Poo crisis on DIY yard

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Moobucket

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What happens on your yard if people don't do their alloted poo picking? I've tried nice FAIL, now I need to get serious.:mad:

We have 6 horses on the winter paddock and i've asked everyone to take out three wheelbarrows a day. They don't do it. One barrow maybe if chased. They've also started lying...blatently as they know I can't proove they haven't done it, but i know what three barrows of poo looks like.

The best think I can think of it giving everyone their own marked section of the poo trailer to fill and if they don't do it fine them. Would be interested to know what happens on other yards.
 
Why 3 barrows each a day? seems a bit excessive if you ask me!! 1 or 2 per horse at a push should be quite sufficient ;)

At my yard, If you don't do it, you get asked to leave. end of.
 
Is there a backlog of poo to clear? As 3 barrows a day is a bit much. Horses out 24/7 average a total of 12 poos each which is around a barrow full. If you are just saying 3 barrows a day until it is cleared, then fair enough, but once on top of it, then one barrow a day is fair. I am a yard owner but don't do DIY except for one person who does all their own mucking out. If they did not do it, then I would remind them politely, and if they still didn't do it, then I would clear it myself and bill them £3 a barrow. If you cannot do that, then I would give them a warning that failure to do their alloted poo picking would result in being asked to leave the yard.
 
Sounds excessive to me asking for three a day from each person!

How about spliting the field into sections and asking each person to clear that section ... but to avoid the argument of the "one section gets more poo" argument you rotate the sections weekly ... Oh scrap that it sounds far too complicated :confused:

Tell them to sort it out between them or find another yard or all chip in a get a poo collector. Simple.
 
Sorry not three barrows a day, three barrows per person a week. Everyone has their own 'poo day' and because there are seven days and six horses I do two days a week. So in theory some poo should come off the field every day. Unfortunately myself and another livery are the only people doing the picking and the field is lathered.
 
I get 1 wheelbarrow a day from my two in the paddock... (Out 6am-8pm, in at night) and another wheelbarrow is the mucking out. To me 3 seems excessive unless as others have said, there is a backlog.
 
Never had to poo pick, unless horse in small 'sick' paddock.

6 horses must be on at least 7 or 8 acres - I wouldn't be poo picking that I'm afraid.
 
So this is just the winter paddock. 6 horses on 5 acres and then stabled at night when the weather comes bad. Then in March they go out onto 7 acres of grass that has been rested for six months.

I think its a fair system.
 
Increase the livery fee and use the money to employ someone to do it. I won't even livery at a yard where I'm expected to collect droppings from the field. I keep horses at livery because I don't want land to look after.
 
One yard I know of uses the extra large trugs on. All are numbered and allocated to a horse. YO then empties these out at the end of the day.

Bit more work for the YO, but they can then tell who has been poo picking and who hasn't (funnily enough, having such a system meant that everyone suddenly started poo-picking).

Might not be practical for you, but is an idea.
 
The op has said 3 a week, not 3 a day. I would get someone into clear it call and split the costs or make individual paddocks and let them get on with it but have to clear the paddock at least once a week.

What are their excuses ?
 
The reason why poo picking is needed is because quite simply the horses aren't enough land.

Well, as the YO your rules apply. So you can insist or kick off if they don't do it.

Or buy yourself a poo vacume........
 
I can't see DIY poo picking working unless you have individual paddocks. Probably better to up the cost of livery to cover the cost of maintaining the field, either by poo picking yourself, paying someone or rolling and harrowing.
 
This is annoying me at my yard too ATM - horses out 24/7 but the fields horrid! Liveries responsibility and I wouldn't mind 3 barrows a week but it would only be me that done it :(

I'm going to offer to spend an afternoon in there if the yard can give me a quad and trailer but I'm not trekking a 1/4 mile to the muckheap with every barrow in a field that will easily be 30 barrows.
 
Moobucket said:
So this is just the winter paddock. 6 horses on 5 acres and then stabled at night when the weather comes bad. Then in March they go out onto 7 acres of grass that has been rested for six months.

I think its a fair system.
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Yes, you are being more than fair. Write a letter to them all reiterating the arrangement and responsibilities for poo picking and threatening one of two actions if they do not do their allotted poo picking. Either ban their horse from the field until it is done, or give them notice to leave the yard.
 
Bright_Spark said:
One yard I know of uses the extra large trugs on. All are numbered and allocated to a horse. YO then empties these out at the end of the day.

