How important is poo picking to you in winter

[Dry Rot]

if you mean vets, most of them are clueless wrt latest research anyway and I can't believe some of the advice they dole out (giving wormers at half dose for example). I believe Westgate do not sell wormers and therefor have no vested interest, otherwise the sort of research that research institutes such as Moredun might be of interest to you

Thanks for the suggestion of Moredun. I'd for gotten about them.

Just done a "count" on a yearling filly this morning and cannot find a single worm egg! What we have found is a selection of live single celled beasties dashing around! These are definitely not worms so I don't think they are larvae from hatched eggs. We are doing more this afternoon -- not the full MacMaster's but just a smear to check. That is after rigorously harrowings of 25 acres following 12 Highland ponies. If there really are no worm eggs, it would seem harrowing is the way to go.

 

[AandK]

Where I am now I cannot poo pick in the winter, fields are too wet to be able to do this. Previous yard I was on was v well draining soil so I poo picked daily all year round, come rain or snow!
I poo pick spring/summer and once the fields become too wet (about now) I stop. For my two horses I have a roughly 4 acre field split into two, half for winter and half for summer. I also have sheep who graze across both halves of the field over the summer which helps keep the grass even. Yard has a worm count policy, and both my horses were low last count (one at zero and one at ~20). And worms for tapeworm at this time of year.

 

[smellsofhorse]

Depends on the sized of the field and how many horses etc
But generally no.

One idea if wheelbarrow gets suck is to make a poo pile in the field and leave the wheelbarrow there too.

 

[Annagain]

On a scale of 1-10, 0!
We don't poo pick at all. Winter field is 12 acres for 6 horses. It gets harrowed when they move to spring/early summer grazing - about 4 acres but they only stay on that a few weeks then go to the hayfields and merge with the other herd. There they have 24 - acres for 10 horses for about 4 months. That then gets harrowed when they come back up for the winter. They're still on the hayfields at the moment. They'll move back to the winter grazing in a couple of weeks and they'll stay out on that until end of Nov, at which point they'll have to start coming in overnight, but they'll be out every day for about 12 hours no matter what the weather is. I love my livery yard!

 

[Enfys]

You jest

Not at all. I have better things to do than try to find droppings from 20 plus horses over 30 odd snow covered acres in -25C.

Forget it I harrow in Spring when the stuff hasn't set into poopsicles

This winter, deepest joy, I have a fraction of that amount of land and only 4 horses, I am STILL NOT going looking for the stuff

 

[FairyLights]

I gave up poo picked ages ago. we alternate paddocks and harrow, I think poo picking ios a modern fad. lifes too short

 

[Ditchjumper2]

It isn't.......don't do it. We never used to do it and we survived. Do a bit in the summer but would have no time to ride if we did it properly. Life is far too short.

 

[happyclappy]

Whatever time of year, poo picking is important to me and try never to miss a day, regardless.

 

[MileAMinute]

Not any more. It was mandatory at the old yard as we were in fairly small electric fenced paddocks. I used to cry in the winter trying to push a heavy barrow through saturated fields!
Now on a yard with huge fields that are regularly rotated and harrowed so no need. We are also on a good worming programme so no worries on that front either.

 

[AandK]

One idea if wheelbarrow gets suck is to make a poo pile in the field and leave the wheelbarrow there too.

I do this in the summer. But my field is too wet in the winter to push a barrow around in, even if poo pile is in the field.

 

[ihatework]

Poo picking is low on my priority list!

I don't do it through winter, but then my horse gets double the acreage and half the time out.

I do it out of necessity through the summer as she grazes a small area it would be disgusting if not done.

I have no problem at all with harrowing/ field rotation. Many yards I have been on have done this, using worm counting to double check all okay (although I'm not massively convinced on the reliability of that either)

 

[ellie11987]

With 14 horse out on 14 acres of hilly land, I have to say it is not a priority at all! Most are out during the day 7am-4pm with a few small pony's being left out overnight.

 

[xgemmax]

We do but not as often as summer, perhaps once a month or something

 

[fatpiggy]

It was always as important to me as in the summer. To be fair,most of it had to be done over the weekend due to the light conditions, but I still did it. The other liveries tended to use another field (there was a reason I couldn't) and they never did it because it was a. winter grazing for horses only, cows in the summer, was going to be harrowed in the change-over period and c. the YO couldn't see the point. However, 15 horses on a 3 acre field, even if not full time, meant that within a fortnight half the grass had vanished under the brown stuff and was wasted as a result, so they had to pay for hay instead. Personally I think it is laziness, pure and simple. I didn't like picking up frozen poo, or pushing a full barrow through deep mud either, but I just can't stand dirty fields. If I viewed a yard and saw that, I would be gone without asking any more questions.

 

[B&J]

during summer I do it daily. From October I have been doing in at the weekends - Saturday's are painful to catch up on! We have no field turnout during winter (they come in when clocks change) - just courtyard turnout which is done daily again with flood lights thankfully! Cannot wait not to have to drag the wheelbarrow to the field for a few months and the horses seem ready to come in now, they aren't happy being turned out in the mornings at the moment and waiting by the gate in the evenings

 

[PolarSkye]

Not in the winter no . . . his winter field is enormous (three acres plus) and he shares it with just one other . . . no poo picking, just harrowed once it's dry enough to get the tractor in there. Summer field is poo picked regularly - much smaller and I can't stand to see piles of muck lying about.

P