My family has a small property near Albury. It's our pride and joy. Twelve acres of recovering sheep country, half of it set aside for bush. Since we've been here, I've spotted 195 bird species plus the occasional echidna and wallaby.

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For the past 20-odd years, we've rotated a small mob of goats to keep a lid on the weeds and our freezer well-stocked. More recently, we added a horse and a mule and, while they're valued family members, they've made me realise just how much of an impact horses have, and how important it is to keep our parks and reserve systems feral free.

Like the rest of the district, most of our topsoil is long gone, lost in the Federation drought.

What's left is clay - sticky when wet and rock hard when it's dry.

With the low rainfall this year, the horses spent the summer and autumn in the woodland set aside for wildlife.

We moved them to the top paddock last week, and spent the weekend looking at what they've left. There are plenty of trees, seedlings coming up and some deep litter beds in areas where they don't go.

It's their trails that are my biggest concern; powdery clay exposed and running into the dams, clouding the water. Those trails weren't bare; they were crowded with thistles and plantain, Patterson's curse and capeweed, weeds that can handle regular trampling, unlike our native grasses that have never experienced the impact of a 600-kilogram-hooved animal on its daily commute.

The best I can do on our place is a compromise. It's certainly better than when we found it. It's supporting a whole lot of wildlife. I'm happy with how far we've come, and I'm confident it will continue........

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