Help with poo picking techniques for a disabled person

Leo Walker

Leo Walker

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So, I've been very, very, very lucky! I've recently moved to Milton Keynes and managed against all odds to get a Parks Trust Paddock. The horse loves it as do I! But I have to poo pick every day as per my contract. All fine, except a year ago I fractured my spine and wasnt supposed to walk again and have been told to not lift anything heavier than a handbag. I've made a miraculous recovery and am pretty much normal. In fact I thought I'd made a 95% recovery. It turns out I havent :( Poo picking is literally crippling me :( I'm hoping that given a bit of time to man up I'll be ok, but I need suggestions in case I dont.

Current routine is to every day, or sometimes every other day, get the wheelbarrow and poo pick into rubble sacks, then wheel them to the gateway and lift them out to be collected by gardeners etc. Its the lifting, mainly of the sacks not the individual poos, thats doing me in! Although individual poo lifting isnt great :(

Whats the easiest way to do it? I dont know if I'm missing something. My barely 14hh cob is doing a wheelbarrow full of poos everyday! Is that normal? I thought 8-10?
 
Firstly talk to land owner about your back, you really shouldn't be doing it and creating such a risk to yourself. You are likely to be detrimental to your recovery.
What about if you could get it to once or twice a week and see if a local teenager wants to do it for you.
I have heard people do advertise to do it sometimes. I think that although it will cost you its a much safer option at least for another year. Allow your back to truly heal.
 
Its part of the contract that its done everyday,and TBH it needs to be done everyday. We have a very small acreage for 2 horses. Brilliant, well draining grazing land, but you can tell when I leave it a day. Money isnt an object, well to a certain degree anyway! If I could find someone to do it that would solve all my problems! Cant believe I havent thought of that before! I am def causing damage at the minute. How do you find a poo picker thats happy to do less than an hours work a day??
 
You could put an advert in local paper shop to try & get someone to do the job?

You do say that it's not the actual poo picking but the lifting the bag out of the barrow at the end that's causing the problem. Can you not tie the bag up & then just lift the barrow & let it slide out onto the floor?
 
If you don't have one already, you need a rake to pick up. TBH it hurts my back to do it with the normal stupid long handled implement that normally comes with the set poo set, they are so badly designed. This really does make a huge difference. You can just buy the rake on its own (oneof my local tack shops sells them), but if you look at this photo it shows what I mean.
http://e-venting.co.uk/2013/05/tip-of-the-day-garden-hand-rake-for-poo-picking/
http://www.yourhorse.co.uk/Gear-rev...lts/Forks-rakes-and-shovels/Equine-Speedskip/

There are also lots of posts on here rave about them.

Hope that helps!
 
I've just bought a 4 wheeled tipper barrow off ebay, it's pretty low to the ground so not far to lift and you could put the bag in and then just tie it and tip at the far end? I find wheeling the barrow harder on my back than the poopicking, hence getting this. I also have a very very keen 9 yr old who helps me out in return for a few cuddles - my ponies are just 2 and live out, so no riding and just occasional grooming when they are dry enough - so you never know what you might find with an advert!
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/370832759498?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649
 
If finance isn't a problem' how about a small leaf vac, you can mount them onto a barrow or sack cart and empty the bag into your builders bag at the gate.
 
More wheelbarrows, so you leave the bags on the barrow, and get them collected more frequently. Or buy a trailer barrow (you pull it rather than push). Then you just up end against a fence or wall and they should sort of slide off reasonably upright
 
hollyandivy123 said:
ok as the problem is lifting the sacks how about one of these
http://shop.handling-storage.co.uk/...roductid=168&gclid=CL_j7NyTw7oCFXCWtAodujcAbA

pop the sack on, fill it up and then wheel to the gate and slide it off! no lifting :)
Click to expand...

There used to be an old chap that used one of these and he had a ring welded to the top with hooks on. He'd fit an old feed sack onto it and when full enough would unhook the bag, tie a string around the top and leave outside the gate. It usualy took a days worth of poo.
 
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