or Gram-negative bacteria could play a direct role (passing from the gut to blood) or an indirect role (by triggering an inflammatory response) in the lead up to a laminitic episode.
As an example, the overgrowth of Gram-postive bacteria (especially lactobacillus and streptococcus spp.) associated with lactic acid accumulation causes the death of Gram-negative bacteria (your fibre fermenting bacteria), and leads to endotoxin release. Although endotoxin causes widespread inflammatory responses in the horse, on its own it does not induce laminitis.

A more recent study, however, also observed an increase in specific pathogenic Gram-negative bacteria(9). The authors suggest Gram-negative bacteria develop and contribute to enterocolitis (inflammation of both the small intestine and the colon), pyrexia (fever) and lameness in the carbohydrate overload model of acute laminitis (this was a pilot study so more research is needed to replicate these results).

We do know that lactic acidosis and laminitis can severely impact the wellbeing and performance potential of horses, so monitoring the health of the gut could assist with the early detection of unfavourable changes, as well as helping identify horses at risk.
All the studies mentioned above specifically monitored the caecum of the horse, where most of the fermentation occurs (similar to the rumen of cows and sheep where fermentation takes place).

However, in practice and in a field situation, it is not possible to take samples from the caecum unless we fistulate horses (a fistula is a tubed opening through which we can collect the fluids that seep out of the digestive tract). This is a very invasive procedure that is no longer accepted in many countries and research institutions.
Therefore, researchers are turning to faecal samples as an indicator for what may be happening to microbiota in the horse’s hindgut.

This was the case for my own Master project(10), where we examined faecal pH and microbial populations in Thoroughbred horses during their transition from pasture to concentrates.

EWEN 2016 presentation
At the EWEN 2016 conference, a French research group from Agrosup Dijon (P. Grimm, J.P. Pais de Barros and V. Julliand) presented some interesting results of a study that specifically investigated particles of Gram-negative bacteria in faecal content.

As I mentioned earlier, recent results show besides Gram-positive bacteria, specific harmful (pathogenic) Gram-negative bacteria seem to proliferate in response to a high-starch diet.
The endotoxins (lipopolysaccharides, or LPS) which are found on the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria are composed of three structural domains (O polysaccharide, core oligosaccharide and lipid A) which can be measured with the analytical technique called mass spectrometry. (Specifically 3-hydroxymyristic acid, or 3HM, is typically used to calculate LPS concentrations.)

The resulting LPS calculations can be used to identify microbiota changes. The aim of the study by Grimm et al. was to determine if diet composition (high-fibre or high-starch) influences and changes the LPS concentrations in equine faeces.

Methodology
Six adult geldings were used in a 10-week study period that was divided into three phases.During the first phase (3 weeks), horses were fed 100% hay at 2.2% bodyweight (BW) per day. In the second phase (4 weeks), horses received a diet composed of 57% hay and 43% rolled barley in two meals. The grain component was added gradually over five days. Then, in the last 6 weeks, the horses returned to 100% hay diet without transition. The researchers collected faecal samples for analysis four hours after the morning meal on days 10 and 20 in Phase 1 and 2, and on days 10, 20 and 40 in Phase 3.

Results
The results showed LPS concentrations increased progressively when horses changed from a hay diet to hay/barley and were significantly higher 20 days after the transition.
Faecal LPS decreased significantly when horses returned to their hay diet, which was comparable to the first hay period. Nevertheless, the variability in LPS concentration between horses was larger during the hay/barley diet phase, as compared to during the hay periods.
The authors concluded LPS concentrations are very sensitive to diet changes and these alterations may reflect hindgut bacteria composition occurring under the dietary change.

The larger difference in LPS concentrations between individual animals on the high-starch diet shows some horses are more susceptible to starch than others. This is also what we observed in our study10 and highlights the need to include analysis within animals.
Additionally they suggest in future researh, LPS concentrations should be analysed in conjunction with the changes in gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria. The authors also noted only 3HM was used for the analysis and suggest more lipids fractions should be incorporated in the analysis for greater profile of gram-negative bacteria in the faeces of horses.

Nonetheless, they suggest 3HM (for LPS concentration) could be a simple method to assess the dynamics of bacterial profile in the faeces of horses; providing insight into bacterial balance or imbalance.
This is a fascinating area of research that could lead to the development of a reliable faecal test to identify animals that are at risk of acidosis and/or acute laminitis episodes.

