POO PICKING.....

[Chestnut mare]

We poo pick everyday in the summer as the horses are living out. In the winter it's probably only a couple of times a week when we have time as the horses are in we need to muck out etc.

 

[indie999]

I have just chain harrowed yesterday a whole long line of poo that I had scooped mostly every day(it was only a line not the whole field)!.Field is 3 acres. I did it as the grass was well grazed and I knew it was going to rain bad(want the rain to break it up and wash it away). It can take along time for it to disappear and dont be surprised if in the summer you still find lumps of it. I dont plan to put him back on that strip until next Autumn. I do have a manure heap but am trying to let that rot down. If you can lose it in any hedging /rabbit holes too although obviously once the summer comes you wont want to do that if it attracts flies. I only have one horse I did have 3.

3 horses was harder work and I only poo picked at the weekend or when the weather allowed. I probably only chain harrow two to three times a year and when the grass is short .If you do chain harrow try to keep them off that area for quite some while ie 3 months minimum! The grass can become bitter where the poos were too if you chain harrow.

But probably best do a bit of both?

 

[Peegeesmum]

We poo pick every day,we take black plastic sacks out with us & fill them for people who collect it for their gardens

 

[Tinsel Trouble]

I poo pick every Sunday come rain, wind, sun or (today's) ice. 2 horses on 1 acre makes it necessary!!

 

[Merlin11]

I poo pick at least daily in the summer and every 2 days in winter weather permitting. We have 6 acres for 4 horses and find it helps the grass and also I don't have to worm often - worm tests are always negative. OH helps though. Don't think I could do it on my own. Unless weather is very bad I quite enjoy it. You can spend time with the horses and get fresh air and exercise. I find it refreshing to do before a day at the office.

 

[canteron]

I have about 3 acres that I use all year round - and these get poo picked religiously every other day. I then have a further 3 acres which I don't poo pick, just harrow and rest once I have used them.

I would love to have beautifully poo picked fields, but with 3 large horses and 2 small ones, I would also like to have a little bit of life outside poo picking!!!

Interesting to hear that I am not the only one who isn't a poo picking demon!

 

[Alphamare]

We don't poopick. We rotate fields every few months and then they get harrowed and rested for almost a year. Before we had much less land and poopicking for our lot just used to eat time!

 

[caramel]

I poo pick at weekends, however the other liveries who share the field do it during the week. We all do 4 barrows a week per horse (9 in our field). Field is clear most of the time.

 

[Ibblebibble]

when i had just 2 i did, then numbers crept up to 4 and the poo picking was taking all my time so i gave up ! i poo pick the little pony paddocks in summer but thats it, I'm lucky to have separate winter grazing so i don't feel guilty

 

[GCC]

our older horses in competition work tend to have a couple of hours a day in separate turnout. Their fields get poo picked once a week. Then we have youngsters out at grass and we rake/harrow the fields when we move them. I like to give back to the field what we've taken works very well as well our grass wont stop growing! We're on a mixture of clay and sandy soil though, so we have fab drainage

 

[contestdancer]

In the summer we poo pick daily and it only takes about 10mins. During the winter, dependent upon weather and mud we generally try and poo pick once every two to three weeks. We did it yesterday and four barrow fulls cleared the field. We have two horses to a paddock.

 

[glenruby]

Not at all. Have far better things to be doing with my time than picking up s**t. I keep 2 horses on 6 acres split into 3 acre fields. Fields look fantastic through the summer and with horses stables overnight in winter they don't get bad then either. Harrow and roll and top in summer.

 

[moana]

You don't HAVE to, but my partner does ours every day summer and winter. harrowing will not kill off any worm burden in the Uk thoguh.