# Do you clean your horse's pasture?



## Librahorsegal (Nov 20, 2011)

I work at this private barn where i have to clean and feed the 2 horses. I have to clean the pony's paddock with a muck bucket. Then drag the heavy bucket to the other side of the barn and then push it under the fence and lift it up into a wheel barrow and then push the wheelbarrow to the muck cart which is in the driveway.

So do you clean your horse's pasture? What do you use to clean it with? muck bucket? wheel barrow?


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## ArabianAllie (Oct 3, 2010)

HAHA no! but there are 25 horses at my stable. The owner doesn't clean the pasture, just the stalls once a day.


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## PaintHorseMares (Apr 19, 2008)

If for some reason we had a horse contained in a small paddock we would use a wheelbarrow. No cleaning in the pasture...it all just dries up and washes/blows away.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

I pick 10 acres by hand every day. I figure it's just like picking stalls in the barn.


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## MoodIndigo (Oct 18, 2010)

I bet Dreamcatcher's horses are nearly worm free 

There are two really good ideas for pasture management.

Either pick out your fields, or manure spread them.

If you leave all the poop there, it only attracts internal and external parasites.


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## ArabianAllie (Oct 3, 2010)

about once a month my BO spreads the pasture. but we just let it dry up.


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## MySerenity (Jul 18, 2011)

I pick the pasture but only every couple of weeks since I only have 2 horses out there. I generally use a wheel barrow but if I'm really lazy the tractor comes out and I use the bucket. I actually like picking the pasture. My job is stressful so picking poop is something I can do and not get yelled at by patients/customers or worry about making mistakes. It lets me get outside and the horses usually keep me company.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

I figure if the weather is nice and they're all outside, then I don't have to pick stalls. So, I pick the pastures instead. When the weather is nasty, I pick stalls and the pastures stay clean. Either way you look at it, somebody has to have poop pickin' detail! LOL!~


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## Joe4d (Sep 1, 2011)

feed textured feed and let the chickens do the work.


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## gunslinger (Sep 17, 2011)

My Newerspreader has helped tremendously with this, and my pastures love it.


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## Darrin (Jul 11, 2011)

Joe4d said:


> feed textured feed and let the chickens do the work.


My mom decided to get chickens and now dad is cussing them out. They also like to spread the manure pile around. It's amazing how much they can tear down a pile of poo.


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## Joe4d (Sep 1, 2011)

Darrin said:


> My mom decided to get chickens and now dad is cussing them out. They also like to spread the manure pile around. It's amazing how much they can tear down a pile of poo.


A manure pile is one of the worst things to have. Really there shouldnt even be one, If you have to pick it up from stalls or confined areas it should go straight to some kinda spreader. If it is in a pasture I use a drag harrow, basically a big section of heavy chain and drag the fields or like I do now let the chickens scatter it. I noticed with pelleted food the chickens dotn mess with the manure, so you have to feed enough whole grains that pass through to keep them interested.


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## Darrin (Jul 11, 2011)

Joe4d said:


> A manure pile is one of the worst things to have. Really there shouldnt even be one, If you have to pick it up from stalls or confined areas it should go straight to some kinda spreader. If it is in a pasture I use a drag harrow, basically a big section of heavy chain and drag the fields or like I do now let the chickens scatter it. I noticed with pelleted food the chickens dotn mess with the manure, so you have to feed enough whole grains that pass through to keep them interested.


My parents don't have much use for the manure themselves. The neighbor comes and gets it a couple times a year and spreads it around on his cow pasture. 

As for spreading it on their own pasture. For one, it's to wet to get on from Oct to May-June time frame. Horses are not allowed on it until after the hay has been taken off. Manure comes from the stalls and sacrificial mud pit that dad scrapes when it starts getting deep. 

Second, they don't need it as fertilizer either. Same said neighbor farms 10 of my parents acres and they drop the fence when he's fertilizing so he can hit their pasture at the same time. Their neighbor is a super nice guy and helps keep an eye out on my folks. Even has his own paid farmhands come do jobs for them when he sees dad doing something he shouldn't be.


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## Librahorsegal (Nov 20, 2011)

wow....i didnt think i would get so many replys about horse poop...lol... but thats good that you clean up your horse's pasture. 

i dont like doing it in the rain though. it makes the muck bucket heavier to drag though the mud.


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## MHFoundation Quarters (Feb 23, 2011)

I have a pile for the stall manure quite a ways from the barn (I clean stalls with a skid loader so there's no pushing a wheelbarrow across 20 acres to get to the pile) once there is enough we either spread it on our hay fields or pastures that the horses aren't on and give lots away to family & neighbors for garden fertilizer. 