For more information check the EWEN 2016 website (http://ewen2016.com/). Proceedings are released under ISSN: 1629-0763.

References:
1.
de Fombelle, A., Julliand, V., Drogoul, C., Jacotot, E., 2001. Feeding and microbial disorders in horses: 1 – Effects of an abrupt incorporation of two levels of barley in a hay diet on microbial profile and activities. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science 21, 439-445.
2.
Garner, H.E., Moore, J.N., Johnson, J.H., Clark, L., Amend, J.F., Tritschler, L.G., Coffmann, J.R., Sprouse, R.F., Hutcheson, D.P., Salem, C.A., 1978. Changes in caecal flora associated with onset of laminitis Equine Vet J 10, 249-252.
3.
Goodson, J., Tyznik, W.J., Cline, J.H., Dehority, B.A., 1988. Effects of an abrupt diet change from hay to concentrate on microbial numbers and physical environment in the caecum of the pony. Appl Environ Microbiol 54, 1946-1950.
4.
Longland, A.C., Byrd, B.M., 2006. Pasture nonstructural carbohydrates and equine laminitis. J Nutr 136 (Supplement) 2099S-2102S.
5.
Garner, H.E., Hutcheson, D.P., Coffman, J.R., Hahn, A.W., Salem, C., 1977. Lactic acidosis: a factor associated with equine laminitis. . J Anim Sci 45, 1037-1041
6.
van Eps, A.W., Pollitt, C.C., 2006. Equine laminitis induced with oligofructose. Equine Vet J 38, 203-208.
7.
Bailey, S.R., Baillon, M.L., Rycroft, A.N., Harris, P.A., Elliott, J., 2003. Identification of equine cecal bacteria producing amines in an in vitro model of carbohydrate overload. Appl Environ Microbiol 69, 2087-2093.
8.
Milinovich, G.J., Trott, D.J., Burrell, P.C., Croser, E.L., Al Jassim, R.A.M., Morton, J.M., van Eps, A.W., Pollitt, C.C., 2007. Fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis of hindgut bacteria associated with the development of equine laminitis. Environmental Microbiology 9, 2090-2100.
9.
Moreau, M.M., Eades, S.C., Reinemeyer, C.R., Fugaro, M.N., Onishi, J.C., 2014. Illumina sequencing of the V4 hypervariable region 16S rRNA gene reveals extensive changes in bacterial communities in the cecum following carbohydrate oral infusion and development of early-stage acute laminitis in the horse. Vet. Microbiol 168, 436-441.
10.
van den Berg, M., Hoskin, S.O., Rogers, C.W., Grinberg, A., 2013. Fecal pH and Microbial Populations in Thoroughbred Horses during Transition from Pasture to Concentrate Feeding. J. Equine Vet. Sci. 33, 215-222.
11.
P. Grimm, J.P. Pais de Barros and V. Julliand Impact of diet on bacterial lipopolysaccharides in equine faeces, EWEN 2016.

At both of these conferences, Mariette presented results from her PhD project that focuses on behavioural mechanisms of diet selection by horses. In this series, she features a selection of interesting topics and findings from her own project, and other researchers who attended the 8th bi-annual EWEN, which was held in Dijon, France.

EWEN is recognised as Europe’s leading scientific event in equine nutrition, and brings European and international scientists together to share scientific information, disseminate technical expertise amongst the wider horse industry and foster innovation.

In this, Part Two of her report, she presents a summary of a study that investigated whether plant secondary compounds and additional protein in the diet could help control strongyle infections.

At both these conferences, Mariette presented results from her PhD project that focuses on behavioural mechanisms of diet selection by horses. In this new series, she will be featuring a selection of interesting topics and findings from her own project, and other researchers who attended the 8th bi-annual EWEN, which was held in Dijon, France.

The bi-annual European Workshop on Equine Nutrition was first held in 2002 in Dijon and, after 2004, has been touring through Europe, visiting Italy in 2006, Finland  in 2008, the United Kingdom in 2010, Portugal in 2012 and Germany in 2014, before returning again to France this year.

EWEN is recognised as Europe’s leading scientific event in equine nutrition, and brings European and international scientists together to share scientific information, disseminate technical expertise amongst the wider horse industry and foster innovation. Each conference has a theme and this year EWEN 2016 was entitled ‘Taste, Nutrition and Health of the Horse’.

