Poo picking or harrowing?

[H's mum]

Just wanting to pick people's brains - I'm due to have a baby shortly (within a few weeks) and due to being a bit off it this past few weeks I've not been able to poo pick - the field is looking in desperate need of it now - but I wondered if poo picking is the only option and what would be the benefits of harrowing it instead?
Thanks
Kate x

 

[Angelbones]

I don't know the rights of wrongs of harrowing instead of poo picking (perhaps I should!) but we only ever poo pick the little fenced off pens for eg the laminitic pony, and we harrow the rest of the land. We do this a couple of times over the summer, followed by rolling if we can get it done. Our horses are regularly properly wormed, and we have never had a problem with either the horses or the land (we have approx 7 horses on 20 acres at any one time). Congratulations on your imminent baby - I'm not surprised poo picking is beyond you!

 

[racingdemon]

Hi there! i feel your pain.... lol!!

as i am a very busy person & have too many horses & fields, we only harrow, and have never poo picked (other than the tiny pony paddocks), we rotate our fields alot, to ensure they get plenty of rest, and we harrow very regularly in the summer, each field is pretty big though, so its not like they are up to thier eyeballs in it,

we also regularly top & roll each field, helps the grass to grow well,

get some chain harrows

RD xxx

 

[H's mum]

I don't know the rights of wrongs of harrowing instead of poo picking (perhaps I should!) but we only ever poo pick the little fenced off pens for eg the laminitic pony, and we harrow the rest of the land. We do this a couple of times over the summer, followed by rolling if we can get it done. Our horses are regularly properly wormed, and we have never had a problem with either the horses or the land (we have approx 7 horses on 20 acres at any one time). Congratulations on your imminent baby - I'm not surprised poo picking is beyond you!

Thank you - I was doing quite well until a few weeks ago and now it's gone a bit haywire! LOL!
Kate x

 

[H's mum]

Hi there! i feel your pain.... lol!!

as i am a very busy person & have too many horses & fields, we only harrow, and have never poo picked (other than the tiny pony paddocks), we rotate our fields alot, to ensure they get plenty of rest, and we harrow very regularly in the summer, each field is pretty big though, so its not like they are up to thier eyeballs in it,

we also regularly top & roll each field, helps the grass to grow well,

get some chain harrows

RD xxx

Hi RD!
I'm pleased you've said this it's made me feel much better - Michael's just told me he has had a set of chain harrows made so i'll get him to go collect them this weekend and get Michael and Maxwell on the little tractor!

I've kept up to it until now and tbh the thought of spending hours clearing the field when I've got millions of other things I need to sort out just depresses me! Dyson has gone out onto the big field now onto the grass and it's only the ponies left (on winter-grazed grass - yet they still seem to be piling on weight.... joy!) So I could do to fence of a bit for them and rest the remainder of the field... thanks for the advice!
Kate xx

 

[racingdemon]

LOL! Fred STILL talks about maxwell & his tractor, boys and tractors!!

 

[H's mum]

Bless him! You'll have to come up again and he can join in with the harrowing!
Kate x

 

[Mananzwa]

Personally against poo-picking.

I feel you are removing nutrients from the field, horse eats grass - dumps - you take it away = nutrients lost. The only way to return them is to respread the poo after composting or replace with artificial fertiliser.

The arguement for PP is the regrowth in the immediate vicinity is not palatable, that is correct but is only for that period and is palatable a few months down the line. Secondly a build-up of parasites - again correct.

Harrowing spreads the poo so the unpalatability factor is taken away. This also helps for parasites as sunlight (when we get it) does desicate the eggs so spreading does help but is not the total cure. Rotating the grazing with at least 8 weeks gap also helps.

Essentially the choice is yours.

BTW - Congrats on the new rider....

 

[MillionDollar]

Harrowing is fine if your field is plenty big enough. I used to just harrow when I had 5 horses in a 10 acre field. Now my farm is a livery yard, they are all done with a vacuum machine once a week. The liveries have the choice to pay for this or they poo pick themselves as the paddocks are only 1 acre big, so it wouldn't take long to get covered in poo.

 

[Halfstep]

We harrow at our yard too. It works when done properly and at the right time. it is best to do it when the ground isn't rock solid. If there is huge amounts of poo on the ground I will pick up as much as I can first.

 

[spaniel]

Unless you can guarantee weeks of blazing sunshine and months of rest for the grazing, harrowing is generally not the best option for parasite control.

However its not practical to poo pick large areas by hand (or if you are heavily pregnant!) so is a better option that leaving piles to fester.

