Remember the thread about how long it takes you to muck out?

kerilli

kerilli

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We got so bored this week, unable to work the horses, that we were inspired to video how quick it is to muck out with cardboard bedding, since I couldn't believe people on here saying it takes them 15 minutes or more to muck out a stable. These took 5 mins or less each, including disinfecting, putting bed back down, etc.
So, here, for your delectation, are our dubious efforts - I did 3 different stables to prove it wasn't a fluke or a set-up extra-clean one! Please excuse the silly attire (it was freezing, and those fugly boots are the only ones I can walk up the icy ramp in without risking breaking my neck), embarrassing voice (hope I don't really sound like that) and daft patter (I am not a natural in front of the camera, ugh):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FXNFuBq6t8
or
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0QpFL2UsZ0
or
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo0B2VdgFJY
CC of course welcome. ;) ;) ;)
p.s. please, if anyone knows a way of patching that huge kick through the stable lining, nice and safely flush but from this side, I'd love to hear it...
 
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I subscribed to your youtube and when I saw these I did wonder why you had videos of you mucking out! :D A looooong time ago when I did my NVQs I had to have pictures of me mucking out to prove I could do it, the people in boots must have thought I was barmy. :p

Cardboard does look easy, I'm using pine sawdust at the minute as it's free which is the easiet muck out ever (8 boxes in about 5 minutes) but tbh I'd prefer something more cushioning, have to keep them on deep litter otherwise the beds are just too thin OR have to use about a ton of the stuff every day!
 
I'm very jealous of your rubber matting! I think that's the key to speedy mucking out. Also a well draining stable, my stable drains beautifully to a central chanel but then the hole bit in the front wall for the wet to drain away has been concreted up so it can't go anywhere!

I also love your little fork / rake thing - what is it and where do I get one please?

You should send your videos to Ecobed - I bet they'd love it.
 
Fab! Those long handled rakes are deadly on your wrist as you say.
I wanted Mayo mat for my barn but couldn't afford it. :( They don't poo much do they? lol My tb mare does average 8 poos between 10-11pm and 8 am and about three wees!
You look super smart btw. :D I could never video me I look like a tramp!:o
 
I am very Jealous of your stables, they are gorgeous!!


I'm wondering if I could be converted to Ecobed, at the moment I only have one in, he has rubber matting but I still put a full bed of shavings down (including banks), I get through about 3 bales a week. It does take me about 20 mins - half an hour to muck out :o My horse loves to spread his poo around though and is only in a 12x12 stable so he hasn't got loads of room!

How much is Ecobed? How many bales do you start each stable off with?
 
If your planning on broadening your videos to straw bedding and need a mucky horse..please let me know ;)

I would love rubber matting but as mentioned above - you need to have a good draining system..hmm! Will add that to my 'want list' if ever moving yards!

Mine is out 24/7 and is in maybe once a month if that - so for me, mucking out isn't quite a chore so I wouldn't care how long it would take me :)
 
It used to take me 5 minutes when I was at my old yard where he was in a massive stable and most of the mess was on the rubber matting. But now he is in a lot smaller stable that does have rubber matting but does not drain and you cant even see any of the droppings as it is that messy. It takes me about 45mins now and I have to do most of it by going through it with rubber gloved hands. I wish my horse was as clean as all of yours so stop making me jealous! :D
 
Actually I do think bigger stables are easier and less messy. My mare has half a barn to herself (guesstimate 20 x 30ft) when in and despite prodigious pooing it is easy to muck out. She has a straw bed in one area the rest is earth.
 
Lol lass, I'm bored, but not that bored :D. Plus my lot are on rubber matting with a sprinkling of shavings - Dizz is so disgustingly messy that nothing else works; LL is just revolting (tried him on most things); LC is okay; and we have yet to find out about GM :D

I love them living out :D :D :D

Mental note: when(!) we move, well draining stables will be a must! :cool:
 
As said on youtube, I love your stables!! Takes me about 5mins on full shavings bed lifting up banks daily etc, but i think it would take me about 15mins with just a shovel and rake :p how you manage without a shavings fork i dont know!

Ooh and have you ever tried those corn brooms, the ones that looks like witches brooms? On dry ground, they are absoloutly amazing!
 
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Even with rubber mats, we still have full beds and quite deep too, so thats why it takes longer. The mats are only there for peace of mind for me with two rollers and scrapers - I know they won't be on concrete. If I only had this much bed I would muck out in 5 mins too. Wish I wasn't so old fashioned!
 
OH wants to know how you stop it flying everywhere outside and how do you get rid of it as it doesn't rot down?

ETA: doesn't your little rake hurt your back, mine does which is why I use a normal shavings fork now on pellets and use a rake like yours but longer for poo picking which it's ideal for.
 
You have mats though! That's cheating :D That is no way what I would call a 'full bed'. To put up one of them then have the banks out too takes more than five mins. Especially if you have 'proper' straw banks which are properly squared off and you can walk on the top of them without squashing them!

I love your boxes though!
 
