The mathematics of poo picking!

BlueSocks

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So I've recently moved my three onto fresh grazing and I'm determined to keep it poo free. Now I hate poo picking so in order to have a daily target instead of aimlessly wandering with the barrow feeling overwhelmed by the seemingly endless amount of poo they can produce, I've applied some maths - don't worry its very simple maths ha ha! I am estimating each horse produces 10 - 15 poos per 24 hr period. So x 3 that's 30 - 45 per 24 hrs. So I've been doing 20 piles AM, and 20 piles PM, with a couple of extras thrown in at the weekend (just for the sheer fun of it eh??!) But, there still seems to be flipping loads of it even with 40 piles being collected each day!!!! How much poo are my horses doing??!! Does anyone know the optimum calculation of daily s**t shovelling that I need to be doing here?! 😁
 

Hanson

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I too detest poo picking, hard work in winter getting sucked into the mud and even worse in summer with flies.
So I have developed an effective strategy.
Take advantage of OH!!! (I'm lucky as he is horsey). I know that he equally hates grooming and tack cleaning, so I avoid poo picking and he doesn't have to groom or clean tack.
 

lelly

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I have a cob who does 18 poos a day, I think that's a lot but it's normal for her. She sometimes does one or two less but rarely. My Shetlands do around 20 between the two of them. I just clear the lot every morning as my paddock is small.
 

dizzyneddy

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Mine are the same - l'd be rich if money could be made from horse poo but l don't mind doing the job as its one of those jobs that needs doing. Thankfully one one of them does try helping as she goes to the toilet in one place but after the recent wet weather we've had l've not been able to do any for the past 4 days so where she's been looks like a massive elephant trud!!!
 

Wagtail

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Horses do between half and a heaped wheelbarrow full a day, depending on how much grass or hay they have eaten. At present I take out 3 wheelbarrows a day if the horses are out 24/7. No point in counting individual poos as each horse does different sized piles.
 

spookypony

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I find the assumption of 16/24h/equine works in my paddock of 3. I think my pony is a poly-pooper, and the others produce a bit less.
 

BlueSocks

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Ha ha well I think I've definitely underestimated the amount that mine are doing!!! I went for 10 - 15 as that seemed to be the general guideline amount on internet searches but seems then it might be more like 15 - 20. Noooooooooooo!!!!!!!! Mine have been out 24/7 365 for years so I can't really remember how many I used to get when they were stabled overnight, but I must say when I was searching I thought 10-15 did seem pretty low. I've tried the OH plan but he's unhorsey and allergic (how selfish do you want to be ha ha???), so no joy there! I think I need to up my amount to 3 barrows per day equalling 60 poos removed per day. Oh the joys!!!
 

honetpot

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I have a lot, some areas are never poo picked but are rested and harrowed. The paddocks I do poo pick I work on nine poos per day per animal. If it gets out of hand say I have been ill or away, I clear a separate area a day so nothing lies long than four days.
 

The Fuzzy Furry

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OP, maths can be made to look daft where horses are concerned :D

My mini puts out 5-6 when stabled for 12/13 hours, usually around 10/11 in 24hrs whether in or out.
CF (14.3 cob) is 7/8 when stabled same time as Tiny Fuzzy, and the same when out for the rest of the time.

CF out 24/7 is 9-10 piles overnight & 5/6 in daytime :)

2 years ago I had a good friends 14.2 native mare as my mount - she a. did mountainous piles that would not fit in the poo-picker scoop as 1 pile, and b. she sHat for olympic gold in amounts! usual was 18 - 20 piles in 24hrs!

You can't go by 'barrow loads' either, as everyone seems to have different makes & sizes of barrows :)

Have fun, let me know when you work out how many 'flicks' you take, to get a pile into the scoop :p
 
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