Alternatives to poo picking everyday?

cblover

cblover

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Is there such a thing? After 30 years plus of poo picking daily my elbows and wrists are literally shot at. I’m in constant pain and I’m exhausted doing it.

I’ve got 2 fields, one is 2 acres and the other is 1 acre. They are connected by a stable area and a hard standing. I alternate the fields, resting them for a few weeks at a time.

Both horses are worm counted twice a year, then wormed if required....the last results were both clear. Plus I worm for tapeworm as the count doesn’t pick them up and I dectamax my Clyde twice a year for feather mites which also acts as a wormer.

What do you all do to manage the poo in your fields? Thanks.
 
I only poo pick my 1/2 acre paddock-and then I keep two midden areas in it. It's rested from October (ish) through to May. The other fields that I rent (1 acre, 5 acres and 6 acres) I don't poo pick. life is too short-they are rested for months at a time and the 1 and 6 acre ones cross grazed but not harrowed.
 
Just split the fields up and graze each part seperately. The poo in the rested parts will be eaten and spread by birds. (Nature's fertiliser). You could also get someone to harrow it.
 
cblover said:
Is there such a thing? After 30 years plus of poo picking daily my elbows and wrists are literally shot at. I’m in constant pain and I’m exhausted doing it.

I’ve got 2 fields, one is 2 acres and the other is 1 acre. They are connected by a stable area and a hard standing. I alternate the fields, resting them for a few weeks at a time.

Both horses are worm counted twice a year, then wormed if required....the last results were both clear. Plus I worm for tapeworm as the count doesn’t pick them up and I dectamax my Clyde twice a year for feather mites which also acts as a wormer.

What do you all do to manage the poo in your fields? Thanks.
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I feel your pain, literally, CB. I now have steroid injections in both elbows to relieve my golfers (poo picking) elbow. I wish I had the land to rest for six months of the year, but I don’t.
 
Buy a little set of chain harrows, they make it much easier! You do need to give it enough time to rest after (6 weeks minimum, depends a bit on the rainfall) but it's very effective. If you go over it twice it'll break the droppings up more which shortens your rest time a little
 
TheMule said:
Buy a little set of chain harrows, they make it much easier! You do need to give it enough time to rest after (6 weeks minimum, depends a bit on the rainfall) but it's very effective. If you go over it twice it'll break the droppings up more which shortens your rest time a little
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Where did you get your information that harrowing will reduce the worm egg and infected larvae burden? I always understood that harrowing simply spreads them around.
 
If it's warm and dry enough harrowing is fine, you are essentially spreading it to dry out faster, some years it never is but if this continues...

cb lover depending on your area people sometimes have contract paddock sweepers too, it is worth asking around.

We have a similar space and I think if we didn't poo pick it would become covered quite quickly (we also have a lot of neighbours that might complain!). We also cross graze with sheep sometimes as they are fab hoovers :)
 
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ycbm said:
Where did you get your information that harrowing will reduce the worm egg and infected larvae burden? I always understood that harrowing simply spreads them around.
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I always understood that harrowing in hot weather was okay 😎 or very cold weather

I would harrow at other times and rest at least 6 wks/2 months
 
We had a worm problem at my last yard where they harrowed (at varying times of the year) and rested. You might be ok if you're starting off with 'clean' horses I guess.

The hot dry weather we've got now is best to kill them off, but the usual damp and warm British summer is parasite heaven.

You could buy a poo hoover. .
 
ycbm said:
Dries them out in a typical British summer? Not a chance most years. I have also just read that frost does not kill them either. I thought it did.
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Did an internet search on harrowing. Apparently harrowing exposes the soil to UV light and this kills bacteria and fungi.
I know farmers consider poo picking to be ridiculous and they know how to manage land. If the grazing area is too small to fence off, I suppose you'd have to do it.
 
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cblover said:
Is there such a thing? After 30 years plus of poo picking daily my elbows and wrists are literally shot at. I’m in constant pain and I’m exhausted doing it.

I’ve got 2 fields, one is 2 acres and the other is 1 acre. They are connected by a stable area and a hard standing. I alternate the fields, resting them for a few weeks at a time.

Both horses are worm counted twice a year, then wormed if required....the last results were both clear. Plus I worm for tapeworm as the count doesn’t pick them up and I dectamax my Clyde twice a year for feather mites which also acts as a wormer.

What do you all do to manage the poo in your fields? Thanks.
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I dee poo 5 acres every day - I have been doing it here 21 years and before when I was a diy, we use tractor and trailer in winter and wheelbarrows in summer.

The other pair of fields are resting.
 
Farmers use much bigger acreages for stock than most horse owners do so you can have much longer gaps timewise between grazing. They also are more likely to be able to cross graze different species which reduces the load on the pasture. A lot still expect to worm rather than using herd monitoring for worms too as the reduction in growth/production is much more than the cost of a wormer in case.

I think some still need telling not to worm and turn out onto fresh pasture though!

OP when you say you test twice a year depending on when that is you might want to increase this if you change your pasture management.
 
Oh another alternative, teenagers. We had a boy in the village who quite liked ponies who a couple of liveries paid to come and poo pick two or three times a week.
At home we have someone in freelance at least once a week so Mum gets a day off, that includes poo picking and you could probably get quite a lot done for the price of a vacuum.
 
mule said:
Did an internet search on harrowing. Apparently harrowing exposes the soil to UV light and this kills bacteria and fungi.
I know farmers consider poo picking to be ridiculous and they know how to manage land. If the grazing area is too small to fence off, I suppose you'd have to do it.
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Farmers don't use such small fields. I've found, with the exception of one very of animal, that horses won't naturally eat around their own dung unless they are short of space. I have eleven acres or so which I keep two large horses and two minis on and I worm twice a year and have no worm issues. I know other people don't have the space, and they are forced to poo pick.
 
