Victorian Landcare Magazine - , Issue 89
The equine Landcare movement began in Victoria 18 years ago. It is attracting increasing numbers of horse owners who have a deep connection with their animals and the knowledge that sound land management and best practice horse-keeping goes hand in hand with horse health and welfare.
In 2011 Katie Jacobsen, as a volunteer with the then Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges Landcare Network, wrote an article in this magazine about engaging with horse owners in the Yarra Valley.
The Port Phillip and Western Port region now has three functioning equine Landcare Groups: Yarra Valley Equestrian Landcare Group (YVELG), formed in 2010; Mornington Peninsula Equine Landcare Group (MPELG), formed in 2022; and Cardinia and West Gippsland Equine Landcare Group (CWGELG), formed in 2022.
The surge in equine Landcare groups raised the issue of the best way the groups should be supported.
Above: Horse keepers value the importance of multi-species pasture.
The surge in equine Landcare groups raised the issue of the best way the groups should be supported. In December 2023 the Victorian Equine Landcare Community of Practice (VELCoP) was formed. A community of practice is a group of people who share a passion or goal, and work together to learn, support each other, and synergise their efforts.
Communities of practice appoint a leader, but there are no governance structures or accounts, so the administration is minimal. This differs to the current Landcare network model which can be taxing on volunteer time. Horse owners are by their very nature busy people and further administrative burden was not attractive to the participants.
VELCoP was proposed by members of YVELG who understood the fragmented nature of the equine Landcare movement in Victoria, and the unfortunate tendency of new groups to come and go.
VELCoP held its first workshop in Bunyip in March 2024 to brainstorm the best way to proceed. There were representatives from each group present, with the workshop facilitated by Karen O’Keefe, Sustainable Agriculture Facilitator, from Corangamite CMA.
VELCoP has been meeting regularly as part of its start-up phase. Its main role is to provide a forum for the committee members of the equine Landcare groups to keep each other informed of their plans, to share information, speakers, and other resources, and promote each other’s events.
Above: VELCoP encourages all horse owners to join an event run by a local equine Landcare group to increase their land management skills and knowledge.
Dedicated equine Landcare groups are successful due to the special land management challenges posed by keeping horses. Each grazing species, including the horse, leaves its signature on the land. Their grazing usually performed an essential role in the ecosystems where they evolved – the north American grasslands more than 55 million years ago
Australia has fragile soils, and our wildlife has evolved without hard hooved animals. The domestic horse we live with today is also vastly different from the animal that ran wild.
Horses have high feed demands, hard hooves, and often heavy bodies. Horses are also commonly kept in relatively small areas, leading to land erosion and pasture degradation. They may additionally suffer from obesity and lack of fitness due to their inability to roam freely and forage.
Many people will be familiar with the appearance of horse sick paddocks, with their overgrown and rank manure pads (roughs), unproductive heavily grazed lawns between the roughs, eroded fence lines and gateways, compacted soil, mud, and high weed burden.
Like-minded equestrians are turning to each other to share knowledge, using the Landcare model.
A growing number of horse owners are dedicated to combating this problem. They are aiming to maintain the health of their horse properties and modify their management systems to complement the land. This can be challenging, and the problems faced can differ between small and large blocks.
Like-minded equestrians are turning to each other to share knowledge, using the Landcare model. This approach has proved successful in bringing people together, supporting change and promoting a more sustainable whole-farm approach.
Equine Landcare is particularly well suited to networking due to many issues in common that are shared across large regions. These include management of pastures, parasites, water sources, and manure, as well as fencing, shelter provision and equine nutrition.
The individual equine Landcare groups meet regularly. Events during 2024 have included fire safety on horse properties (YVELG), dung beetle education (MPELG), and pasture plant identification (CWGELG).
Above: VELCoP’s first planning workshop at Bunyip in March 2024
VELCoP will continue to work to help existing equine Landcare groups thrive. We encourage all horse owners to join an event run by a local equine Landcare group to increase their land management skills and knowledge.
The current members of VELCoP include the Yarra Valley Equine Landcare Group, Cardinia and West Gippsland Equine Landcare Group, Mornington Peninsula Equine Landcare Group, Corangamite CMA and Project Hope.
If you have formed a group or are thinking of forming a group with the aim of improving horse-keeping practices for the benefit of the land they live on, VELCoP would love to hear from you.
Marianne Sawyer is convenor of VELCoP and President of the Yarra Valley Equestrian Landcare Group. Mel Archer is a member of VELCoP and committee member of the Cardinia and West Gippsland Equine Landcare Group. For more information email yvequestrianlandcare@gmail.com