“Horse hay” project - workhorses in nature conservation
The project is carried out as part of the EU project BE-NATUR. The implementation is carried out in the Styrian Salzkammergut together with Rudolf Seebacher from the Pferdekurier association, the nature conservation association representative from the Liezen district, Gerhard Schmiedhofer and the Natura 2000 area manager Dr. Karin Hochegger.
The continued management of grassland meadows and fens, some of which are heavily waterlogged, especially in Ausseerland, is not guaranteed in the long term. Farming with conventional agricultural equipment is often only possible to a limited extent. However, to maintain the biodiversity of these protected and endangered habitats, continued management is necessary. The use of horses in nature conservation is therefore becoming increasingly important.
With the soil-friendly use of work horses, the mowing of wet areas can be made possible sustainably and the hay obtained can be used regionally as bedding or horse hay. Reviving the use of agricultural horse power brings a variety of benefits to rural regions. Horse power replaces motorized transport services, promotes ecological sustainability and saves costs. It creates new value creation opportunities for agricultural horse owners. The revival of agricultural horse power thus contributes to strengthening the rural economy and preserving the cultural landscape and the traditional relationship to agricultural practices. This management method is interesting for the population in the region in order to be able to re-establish a connection to the landscape, biodiversity and land management.
The project is particularly supported by the state of Styria and in Upper Austria all nature conservation areas are already managed using horse power.