This focus was chosen because of the location, which is home to the Centre for Taste, Food and Nutrition Sciences (CSGA). Of course, Dijon is also very conveniently located in the Burgundy region, which is famous for its wine and great cheeses!

‘Taste’ is a conference topic which has not been studied extensively in horses and is very applicable to my PhD project, which investigated factors that influence foraging behaviour and diet selection in horses, with a main focus on orosensory (smell, taste, texture) and post-ingestive (nutrients) feedback mechanisms.

This month, I present a summary of two presentations, the first is one of my presentations that described some of the findings from our peer reviewed paper entitled ‘Influence of odour, taste and nutrients on feeding behaviour and food preferences in horses’. This full study has been recently published in the Applied Animal Behaviour Science Journal, which you can access here. The second is a fascinating study aimed at finding alternative wormers to fight the alarming resistance parasites are developing to anthelmitic drugs and tested plant secondary compounds.

1. Effect of flavours and odours on diet intake in horses

In one of our earlier studies that examined the acceptance of nutritious novel forages, we had observed horses almost invariably consume only small quantities of food when it is presented for the first time (van den Berg et al., 2016a). The cautious sampling of new food types is referred to as neophobia (‘fear of new’) and has been suggested as an innate herbivore survival mechanism for avoiding the over-consumption of toxic plants in the wild (Provenza and Balph, 1988).

While feed neophobia is usually described in horses as “fussy eaters”, similar behaviour occurs in many animal species, including humans! Commercial horse feed manufacturers commonly use flavours to overcome this feed neophobia, but there are limited studies that have investigated how well horses accept these flavours.

Flavours have been added to encourage the intake of water, unpalatable anthelmintic drugs (wormers), as well as concentrates and supplements with different effects. For example, a study by Burton et al. (1983) used apple, lucerne, caramel and anise-molasses to mask the drugs levamisol and piperazine in a concentrate diet, and showed only apple, lucerne and caramel were partially effective, not anise-molasses.

Goodwin et al. (2005a) examined the effect of 15 food flavours on concentrate selection by stabled horses and showed the two most preferred flavours (fenugreek and banana) could be used to encourage the intake of an unpalatable mineral pellet. However, the characteristics of what flavours are most useful have not been well defined.

For example, flavours can be classified as non-nutritive, providing only an aromatic and/or non-caloric taste (artificial or natural sweetener), or nutritive, which can include an aromatic and/or taste that contains calories.

In another study, Goodwin et al. (2005b) reported in multiple choice trials and in the short term, horses can respond to sensory variety in concentrate diets that differ in flavours (odour and caloric taste) and/or formulations (nutrients), and they select from preferred and less preferred food choices.

Nevertheless, it was still unclear how horses respond to non-nutritive flavour changes over a longer period when they are presented with a single diet. This is why, as part of a larger study and over a period of four weeks, we examined the responses to flavour (odour) changes on diet intake. Our main objective was to assess the diet/odour acceptance and variability in intake after each diet/odour introduction was made.

In our study, we offered four fibre pellet diets to 16 adult horses. These diets were similar in digestible energy, but differed in crude protein (CP) levels (Low CP; 14% and High CP; 27%), with one of these levels including a non-caloric natural sweetener + taste.

The four diets (LP, LP+, HP and HP+) were presented in the order from low to high palatability over four weeks (five days on each diet) and were linked to four non-caloric odours (spearmint, banana, cinnamon and coconut).

These four odours were chosen from different flavour classes (i.e. nut flavour, fruit flavour, spice flavour and herb flavour) to avoid similar characteristics and confuse horses. The aim of the adaptation phase was to allow horses to learn about the flavour-to-post-ingestive associations of each diet – this was important for later preference testing and diet ranking.

To make sure all diets and odour combinations were tested, the horses were divided into four groups, which allowed for randomisation of the odours to the four diets (Latin Square 4 x 4). This meant each group received its own unique odour-diet combinations throughout the adaptation phase and during further preference testing.

The odours were sprayed onto the feed before being presented to the horses. Horses were offered 400g per diet/day. The intake was recorded daily and calculated to proportions consumed out of the total food offered.

Our results showed with each introduction of a new odour/diet, an initially large variation in intake was recorded, with some horses showing a neophobic response, while others exhibited no apparent recognition of the odour being new.

Individual variability reduced within 3-4 days for all four odours, with horses consuming between 80-100% of the diet.

