Poo Picking dilemma

I've been on 5 day livery and poo picked at weekends.

We divided the field (not physically, just with markers) according to how many horses and each owner got a strip for the weekend which needed to be clear by Sunday evening (yard did it Monday- Friday). Each person moved onto the next strip the next weekend so no-one could claim favouritism by having an easier section.

Easy to manage as you can physically see whose done their section - those that didn't, were charged.
 
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Abacus said:
Our new one is a whopper that needs a proper tractor and 3PL - it weighs a ton (actually more). I don’t know the make but if it’s the sort of thing you want I’ll check with the maintenance guy (OH). I think it needs this weight to really break up the poo as it does. Previously we had a chain harrow - does an ok job but bounces a bit, and it definitely wouldn’t have smoothed the ruts in this field (which is new to us and hasn’t been grazed for 7+ years). If you’re using a chain harrow get the widest one you can (we also weighted ours with pallets/ tractor weights).
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Yes, you need an actual heavy duty bit of kit.
 
A previous yard, where a shared horse was, had large fields with multiple horse owners. The fields were marked up into sections and each owner was responsible for keeping their area clear. Then it was obvious who was doing their share and who wasn't! (The yard knew where the horses had their toilet spots and accounted for this when they divided the field up to give poo picking areas)
 
Abacus said:
Our new one is a whopper that needs a proper tractor and 3PL - it weighs a ton (actually more). I don’t know the make but if it’s the sort of thing you want I’ll check with the maintenance guy (OH). I think it needs this weight to really break up the poo as it does. Previously we had a chain harrow - does an ok job but bounces a bit, and it definitely wouldn’t have smoothed the ruts in this field (which is new to us and hasn’t been grazed for 7+ years). If you’re using a chain harrow get the widest one you can (we also weighted ours with pallets/ tractor weights).
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Ah, thank you, we do have a proper tractor harrow but are on clay so by the time we can get onto the fields with a tractor, it is almost too late but if we harrow too early then the tractor sinks in. So was thinking about finding a harrow for the quad to at least start the job - thank you for the advice on a chain harrow, will look into finding the widest that the quad can tow.
 
Abacus said:
Would you consider harrowing and rotating, use 2 fields at a time and rest the others? Then your in-laws could drag a harrow with the quad or a 4x4 - very easy - maybe charge a small amount for this instead of the rota. In my experience some liveries seldom do their share and it’s tough on the others.

I’ve done this for years and am careful with worm counts - we rarely have any that need worming - plus o prefer to put the poo back into the soil - cheaper than fertiliser. Yes, they look messy when horses have been in there for a few weeks but it’s a small price to give up poo picking. We just bought an incredible harrow that turns the poo into the tiniest bits, the fields look brand new after it has been over.
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We would only have max 14 days between rotating which realistically wouldnt be long enough to allow poo to rot down. Id be afraid the whole field would be sour.
 
MiJodsR2BlinkinTite said:
Appreciate this is difficult as this is not your yard, it is in the remit of your in-laws.

However, looking at this as a YO myself, my feeling is that rather than trying to "tweak" things as in asking the question as to whether liveries are "happy" poo-picking - I would respectfully suggest that there actually needs to be a far wider and more radical re-organisation taking place at this yard in the near future.

The YO's (your in-laws) are obviously struggling to get the actual physical work done, and this certainly isn't going to get any easier. However, from the point of view of the liveries at the yard, if the poo-picking (and other tasks as well which they are paying for) isn't done like it always has been done - AND which they have paid for under the full livery arrangement - this is going to naturally cause dissatisfaction, both in the short and longer term. You have to see it from the liveries' point of view actually, they'd be getting less for their money. It really isn't advisable to allow a situation to develop where liveries are unhappy, and feeling they are not getting what they have paid for. This leads to discontent, and can easily lead on to public grousing about it, people leaving, and the yard getting a bad reputation. Not something your IL's would want to happen I'm sure.

So, the way I'm seeing it, there are two options:

Option 1: the in-laws step back from running the yard and appoint a Yard Manager - and give them free rein to appoint whatever staff they feel appropriate to get all the jobs done. The In-Laws could still, if they wished, retain the "Final Word" on the way the yard is run. The current livery services (mixture of Full & DIY) could still be provided. However obviously the cost to the liveries would increase considerably.

Option 2: everyone on the yard is placed onto a DIY arrangement and "does" their horses themselves. This would not satisfy the needs of every livery client, and some would most likely leave if this were introduced. However under this option there would need to be someone who carries ultimate responsibility: this would need either to be your IL's, OR (as in Option 1) appoint a Yard Manager. A DIY yard, if it is to be run properly without people taking the mickey, actually needs the same level of "management" as a Full Livery set-up, and I would gently suggest that this option would still require the services of a YM as your IL's may still struggle to do the physical work - unless they employ (and supervise - very important!) outside labour.

Under both these options, livery fees would obviously need to be increased to be commensurate with the hiring of the appropriate staff.

(edited: had to dash! - returned now)

Option 3: everyone convert to a DIY arrangement and do their own; IL's (or YM/whoever is in charge) sets up a rota for duties including poo-picking.

Hope this helps.
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Thanks for this. Before winter routine the new yard agreement was seen and agreed to by all liveries. This included poo picking winter pens at weekends and bank holidays and would be extending for summer routine.
So the liveries are aware they will need to do all DIY jobs at weekends.

In-Laws will never hire anyone(because they wont charge the correct amount for the livery they provide, we are the cheapest by nearly €30 in the area) as they wouldnt make much money.
They also wont step back from the yard. Even though they are half crippled.

We are trying to push for full DIY and hopefully one or two clients leave and make things easier for the yard as a whole.

Realistically I think, each owner having to remove 15-20 piles of poo from a paddock per day each weekend is fair, and if people can't make it due to sickness/holidays they make arrangements with others to cover!
 
Sorry if I missed where it's mentioned, but are the fields being poo picked by the yard on the full livery days, or is it being left until the weekend for the liveries?
 
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