Oldham County’s top ag commodity is horses, and supporting horse owners and managers remains a high priority.  According to the 2022 Kentucky Equine Survey, Oldham County ranked 6^th in Equine Acres, 6^th in Equine Value, and 7^th in Equine Operation Income.  Income from services and value of equine sold totaled 49 million dollars.   Oldham County horse uses include racing, showing, breeding, trail riding, and idle horses.  

While the county’s horse uses span the spectrum, all have a common need for pasture management information.  Horses are tough on pastures, and overgrazed, weedy pastures are common problems horse owners must tackle.  Additionally, tractor and equipment safety have been identified as areas of interest in other recent horse programs.   To meet these needs, the Oldham County Agriculture & Natural Resource Agent partnered with Kentucky Women in Agriculture’s District Representative to offer a field day hosted by Lettleiki Icelandics, a local horse operation.  Additional speakers and partners for this event were the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, University of Kentucky Equine Extension, Raising Hope Kentucky, Bluegrass Land Conservancy, and the Oldham County Conservation District.

Sixty participants from local counties and from as far as southern Indiana learned from the following topics presented during the field day:

• Farm Safety & Trailering Livestock, Kentucky Department of Agriculture
• Pasture Management, Oldham County Agriculture & Natural Resources Agent
• Grazing Management, University of Kentucky Horse Specialist
• Mental Health Awareness, Raising Hope Kentucky
• Preserving Land & Family Farms, Bluegrass Land Conservancy and Oldham County Conservation District
• Icelandic Horse Demonstrations, Lettleiki Icelandics

 A follow-up evaluation was conducted by email in November 2023 to measure changes made to improve trailering safety, pasture management, grazing management, and land preservation.  Twenty percent of participants who had provided email addresses responded as follows:

“We had our fields tested and added lime where needed.”  

“I already have my acreage divided into four smaller paddocks – now I understand the amount of time needed to rest pasture.”

“The session on trailer safety was very helpful.  My husband and I now review hand signals before backing the truck up to the trailer.”

“The speakers made me more conscious of tractor safety and trailer hitch safety.”

“We are considering conservation plans for our farm in the future.”

“I do not have horses, but the fencing demo gave me the idea to purchase and install temporary electric fencing around a new tree planting to keep the deer out.  It has proven to be successful so far.  If not for this field day, I would never have known about this option and would have struggled to protect my investment of money and time for these 90 trees.”

“I think a field day dedicated to farm machinery safety would be helpful.”

“I’d like to see barn design covered in a future field day – especially covering items people wish they’d done differently.”

“I learn so much every time I attend one of the programs you host.”

“The educational program was great!  I think more events like this are needed for the horse community.”