Mucking out

[Kacy98]

Hi,

I've been working on horse yards for a while now and I have never been able to speed up with m mucking out. My last two yards required full muck outs each morning, however I feel I am still behind the others while doing this.

Any tips on how to improve? I want to stay thorough but get quicker!

 

[Tash88]

It just takes practice I think! But there will always be the super speedy mucker-outers and unless people are actually saying you are holding them up I wouldn't worry.

I'm sure you do this already but follow a system for each stable - obvious droppings first then chuck all the bedding up to the sides and take out the wet underneath, before bringing the bed down and redoing the banks. Some bedding types are easier than others, and some horses are easier than others, but if you do it the same way each time you'll be more 'automatic' and go quicker. Can you listen to music on earphones at the same time? That can help speed and concentration when exercising so will be the same with mucking out, although I don't as I only have one stable to do each day usually.

 

[Kacy98]

It just takes practice I think! But there will always be the super speedy mucker-outers and unless people are actually saying you are holding them up I wouldn't worry.

I'm sure you do this already but follow a system for each stable - obvious droppings first then chuck all the bedding up to the sides and take out the wet underneath, before bringing the bed down and redoing the banks. Some bedding types are easier than others, and some horses are easier than others, but if you do it the same way each time you'll be more 'automatic' and go quicker. Can you listen to music on earphones at the same time? That can help speed and concentration when exercising so will be the same with mucking out, although I don't as I only have one stable to do each day usually.

Coming up with a system sounds like a good plan, I will try that. The throwing it to the walls definitely helps I've been trying to keep my time to 20 minutes or under, it just feels as though the people around me managed so quickly!

Music is a really good idea! I might give that a shot, I definitely feel more energetic when I have music on. Thank you for that, I'd not thought of that before!

I really appreciate the tips, thank you so much, I will take them into account and see if I speed up

 

[SWE]

What sort of stables are they, bedding, size of bed, size of stable etc? Might help us give more tips!

 

[Fools Motto]

Also, little things like prepping haynets the night before if possible, and filling water buckets while sweeping helps time too!

 

[Kacy98]

What sort of stables are they, bedding, size of bed, size of stable etc? Might help us give more tips!

I'm not sure of the dimensions but they're shavings beds, I think around five bags of shavings in each

 

[Kacy98]

Also, little things like prepping haynets the night before if possible, and filling water buckets while sweeping helps time too!

That sounds like a good plan, thank you for the tips

 

[Keira 8888]

I find tossing the bed up around the sides (once you have removed huge elephant droppings!!) means the little smaller poos roll back down and you can capture them more easily! Why don’t you challenge yourself to remove the massive steaming turds in 5 minutes, then toss everything else up so you can remove the wet, then finish off with removing the dried little suckers that roll down the banks ?? If you set a timer you will know you’re speeding up each day ?????

 

[canteron]

Some horses are so much tidier than others - my tip would be to only do the neat horses (are you sure they aren’t giving you the messiest stables).

One of mine takes 5 mins - the other is hideous and a good half hour!!

 

[WandaMare]

You could ask one of the super fast people if you could observe them to get a few tips on getting faster. There's nothing like watching a live demonstration to learn and I'm sure they wouldn't mind you asking. You'll probably find that you are much more thorough and do a much better job which will explain the extra time you take.

 

[dorsetladette]

You could ask one of the super fast people if you could observe them to get a few tips on getting faster. There's nothing like watching a live demonstration to learn and I'm sure they wouldn't mind you asking. You'll probably find that you are much more thorough and do a much better job which will explain the extra time you take.

This is a good idea.

We used to swap stables every few days as well. So I would do 5, sister would do 5, YTS would do 5 and mother would have her 5. Every few days we would swap round. Mostly because it took longer to do the stallion boxes as the boys were in, so tying up and moving them round took a few extra minutes per stable (plus a scratch and a cuddle) but also as everyone does boxes differently and as other have said are more thorough. It kept us all on our A game as no one wanted 'bed shaming' by mother!!! LOL

 

[Green Bean]

Have a look at your tools, I have found a hay fork much better at getting the large poos and compacted poos our the way before I use my shavings fork for the rest. It may be better to stick to your same stables, you will get to know each horse’s spots where they poo and pee that way

 

[ITPersonnage]

I applaud you for being thorough ! So many people aren't and it ends up with a stinky wet bed where the wee gets mixed in not taken out. If nobody is complaining then the issue may be just in your imagination, keep doing the job well, I'm sure you are appreciated, you would be if you were doing my horse...

 

[emilylou]

I always use a poo picking scoop to get out the big poos. You can be a lot more quick and precise and dont take as much bedding as you do with a fork

 

[Mrs G]

On one yard I was on, the groom prided herself on how quick she was at mucking out. Unfortunately she was absolutely crap at it! Unbeknownst to her she was infamous for how bad she was at mucking out but in her mind she was super quick and efficient and could muck out half the yard in half an hour into one wheelbarrow. She would then make snide comments about how long it took other people and how they were so wasteful, throwing perfectly good straw away (never mind that the straw was sodden and/or filthy!) She was the YO's bestie though so she got away with it. I would always prefer a thoroughly mucked out bed to one that had been just been done as quickly as possible; speed isnt everything.

