Poo Picking

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tiggycat

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Having just been reading the poo picking thread I wondered what people opinions on poo picking are?
I have been on a few yards over the years and although I know my way of doing things, various yo's have had different ideas.
One said no poo picking needed, he would harrow it. Another said no poo picking it is good for the ground, others said regular poo picking. Personally I like to go in each day and pick up what has been done, that way it doesnt get to much to handle and you minimise the risk of parasites etc.
Opinions???
 
i pooh pick every day. my yard owner does it twice a day just to make it easier at both ends of the day. but i do my every day. i think it makes the fields look tidier to.
 
its very good for the ground if its harrowed as its like a fertiliser and makes the grass grow but there is a parasite risk. if you have lots of acres to rotate round or huge fields then i spose it doesn't really matter. we have small paddocks so after two days of pooh it looks like a mine field lol.
 
I do it everyday for a few reasons - helps the ground, worms eeuugghhh, midges and with a horse with sweet itch its a must! and it looks lush when its all clear lol
 
poo picked field, grass grows, nice clean field, non poo picked field, grass doesnt grow, just the docks and dandelions plus sour rank grass horses do not eat.....have had this argument with OH for years, this year due to his illness, he has had to give up work, ie truck driver, can now see for himself what a difference it makes.....harrowing does not work, all it does is spread dung around. would you eat off a plate with your poo on it, no I didnt think so.
 
JaneyP said:
I do it everyday for a few reasons - helps the ground, worms eeuugghhh, midges and with a horse with sweet itch its a must! and it looks lush when its all clear lol
Click to expand...

your right, i nice clear field looks lovley!
 
I never poo picked in the past but my mare is now in her own taped off fatty paddock so I do poo pick it every day. By the way Miss_Buffey, I love your dog!
 
Last yard never did it.
Current yard does it every few days - she said it's easier to keep on top of it than do one huge lot.
 
I'm another that it's done everyday, wouldn't dream of leaving mucking out over 24 hours so why the field?!? Plus it looks so much better and my girlies only in fairly small field for the size of them xxx
 
Always have poo picked daily. Harrowing does NOT kill the worms and can increase the parasite burden, leaving it there looks horrid and makes the grass and weeds grown so that you get areas that the horses don't eat and others that they literally mow. Looks awful.

Main reason is to reduce the need for worming.
 
In the summer when the 3 boys are out 24/7 i poop pick every day and in the winter when they come in at nights once or twice a week.

I don't understand people who care that their beds/stables look clean, neat and tidy but let their fields go to rack and ruin. I want my horses to eat grass not poo!!!

Getting the poop out reduces the flies so less need to cover your horses in chemical fly sprays, reduces the risk of worms, stops your fields getting full of bald patches where the grass doesn't see the sun and doesn't get a chance fertilise the docks and rag.
Only poop that is well rotted is suitable as a fertiliser so leaving piles of fresh stuff in your fields isn't helping your grass. Harrowing needs to be done regularly and out YO doesn't own one so would be a long wait!!!

I also do a weekly rag check/pull and dock lift.

It's hard work but it only takes the same time as it would to muck out and you get a tan whilst spending time with your horses in the field.

Our yard doesn't have any rules on poo picking, this is just a personal thing. But our YO doesn't harrow and just leaves a message on the board about August time to pick your rag!!!

The fields we are given is our field. We don't rotate and it's up to us how we look after it so that's what i do, what others do with their fields is up to them.
 
When the old boy was at home, he was poo picked everyday.

Now he is at a field next door, and they do not really bother, IMHO, it looks a mess and reduces the amount of grass they have to eat, I would do it, and did offer, but they told me no need, and also I do not see why I should do it on my own for over 20 horses!!!!
 
I do Ches paddock every day, its actually quite nice to spend the time with him, he is very helpful and follows me around, gives me a little shove with his nose every so often and checks I havent missed any piles!! We generally have a little cuddle halfway round the field and its usually just quiet time together.
 
The problem with poo-picking is where exactly do you put the, er, poo? You're having to create a muck heap or whatever, which will then attract things like flies, mosquitoes etc., so that is something which needs to be thought about.

The best thing, if you can do it, is to rotate stock, so you put horses out in the field for say, a month, then put sheep or cows in, as the parasites which affect horses, i.e. worms, etc., don't affect cattle, and vice versa. So it really is the best way to do things but I appreciate not everyone can do it.

I've also seen crows, magpies and seagulls scratching out poo, presumably they are after the parasites? (yuck, vile topic).

I went to a lecture at the vets on parasitic problems with horses and they said its OK to use a harrow on the ground and thus disperse the poo, BUT ONLY if the temperature exceeds twentyfive degrees celcius; if you do it when its not as hot as this you're doing more harm then good as you're just spreading the parasites around the field.
 
[The problem with poo-picking is where exactly do you put the, er, poo? You're having to create a muck heap or whatever, which will then attract things like flies, mosquitoes etc., so that is something which needs to be thought about.]

Most/all yards have a muck heap?!!? Put the poop in a barrow and wheel it out of the field to the muck heap...where would you put the poop if your horse was stabled???

I know some people who don't have stables, fields only but I'm sure there is some where you could make a "heap"...the flies etc would go to the heap not on your horse. Surely people with fields only should be even more contentious about field management?
 
Luckily, our horses fields are in an allotment. So we turn them out during the week, and leave the gates open during the weekend, and the allotment owners help themselves! :)
 
Previous yards that I have been on, there were 20 odd horses all turned out together so the fields were large and it was just never done. The grass there after a few years was non-existant.

Now, my ponies are in a small paddock and so it is in my contract that poo-picking must be done everyday. I don't mind it as my ponies come follow me and I spend time with them as I do it (provided they DON'T turn my barrow over).
 
I do it every day, as my fields are not massive, and i have 3 that need to be rotated.

However my friend keeps her 2 horses at a large yard, and +she has never poo picked its always been harrowed yet her horses always have had low worm counts so it's never caused any problems either,
 
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