I do pick up in front of the barn & common standing areas (outside hay feeders, lean to) The rest of the pastures the horses are on, I run the arena drag over to break it up.


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

In the spring when everything has thawed I drag an old box spring behind a quad or riding mower. Let the scattered manure dry a few days, then go over it again with the mower and let the bagger pick it up.


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## caseymyhorserocks (Apr 5, 2010)

Yeah... With one horse in pastures about 1/2 acre you pretty much have to unfortunately.


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## Cruiser (Aug 28, 2011)

I pick it up because I have a half acre and I want all of it graze able. 

Just a question, why would you use chickens? They are horrible for caring parasites and diseases that can effect your horse and people (why you should wash you hands, arms and boots when around them). I guess it wouldn't be half as bad if it was large amount of land, but on a smaller lot there is a risk, of your horse having or being a carry of something.


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## Koolio (Apr 7, 2010)

Saddlebag said:


> In the spring when everything has thawed I drag an old box spring behind a quad or riding mower. Let the scattered manure dry a few days, then go over it again with the mower and let the bagger pick it up.


A box spring is brilliant! We use a piece of chain link behind the quad to spread the manure weekly. Unfortunately once the snow comes it all just gets layered in to the snow for 6 months. In spring, we spread again.


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## My Beau (Jan 2, 2009)

I cleaned our paddocks the first 2 years our 3 horses were at home - everyday, sometimes 2x a day. It made the place look really nice.

I stopped cleaning them this summer (a boy distracted me  ) and while the fields don't look as nice, the build up wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Most broke down fairly quickly and washed away in heavy rain. I did worry about worms since I stopped, but my vet ran fecals this past Tuesday and 1 of my horses was totally clean and the other 2 only had 1 egg in their samples.

I do, however, need to start cleaning them again.


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## gunslinger (Sep 17, 2011)

Joe4d said:


> A manure pile is one of the worst things to have. Really there shouldnt even be one, If you have to pick it up from stalls or confined areas it should go straight to some kinda spreader. If it is in a pasture I use a drag harrow, basically a big section of heavy chain and drag the fields or like I do now let the chickens scatter it. I noticed with pelleted food the chickens dotn mess with the manure, so you have to feed enough whole grains that pass through to keep them interested.



I agree Joe, it stays fairly wet here most of the winter, and rather than drive the tractor on the pasture, I pile the manure and spread it all in the spring when the soil is firmer. I spread every day when it's dryer.

We got 5 inches of rain this weekend here in SE Tennessee, pastures and sloppy, and the horses are muddy.


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## starlinestables (Nov 24, 2008)

We generally don't pick up the poo in our pastures unless there is a common poo area a horse develops. We occasionally drag our fields even in the winter because I just can't stand the site of all the poo. Mowing and birds take care of the job during most of the year. They're on a deworming program anyway..... )


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## Beauseant (Oct 22, 2010)

The smaller dry lot paddock is cleaned every day else it would be a latrine...

The large pastures....there are three, but we only use one, it's about 6 or 7 acres and the only horses on it are our two.....we do clean, but only about once a month. 

BTW, the latest fecal egg test came back showing both horses are completely worm free (of the ones the test detects, anyhow)......so being the only two horses on the property and diligent pasture cleaning has it's benefits.


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## kitten_Val (Apr 25, 2007)

Yes, we clean pasture as well as shed twice/day (I have just 2 horses though  ).


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## diggerchick (Nov 8, 2011)

Where I work we have 60 some horses, not cleaning any pasture though we have someone to clean the turn out paddocks with a bobcat occasionally.....but its not me...and we have 28 stalls which we clean all daily
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## lizzeod (Nov 19, 2011)

Cruiser said:


> I pick it up because I have a half acre and I want all of it graze able.
> 
> Just a question, why would you use chickens? They are horrible for caring parasites and diseases that can effect your horse and people (why you should wash you hands, arms and boots when around them). I guess it wouldn't be half as bad if it was large amount of land, but on a smaller lot there is a risk, of your horse having or being a carry of something.


This is what I thought when chickens were suggested... I actually don't have much experience with chickens but if they are anything like ducks I'd much rather be dealing with horse poop...


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## diggerchick (Nov 8, 2011)

I had two ducks, my science teacher gave them to be as babies back when I was in jr high, as much as I loved my ducks, so nasty to clean up after
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## AQHA13 (Apr 19, 2017)

With two only 2 horses on our pasture it doesn't get that bad, but we do sometimes attach a dragger to the jeep and spread the piles out that way so they don't kill the grass underneath.
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