This adaptation of 3-4 days to new diet / odour was also observed in our previous study (van den Berg et al., 2016b); suggesting odour cues can have a strong initial influence on feed intake by horses and highlights the important role of smell in diet selection.

Even so, we conclude that non-nutritive odours can be safely introduced to equine diets without upsetting intake patterns for prolonged periods of time. In addition, once horses are familiar with specific odours (that are linked to well-liked diets), you can use this odour as a cue to ease the transition from familiar food to more novel or less palatable foods.

References

• Burton J.H., Price D.J. and Aspinal J. 1983. The effect of feed flavour and feed consumption in horses. In Eight Equine Nutrition and Physiology Symposium Lexington, KY, USA.
• Goodwin D., Davidson H.P.B. and Harris P. 2005a. Selection and acceptance of flavours in concentrate diets for stabled horses. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 95, 223-232.
• Goodwin D., Davidson H.P.B. and Harris P. 2005b. Sensory varieties in concentrate diets for stabled horses: effects on behaviour and selection. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 90, 337-349.
• Provenza F.D. and Balph D.F. 1988. Development of dietary choice in livestock on rangelands and it’s implications for management. Journal of Animal Science 66, 2356-2368.
• van den Berg M., Lee C., Brown W.Y. and Hinch G.N. 2016a. Does energy intake influence diet selection of novel forages by horses? Livestock Science 186, 6-15.
• van den Berg M., Lee C., Brown W.Y., Giagos V. and Hinch G.N. 2016b. Acceptance of novel food by horses: the influence of food cues and nutrient composition. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 183, 59-67.

By Mariette van den Berg, BAppSc. (Hons), MSc., RAnNutr.

The idea to launch an online Equine Permaculture platform (www.equinepermaculture.com) has been in the pipeline for a while, but it was just a matter of timing to get a better idea of what purpose it could have for the equine community. Even though I have been practising and integrating Permaculture principles in my pasture management and property design consulting and education for the last 5 years, its only been recently  (2014) that I visited the Permaculture Research Institute at the The Channon in NSW to complete my Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) course. This has given me more insight into how I could further promote permaculture in my education and designing of horse properties. In addition, I felt that all horse and land owners could contribute to the movement so that we can all learn from our experiments and results!

This blog website with educational articles, research reviews and personal stories and the book shop is just the start, in the near future we hope to extend this with certified (Equine) Permaculture courses and we also hope we can promote/support research projects that focus on equine and pasture health. So follow our blog!

About the website/ movement:
Equine Permaculture unites like minded horse people that want to learn about the principles and implementation of permaculture (design) and other sustainable  farming strategies on their own properties. Our new website is an international platform for all horse and land owners that want to share principles, experiences and education. Anyone can contribute to the website!!

This platform works in a similar way as the Permaculture Research Institute Newsfeed were you can find all the latest posts listed below. With time we hope to build a database for different categories/ topics, which will serve as an open library. But what makes Equine Permaculture different? On this blog site we aim to collect those articles and information that is of particular interest to horse owners. However, we will also touch on livestock, small farm animals, kitchen gardens, house designs, earth works! Anything that is of interest to improving human settlements and responsible integration of horses on properties.

Why join and share your experiences and views?
To build a sustainable future we need to implement new ways of farming and managing pastures. But more than ever we need a paradigm shift, we need creativity. “Creativity involves breaking out of established patterns in order to look at things in a different way.” Although science can guide is in the right direction, there is still a lot to be discovered about how complex adaptive systems function such as soil, plant behaviour, plant-animal interactions, animal behaviour etc.  Sustainability or balance in complex systems can not be found without trial and (mostly) error! On the large scale of time, we are only for a short time custodians of the land, why not share your trial and errors and change the way people manage their land and horses!

Join the movement towards responsible horse keeping and sustainable living using permaculture!

Do you want to tell your story (can be as small or as large as you want)- just contact the team and email us your story with some pictures or videos and we will post them on this website. For more information see our “become an author/contributor“ page.

Equine Permaculture – courses: “Introduction to Permaculture”

Equine Permaculture will hopefully in the near future be involved with full PDC courses. At this stage we provide introduction to Permaculture  (with an equine focus) workshops and seminars (1 or 2 day events).

The seminars integrate a number of principles such as  Permaculture, Keyline Design, Holistic Management^® (HM) and Behavioural Education for Human, Animal, Vegetation and Ecosystem Management (BEHAVE). Our Regenerative Horse Property Design and Pasture Management workshops and seminars are for all horse and land owners, small and large acreage, that want to learn more about how to restore their land, improve soil carbon, regenerate pastures, drought proof their farm and close the input cycle of chemical based fertilisers by developing their own compost (tea) alternative and reduce supplementary feed cost.

