Horse Illustrated Magazine

Horses contribute positively to the quality of human life in many ways. They provide a connection to the outdoors, opportunities for recreation and exercise, and the equine industry provides jobs and community spirit. But the land necessary to sustain equestrian activities is disappearing, and once it’s gone, it can’t come back.

The Equine Land Conservation Resource (ELCR) has launched a campaign on the crowdfunding site indiegogo.com. Instead of seeking large donations from a few major donors, crowdfunding allows a group like the ELCR to solicit small, affordable contributions from a lot of people who are directly affected by the group’s work. In this case, ELCR is appealing to horse owners, riders and others who understand the importance of preserving open space and farmland to help their cause.

Loss of equestrian land is caused by rapid expansion of suburban sprawl and poor planning of new development. Without built-in protections for farms, equine operations are often pushed out by non-horse-friendly residential or commercial construction. When horses and their riders are pushed out of a community, the trails and other public lands are at risk of being closed to horses because they no longer have equestrians advocating for their use.

The ELCR’s indiegogo campaign aims to fund a Planning and Zoning Toolkit. This toolkit will provide horse owners tools to help understand land use mapping, zoning ordinances, and how these concepts affect horsekeeping. With the information provided, riders will have the resources they need to get involved and provide an educated voice from an equestrian perspective on the issues of development in their communities.

The ELCR aims to raise $5,000 in this campaign. Small incentives, including ELCR magnets and totebags, are available at certain donation levels. Any contribution, no matter how small, is accepted in this campaign. Find out more at indiegogo.com or elcr.org.

Further Reading
Wide Open Spaces
Seven Ways to Save Horseback Riding Trails