BABERGH LANDOWNERS ENCOURAGED TO BECOME MORE ‘HORSEWISE’

Changing land use and ownership has resulted in more land in Suffolk being given over to horse and pony grazing than ever before. Often this land use blends well in to the local landscape as pastures are well managed and fencing is well maintained and sensitively sited. However, in some cases management is inadequate and can lead to weedy, poorly fenced and over-grazed horse-sick paddocks that have a detrimental affect on the landscape and local surroundings.

In response, Babergh and Suffolk FWAG have launched the "Horsewise" Project to advise landowners as to the best ways of managing their pastures.

Dora Nichols, a Conservation Advisor for Suffolk FWAG said that "the aim of the Project was to help improve the condition of established and new grassland for horses, improve horse welfare, and help local wildlife through the use of more suitable equine grass mixtures and alternative management practices". Dora runs her own livery yard in Lawford which she started last year using Government funding. Suffolk FWAG is working closely with the British Horse Society and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to help develop a project which will encourage horse owners to look differently at their fields, no matter what size they are.

Peter Berry, Babergh`s Countryside Officer, remarked that "the "Horsewise" Project was a meeting of minds between the two organisations, who had both identified problems with horse grazing and were working together to produce a common approach that would benefit the landowner and the environment. Our intention is to offer constructive advice and to encourage landowners to carry out improvements, such as hedgerow planting, and give information on the new environmental grants, which will be available from January 2005".