Bit more work for the YO, but they can then tell who has been poo picking and who hasn't (funnily enough, having such a system meant that everyone suddenly started poo-picking).

Might not be practical for you, but is an idea.
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Thats a genius idea! GENIUS!:D Have a gold star....
tra la la laa... off to buy some x large trugs.

There's a reason you are called Bright Spark.
 
we have to poo pick at our DIY yard too.....

Iv just moved into a new paddock after someone left. on going round to check the ground and fences ect it became obvious the last owner hadnt poo picked EVER, its was full of poo, and its just a small paddock! i have almost done it all now, with the help of the YO and his digger, iv been doing it every Weekend to keep on top of it now.
 
If the paddock is kept clean, horses tend to poo in certain places so its fairly easy to poo pick a large field and it doesn't take long.

OP, you have my sympathy, its a bug bear of mine too because it affects everyone's horse.
If the plan isn't working, try having a meeting and give them options. Choice of day/week or pay to have it done. If they don't cooperate, get rid.
 
amymay said:
The reason why poo picking is needed is because quite simply the horses aren't enough land.

Well, as the YO your rules apply. So you can insist or kick off if they don't do it.

Or buy yourself a poo vacume........
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Leaving poo in the field is dreadful practice. Not only does it look unsightly but it is bad for the grazing and bad for worm control. The amount of land does not matter a jot. I have had to clear poo when on DIY no matter how big the field.
 
At our yard we go all go down on the same day and do it together (YO puts day on the message board), who ever doesn't go gets £3.50 added to their bill.
 
Bright_Spark said:
One yard I know of uses the extra large trugs on. All are numbered and allocated to a horse. YO then empties these out at the end of the day.

Bit more work for the YO, but they can then tell who has been poo picking and who hasn't (funnily enough, having such a system meant that everyone suddenly started poo-picking).

Might not be practical for you, but is an idea.
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That's a great idea. Not needed on present yard, but would have saved OH and I many hours picking up after everyone else's horses.
 
Wagtail said:
The amount of land does not matter a jot. I have had to clear poo when on DIY no matter how big the field.
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It does if horses are on around 15 to 20 acres.

As for the poo - if you have enough room and the fields are well managed, then worms will not be an issue. It's called harrowing, rolling and resting.....;)
 
So my livery costs are £25 a week for really nice brand new stables and brand new arena. Well managed lovely fields. Its a labour of love more than a buisness so I'm more than a little disapointed with their attitude.

I've tried leading by example and pretty much filled a trailer on my own.

I care about my fields and I care about the horses on my yard so it irks me they don't do it.

I don't want to offer part livery because I work as well and I'm far enough into my career for it not to be worth while poo picking for others and doing horse care at a significant pay cut.
 
I wouldn't livery at a yard which WASN'T poo-picked at least daily unless the acreage was 'vast' so contaminated grass was easily avoided, and the field rested, harrowed and cross- grazed. It is poor management and laziness which has lead to wormer resistance in the first place.

Worming is hit and miss at best and useless at worst if the science is not understood and the exercise for a person is beneficial. Plus you keep more available grazing.

I don't see the problem.

I think the named bucket idea is brill!
 
amymay said:
It does if horses are on around 15 to 20 acres.

As for the poo - if you have enough room and the fields are well managed, then worms will not be an issue. It's called harrowing, rolling and resting.....;)
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Yes, I know that method is used by some yards. I think it's lazy. The fields still look an absolute mess. I couldn't stand it. Nothing like the feeling after poo picking all the acres and the paddocks look spotless. :)
 
Wagtail said:
Yes, I know that method is used by some yards. I think it's lazy.
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What is lazy about good rotational grazing management?

The fields still look an absolute mess. I couldn't stand it. Nothing like the feeling after poo picking all the acres and the paddocks look spotless. :)
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Fields look wonderful after they've been harrowed, rolled and rested. Just like bowling greens.
 
Wallykissmass, I'm on DIY and there are no extra costs for not doing the field. I'm on a yard where nobody collects droppings, they are left in the field to rot. All liveries and YO are fine with that. All horses are healthy.

I've been on many yards, most as DIY livery. Some with enough land for the horses, some with enough land only if horses stabled nights and YO collects droppings, some with overgrazed and overcrowded fields. None have I had to collect droppings from the field. It's not an acceptable part of horse ownership for me, neither is pulling ragwort or fixing fences.

I have generally paid aprox 30 pounds a week for DIY livery with no field maintenance required of me.
 
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