Its not an ideal world so I would go for the chain harrow at the hottest driest time you can as i know you are well up on your worming and general care. You get the added benefit from the harrow of general ground improvement as well so if you can get a roller on afterwards thats even better.

 

[Mrs_Wishkabibble]

I personally dont like harrowing, have tried it and for me I didnt like it!
I poo pick my fields and find my horses are very tidy and do it nearly all in 2 main places in every paddock in the fields, even new horses pick up very quickly where to poo somehow, must be the smell.

There is a field down the road from me that harrows theirs and their horses poo absolutely everywhere probably as the poo is dried out after harrowing and they can smell it on the grass so thats where they poo if that makes sense.

I only have 3 horses though and have got the time.

I do think though that I have some sort of OCD with my paddocks, I like them to look nice and do top them to leave nice stripes on them!!

 

[marmalade76]

We are similar to Racingdemon, we harrow, never poo pick. Our fields are large (3-6 acres) with no more than two horses in each. They are rotated and rested regularly. It's a small farm of 35 acres with only 7-8 horses and a few sheep. We have someone who grazes a few cattle on it after haymaking, great fertilizer and helps keep weeds and worms down.

 

[leanne1988]

I always poo-pick, but then i have smaller paddocks rather than one huge field. I do also harrow, but i pick up the poo first. If u dont have enough time, can u get some child labour in, hehe.A son/daughter/cousin want to earn a few bob? send them upto the fields with wheelbarrow and poo-picker in tow, lol. Or if that fails, rope ur OH in!!!!

 

[H's mum]

Thanks everyone for your responses - I really appreciate them all (Spans I'm doing a sunshine dance as we speak! LOL!)

I'll probably pick up the worst of it and then harrow - and then will keep up to the harrowing in future so that it doesn't become so bad again - could do with a spare pair of hands ideally - I've got the enthusiastic assistance of a 2yo but that still leaves me with the barrow shoving! LOL!

Ah well - hopefully in a few weeks I'll be back to my normal self - fingers TIGHTLY crossed!
Kate x

 

[brighteyes]

QR

Horses poo in areas they then don't graze through preference. Any poorly maintained horse pasture shows the characteristic 'roughs' and 'lawns'. What I wonder is why. The grass there is lush and green; surely it must taste lovely? I'm betting it's some inbuilt mechanism for remaining relatively parasite-free. Studies have proved worm eggs and larvae can survive a much wider range of temperatures that previously thought, and I bet they too are evolving as climate changes. I really have no idea why people think spreading horse droppings over the entire field is a good or even sensible idea!

I find poo-picking quite theraputic, but I have small paddocks that are carefully managed.

 

[Cocoa]

QR

Horses poo in areas they then don't graze through preference. Any poorly maintained horse pasture shows the characteristic 'roughs' and 'lawns'. What I wonder is why. The grass there is lush and green; surely it must taste lovely? I'm betting it's some inbuilt mechanism for remaining relatively parasite-free. Studies have proved worm eggs and larvae can survive a much wider range of temperatures that previously thought, and I bet they too are evolving as climate changes. I really have no idea why people think spreading horse droppings over the entire field is a good or even sensible idea!

I find poo-picking quite theraputic, but I have small paddocks that are carefully managed.

Shorter grass is sweeter! And when it gets long it is not the best quality, that is why topping can be very useful, as it encourages healthy grass growth and keeps the grass at its optimum height.

I personally wouldnt harrow a field that has been neglected a bit with the poo-picking (obviously through no fault of your own). As mentioned above harrowing just spreads any parasites that are in the poo around the field. You could end up with pasture that has a lot of parasites which the horses can pick up when grazing. Not good for the worm situation!

Maybe you could find someone to help you out by doing some poo-picking for you for some reward?

 

[Beatrice5]

Surely if you harrowed then borrowed some sheep or cattle for a few weeks they'd clean up the pasture and mop up some of the worm egg burden.

Just a thought. Having four kids myself all close together I know how difficult it is to waddle around in the late stages of pregnancy and how demanding small babes are. Also how helpful 2 year old can be....! Juggling ponies / horses and little ones is never an easy task, I am all for making life easier and to harrow then borrow sheep would be my preffered option

Good luck with the new arrival and let us know when he she arives - I LOVE babies x

 

[mrdarcy]

Poo pick into a few large pyramid shaped piles. Leave these poo piles to rot down in the field. The idea is to encourage the horses to make their own stud piles, as they would in the wild. It does seem to work... kind of! Some horses pick it up quickly, some slowly and some are just messy little swines.

 

[H's mum]

Surely if you harrowed then borrowed some sheep or cattle for a few weeks they'd clean up the pasture and mop up some of the worm egg burden.

