Do you own horses? A POO question

[teacups]

This might be an odd place to post this question, but the horse boards have people who are in a bit of a different situation than I am.
I have two horses on one and a half acres, about 1/2 acre is theirs, the rest is house and yard etc. One horse Ive had for about 9 months, the other for about 6. The mulch pile is getting very LARGE! It doesnt seem to make sense getting a spreader, as the way the place is laid out, I dont know how much actual spreading could take place. I read where someone dries it and then spreads it over the workout arena for soft footing (and landing!) but I wonder why Id clean this stuff up and then haul it back? Is it dirty/wormy for the horses to walk/run/roll in after it's dried and fluffy? I thought Bots could live it? And if its OK to use in a workout arena, why am I spending good money on bedding in their stalls? Can you burn it in a burn pile? We use some for mulch etc but no way we can use it all! I dont want to load it and haul it to a public landfill if I dont have to. Anyone who wants mulch expects it to be delivered to them, as in nurseries etc. (Seems like if they are getting it for free, they shoud come get it!)
Any suggestions?

 

[lg3]

I don't own any, but my brother has 5. I will forward your question to him and see what they say.

 

[tuckerkeys]

i have a clydesdale. he makes A LOT of poop! i board him at a barn with over 20 horses. they DO NOT spread the poo b/c it WILL carry sickness/disease from horse to horse. they have a pile in a corner of the yard and once in a while a manure remover comes to haul it away. i believe it is a local mushroom farmer. they DO pay for this service, but it is only 3-4x a yr. and it is cheap. i do take some from the pile in the spring for my gardens. as far as using it for footing i would stay away from this b/c of the disease it may carry. i know in my indoor they even sift out the poo from the footing in there. my barn owners are very anal and careful, which i happen to like. at my 1st barn i was at there were 20 acres and only 6 horses. the owner did have a spreader and would rotate monthly w/ the fields in the spring. that was some green grass in the spring & summer! but with only 1 acre i can see how it would be hard to do... do you have any horse newspapers in your area ( we have the equine marketer in nj, de and pa ) they would for sure have some manure removers in there. good luck!!!

 

[Jennasis]

Hiya teacups. I am an owner and barn manager of a boarding/lesson barn. DH and the farm hand were just out this afternoon with the manure spreader, spreading our composted manure on the fields to help the Spring growth. Let me address some issues and your questions.

1. Where do you live? You may have to check with your city/county as far as what is legally required for both storage and disposal of manure. Back in NY, we had to have it carted at a ridiculous expense. Some cities allow you to use a commercial dumpster and have it hauled away in that.

2. The main problem is that your property is overcrowded. 1/2 acre is NOT enough for two horses no matter how you look at it (pasture-wise). I have rarely known any city/county ordinances to allow less than 1 acre for the first horse and 1/2 acre for each additional. With two horses on only 1/2 an acre there is NO way you'll be able to maintain any kind of grass...so for you, spreading the manure is pointless.

3. NEVER EVER EVER use compost/manure (dried or fresh) as arena footing. We scrupulously pick any manure out of both our indoor and outdoor arenas (actually we make the actual riders do it). It is VERY bad to be inhaling manure/compost dust. I don't know about you but I don't think I'd enjoy falling off my horse and landing in manure...fresh or dried.

4. NO Do not burn the pile. The stink is unbearable and again the inhaled manure smoke= no good. I also think it's against the law to burn a manure pile (at least around here...thank God!)

5. NO...do not use the dried manure as stall bedding (see #3).

6. properly composted manure should not spread disease. Ever stick your hand into the center of a compost pile? Well I have...it is crazy hot in there and ends up killing most communicable diseases. Also, MOST communicable disease that one might find in a barn tends not to survive very long outside the body (incluind Strangles which is airborn, and EHV-1 which is through contact...CLOSE contact). Spreading manure prevents disease as it lessens the fly population through larvae/egg destruction when spread. However, you should NEVER EVER spread manure on a pasture that is currently being used for grazing. I will have to check for the exact amount of time one should wait before turning horse4s out on freshly "spread" pasture (it isn't long...a day or two).

The best thing you can do is to hire a hauler to come take it away. Or advertise free manure at garden shops and in the paper. Try joining your local freecycle.com organization and advertising it there. I get rid of a lot of my manure that way. Also contact any local farmers and see if they'd like it (mushroom farmers, hay farmers). Our hay supplier comes twice a year and hauls whatever we have for free to fertilize his fields. We house anywhere from 16-21 horses at various times of year. See if you are allowed to dump it in a dumpster and have it hauled that way. Good luck and feel free to PM me if you need more manure info or other general horse info!

 

[MosMom]

Great advice from Jennasis. 1/2 acre does seem pretty small for two horses.

 

[teacups]

THANK YOU for that great info! Yes, that area is small I know. Where we live the entire size of the property is what they consider, which mine is allowed to have two. BUT I have 2 kids who have a swing set, trampoline... you get the picture. The horses have about 1/2 acre all their own (wow, I know.) and then we have a small roundpen type area outside of that. We are very crowded, I know. I didnt use the best judgement when buying these great animals. My heart spoke instead of my head... but, this is where I am now. And, oddly enough, it's STILL my heart that I listen to!! Insane. And with my daughter being just like me, we'll never sell the horses. Maybe the house though! (We rescued/purchased one from a rental packer and she is living the good life here with us now! She is a totally different animal, even cramped here with us.She was rented out by different people each hunting trip... and not treated great by any of them from the evidence. Now she has peace and calm on her face and in her eyes.)

I could see myself on 20 acres with 20 horses someday. THEN I COULD GET A SPREADER!

THANKS! I will check into all these things tomorrow...

 

[dreamcometrue]

don't have horses now but I had one when I was younger and living at home. We always hired someone to haul the manure away!