# Sinkholes, Erosion, and manure



## 4horses (Nov 26, 2012)

My back pasture has a downward slope towards the neighbors yard. They have a sinkhole on the other side of the fence. Erosion is a problem and i usually have someone come once a year to move the dirt back up the hill with a tractor and level it.

We now have new neighbors who have cleared all vegetation from the sinkhole and removed several trees. They even had someone come with a tractor and level out the sinkhole so it is a nice round sinkhole. They mentioned turning it into a pond. Not sure i like that idea unless they put in fish to prevent mosquitoes. The sinkhole remains dry year round. I'm not sure you could turn it into a pond? 

They are concerned that the horse manure is going to run into the sinkhole and contaminate their well. The area uphill from the sinkhole is the only part of my property with shade so obviously the horses hangout and nap in that area. If it rains, everything washes downhill. 

I could certainly put a line of sandbags along the fence. But that isn't going to look nice so i doubt they will appreciate that. I could plant some bushes along the fence. Since the sinkhole is on their property, I feel like they should replace the vegetation, as that is what prevents erosion. But now that there is no more vegetation erosion is going to be worse.

If anyone has ideas on cheap erosion control? I try to spread my manure on the grass, but i can't prevent the rain from washing it away. If we get a hurricane, all that dirt goes right back down the hill. 

I'm seriously considering putting up a line of sandbags and not worrying about it further.


----------



## QtrBel (May 31, 2012)

Looks better than the tires we have for a similar reason. My DH as a thing against leaves. I tell him and tell him those leaves keep all of our dirt from washing down hill to the hollow. He insists on raking. up. every. single. leaf. under the trees. It drives me nuts. Then he puts them all on the hill that is eroded to prevent erosion. I tell him it doesn't work that way. He disturbed the layer and bonding and the hill has no trees so there are deep crevices cut into it. Like putting sand to fill a crevice on a drive. It just washes and keeps washing. If you aren't interested in shrubs (that you would have to protect while getting established) then the sand bags are a good choice. I'd also put in a line of trees. If their sinkhole is 100' from the well then no issue with your manure. We have a hedge in one area of rose that we cut back every year and over the years it has thickened up to an impenetrable fence. Keeps soil in place too. The cows keep their side nice and tidy and the horses have learned that hooky thorns aren't good food. 

As for turning it into a pond they would have to line it with clay and that is expensive.


----------



## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

I think whatever you do to your yard for your benefit is great.
You _don't_ just bulldoze randomly then cry foul about drainage and water channeled this direction or that.
Your new neighbors bought land knowing it _is_ the low point for ground run-off from various directions and others land..._they bought it knowing this._
It sounds like they did not consult or ask anyone with ground drainage knowledge before putting a bulldozer blade to ground. :icon_rolleyes:
If they want to do a fish pond then it is their headache since they also disturbed the filtering system naturally put their by Mother Nature.
Being a decent neighbor is one thing,_ within reason._
Feeling you need to change how you live or more exactly how the horses live, the lay of your land is _not _something I would do.

Sand *is* the best filters of impurity known today...
Dragging to disburse manure better, picking up more if possible but unless that sinkhole is 3' off the fence, the issue was made worse by them and their actions...
You grade and prepare your land to minimize effects of your horses living in a higher elevation paddock than their land is for your neighbors, but you can not change how Mother Nature deems her land lies...and these new homeowners knew all of this before purchase...so be it.

There is a new home being built across the road from me.
I met the homeowner the other day....
He was complaining about the smell of cattle and horses being so strong...
_Seriously, you bought land where you are surrounded by livestock. :|_
You have no grounds to complain when all have been here for generations previous and you are the newbie...
If you not like the smell of the rural country then live in a housing development area or city and live with that environment..._do *not* complain to me._
Its falling on deaf ears. :icon_rolleyes:
:runninghorse2:....
_jmo..._


----------



## QtrBel (May 31, 2012)

Actually a berm of compost on top of a sandy loam would be the best just depends on what you are removing. Here the sand stops the flow, catches sediment and allows nutrients from the manure time to move down into the soil before reaching the neighbor. EPA would not allow for use of sand filter berm or channel for our use. Threat of compost contaminating the dairy's lagoon system. Sure our compost that controls nitrogen run off is going to contaminate the lagoon that is a holding tank essentially for nitrogen laden water from the diary. Their worry (they said) was heavy metals. They wanted a biofilter because of the ability to trap pollutants that with enough water would still pass through if sand only. It made for much frustration as we were not bringing in anything other than dairy manure. Man did the grass grow green and well on that berm. Actually rarely ever went dormant. Only the hardest of freezes would cause die back.


----------



## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

Well, the new neighbors already have two strikes against them ---- why didn't they think about run-off before they bought the property----and buy somewhere else ----

i hope the pour tons of money into trying to get their sinkhole to hold water------ one of our sinkholes fills up with water every time we get a day long frog strangler of a rain ----- four hours or less later, the water is all gone, lollollol

You've been given some good suggestions. I don't have anything to offer. I just wanted to comment on what I think of your new neighbors. 

I hope you can find an inexpensive and not-too-labor-intensive resolve


----------



## sarahfromsc (Sep 22, 2013)

Personally, I would give them the “deer in the headlights” look and say nothing until it unnerves them and they walk off.


----------



## 4horses (Nov 26, 2012)

We had some severe weather move in last night. It poured buckets. I looked out and there was a river of water running down the hill. All the manure i had spread over the pasture, has disappeared. I don't think anything I can come up with is going to compare with mother nature at her worst. I did put down sand bags, not that I expect them to help much.


----------



## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

^^^^^^^^^ THIS ^^^^^^^^^^

Mother Nature at her finest.
You can do all the grading and remaking of the land you want and you will have "0" control over where the land will revert to in 5 minutes time.
A sinkhole is the work of nature and nothing your neighbor does will change it.
They should be glad it is their and captures that run-off or they would lose much of their land, buildings and possibly home from erosion...all of which is NOT your fault nor do you have control over the topography that they knew about when purchasing the land.

You know...
Off of Long Island there is a barrier island and water body called the Great South Bay, that land strip then the Atlantic Ocean.
The Army Corp of Engineers keeps filling in the inlets to control tides and such...
And they lose all of it every time there is a Nor'easter....
Mother Nature rips open that closed channel so the water changes and becomes real healthy again...
Morale of the story is you will not change the will of the land and Mother Nature.
You have no control over her fury... :|
The land will do what it wants and your neighbor should just leave it be to protect his home in future. _jmo..._
:runninghorse2:....


----------



## QtrBel (May 31, 2012)

Similar here where they are dredging sand and pumping it miles away onto beaches that disappear when the smallest of hurricanes blows through.


----------



## updownrider (Mar 31, 2009)

horselovinguy said:


> There is a new home being built across the road from me.
> I met the homeowner the other day....
> He was complaining about the smell of cattle and horses being so strong...
> _Seriously, you bought land where you are surrounded by livestock. :|_
> You have no grounds to complain when all have been here for generations previous and you are the newbie...


I never could understand why people built house right on our property line and then complained about our horses and the smell of manure. We were there at least 20 years before they started to build.


----------



## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

The little house 12 feet (that IS twelve feet from our barnyard boundary was finally sold and thank goodness they are from the farm and the man is involved with the FFA.

They fenced in their entire acre so their three rescue dogs have a place to run and they have chickens that I hope get to free range to keep the tick population down.

They understand completely why my IR and sometimes lame horse has to live in the yard areas and can't go in the big pasture with the other horse.

Given some of the nut job renters that have come and gone over the years, we are thankful for this young couple


----------

