EQUINE CORNER
A Few Thoughts on Horse Keeping:
Elfin Forest and Harmony Grove are horse friendly communities. Please consider that keeping large animal is
a right and a privilege.
As horses owners we are responsible for keeping our animals in a safe and healthy manner,
which is appropriate for their species.
We also need to make sure that our horse keeping does not affect our neighbors
in any negative way.
Responsibility and Respect are the important guidelines to make sure we horse owners keep and keep
earning our right to have horses in our backyards.
Safe, Healthy Horse Keeping means:
Provide plenty of space for horses, don’t overcrowd your property with too many horses! Consider that keeping
your horses in small pipe corrals 24 hours a day is not in their nature!
Provide shelter from sun and rain.
Provide appropriate fencing to ensure safe keeping.
Provide enough clean water.
Provide ample food.
Provide social interaction for your horse (Horses are social animals, they don’t like to live alone where
they cannot at least see other horses).
Responsible, Respectful Horse Keeping means:
Follow Best Management Practices for Manure Management and Drainage (to protect your neighbors from smell and flies and to protect our watershed from harmful pollutants)
For more info on BMP’s please got to: http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/dpw/watersheds/watershedpdf/equestrian_facilities.pdf
For Vector Control:
http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/deh/pests/vector_disease.html
Animal Services: http://www.sddac.com/animalcruelity.asp
DPW Project Clean Water: http://www.projectcleanwater.org/
APCD for dust and odors http://www.sdapcd.org/
Be in communication with your neighbors about your horse keeping!
Be considerate when riding, share the trails!
Large Animal Regulations
There is currently no limit on the number of "owned" horses a property owner can keep on his/her property.
Any type of horse business operation currently requires a Major Use Permit. This includes any boarding of horses,
offering riding lessons, or running a riding barn.
Trails are mostly private, Riders need to obey posted signs.
Everybody who keeps large animals on their property is required to follow the Best Management Practices (BMP's)
which can be found under the following link:
http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/dpw/watersheds/watershedpdf/equestrian_facilities.pdf
The County of San Diego is currently working on restructuring the Equine Zoning Ordinance. Please go to "New Equine Ordinance" for updates.
New Equine Ordinance:
Our new community plan: http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/pds/docs/CP/ELFIN_FOR_HARM_GROVE_CP.pdf. provides for horses and large animal keeping with responsible husbandry (Policy LU-1.3.1).
This is the direct link to the Equine Ordinance, which regulates animal keeping in our area.
Trails:
You can join and/or support the Town Council Trails Committee, which organizes clean-up days and other activities of interest to trail users.
Emergency Animal Evacuations
We live in a high fire-risk area.
Everybody who keeps large animals has to be aware of this fact. Horse owners are responsible for evacuating their animals
and they are responsible for having their evacuation plan in order.
What does this mean?
Don’t keep more horses/animals on your property than you can evacuate safely in a fire situation. Understand that often, there is not time to go back and forth. Ideally, have as many trailer spaces as you have horses!!!
When there is an evacuation order, evacuate IMMEDIATELY. Don’t wait and sit it out. This can cost your life and your horses’ life’s!
Be considerate of the other neighbors trying to evacuate and especially on the narrow private roads in Elfin Forest, try to minimize blocking of the road with trailers while loading. Ideally have enough off street parking on your property to allow for emergency loading without impacting egress of others.
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