Muck removal ideas?

[Hackback]

We have a new set up at home and will be bringing the horses over in the next few weeks.

The original plan for getting rid of the muck was to have a trailer that the local farmer will collect when full for a small fee. However there isn't room for a trailer and tractor to turn round unless we make a lot more hardstanding, which I'm reluctant to do as the acreage is small to start with. Plus only 2 horses means it will take a while to fill a large trailer.

So the next thought is to get a small tipping trailer and take it to the nominated field ourselves. OH thinks we could tow with a car but I don't think this would be a viable option in winter.

Next thought is to get a quad. OH is reluctant because of the expense and also because he thinks it will attract unwanted visitors. I thought of a small tractor instead, but not sure if the cost/risk is any different to a quad. Is there such a thing as a ride on mower/tractor hybrid that could cope with quagmire fields?

Whichever towing vehicle we decide on, it would have to be road legal as the muck heap fields rotate and could be anywhere in the village.

Any advice? Have I missed another option?

TIA

 

[SEL]

More than one muck heap and putting the rotted down one back on your fields?

 

[Quigleyandme]

Perhaps you could place the muck heap in the nearest field to your hard standing where there is room for a tractor/trailer to manoeuvre. You could make a path to it so it is accessible all year round without breaking your back. Keep it tidy and under a tarp if you can manage it to assist with breaking down. If you stable at all use a bedding that rots down rather than using shavings. Once a year get a contractor/farmer to take it all away when the field is firm enough.

 

[milliepops]

can't help with vehicles but you can get muck trailers where the ramp comes down over the draw bar instead of dropping down at the back, that might make better use of your space/access? OH is part way through building one for me for this reason.

 

[Esmae]

I used to have a small trailer and when filled I hitched it to my car and took it myself to muck heap and unloaded, fetched trailer back again. I used to do this on Saturday mornings. Had horse on shavings. Took minutes to do. I'd
do it again in the same situation.

 

[cauda equina]

I have a muck trailer and tow it with my Disco which usually copes ok with the mud at the muckheap
During one particularly filthy winter I mucked out into plastic tubs and loaded them onto the trailer which I then drove to the heap, parked safely on hardstanding and carried the tubs to the heap

I guess it depends how muddy your muckheaps will be; if there are big agricultural trailers tipping there with loads of muddy ruts I doubt if any car would cope

 

[Jellymoon]

I had all these thoughts too re muck heap when we moved horses home. What I’ve actually done is start a heap on the ground in an accessible space, keep it neat and well-stacked, and then I get the farmer to come and take it away on average once every 3 months or so. Could do less than that though if you are really disciplined in keeping it neat and squished down.

I use straw. It’s absolutely fine. I’ve dug some little channels for the run off, and I was lucky there was a natural bank to put it up against, but I have put in a sleeper wall on one side to contain it.
I quite enjoy doing it and a tidy muck heap is a thing of beauty.

 

[ponynutz]

We've got the same problem.

Originally we bought a little tractor and filled trailer ourselves.
But now the tractor has broken down so we've been building a heap at the bottom of the field and are using it for fertilisation.

 

[queenarmadillo]

My quad churns up my fields quite badly if I drive on them in the worst of winter. We do suffer badly from the wet so it might be better on different terrain, but I definitely wouldn't be trying to tow a fully laden trailer on them with it. Dont forget if you are getting a quad to transport it on the roads, the quad will need to be one that is road legal.
The size of trailer that my quad could pull on everything but baked dry ground, my mucking out would fill in less than 2 weeks in winter and mine arent in every night.
Unless your horses are going to be in very infrequently, Id say a small trailer is going to get old fast.

Talk to your farmer about whether he thinks the access will be a problem. Depending on the distance from the entrance, farmers tend to be pretty good at backing up trailers and he may not need to be able to turn. Particularly if you can take advantage of the flexibility of a larger trailer to time pick ups when the ground is frozen hard or baked dry, life is probably going to be a lot easier with the big trailer.

