How do you muck out? Well I am bored and it's foggy and cold out there

J

jen1

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Ok could be a daft question but how do you muck out? I am bored it's cold and foggy and I now have to get in my cold car and drive to the yard......

My horse is on shavings with rubber matting. I put one bale down a week so not a really thick bed but not thin either. I use the banks as the week goes on to add to the bed on the floor. I get out the wet first then all the poos with a fork, that I can get hold of, then chuck the bedding up the wall to get the rest of the poos to roll down to the floor so I can scoop them up. I scoop up the rest of the bed and jiggle the fork up and down to let the dry shavings drop out of the fork and keep the solid bits on to chuck in the barrow. (just read through this post and it all looks very complicated!) try to save as much bedding as poss !

Anyway maybe I am a bit 'anal' about this (excuse the pun) but it's taking me ages to much out as I keep finding that elusive extra poo that's hidden itself in the banks/bed. Others at the yard just use rubber gloves and do it all mostly by hand using a fork for the wet and 'big lumps' and some just chuck out most of the bed and soiled stuff each day as they are in a rush. I would like to reduce my mucking out time if possible but not do deep litter. Is there a nifty way of doing it or am I doomed to being slow, would never get a job at a yard! I can take from 20mins to 30mins to do the job I think, haven't really timed myself but if anyone is really interested (or just sad) I will do it tomorrow!!

Hope you are not eating your lunch while reading this!
 
I am laughing at the Jiggling Fork!! - Sorry!

I pull on my freezing cold, skanky rubber gloves and pick up all the poo by hand first, I am very thorough (can't stand bitty beds!), flicking the shavings around with my fingers to get to every last bit! kick the bed around a bit to level it and bingo - 10 mins all done! This is done about 3 times a day. But at weekend out comes all the wet (after the poos!), old bed put back down and new shaving up around the sides. I don't have rubber mats!
 
i have shavings on rubber matts and have a corner of shavings so not loads not not a scattering.my new tends to poo on the concrete around the door...so that gets scooped up first then any other odd poo in the bed with the fork-then the wet patch they throw the bed up to the side and tidy up and bits of poo that may have come through the shavings....then normally sweep clean. I bed down when it needs it probably about a bale in each stable a week.

my other horse the same
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Mine have rubber mats and shavings. I have banks in J's as he is cleaner with them for some reason. He also has ad lib hay so there is usually a lot on the floor in the morning. I Pick up the poos with the shavings fork first, getting every last bit (very picky
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) then I chuck any dry shavings up the banks and any dry clean hay up the bank under the hay nets (this bank is mainly hay that is god forbid he was to finish his nets then he has something to munch on. Then I scoop the wet shavings up with a plastic snow shovel, then sweep. Then pull down some of the banks to make up the evening bed, replacing the banks when necessary. Usually use about a bale a week.
 
Much the same as mad hector - take out the lumpy bits with a shavings fork and by hand to get the last elusive bits. Scrape off the top layer where she usually wee's with a shavings shovel and remove the big wet patch. Turn the rest over with the shovel and remake. about 15 minutes.
 
we have straw which i find really easy. what i do is just pick out the poo as i go around and flick the clean straw up the banks. then when all done brush out the mess so the floor is clean and then i leave it to air. then pull some clean down, add some lclean straw and do the banks :] done.
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Shuddup re my jiggy fork! You know what I mean! Didn't think this would generate so much interest! Back now from the yard and it was Bl+)dy cold thankfully my GG must know my footfall or has good fog eyes as he whinnied to me before I could see him! Did a deeper bed tonight as so cold and damp here and still very very foggy. Tucked him up with his nice big padded stable rug and a couple of hay nets. Do we spoil them or what??!!!!!!
 
Oh and by the way don't you just hate those people with clean horses, one mare at the yard always poos and pees in the same place and never moves it around so it's a quick 5 min job for her owner!
 
I was on shavings and rubber matting, but have just swapped onto Nedz Bedz Pro and my Equi-Mats, however muck both out the same...

In the morning I use a rubber glove and pick up all the poo into a rubber bucket. I am incredibly OCDie about my beds
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so every little bit has to come out. Once I have moved all the poo, I then get my shavings fork and throw all the clean bedding up into the bankings (I have pretty big bankings), remove all of the wet and then put quite a thick bed down.

In the evening I just pick all the poo up with a glove and straighten the bed up...
 
linx is on a full straw bed no mats.

this is how i muck out:

sweep front of stable - bits of hay
remove droppings & place in barrow
after i fork up the main bed (without digging too deep) onto banks removing and remove any 'hidden' droppings
i then shovel up the hay from the front of the stable
after emptying barrow & getting straw i pull excess straw from banks & put down clean straw before sweeping the front of stable to neaten bed.

when i dig out every 3/4 days i remove the centre of the bed & sweep out after banking up the useable straw
 
I have just gone back on to straw after a stint with easibed. O(nly been doing it three days but it took me under 10 mins this morning to do a full muck out and sweep up. I luuuurrve straw!

Star is quite clean so I just pick up the poo with a wad of straw under it and shake it into the barrow, then chuck all the clean stuff up and sweep out the wet. Incidentally, my jeans are getting too big for me after only 3 days of doing this!
 
Mine are out unless it's quite wet so I hardly ever have to muck out! It's a bit of an occasion when I have to do it. They're on straw on concrete.

