# New to manure



## ACinATX (Sep 12, 2018)

You mean there is a paddock or field where the horses live and there is manure in it? If it's as much as it sounds like (you "dont think theyve ever shoveled it out") then no, it's not good for the horses to be in those conditions, for several reasons. If you can, the ideal situation would be to shovel and compost it. Depending on where you live, you might be able to post an ad online saying that you have free horse manure for anyone who wants it (people like to compost it and use for gardens). If you don't want to shovel it out, you can harrow it (run something over it to break it into tiny pieces that will be exposed to the elements and decompose more quickly). But I think shoveling it out would be the best thing.


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## Noob (Jan 10, 2019)

yes, a paddock as you can tell by my expert use of the terminology i am absolutely new to this. If i were to shovel and compost it is there a specific method to use? its the rainy season where i live at right now and want to get as much manure out while its easily pliable. is there any risk of contamination/toxicity/parasitism to the surrounding area where i would place the fresh wet manure?


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## ACinATX (Sep 12, 2018)

I guess, ideally, you would keep it separate from the horses. And also ideally not where runoff could get into your water sources. Having said that, the place where my horses board breaks both of those rules, so maybe they are not absolutely crucial. Some people cover it with a tarp. For perfect compost, you'd mix horse manure with something like wood shavings or raked leaves, but for your purposes (you just want to get rid of it) you probably don't need to be that picky. Piles should be around 3x3x3 in my experience; this size will encourage the poop to get hot enough when decomposing that it should kill any parasites or toxins in there. Not sure how much poop you have or what you have available, but you can use wood pallets for a fairly easy-to-make structure that's the right size AND will allow oxygen (which is important in order to support the right kind of bacteria) flow. Just nail three or four pallets together to make a box shape.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

Before I invested in a spreader I used to have a manure pile. It was probably 3 X 3 x 50 because 10 horses makes a lot of manure every single day. I would pile it up and about every week or so, I'd take a couple of 2 L bottles of Coke or Pepsi and poke holes in the pile every few feet and pour some of the pop in the holes. It help things break down more quickly. I usually had 3 rows going, 1 that was ready to spread as fertilizer (2-3 years old), 1 that was composting, and the current one where I put the manure.


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## Noob (Jan 10, 2019)

how long does it take for manure to compost? i want to get rid of it as fast as possible and would want someone even if its waste management to pick it up before summer starts and all the manure and dirt compact together and makes it near impossible to remove from the paddock


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## Noob (Jan 10, 2019)

what are the risks to the horses from having excess manure in their paddock? i know the risk to me is falling on my butt into wet manure


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## ACinATX (Sep 12, 2018)

Some risks: spread parasites internally; harbor bacteria that gets into their skin when they have cuts or bug bites and causes infection, scratches, or rain rot. Another risk to you: cause massive shock and horror when you realize that some of them, sometimes, actually EAT (yes, on purpose) manure.

You can speed up composting times by creating more idea conditions. Not sure what the weather is like where you are, but ideally it would be not too hot or cold, and somewhat moist (but not wet). But as long as you have the horses, you will get more new manure each day, so it will never actually all be composted.

Again, not sure where you live, but in some places there are services that will come and pick it up for you.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

Noob said:


> what are the risks to the horses from having excess manure in their paddock? i know the risk to me is falling on my butt into wet manure


Disease carried by flies. Heavy worm load from trying to graze in the poop, picking up shed worms and increasing their worm load. Smell. It's just nasty. How big is this paddock and how many horses and how long have they been there?


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## ACinATX (Sep 12, 2018)

Just to add to what I said about conditions, I live in Central Texas so excessive heat and dryness are the issues I have to fight. I put my backyard piles (I compost our yard, chicken, and kitchen waste) behind the shed and under some heavy shade where nothing grew anyway, in order to keep the sun off. The first year, the summer was really dry and I ended up having to spray the piles a little every couple of weeks anyway, just to keep them moist. Otherwise the stuff just all sat there and did nothing. Now that my piles have been going for many years, they pretty much take care of themselves somehow, and I never have to do anything to them but add more stuff.