Just a thought. Having four kids myself all close together I know how difficult it is to waddle around in the late stages of pregnancy and how demanding small babes are. Also how helpful 2 year old can be....! Juggling ponies / horses and little ones is never an easy task, I am all for making life easier and to harrow then borrow sheep would be my preffered option

Good luck with the new arrival and let us know when he she arives - I LOVE babies x

Thanks Beatrice I'll post as soon as anything happens!
I'm thinking of poo picking/tidying up and then harrowing to keep on top - although if I'm not pregnant I may be more inclined to poo pick again - It's just too much for me at the moment to keep up to! (A neighbour has one of those hoover poo-picker-up-ers and I've seriously considered asking them how much they'd charge to do it for me! LOL!)
Kate x

 

[H's mum]

Poo pick into a few large pyramid shaped piles. Leave these poo piles to rot down in the field. The idea is to encourage the horses to make their own stud piles, as they would in the wild. It does seem to work... kind of! Some horses pick it up quickly, some slowly and some are just messy little swines.

OMG That's a genius idea - I've not heard of that before - The actual poo picking isn't too bad for me it's the barrow-pushing up and down the field that's proving too difficult - so doing that would be a really good idea - It would be great if it worked too!
Kate x

 

[Ellies_mum2]

We harrowed our fields about a month ago and now keep on top of it by poo picking daily. Easily said for me as there are 6 liveries to the big field (12 acres) so can manage to keep on top of it easily enough



Good luck with the birth etc. Look forward to seeing piccies of the new arrival

 

[JamesEarwaker]

If the paddocks are being left to rest then grass harrow everytime, spreads the poo about and lets it rot down properly and gives the grass a little boost too.

 

[sunlover]

poo pick poo pick poo pick - I have ocd and love to see a poo free field........

 

[Donkeymad]

No matter what people say, the fact is that harrowing in the UK will spread any worm contamination. We do NOT get the right weather to destroy any worms/eggs.

 

[lisa-aslan16]

Well very interesting comments. Three horses on our fields which all have long grass in sections from bad management from previous owners. Don't even get me started on the ragwort! Twenty hours labour and still doing half and hour every day. Now two of theses horses are not mine but the owner is to busy to be on hand so its down to me. Poo picking would take for ever as its not been done properly for a while due to ragwort picking and everything else. Have asked the local farmer and he hasn't got a harrow. So I am wondering where to start? Will spreading by hand be effective enough? Its going to take me forever either way. Once I have rid of the poo from the long grass ahs anyone any ideas of how to get that suitable for grazing again because it takes over quite a large proportion of what would be grazing? Think I may have to do one field at a time but I really need to manage this grass better going forward. Any advice will be gratefully received

 

[Sebastian]

Fresh manure should not be left on the fields. Besides the risks of worm eggs, the organisms that break up fresh manure use up nutrients from the soil. Composted manure is good to spread, but it will lower the pH, so you need to test the pH of the soil before doing so, or compensate with lime because grass wants somewhere around 6.2 to 6.5 pH. Where about are you? There must be a farmer/contractor in the area with a harrow. Bear in mind that the temperature needs to be above 25 degrees Celsius (if I recall correctly, but it's definitely somewhere in that range) for the eggs to die if you're spreading/chain harrowing fresh manure.

 

[lisa-aslan16]

Fresh manure should not be left on the fields. Besides the risks of worm eggs, the organisms that break up fresh manure use up nutrients from the soil. Composted manure is good to spread, but it will lower the pH, so you need to test the pH of the soil before doing so, or compensate with lime because grass wants somewhere around 6.2 to 6.5 pH. Where about are you? There must be a farmer/contractor in the area with a harrow. Bear in mind that the temperature needs to be above 25 degrees Celsius (if I recall correctly, but it's definitely somewhere in that range) for the eggs to die if you're spreading/chain harrowing fresh manure.

Thanks Sebastian

I am going to start it a field at a time and meanwhile ask around for other farmers that may have a harrow. It is a lot to do on my own and a bit frustrating as I only have the one pony on the premises. I am from the Derby area so must have a few farmers around. Once harrowed or picked what is the best way to get the long grass to grazing quality?

Thank You

 

[Sebastian]

My pleasure. That's a bit far, so I cannot recommend anyone. Top it and chain harrow it as a start, but it's a bit late now, depending on the soil and how wet your fields are.

 

[lisa-aslan16]

Deep dark soil no clay and flat fields that are not to wet at the minute but who knows if this weather continues. I will work on it the best I can even if I do one field at a time