My ancient Cushings mare wees a LOT & is also a box walker. She spends the night pacing around & if she sees anyone, will start neighing & kicking the door to be let out. She never lies down even on a nice thick bed (she is 35 & has been in the family since she was 3, so we've had plenty of time to experiment...) so only has a thin bed as no matter how much/little straw you put down, the whole lot has to come out the next day. Think swamp.

With Adrian, I toss the straw into banks with a fork & put anything in the wheelbarrow that I don't like the look of. Poo, wet, etc. I sweep the floor when I've finished, then hope it will be another few months before I have to do it again!
 
My boy is deep littered shavings on concrete. He is quite tidy so he doesn't disturb the bed much though he rolls/lies down a lot.
Left over hay I give to my shetlands who live out. I take all the poo out first and any wet I can see with a shavings fork. Then I throw up the sides to find any hidden poos and pull clean shavings down into the middle. I don't have big banks, he rolls a lot and has never got cast. I then level it off and sweep the front up neatly. The mucking out bit takes approx 10 mins max - it's everything else that seems to take ages. I use 1 bale of shavings per week. He has a nice thick bed and never goes through to the concrete.

Every few weeks I fork it all up and take all wet out - did it today and it took me about 25 mins - most of this time was trying to push a heavy wheelbarrow up an icy slope in slippy boots
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mine are on shaving with rubber matting

I get the poo out using a muck scoop and scraper.
Then throw all clean up the walls
Get wet out
Chuck everything left up the walls
Make sure all poo is out
Sweep up
Put bed down
 
Charlie is on shavings and concrete. He has a deep litter bed. First job is to sweep my way into his stable. Bedding is usually all kicked to the front. If I am lucky Ican usually get all of the pooh from roughly the back of the stable, or if he has rolled, then I have to search the banks and bed for it. I also use the jiggle the shavings fork method to save on bedding. I like to remove as many bits of pooh as possible. I then use the banks to replace the bedding in the middle. I pat all of my banks to make them look neat and tidy. Except my hay bank. I then pat the bed down with the back of the shavings fork and sweep the front of my stable. Then I stand back and admire my lovely bed.
 
Mines on shavings and rubber mats and I think he is the dirtiest beast alive
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Usually there is a nice big trodden in mess at the front of the stable so I take that out first,
then put on me ol' rubber gloves and get out all the poo (I swear I have OCD with this lol)
working my way along scraping all of the clean to the sides then I remove the wet with a shavings fork, lastly i sweep the stable and leave the bed up for the day.

Come back in the avo and put my bed down, with nice square banks, then I level off the top of my bed and sweep the front of the stable (again have OCD with cleanliness
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)

I get roughly 3 barrows A DAY out of him and go through 3 bales a week
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oh to have a clean beastlet
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Ben is on shavings he has quite a thick bed makes him look an extra 2 hands taller lol. I pick up all the poos up first and then I take all the wet out, He has 2 bags of shavings a week. I muck out in about 10 minutes which I think is rather good for me
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Jiggy's on shavings and rubber matting. Pick the poos out with a shavings fork, throw the dry up the sides, get the wet out and then bed down. Students muck him out in term time and usually have to redo it most days
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never done to my satisfaction!
Alisha's on rubber matting and straw. scrape all the poo off the rubber matting, throw clean straw up the sides, take out the wet and bed down
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Titan's on deep litter straw with a bit of rubber matting at the door to help protect his legs when he's standing there. I have built up a base of wet straw, shifting the stuff from the middle of the bed (where he always wees) to the sides when it rises to the top.

I clear a space at the front of the bed and throw clean straw up on the banks. I dig the banks every couple of weeks as T is very clean and poos in the same place, so they don't get dirty. I then skip the poo up by hand (with gloves!) as he tends to make one big pile and shift any wet straw to the sides, under the clean straw to make a good deep litter. Then pull the clean straw over and put a fresh slice over the top. I don't do banks as he won't lie on them and doesn's roll in the stable as he always goes out so he can roll.
 
Mine is on rubber matting and woodchips. The very wet bits and poos come out daily with a woodchip fork. The not so wet but still a bit dirty woodchips go on the one bank at the back. The clean stuff goes to the sides and i sweep the floor. Then pull the clean stuff back down. On the weekend I do a really thorough job and put down 2 bags of clean woodchips (£2 a bag). Sometimes during the week I top it up with another bag.
 
Shavings on rubber matting
I use approx. 1 bag of shavings every 3 days

I pop on rubber gloves and use an old laundery basket to collect the poo's. Then I use a shavings fork to separate wet from dry , the dry goes onto the clean banks and wet into a wheelbarrow!
I thoroughly sweep the floor(every day
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) and once a week ish I use jeyes powder before sprinkling the shavings back down and plumping up the banks.
Any little bits of poo go in the wheelbarrow

I admit to being obsessed with my mare having a very clean, dry bed every night, I hate to see those little bits of poo or wet
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ETS: She is a dirty moo in the stable so although she has a full bed it is not as deep as I would do if she didn't have rubber matting. I chuck out a good barrow's worth a day
 
Well we've got rubber matting and shavings this year. We had weanlings in two of the stables before christmas (they went back out 24/7 christmas day) they were in for just over a week and we just took the wet and poo out and shook the bed out again whilst they were in, didn't want to upset them too much by changing things.

I fully mucked out one stable last night with shavings fork, chucked clean up the sides over and over again and took out any bits of poo that fell down, took out all the wet and swept the floor out. Left the bed up the banks. I've the other stable to do tonight which isn't so clean so will probably have to take most of the shavings out unfortunately....
 
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