But if you live somewhere really rainy, you might have to tarp it to keep it from being waterlogged (too much water keeps oxygen out, and your beneficial bacteria won't thrive). If you live somehwere really cold, you might make bigger piles that will keep their heat in better.


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## Noob (Jan 10, 2019)

its a decent size. i dont know sizing but it smells god awful. i got fed up with almost falling earlier and decided to start shoveling some up before almost throwing up from the smell of it and realizing i had no idea what to do with it afterwards. its for 2 horses and been there for a year. during the summer season in central California it can get to 110 on average 115-120 lately as an extreme so the manure gets dried out fairly quickly, usually hours, and stamped down into dirt(?) within a few days. my parents have an area of the property where they tossed gravel and i was thinking of setting up the manure there but there is vegetation there that isnt ours and i dont want to kill it as to not have issues with the neighbors if composting in that spot will leach nitrogen or other manure byproducts into the soil in heavy amounts


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

Noob said:


> its a decent size. i dont know sizing but it smells god awful. i got fed up with almost falling earlier and decided to start shoveling some up before almost throwing up from the smell of it and realizing i had no idea what to do with it afterwards. its for 2 horses and been there for a year. during the summer season in central California it can get to 110 on average 115-120 lately as an extreme so the manure gets dried out fairly quickly, usually hours, and stamped down into dirt(?) within a few days. my parents have an area of the property where they tossed gravel and i was thinking of setting up the manure there but there is vegetation there that isnt ours and i dont want to kill it as to not have issues with the neighbors if composting in that spot will leach nitrogen or other manure byproducts into the soil in heavy amounts


As long as you don't put the manure on top of any plants, it should be ok, I didn't notice it killing even the grass in my pastures. Can you give a guesstimate on the size of the corral/paddock? You might be better off to use an old piece of chainlink fencing with a couple of cinder blocks attached to it and pull it behind an atv or lawn tractor, and just break it up and let the sun cure it. The reason it smells so bad right now is that it's wet and the smells are always stronger. If you can get it broken up and spread out, the smell should dissipate.


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## Noob (Jan 10, 2019)

nope lol. im that bad at guessing sizes larger than a foot. dont even ask me to guess the size of a football field lol. all i know is the horses have enough room to run around comfortably but its gross. im probably going to do the 3x3x3 as the other user suggested. i really appreciate your guys' experience and input so as to better help me with my situation.


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## 4horses (Nov 26, 2012)

My manure gets mucked out, spread on the pasture in small piles, then run over with the lawn mower - ideally right before a rainstorm. After the rain, it completely breaks down. 

I do not muck if it is wet. Ideally, i let the manure dry out before mucking. 

I used to have a compost pile but it was expensive to have it spread by tractor since i had to hire someone.


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

A years worth of manure from several horses accumulated in a relatively small area...
Start calling around for a landscape company to come in with Bobcats or tractors and literally peel the layers of poop off the ground...
Once the layers of filth are removed, turning of the soil and adding a new layer of dirt to reduce stench is right...
How your parents have not had animal control let alone the health department come visit them is a unknown.
It is going to cost money to have that accumulated mess removed, however a company that does composting and topsoil blending may come in and if they remove it _{yes please!}_ because it is organic matter and worth more to them as a business product...might, _maybe_ offer a slight discount for the removal process.

You have so much to clean and still the horses continue to make daily large amount it will be near impossible to catch up and beat the mess..
Once though it is cleaned, a daily to weekly clean up and compost faithfully done can work.

Do you have access to a farm tractor with bucket loader?
That honestly would be the only way I would consider tackling the job myself as my back aches just thinking about the hundreds of wheelbarrow loads of puke muck you need to move...
Otherwise... contract a guy with a Bobcat and dump truck to take it away...
Make sure the house windows & doors are closed the day of cleaning...this reeks worse than a cesspool when disturbed. :evil:
:runninghorse2:....


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