spreading rotted horse manure on paddocks

[horsedreams]

has anyone or does anyone spread their rotted horse manure on their paddocks or is it not safe to do so ie worms etc...

if safe when is the best time to do this and how long would you keep the horses off the paddocks

thinking of buying mini manure spreader that are advertised in the equine mags

 

[JanetGeorge]

I do - with heavy clay it's worth its weight in gold (and we have LOTS of it with up to 27 boxes constantly in use.)

There are 2 downsides (apart from the labour of doing it!)

One is the worm risk - our muck is stacked VERY high in the heaps and allowed to reach a very high temperature before spreading (so high, that if there's a wind when I start digging it out, it can ignite!!) After it's spread, the field is then rested for at least 6 weeks.

The second is taste contamination - again, the fields need to be rested for at least 6 weeks (with very well rotted manure - longer if not so well rotted). The rest period should include at least one heavy downpour and a couple of weeks of good dry and sunny weather!

I bought a mini muck spreader - used it twice! It's too small for the number of horses I have (and the amount of muck!) I now dump it in piles (using combination of front loader and transport box) and spread it with mounted harrows.

If you have 6 horses or less the mini muck spreaders are fine - but loading them can be a pain and you need a tractor of at least 25hp. (Mine is for sale if you want one and are in the Midlands!)

 

[Bosworth]

Our muck gets spread twice a year. We pay a local farmer to do it and it costs £150 a time. We leave the fields for 6 months after spreading. So we move the horses onto the summer paddocks and then spread the winter paddocks. The winter paddocks are then left to produce hay and horses go back in there 6 months later.

it has really improved the organic quality of our soil. We also spread lime and soil analyse every other year so it seems to be working. Our worm counts are zero so not increasing worm burden by doing this