Please event page for more information about workshop locations and dates.

powered by

The Australian College of Equine Podiotherapy conducts a biennial conference that aims to present current, progressive, objective and scientifically justified information to equine industry professionals (vets, vet chiros, body therapists, equine podiatrists as well as ‘progressive’ horse owners). Our aim is to disseminate information covering all aspects of horse management that is slanted towards keeping horses sound and in optimum health for the long term, not just next weekend’s blue ribbon.

The conference is named in honour of our long term mentor Professor Robert Bowker from Michigan State University whose research has fostered a generational change in equine hoof management.
Our next conference is scheduled for 21-23 February 2015 in North East Victoria (at Pinnacle Valley Resort near Mansfield).

In addition to Prof. Bowker who will be presenting his latest research findings relevant to equine hoof function, we have secured Dr Kerry Ridgeway to present his latest thoughts relative to equine body therapy, Dr Ann Nyland to speak on equine intestinal health, Dr Penelope Thomson to speak about the current pain relief options for lame horses, Sharon May Davis to present a couple of new peer reviewed research papers relevant to functional anatomy, Mariette van den Berg (MB Equine Services) to speak about integrated pasture management and equine foraging behaviour and a half dozen hoof specialists who will discuss current ‘in the field’ research they are conducting.

Something new for us at this conference (with the three days allowing us to have an official dinner) will be an after dinner speaker. We are excited to announce that Dr Andrew McLean from the Australian Equine Behaviour Centre, will be our guest speaker. He will talk bout “Ethology and Learning Theory in Horse Training”.

It doesn’t matter what corner of the equine therapy world we work in, be it hooves or body or even veterinary medicine, the more we look at the whole horse, the better are the long term results.
The best trimmers are those who learn about bodies. The best body therapists are those who learn about the hooves.

There are also the amazing networking opportunities generated by such a gathering of like minds. You never know just who you may meet at a conference like this.

The venue at Pinnacle Valley is simply breathtaking. Right at the very foot of the iconic Victorian High Country. If you are from interstate you may wish to include a high country horse ride in your itinerary. February is the best time to experience the high country.
If you are intending to participate, don’t leave it to the last minute, numbers are limited. Please call or email in for your name to be put on the list. As soon as registration documents are completed they will be emailed out to you.

The cost for the three days is a very affordable $475. This includes morning tea afternoon tea and lunch. The dinner will be extra. As further details are cemented, we will update you on the Barefootblacksmith Facebook site and our web site http://www.barehoofcare.com/index.html

Info:
Date : Saturday 21st, Sunday 22nd and Monday 23rd February 2015
Venue : Pinnacle Valley Resort, Merrijig, Victoria
www.pvr.com.au

Time : Saturday – Registrations – 8.30 am

Lectures – 9.00 am – 6.00 pm Saturday and Sunday
Dinner & Guest Speaker – 6.00 pm Sunday
Lectures – 9.00 am – 3.00 pm Monday

Cost : $475 – Conference proceedings book, morning
tea, afternoon tea and lunch included.
Dinner$45. Total inc. Dinner $520

Registrations open 2 1 s t October 2014. Positions filled in order of payments received.
Complete attached registration form or download at www.barehoofcare.com and fax to 03 5773 4307.
You can also register in person at Equitana 2014

Download here:

2015 conference flyer

Description lectures conference 2015

Registration form conference 2015

In July I visited the Permaculture Research Institute at the The Channon in NSW for the Permaculture

Design Certificate (PDC) course. I have been practising and integrating Permaculture principles in my pasture management and pro

perty design consulting and education for the last 4 years. But now I am proud to announce that I finally graduated as a Permaculture Designer!

In this post I want to tell a bit more about permaculture, the PDC course and the start of providing intro & PDC courses specifically integrating equine subjects for horse owners.

What is Permaculture?

The term ‘Permaculture’ is a portmanteau word for ‘permanent agriculture’ and ‘permanent culture’. Permaculture is basically an agricultural system which focuses on the natural way of practicing agriculture, maintaining the ecological system and not strictly adhering to the systems followed in modern agriculture. This system was designed and developed by two Australians named Bill Mollison and David Holmgren. Permaculture has been defined by Millison as, “A philosophy of working with, rather than against nature; of protracted and thoughtful observation rather than protracted and thoughtless labor; and of looking at plants and animals in all their functions, rather than treating any area as a single project system.”