Maesfen said:
OH wants to know how you stop it flying everywhere outside and how do you get rid of it as it doesn't rot down?

ETA: doesn't your little rake hurt your back, mine does which is why I use a normal shavings fork now on pellets and use a rake like yours but longer for poo picking which it's ideal for.
Click to expand...

I use cardboard bedding and it rots much more quickly than shavings or straw and doesn't fly around outside like shavings do. The owner of my yard uses the muck for his veg patch and he thinks it's better than straw or shavings.
 
On average it would take me 10 - 15 minutes to sort out the horse stable wise, but this would include removing all poo and wet, washing and refilling the water buckets, getting hay and dragging the wheel barrow all the way to the muck heap and getting shavings, bring in horse, check rugs and clean out hooves.
 
Well I tried cardboard bedding - for about 3 days and I hated it ! My horse is a filthy beast and it seemed to have a strange smell when wet.(not the horse the bedding !) I chucked it all out and went back to shavings. Takes me a good 20 mins, including two trips to the muckheap.
 
only thing is our beds ar4e about 4 times that length - with rubber matting, so take longer!
We like all our horses to have BIG lovely deep beds!
 
I used to make lovely deep beds for my horse on eva matting until I turned up really early one morning and found her asleep on the matting and not on the lovely bed I had made her!
 
i am very envious of your lovely clean horses and big stables.

My two are in smallish stables and my mare just wees for england and is in no way concerned about where she does it, that goes for poo too. So in the morning the stable is like a swamp, wee, poo and straw all mushed together everywhere.
My gelding has rubber mats and a small shavings bed however he likes to do a massive wee right in the middle then trample his poo in as much as he can so it's too small to be picked up by the shavings fork!!
I have such considerate horses :rolleyes:
 
I wish mine weren't so messy! Takes me between 30-45 mins on an average day and upto an hour on a bad day. Straw bed with full muck out and I'll take out normally 2 wheel barrows :( Tried deep litter with no joy! Tempted to try shavings! I'm so jealous... 5 mins!
 
Why does it take people longer than this to muck out? Dirty bedding in wheelbarrow, clean bedding spread back in stable.. I'm surprised that whether it be shavings/straw/cardobard/bedmax or otherwise makes that much difference.
 
I'm impressed with the amount of stuff you managed to talk about all to do with mucking out. :)

I take ages to muck out but that is because I get side tracked and distracted v easily, plus am constantly puting things down and losing thm so spend ages trying to relocate things, some days my phone doesn't stop making noises either so am constantly getting interupted. :)
 
My full straw bed (the old boy) takes me 10 mins to completely muck out and bed down, my muck heap amd barn are so close to my stable its great! everyone else at the yard is amazed i get it done so quick, i just dont understand how mucking out even the dirtiest of beds can take 30-45 minutes???? completely baffles me :D
 
I'm impressed with your mucking out techniques!

For me to do a full muck out on a floofy straw bed, fill haynets and refresh water takes about 1.5 hours just for my horse. She is messy and her stable is relatively small.

My pony who lives in a different place with a bigger stable takes half that time to do the fully monty.
 
To be honest, the beds on that video were not what I would describe as beds - more like somewhere to have a wee. I have deep litter easibeds - it isn't the mucking out which takes time, its the refilling of haynets, and doing water, rugs, sweeping and turning out/in!
 
sorry, been out all day! in reply to the questions:
the hand rake is this one:
http://www.garden-goodies.co.uk/acatalog/Wolf_Multi_Change_Tools_LCM.html
and i use this handle but there's a slightly longer one too:
http://www.garden-goodies.co.uk/acatalog/Wolf_Multi_Change_Tools_ZM30.html

using it doesn't hurt my wrist or my back (both of which would tell me if they were being stressed), it really is a great tool for poo-picking the fields too.

these stables don't have drainage, there is perfectly flat power-floated concrete (shiny super-smooth) underneath the matting - the worst thing for horses, incredibly slippery.
yes, i only do small beds, as said above, the horses are perfectly happy to lie on the EVA matting. horses aren't 'nesters', i know we love seeing a deep comfy bed but horses imho don't want or need one, mine lie on the mats not the bedding. i don't believe in banks at the sides either, having seen horses get cast with and without them, unless you do 4' high solid banks (not easy to do well) then banks won't help.
cardboard rots down pretty quickly, can be spread on veg patch with no problems. or, it is great for wormery worms, they love it.
i use 1 bale to start the smallest bed (for disgusting horse) or 2 bales to start the bigger beds. For a full bed i'd use 4 bales in a 12x12 stable. bales are afaik between £4 and £6 depending on how much you have and whereabouts you live.
i think 1 of those stables was filthy, but i guess i'm lucky that she didn't mix it all in with the bed that night! they're all on adlib hay but because i do a good skip-out at 10pm, that does make life a lot easier in the mornings.
i still can't see how anyone can take 30mins to muck out a stable though... i could muck out a deep litter, fully, in that time! (have done too, ugh yeuk.)
yes, as mentioned, we've been very very bored! ;) ;)
thanks everyone.
 
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