Mucking out times

kerrieberry2

Well-Known Member
Joined
28 June 2009
Messages
2,626
Location
Basingstoke
Visit site
How long does it take you all to muck out? I won't be fast as I've not mucked out for 12 yrs!!

I'm trying to work out how long it will take me to muck out 2.5 stables in the morning, so I know how early I need to get up so I can do it before work! then go home and have bath and wash my hair!!

Oh and they will be on straw.
 
I leave myself an hour to turn the horses out, fill and soak two haynets and muck out and bed down two stables (one is straw, other chippings) in the mornings before work.. my stables are only 2 minutes up the road too which is great.
 
Depends on a lot of things but I would probably alow an hour and a half...

I tend to get my one fully mucked out (shavings), bed laid, haynets, waters and feeds done in about half an hour...
 
Usually about 10 mins to actually muck out. I leave half an hour to muck out, top up water, pick feet out and turn out. I leave his bed up in the day though and don't make haynets up as he has it loose on the floor
 
Ours are all on wood pellets, so the worst horse takes about 15 minutes. They're an absolute god send- the neat horses are literally a 5 minute job. As there's 7 of them it saves a lot of time :D
 
Same as CBfan give myself an hour and usually finish just before I'm lucky have my two at home but to turn out,change rugs if needed muck out,water and do two haynets and sweep up just under an hour

Good point I totally forgot about rug changes haha I was think 1.5hrs so should be cool then. Horses are only 2 mins away as well so no real travel time :)

1.5 weeks to go before 5.30 wake up alarm is set :(
 
For my 1 it takes me 20 minutes. That's rug change, turn out, mucking out, laying bed and sweeping whilst my OH does water, feed and haynet. We share a car so it's easier and quicker that way! I'd probably leave an hour and a half. Or do a run on a day off and see how long it takes so you know?
 
10 mins max per bed depending on bedding.
It takes me an hour and a half to two hours to do my own 4 which involves full muck out of straw bed, make dinners and breakfast for the morning, fill up all their haynets. Drinkers are automatic which is bliss!

At work i get 2 hours to muck out 5 (on wood pellet), fill nets, mix feeds, sweep walker, poo pick etc and do it
 
My two are on shavings and quite clean. Takes me about 25 min to turn out (no rug changing), a proper muck out and bed ready for night time, incl emptying 1 barrow load about 75 yards away and put in hay nets (they are filled the night before). No water to do as they have auto drinkers.
 
Takes me an hour to do 6 (2 share in a barn)
Thats 6 straw beds (deep littered)
feeds
Pick out feet
Check rugs
whack over reach boots on
Hay and water
bring in
I don't muck out in the morning I like my bed too much and the horses are at home :)
 
I can get everything done in an hour if I really crack on . . . that's turn two out (pick out all eight feet, change/re-rug one, de-bandage one and put them in separate fields), muck out huuuuuuuge straw bed, re-lay bed and put down clean straw, do hay/water/feed and sweep up . . . but if I want to take my time/make everything really tidy AND have a cup of coffee on the go then it's more like an hour and a half.

However, horse is very messy, stable is the size of a flipping dance hall, I'm quite slow/picky and when Z does it she takes about 10 minutes to muck out and relay the bed ;).

P
 
How long does it take you all to muck out? I won't be fast as I've not mucked out for 12 yrs!!

I'm trying to work out how long it will take me to muck out 2.5 stables in the morning, so I know how early I need to get up so I can do it before work! then go home and have bath and wash my hair!!

Oh and they will be on straw.
Do you mean a full muck out?

I have two stables (straw) to do in the mornings. I feed, rugs, turnout, skip out and leave it in a pile behind the stable door to barrow up when I get back after work.

It used to take me 1.5 hours, i've got it down to 45 mins although that doesn't include night feeds or night hay, they get done when I go back after work.

I have to be at work by 8am so need to leave yard by 7.45. I don't go back home to have another shower, I wear overalls over my work clothes, gloves and baseball cap. People have got used to the horsey smell!!
 
Last edited:
Skip out in about 5 mins and then once a week do a proper muck out weekend and fresh straw (semi deep litter) with shavings base layer and straw on top.
 
I leave an hour to turn out two horses (separately, takes about 15 mins depending on which field they're in), fully muck out and re-lay one straw bed, fill haynet and water bucket, sweep up and do two feeds. Depending on frozen taps/ troughs and general handicaps caused by winter weather, this is plenty :)
 
Lovely stuff. Their first night in will he sat 2nd nov so will give me time on Sunday to workout how slow I am haha. Perhaps I'll do a post to tell you how long it actually took :).

They have huge stables with hay racks so won't have to do nets. They have water drinkers but they look old and rusty so will just use buckets.

