Harrow or poo pick?

[Abacus]

I have an ongoing disagreement with the person who shares my fields over which is best. I prefer to harrow so that it puts the nutrients back into the soil (the fields look messy when they have been grazed for a few weeks but nice again after harrowing). He prefers to poo pick and then we pay the farmer to collect the muck heap every couple of months (not expensive). We are careful over worm counting and for the last few years all our horses have been at 0, so I'm not worried about worms. Any thoughts?

 

[Tiddlypom]

Are you able to rest the fields after harrowing, or do the horses have to go straight back on them?

 

[JumpTheMoon1]

Do both.Poo picking is a must do daily if possible.Let him poo pick with pleasure.Its whats best for the horses that matter not personal spats with a field sharer.

 

[Xmasha]

i do both, as it depends on the size of the field and if it can be rested. I have a small / bare paddock for the fatties. Which is probably about an acre. That gets poo picked daily. the 10 & 4 acre fields gets harrowed. As i swop between them

 

[Abacus]

It's not at all about a personal spat, we get on well and it's all light hearted. We have enough space to rest after harrowing. I am about to harrow a field this weekend (if I can bear it in the heat!) and after that it will have 6 weeks to rest. For me it's more about it being better to fertilise the land with the poo we have rather than strip it. I also think it's less effort overall.

 

[PurBee]

In this weather, at this time of year, i’d harrow - as per your reasons.

Thats if horses wont be on the field, and there’s grass growing/rains.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

I much prefer harrowing but we cross gaze with sheep, too. As you say you are putting nutrients back into the land, poo picking just removes them. Then people use artificial fertilisers on their fields Madness!

 

[Fransurrey]

I poo pick, simply because I have a horse with chronic thrush and he makes things worse by standing in his own crap, so if I harrowed it would have to be daily!

 

[asmp]

Our farmer spread muck on the fields some months ago and because we have had no rain since it is just sitting all over the field, which the horses are now having to graze. Unless you have rain forecast I would poo pick for now

 

[milliepops]

we harrow the fields that can be rested. and i poo pick the ones that can't.

 

[SEL]

In an ideal world you'd poo pick and harrow beautifully composted muck back on the fields.

I can't stand seeing horses grazing amongst a tonne of poo with all the flies and turning the grass yellow personally, but will leave the poo if they're about to move onto a rested field. Mine are on a track so that's cleared daily and composted muck put back on fields autumn / spring

 

[Leandy]

Personally, I'm for harrowing.

 

[sport horse]

This hot weather , harrow - I think the worms in muck die in hot sry conditions.

 

[sbloom]

I would harrow if you can rest, but if you have the space compost and then spread the manure. Not putting organic material back on grazing will deplete the soil, and it's what we've done for the last 30 years.

 

[rabatsa]

Poo is best composted before returning to the field.

 

[TheMule]

I have enough acreage to harrow and rest unless they're in a smaller area for some reason. It's good for the ground and saves a lot of hours!

 

[PeterNatt]

I poo pick daily and we also harrow and then spike the grassland (to assist in aeration). ll our poo is taken away to a muck heap where it is allowed to decompose for sevarl years.

 

[blitznbobs]

Harrow only if you can rest the fields for 6 weeks afterwards... otherwise poo pick

 

[millitiger]

I do both.
Poo pick everything daily and put in my poo bays.
Let it compost down then cover the resting fields in it and harrow.

Works brilliantly and avoids any issue with worms or sour patches that the horses won't eat.

 

[July dreamer]

Those of you who let the manure rot down and then return it to the field - how do you spread it back out on the fields? And how long do you leave it before putting horses back out on the fields again?

 

[ihatework]

As long as there is sufficient acreage and you can rest after harrowing, then harrowing hands down.

But if you don’t have sufficient acreage, as dull as it is, poo picking is probably best

 

[PeterNatt]

The other issue is that if poos are allowed to lie on the ground then the grass below them will die off allowing weeds/ragwort to take over resulting in poorer and soured pasture.

 

[SEL]

Those of you who let the manure rot down and then return it to the field - how do you spread it back out on the fields? And how long do you leave it before putting horses back out on the fields again?

I'm hoping to smile sweetly at a neighbour with a mini digger but I did the last lot by hand. Not all in one go but I aimed for 3 barrows per day (it's rotted down a lot by spreading time)

Tipped and raked / threw it about a bit

The stuff that went on in early Feb when we still had that stuff called rain had vanished within a fortnight. I spread more at the end of March on a field I wasn't planning to use until Sept and I can still see larger clumps when I'm ragwort pulling. I'm in the SE and we just haven't had the rain.

If the weather plays fair then about 8 weeks from chucking it on until I'd turn the horses out - it's all vanished by then.