 

[catkin]

Have a look at your tools, I have found a hay fork much better at getting the large poos and compacted poos our the way before I use my shavings fork for the rest. It may be better to stick to your same stables, you will get to know each horse’s spots where they poo and pee that way

Also are the handles of your tools the right length for you? it sounds such a little thing and it might be only milliseconds extra per 'sweep' but too big or too small or needing to rebalance can soon add up both in time and ease of working.

 

[poiuytrewq]

On one yard I was on, the groom prided herself on how quick she was at mucking out. Unfortunately she was absolutely crap at it! Unbeknownst to her she was infamous for how bad she was at mucking out but in her mind she was super quick and efficient and could muck out half the yard in half an hour into one wheelbarrow. She would then make snide comments about how long it took other people and how they were so wasteful, throwing perfectly good straw away (never mind that the straw was sodden and/or filthy!) She was the YO's bestie though so she got away with it. I would always prefer a thoroughly mucked out bed to one that had been just been done as quickly as possible; speed isnt everything.

We have one of those! ?‍ I’m mid/fast speed at work and our “super fast” always comments, not so much at me but the others. We all know if one of us went in and redid hers we’d get loads out.... you can’t say it though!

 

[PapaverFollis]

I'd put money on the faster people not actually doing it properly. Some people are faster and thorough but most I found just didn't do as good a job. Have a system and just work steadily away.

 

[9tails]

I only have one horse to do every morning and it sometimes takes me 10 minutes or 40 minutes depending on her mood overnight. As it's my bedding therefore my money, I try to not be wasteful. My method is to get all the big poos out, giving them a couple of bounces on the shavings fork for the bedding to fall through, but not too many bounces that the nuggets break up and fall through too. Dig out the wet if necessary, my bed is wood pellets with a decorative layer of shavings so it's not necessary or even possible to find the wet area every day. Then I straighten it out filling in the obvious sleeping dent before going over the bed with a gloved hand picking up any stray nuggets or broken bits of poo.

 

[Chianti]

Hi,

I've been working on horse yards for a while now and I have never been able to speed up with m mucking out. My last two yards required full muck outs each morning, however I feel I am still behind the others while doing this.

Any tips on how to improve? I want to stay thorough but get quicker!

Maybe you're just more thorough than the others that are also mucking out???

 

[pixie]

I take about 30 minutes per stable, but I am very thorough and sweep up one half of the stable, dump the clean stuff against the clean wall and sweep up the rest of the stable every day to make sure that the floor can air properly.

 

[Griffin]

I think it depends on the horse. I can muck out my mare in under fifteen minutes (if I have got my hay net ready to go) but she is relatively tidy. I looked after a friend's horse for a year and he took me at least 20 minutes because he was very messy.

Personally, I like a plastic shavings fork because they are lighter.

 

[yhanni]

My boys both take ages because they are filthy!! I take the visible poos out with a muck skip then chuck the rest up the sides & take out the wet & all the 'hidden' poos. I look on with extreme envy at my livery mates who take out the unsquashed poos & remove the wet every few days/once a week!! I look upon it as useful exercise though.

 

[spacefaer]

Practice! The more you do it, the easier it gets
It's also a matter of moving faster around the yard. I used to train working pupils and they used to start by strolling around the yard - they soon learned to walk with purpose! Also, never go anywhere with an empty hand - time and motìon ?

I muck out my 6 in an hour, including nets and water - but I've been doing it for 45 years ??

 

[TheOldTrout]

I'm another one who takes longer but tries to be more thorough. At first glance, my mare is very clean - then you find out that she buries her poo!
I also, after removing the wet straw, leave doing the clean bed til after I've done water buckets, haynets etc to give the floor a bit of a chance to dry out.

 

[neddy man]

Also are the handles of your tools the right length for you? it sounds such a little thing and it might be only milliseconds extra per 'sweep' but too big or too small or needing to rebalance can soon add up both in time and ease of working.

OH is way smaller than me and has a virtually straight fork I have to bend so much takes me twice as long if my fork has gone missing

 

[Crazy_cat_lady]

I roughly take 15 minutes to muck out, slightly more if he's been in (he stays in at the weekend as I want him available to ride as he's hard to catch otherwise,) Xmas days i can usually do 10 to 15 minutes if he's been out in the day. He's always in on a night.
My mum is slower when she does him in the week when I'm working.
I much prefer mucking out to poo picking I HATE poo picking.

I do however find it much easier now he's on wood pellets, I was a lot slower with shavings as it was whirl winded into a mess of poo and wee!

 

[Frano]

I may be being unfair. But are the others really being as thorough as you? Are banks taken down each day ,that takes ages? Horses often wee in the same area, so possibly just that area is removed every day?
Some horses are muckier than others. There are short cuts , once you have a system and know the horses you get quicker. Could you ask the others what their system is.

 

[Kacy98]

Wow! So many replies! My emails weren't updating so I'm so sorry for not thankif everyone for their tips! I really appreciate them all, I'm definitely going to take them into account. I've tried to simply go faster however I feel I am less thorough so I'm looking forward to giving these all a shot! Thank you all, it's kind of you all to help out

Stay safe and well everyone!