No idea how deep I'll do their beds yet. Guess it will be trial and error. Luckily the hay and straw barn is outside my stables so not far to get it. But muck heap is down by the field so a little trek. Water is a pain as there's been an underground leek so taps are off outside the stables so will need to get from the other barn. Also best the field. So will do a job lot of water carriers at the weekend until fixed :)
 
It really depends on the individual and the horse. It's takes me 1.5 hours to fill 2/3 haynets and put them round to soak, change my boy's rug and put on his overreach boots, turn him out (2 min walk), do a full muck out including adding more straw and bedding back down, and sweeping both inside and outside the stable. But it's worth bearing in mind my boy is in a 14x16 stable (massive), he is very messy, (think 15 poos and 3 wee's all mixed about) and I am scrupulous with making sure there is no wet or poo pieces left behind. And I am slow, I think it take the yard 20 mins to actually muck out his stable during the week and it probably takes me 45mins for the actual mucking out.
 
I've been trying to be quicker :D
I love mucking out and could happily spend an hour on one stable but as I'm starting a job as a groom soon I thought I'd better try and speed up a bit! I've been volunteering daily at a charity and today I did 4 stables, plus waters and two haynets per stable, in just over 40 minutes. Two of these beds were deep littered though, or I doubt I'd have been that quick!
 
Lol it takes me an hour to an hour and a half ish to turn two out. Muck two shavings beds out and i leave it up through the day and some days I fill the waters in a morning. Lol, i get there and just talk to the other liveries!!!!! Lol

if it were just me and no one to talk to id be done in 45-1hour i think
 
Lol it takes me an hour to an hour and a half ish to turn two out. Muck two shavings beds out and i leave it up through the day and some days I fill the waters in a morning. Lol, i get there and just talk to the other liveries!!!!! Lol

if it were just me and no one to talk to id be done in 45-1hour i think
This is where I'm lucky, it's just me so no distractions ;) Not so lucky when I fancy a lie in haha
 
It used to take me 30-35 mins to turn out, muck out and hay 2 horses on a morning. Haynets were always prepped in advance and I had to do it fast or I'd be late for work!
 
Yesterday I mucked out 9 all on shavings, swept, hayed (moving and cutting open a wrapped large bale, sectioning off 'slices' to put into the mangers) and watered, (two buckets per box) plus 2 on walker and 5 turn out, 2 bring in, and then stripped and cleaned one set of polo tack - in 3 hours to the dot. (I should have done one more set of polo tack, but didn't have time!) I honestly felt like a headless sweaty chicken, the muck heap track is uphill and now getting muddy, which I loathe. That is a typical day for me, but if I wasn't in the swing of it, then it would take a bit longer!

Glad to report today, as I had help, I mucked out only 2 and didn't empty one barrow - did other jobs instead! Much nicer all round. :)
 
Depending on the weather We don't always change rugs we have a rota for mornings - if someone else is doing horse - will leave rug on overnight & then gets turned out it that rug - they are groomef on the night & then checked over before they go out - this saves loads of time changing from stable to outdoor rug x
 
Work mornings it takes me 30 mins to:
Feed 2
muck out 2 (droppings & lifting wet from floor, leaving banks unless really necessary)
Turn out 2 (1 poss having a rug change)
refill water buckets/trug
Tie in haynets
Pop hay out into field for daytime munching
Rinse out feed buckets & then make up feeds for the next 2 feeds (that evening & next morning).

Thats arriving as the 6am headlines are going on the radio & leaving in time to listen to the 6.30am news, weather & traffic.....
I only sweep down & tidy muck heap on non work days.

Evenings:
Chuck bed back down if left up, bring in, feed, check/change/lift rugs & feet picked out
Remove feed buckets & leave - or pop round paddock with torch & barrow to poo-pick if weather not too bad
 
Last edited:
Five minutes per stable (perhaps 15 if they've really made a mess) x 3 during the week, just to skip out, and then like an hour on a sunday when I let myself do it properly. I'm very OCD though, I have to stop myself otherwise I'd be at it for hours.
 
OMG! You all put me to shame. Looks like i am really slow! I normally get to the yard about 8.45/9.00 (GG is fed at 7.30 by friend who lives on site). I will groom, tack up + 4 x brushing boots and over reach boots, ride, (either school or hack out or lunge). Then turn out, muck out, do water, haynets x 2, make up feeds, and bring down hay or bedding to yard. I am normally done by 10.45, unless we have been chatting! But normally just in time to go home and get ready for work!
 
I used to get to the yard change rugs, turnout, full muck (shavings) bed left up to dry, hay and water in about 15-20mins, if I was doing a friends mare I'd give myself 40mins total to do both horses in the morning.

I'd put put beds down and make up pm and following am feed in the evenings.
 
Top