 

[Goldenstar]

You really need a plan for winter that does not include having to go onto the fields .
The trailers that fill from the front might be the easiest way to go .
I bed one horse with equinola this really composts down fast and would be a good choice if you need to reduce bulk .

 

[Hackback]

Thank you everyone. You have made me think outside the box a little bit and I think we could maybe move a couple of fence posts and get a smallish (but tractor towing size) on the corner of the field with the tow bar over the drive/hardstanding. We have plenty of road planings left so could always put them under the trailer.

Now need to look out for a small, front loading trailer, I have one week!

 

[Polos Mum]

Your muck / fertiliser is really valuable to you. Everything you take out of your grass you will need to put back (more so on small acreage).

I would really think about whether you could have 2 piles that alternate each year and after 12 months rotting down spread it back on the land. You'll save a fortune in chemical grass supplements, not to mention saving the cost paid to the farmer.

Straw takes ages to rot down and takes up huge space, but lots of alternative bedding that works really well.

In lovely agricultural Lincolnshire our neighbour farmer bought a trailer (which lived at our yard) and came and collected it because he was so grateful for the organic matter to put back into his fields.

 

[TotalMadgeness]

We are starting to make poo bricks to burn in the fireplace because of heating oil costs. I kid ye not!

 

[cauda equina]

I'd love to hear how it goes
It's such a good use of an annoying waste product but I wonder if all the wetting/packing/drying gets too tedious to carry on with

 

[Abacus]

For those that suggest spreading back onto the land - how would you practically do this? Personally I tend to harrow rather than poo pick and ours live out so we hardly ever have muck from the stables but even s we will our muck trailer regularly, and it is emptied by the farmer. I don't have the equipment for spreading it - would you get a professional in to do this?

I have previously wondered about manufacturing a product (some sort of medium sized trailer) that also churned and broke up the lumps, and then had a spreading function...

 

[Polos Mum]

For those that suggest spreading back onto the land - how would you practically do this? Personally I tend to harrow rather than poo pick and ours live out so we hardly ever have muck from the stables but even s we will our muck trailer regularly, and it is emptied by the farmer. I don't have the equipment for spreading it - would you get a professional in to do this?

I have previously wondered about manufacturing a product (some sort of medium sized trailer) that also churned and broke up the lumps, and then had a spreading function...

The lowest cost - would be to shovel the rotted stuff back into a wheelbarrow then spread it by hand - for small spaces that is doable - there's a land mgmt FB group where people do quite big areas by hand ! Or £50 to your local farmer and it'll take him 20 mins ! (plus time to get kit ready / get to you / maintenance) so will look high cost per time with you but fair for him/ her.

 

[mariew]

Or if you haven't used weedkiller on your grass offer it to your local gardeners. They'll take it away, especially if you have two piles and let one sit for 6 months. Or use it yourself.

 

[Hackback]

We are starting to make poo bricks to burn in the fireplace because of heating oil costs. I kid ye not!

My partner had a go at this a few years ago! He abandoned it in the end because it was much harder work than he imagined. The resulting bricks were not at all offensive, in fact they smelled vaguely of hay. They smouldered rather than burned but didn't leave any waste. The only issue was that we left some in the basket by the fire when we went away and when we got back the room was full of flies ?

I wish we could find an easier and efficient way of making the bricks though, it seems like the perfect solution.

 

[Antw23uk]

I brought a 6 ton tipping trailer a few weeks ago and I wish I'd brought an 8 ton. Three horses at home, lightly stabled and its nearly full after a month! Luckily i have smallholder friends who will be taking it away for me (for a fee) but we've decided we will alternate with their 8ton to save on fuel costs/ time.

I just dont like the idea of a muck heap, being on only 3 acres, although we did think about building a nice one to make it all neat and smart but i prefer to invest in an asset that i can sell if i need to, which you cant with a built muckheap as its becomes part and parcel with the land.