The ethics and values on which this system of Permaculture is based are:

1. Earth Care

Earth care, means that we humans should try not to increase situations in which we destroy or perish the natural functioning of our planet earth. As this in turn will lead to consequences which will compel the extinction of human beings. We need to understand that we are merely a part of the earth and not its conquerors. If other animals and creatures will not exist, we will not exist too. There can be no better example than global warming to explain this.

2. People Care

The principle of people care can also be termed as the principle of cooperation. The principle of people care in Permaculture means that we all should work together and help each other instead of competing. One cannot develop a community by only helping oneself and staying alone. To live in a better culture and community, we have to work together and stay together.

3. Fair Share/ Setting Limits to Population and Consumption

Fair share indicates the equal right of using natural resources by all individuals. Natural resources are scarce and moreover, no one really owns it. Therefore, each one should get the share of what they deserve. These resources should not be concentrated in just a few hands, but optimally allocated.

Benefits of Permaculture

After looking at what permaculture is, let us now look at its benefits.

Reduced Cost

Using all the natural components of the ecosystem like composting the waste into useful organic matter and manure, you save up a lot of money which you would otherwise be spending on conventional farming.

Less Waste

In Permaculture, the waste products are recycled and manured back to the earth in the form of compost. Once you start following this practice, the waste material is later used as a natural fertilizer. There is less waste because all the present resources are optimally utilized.

Chemical Resistance

In permaculture, one uses natural fertilizers and mulch for farming and gardening. This helps you in resisting your produce from being exposed to the harmful chemicals that are used in pesticides. The agricultural system followed in Permaculture, will let the natural ecosystem predators perform the functions of the pesticides for you.

Less Pollution

If you are using the most natural way of agricultural cultivation, then there is no way you can increase the pollution. In fact, the zone in which Permaculture is practiced will be pollution free.

Develops Community Values

When you apply the Permaculture system you automatically develop values like creating pollution, helping your fellow beings, and using only how much you need.

Zoning

An important part of Permaculture is zoning. Zoning means arranging the produce depending on what ripens first and what needs more attention. Following this way, the ripe fruits and vegetables are plucked first and the latter ones, as and when they ripen.

Self Reliance and Diversity

One can produce a diverse range of produce in his/her land. Permaculture brings about the sense of self-reliance, as one can grow whatever he needs and consume it. Also, if there is some surplus, then, there are ways of preserving them and using them later.

Promotes Green Living

In Permaculture, one uses natural fertilizers, natural pesticides, and freshwater reserves. It undoubtedly promotes green living of the backyard style.

Helpful in Improving Environmental Conditions

Permaculture teaches us different ways of attaining sufficient and sustainable agriculture in a way beneficial for the environment. Those who follow this culture, produce agricultural goods using a harmonious integration of human dwellings, micro-climate, plants, animals, soil, and water in a productive and stable way.

Can be Applied in Already Functioning Systems

Permaculture can be applied in different agricultural systems that are already functioning. Though, it is necessary that the land is suitable for it. Permaculture can be practiced in areas where agriculture is traditionally practiced and is not located in a commercially developed area, where most of the constituents of our ecological systems have perished.

The system and the concept followed in permaculture sounds very promising in maintaining the ecological system well and also in bringing self-reliance to the farmers or those with forest-gardens, by the means of implementing sustainable and productive farms and gardens. It is basically about going back to the traditional method of farming, incorporating the features of organic farming, agro-forestry, sustainable development, and applied ecology. And, there really seems no other way of saving the earth from the calamities created by us.

Permaculture for equine systems is based on conscious design that focuses on the sustainability of horse keeping, land regeneration, and the well-being of horses. Permaculture as a design system is a call to action: it aims to work towards sustainable solutions. The objective is to produce systems that are ecologically sound and economically viable, which provide for their own needs, do not exploit or pollute, and are there for sustainability in the long term.

Using these principles, we can develop sites in such a way that we can also provide niches for a variety of other animals, including livestock such as cattle, goats, and chickens. In the design of horse properties, we can include the following systems: dams and swales; contour fencing; mobile electric fencing for cell grazing (to minimise damage to pastures); lane-way and central point systems; water points; various forage tree and shrub species along field boundaries and divisions for cut-and-carry fodder; early- and late-season green crops; composting systems that make full use of animal manures; and the production of compost tea and bio-fertiliser.

