A new way to keep horse stalls clean and healthy.

Developing a planet-friendly product that is healthier for horses, and their riders and caregivers

The Opportunity

When you think of horses, environmental issues are likely not the first thing that comes to mind. But in the US alone, the horse industry generates 36 million tons of stall waste annually, using seven billion cubic feet of wood shavings from cut-down trees and unhealthy, dusty mill scraps, which is used as bedding. Improper disposal of horse manure results in annual emissions of four million tons of methane gas (CH₄) and 500 tons of phosphorous leaching into our waterways. 

The Challenge

HiPoint AG is focused on alleviating the environmental impacts of horses, while producing the healthiest and most sustainable Recycled Wood Shaving Bedding. They’ve developed a process to separate the wood shavings from the horse manure so the shavings can be safely reused as healthy, hypo-allergenic, and dust-free bedding. Their process minimizes deforestation, leaching and methane off-gassing from stall residual waste and with solid research results, the company is attracting commercial interest. They needed to conduct some commercial trials to validate the efficiency, economics and environmental benefits. 

NPC’s Solution

NPC provided over $120,000 through its Proof of Concept Program to help HiPoint AG pursue their trials with a set of substantial commercial partners. At the time of publication, the company was starting their activities, which will include multiple production runs to test bedding in commercial barn stalls and validate the separated manure as a fertilizer.