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Centaur Stride is a therapeutic and recreational horse center for children and adults with learning and physical challenges. Their mission is to improve the "quality of life" for people with disabilities through horseback riding. For the last two years the pasture at Centaur Stride has had surface and subsurface water drainage problems that caused a serious erosion problem. The pasture has been divided into smaller units to reduce the physical impact that the 45-60 horses have on the pasture vegetation, yet this has done little to stop the gully erosion.
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| In addition to causing sedimentation in the wetlands and Chautauqua Creek, the gullies are endangering the health and safety of the horses and their riders. Personnel from the Chautauqua County Soil and Water Conservation District and Natural Resource Conservation Service have determined that 3 tile outlet diversions, subsurface drainage and a raised laneway system are the conservation practices needed to eliminate the gully erosion in the pasture.The gullies are located throughout the 30 acre pasture and it is estimated that 1140 feet of diversion ditches will be required to effectively stop the erosion. Much of the surface water flow is directly from a spring/seep area in the pasture. By capturing this water, it is prevented from flowing on the ground surface. This water can then be used to provide an alternative water supply system for the horses, which in turn will eliminate the horse traffic from the diversion ditches. | |
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Personnel from the Chautauqua County Soil and Water Conservation
District and Natural Resource Conservation Service determined that 3
tile outlet diversions, subsurface drainage and a raised laneway system
were the conservation practices needed in the pasture to address soil
erosion concerns. The planning, design and layout of the tile outlet
diversion ditch system which was requested by the landowners was completed
by the personnel from the Chautauqua County Soil and Water Conservation
District. Personnel from Centaur Stride removed the horses from the
pasture where the sediment and erosion control practices are to be installed
in the fall of 2005. The pasture fences were removed to allow machine
access to the pasture and the underground pipe that will provide the
outlet for the surface water collected by the diversion ditches was
installed late in 2005. |
| A conservation contractor was hired to complete the diversions,
but due to wet weather conditions the diversions were only in a rough
construction state throughout the winter months. In May 2006, the contractor
returned to complete the diversion ditch system according to NRCS specifications.
The Chautauqua County Soil and Water Conservation District provided
the supervision and construction inspection. Personnel from Centaur
Stride cleared the pastures of the resulting debris from construction
and reseeded the vegetation on the disturbed areas. The plant material
used to reestablish the vegetative cover was a grass legume mixture
commonly used in pastures, containing both native and non-native forage
species. Personnel from NRCS and the Chautauqua County SWCD have given the landowner specific information on protecting and maintaining the diversion system to ensure the functioning of the system as horses often cause tremendous damage to diversion systems if left uncontrolled. Provisions have been made to monitor the system for the next two years. Due to the delays in construction, the planned conservation tour had been delayed and is currently scheduled to take place in August 2006. The development of a wetland ecology program at the stables is currently in progress and should be available to the clientele this fall. As the Seneca Trail Resource Conservation and Development Council is an all volunteer organization, over 15 volunteers contributed their time in association with this project. In addition, volunteers assisted Centaur Stride with this project and have provided in excess of 180 hours of in-kind labor. |
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