Equine Permaculture

To create a healthy environment for horses, we should have an integrative approach that looks at various aspects, including the environment and behaviour of wild and free-roaming horses in comparison to those of domestic horses, property design strategies, pasture management for diversity, general horse nutrition, shelter, drought-proofing, and integrating horses in ecological terms as soundly as possible.

The PDC course

The Permaculture Design Certificate course is an internationally-recognized, seventy-two hour course resulting in a Permaculture Design Certificate. It provides an introduction to permaculture design as set forth by movement founder Bill Mollison. The course is taught by Geoff and Nadia Lawton, and other permaculture educators.

The PDC serves as foundation for further permaculture work and study and is a prerequisite for the Diploma in Permaculture Design, offered through The Permaculture Institute. Credit for this course is now accepted by a growing number of universities around the world.

To date, thousands of permaculture designers worldwide have been certified through this course, and now comprise a global network of educators, ecological activists who influence major corporations, individuals creating new business alternatives and groups of committed people working together to change the way we view and design into our landscapes.

The course covers sustainable living systems for a wide variety of landscapes and climates. It includes the application of permaculture principles to food production, home design, construction, energy conservation and generation, and explores alternative economic structures and legal strategies supporting permaculture solutions.

Specific topics include:

* Theory and principles of permaculture
* Eco-friendly house placement and design
* Energy conservation techniques for cold climates
* Recycling and waste management
* Organic food production
* Water harvesting and management
* Ecological pest control
* Drought-proofing
* Soil rehabilitation and erosion control
* Livestock
* Aquaculture
* Catastrophe preparedness and prevention
* Windbreaks and fire control

The foundation for this course is A Permaculture Designers’ Manual by Bill Mollison and is distributed to students on the first day. The Manual is included in the cost of the course

Equine Permaculture – courses: “Introduction to Permaculture”

MB Equine Services will hopefully in the near future be involved with full PDC courses. At this stage we provide introduction to Permaculture  (with an equine focus) workshops and seminars (1 or 2 day events).

The seminars integrate a number of principles such as  Permaculture, Keyline Design, Holistic Management^® (HM) and Behavioural Education for Human, Animal, Vegetation and Ecosystem Management (BEHAVE). Our Regenerative Horse Property Design and Pasture Management workshops and seminars are for all horse and land owners, small and large acreage, that want to learn more about how to restore their land, improve soil carbon, regenerate pastures, drought proof their farm and close the input cycle of chemical based fertilisers by developing their own compost (tea) alternative and reduce supplementary feed cost.

Please visit our home page for more information about workshop locations and dates.

Published on the International Science website
By Shweta Iyer on March 9, 2014 2:18 PM EDT

Grasslands occupy more than one-quarter of the Earth’s land area, spreading over six continents. As bio-diverse ecosystems, they support the growth of several indigenous plants and animals. But unfortunately, overuse of fertilizers in the past decades have accelerated ecological decline throughout the unique landscapes. Now, a team of scientists have come up with a solution to conserve and protect the biodiversity of the grasslands: Allowing animals to graze and chew out the overgrown grass.

More than 50 scientists who study grasslands worldwide, known as the Nutrient Network (NutNet) conducted a five-year comparative study on the grasslands, and came up with the solution. The study, which will be published in the journal Nature, was carried out at 40 different sites around the world. “This study has tremendous significance because human activities are changing grasslands everywhere,” said study co-author Daniel S. Gruner, associate professor of entomology at the University of Maryland, in a statement.

“We’re over fertilizing them, and we’re adding and subtracting herbivores. We have a worldwide experiment going on, but it’s completely uncontrolled.”

The grasslands are dotted with a number of native plants, however, human activities, such as burning fossil fuels, adding fertilizers, and dumping farm animal manure into the land have added extra nitrogen and other nutrients into the grassland soil. This excess in nutrients has led certain grasses to overtake others, as they sap the nutrients faster and grow bigger — leading to not only fewer nutrients but also less sunlight. In addition to these factors, grasslands around the world are also being converted into pasture land for domestic animals, which have begun to outnumber other wild grazers like elk and antelope.