TheMule said:
Buy a little set of chain harrows, they make it much easier! You do need to give it enough time to rest after (6 weeks minimum, depends a bit on the rainfall) but it's very effective. If you go over it twice it'll break the droppings up more which shortens your rest time a little
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I have a chain harrow but would never ever use it for this. My research and experiences has taught there are many reasons not to chain harrow.

Chain Harrow your manure

Pros
Can cover a large area in fast time
Harrow your pasture in the summer – it takes temperatures of 90 degrees Fahrenheit to kill parasite larvae
Do not drag your pasture in the spring or Autumn. This practice only aides in spreading the larvae which can over winter and be ineffective the following spring.

CONS
If you haven't got a good de worming protocol in place the manure will have an egg load and the eggs are often quite tough, and you'll have spread them all around in a thin enough layer that the usual habit of not eating around the piles won't be true. So you'll be happily reinfecting your horses.
Breaking up manure piles in the heat of the summer so that the sun can kill the parasite eggs is a good idea, but using a harrow can spread parasite eggs more widely over the entire field. Bottom line: if you must harrow your field, don't do it in the spring or Autumn or when you have horses on it.
if its too wet to harrow you will end up ripping the field up
If you leave it, or birds spread it - the eggs have got onto the grass and then you've lost the control benefit.

Chain harrowing is spreading the muck across the whole field so unless it can be rested afterwards for a few month at least, all its doing is just that, spreading the muck around.
The muck then cover the whole paddock so none of the grass is 'clean' and can eventually become horse-sick,(sour and unpalatable for the horses to eat) .
It can also increase drastically any worm burden.
 
I'm a nightmare, I often let it go and do a 'batch' poo pick of a few barrels. However on a normal week I do once or twice during the week. Beast is pretty good at pooing in three specific patches and instead of further straining my wrist I now have an adjustable rake, I use two hands to wield said rake and rake the poo into one big pile then just scoop up, it is much less strain :)
 
I never poopick apart from on the tiny ‘squares ‘ I have for restricting movement.
I will sometimes Harrow in the spring if the soil ruts require it I manage the worm burden but resting and rotating .
We use minimal worming drugs and the land is full of dung bettles doing the job nature designed them for .
I have five horses on about twelve acres though that makes things easier .
 
Are you using a manure scoop and rake OP? I put on a pair of heavy rubber gloves and pick up by hand. I muck out the same way. It is more efficient and much less strain on the joints.
 
ILuvCowparsely said:
Chain harrowing is spreading the muck across the whole field so unless it can be rested afterwards for a few month at least, all its doing is just that, spreading the muck around.
The muck then cover the whole paddock so none of the grass is 'clean' and can eventually become horse-sick,(sour and unpalatable for the horses to eat) .
It can also increase drastically any worm burden.
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It actually doesn't spread it across the whole field, it disperses it in the toilet area so then it has a fair chance of breaking down. Nature intended poo to rot down and get nurtrients back into the soil, hence why farmers muck spread manure. It doee need time to rest, but done well, at appropriate times and alongside a good worming system, it's a good way of managing land
 
Quigleyandme said:
Are you using a manure scoop and rake OP? I put on a pair of heavy rubber gloves and pick up by hand. I muck out the same way. It is more efficient and much less strain on the joints.
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I use my foot and always wonder why other people don't. No bending at all.
 
TheMule said:
It actually doesn't spread it across the whole field, it disperses it in the toilet area so then it has a fair chance of breaking down. Nature intended poo to rot down and get nurtrients back into the soil, hence why farmers muck spread manure. It doee need time to rest, but done well, at appropriate times and alongside a good worming system, it's a good way of managing land
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I really think you are fooling yourself about how far it spreads, sorry. Bits of poo in the links of a chain could travel the whole width of the field before dropping out.

It's not a good way of managing worm control to rely on chemicals. They are losing their effectiveness and we have no more in the pipeline.
 
cblover said:
Is there such a thing? After 30 years plus of poo picking daily my elbows and wrists are literally shot at. I’m in constant pain and I’m exhausted doing it.

I’ve got 2 fields, one is 2 acres and the other is 1 acre. They are connected by a stable area and a hard standing. I alternate the fields, resting them for a few weeks at a time.

Both horses are worm counted twice a year, then wormed if required....the last results were both clear. Plus I worm for tapeworm as the count doesn’t pick them up and I dectamax my Clyde twice a year for feather mites which also acts as a wormer.

What do you all do to manage the poo in your fields? Thanks.
Click to expand...

I don't poo pick, I have long term tendon and ligament damage in both arms (from poo picking, pushing haylage through mud, and ragwort pulling) and it sets it off. I personally either swap the chore, chose a set up where it isn't my responsibility or pay someone. I will no longer consider a set up where I have to do significant manual moving of stuff long distance in the mud. I have too much damage, and then I cannot ride either.

My current yard horses are out at night in summer, and the requirement is two barrows a week to be cleared for each horse. Horses are on 5 day livery. One of my sharers doesn't contribute financially, and rides Monday and Fridays when horses are on livery (she cant do weekends). I've arranged with her that she does the four barrows of poo a week.

In past, I have not done it and harrowed, not done it and rotated and rested six months, paid others to do it etc.
 
I think best option is replace Clydesdale with smaller beast that does less poo! My guys are super easy to do. But seeing as that’s probably not an option you will be keen on, I would also suggest a local teenager once or twice a week to clear it for you for some extra cash.
 
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