Healthy horse standing in pasture with environmental water conservation symbols, promoting sustainable horse keeping practices.
What Else We’re Reading
Healthy brown horse grazing on lush green pasture, promoting sustainable horse keeping and land management practices.

Ivermectin, Not Just for Horses Anymore?

Ivermectin is a popular anti-parasitic drug used to treat horses and cattle for worms. It is also used to treat certain human parasites. However, it has garnered significant interest recently for a different reason: last summer, an Australian research paper showed some promise of ivermectin as a treatment for COVID-infected patients. While all the information and research isn’t in, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, considered to be the gold standard in assessing evidence on current medical topics, found “no evidence to support the use of ivermectin for treating or preventing COVID-19 infection.” Large, rigorous trials are still underway across the globe to further study the efficacy of using equine dewormer in this application. Read more in this National Public Radio article.

Healthy Soils, Clean Water—in Idaho?

Implementing nature-based solutions for managing our horse properties (such as composting manure, rotational grazing, mud management, etc.) is one of the best strategies for protecting the ecosystem and reducing climate change impacts. In Idaho, The Nature Conservancy is working with farmers to discover solutions to complex environmental challenges. Check out TNC’s six Key Principles of Regenerative Agriculture (scroll down) which can apply to livestock operations of any size—whether it’s two acres with a single horse, 10 acres with 16 horses (like our Sweet Pepper Ranch in Nampa, ID), or a commercial horse facility—anywhere in the United States.

What have you been reading about ways we can help address climate change at home? We’d love to hear about it!

Picture of Alayne Blickle
Alayne Blickle
Alayne Blickle is a lifelong equestrian, ranch riding competitor, and the creator and director of Horses for Clean Water. Well-known for her enthusiastic, down-to-earth approach, Blickle is an educator who has worked with horse and livestock owners since 1990, teaching manure composting, pasture management, mud and dust control, water conservation, chemical use reduction, fire preparedness, and wildlife enhancement.  Blickle and her husband raise and train their mustangs and quarter horses at their eco-sensitive guest ranch, Sweet Pepper Ranch, in sunny Nampa, Idaho.
Picture of Alayne Blickle
Alayne Blickle
Alayne Blickle is a lifelong equestrian, ranch riding competitor, and the creator and director of Horses for Clean Water. Well-known for her enthusiastic, down-to-earth approach, Blickle is an educator who has worked with horse and livestock owners since 1990, teaching manure composting, pasture management, mud and dust control, water conservation, chemical use reduction, fire preparedness, and wildlife enhancement.  Blickle and her husband raise and train their mustangs and quarter horses at their eco-sensitive guest ranch, Sweet Pepper Ranch, in sunny Nampa, Idaho.

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