Allowing grazers to eat the grass, thus reversing the effects of over-fertilizing, had been theorized but never tested. To test the theory, the NutNet scientists created four test plots in each of the 40 sites. The first test plot was fenced, to prevent animals from grazing. The second was sprayed with fertilizers to replicate current farming practice — using fertilizer — with animals being allowed to graze. The third plot was both fenced and fertilized, and the last one was left alone.

In all the test sites the population of animals was unmonitored. So, in some places there were a lot of native grazers while others had more domestic animals.  Some sites had been previously grazed by cattle but were now abandoned.

The researchers found that the fertilized plots that didn’t have grazing animals also had a lower diversity of plants, while fertilized plots with grazing animals showed an increase in plant diversity. The most improvement was observed in plots where large, wild and domestic animals were allowed to graze. These animals included cattle, pronghorn, and elk on North America’s Great Plains; wildebeests and impala on Africa’s Serengeti; and horses, sheep, and ibex in rural India. Places where only small animals like rabbits, voles, and gophers grazed did not show much improvement.

With these results, the researchers proved that grazing animals improved biodiversity by increasing the amount of light reaching the ground. “Where we see a change in light, we see a change in diversity,” said lead author Elizabeth Borer, of the University of Minnesota, in the statement.

“Our work suggests that two factors, which humans have changed globally, grazing and fertilization, can control ground-level light. Light appears to be very important in maintaining or losing biodiversity in grasslands.”

Equine Health Workshop: South East QLD

Topics:
– Equine Nutrition
– Gastrointestinal Tract
– Digestive & Metabolic Disorders
– Nutrient Resources & Nutrient Requirements
– Dietary Management
– Parasite Control
– Biosecurity QLD – Hendra Update

Booking and more information: http://www.seqcatchments.com.au/announcements/horse-nutrition-canungra

Explore how best to match pasture and feed options to your horses’ needs and discuss solutions to nutritional problems while balancing feed costs. You will hear about horses’ digestive systems, nutritional needs and nutrient sources, common digestive and metabolic disorders and how to prevent them.

Presenter: Mariette van den Berg is an animal scientist & nutritionist with over 6 years research experience in equine nutrition and the founder of MB Equine Services.

WORKSHOP 2: DESIGN A MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR YOUR PROPERTY
WHEN: Saturday May 31st 2014, 1.30pm – 4.30pm

Developing a plan for a property is an important tool to help you understand what assets your land holds and the best way to manage them. This course will assist you to develop your own management plan for your horse property, in line with your set of goals for happy and healthy horses. A map of your property will be provided.

Presenters: Greg Leach (SEQ Catchments) & Greg Curry
Greg Leach has over 20 years experience in whole-property planning services for balancing
environmental, production, financial and social outcomes.
Greg Curry is a horse trainer and specializes in horse behaviour. Come and see how Greg is designing his property for sustainable horse keeping

http://www.seqcatchments.com.au/announcements/horse-nutrition-and-property-management-workshops

Canton du Jura, Switzerland

On Day 1 (Healthy land = healthy horses) we will focus on common horses and land management issues around the world, horse nutrition (digestive system, feeding practices and disorders), horse behaviour (time budget and foraging strategies), pastures (grass growth and development), soil development, ecosystem management and introduction to pasture and grazing planning. On this day we will walk the Creux de Biches property and potentially visit another equine property.

On Day 2 (Planning = the bridge between the present and the future) we will get hands on with our property planning. First we will cover some theory on property planning steps and goal setting.  In the afternoon we will start with the actual planning;  current infrastructure mapping, natural feature mapping and future planning. At the end of the workshop we will finish the program with a short movie about implementing equine permaculture and the process of designing.

When: 18 & 19 and 25 & 26th of October!
Where: Le Creux-des-Biches http://www.creux-des-biches.ch/fr/le-creux-des-biches/

Le Creux-des-Biches

The old station Creux -des- Biches

Come home, relax, learn to understand nature and people, regain strength, recognize its place in the world, take heart

The old train station is a little oasis where people in a protected environment can learn about and develop new strategies and visions for future living. The guest house offers simple but comfortable shared rooms (single rooms with extra charge), a beautiful meditation room, kitchen and dining room with library. The property is located in the most beautiful hiking area at high level of free mountains and inhabited by friendly people, horses, chickens, rabbits and cats. At the moment a Permaculture paradise garden with a pond is being created. We are happy to provide our place for seminars, workshops, and new event projects.

For more information and booking: L’Ancienne Garde du Creux des Biches – Email: bonjour@creux-des-biches.ch Phone: +41 32 953 1180