Why do you Poo Pick?

J

JenHunt

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yes yes, I know the theory, you poo pick to keep on top of worms, and to stop them ignoring parts of their fields...

BUT - you worm your horses right? Modern wormers are very effective, and if you were in doubt you'd probably do a worm count and re-worm as necessary wouldn't you? Surely, also, moving the poo doesn't mean you've moved the worms/eggs/larvae as well!

and so far as I can tell horses will always ignore the part(s) of their fields that they use as a lavatory anyway - every field I know of has patches that horses won't eat. Unless your fields are seriously overcrowded I can't see any problem with that, it's part of their innate parasite avoidance mechanism, even wild horses and zebra do it. So why not accept a few small patches of longer, uneaten grass?

So is it an aesthetic thing? Ron certainly leaves great piles of poo around the place, but that's inevitable given the amount he eats :o and it isn't pretty, but neither's the muck heap to be fair!

Granted our horses are 2 on 14 acres (total, not all one field!) so worm counts and patches of longer grass aren't really an issue, but can you see my point?
 
Hi. I have two horses on 3 acres and poo pick every day. Their last worm count came back negative so they didn't need worming (were on another yard until recently where there was a worming programme, now on own yard). With only 3 acres can't reallyafford to have patches that they won't eat, with the poo picking we don't have any patches and hopefully won't have to worm them as much.
Also been much published lately about the overuse of wormers and worms becoming resistant so better not to worm if we don't need to.
 
My field is only 4 acres with 3 horses which in the summer are out 24/7.

Not only does Poop Picking it make the field look neater (muck heap on yard not near fields...where do you put your muck in the winter?) but it keeps the flies down so you don't have to cover you horse with chemicals, helps keep the worm and parasites down and encourages the grass to grow, as a big dollop of poop blocks the light off killing the grass underneath.

Some people don't poo pick and that's up to them, each to their own but personally i think it's just laziness. People spend so much time making sure their stables are neat and tidy but are quite happy for their horses to munch amongst ****!!!

The last yard i was on the YO had a poop picker on the back of a quad and used to go round the fields twice a week...no such luxury now and spending a bit of time with my horse whilst it grazes a couple of times a week isn't any hardship!!!
 
for one of my horses never, shes in a large field with just one other horse. For my other he is in a small starvation field that is just dust really and because its small every day because otherwise it builds up into huge piles as he poos right next to the gate everyday. Both my horses are only wormed when they need it as yard is on a program and they have worm counts etc. :)
 
Removing the poo does reduce the number of worms passed alive (the wormer is only effective for a certain length of time) and thus does reduce the amount of chemicals you need pay for and pump into your horse..
Harrowing does increase the risk, our weather in the UK does NOT kill worms.

It keeps the grazing in good order, no areas of rough inedibale grass. Not only does it look better, but provides more grazing.
 
well the larvae don't move far from the poo, if you poo pick twice a week in summer then they will still be as egg stage and unable to move so if you move the poo you move the eggs :)

I tend not to worm over the summer grazing season.

We do however mostly poo pick for aesthetic reasons as our summer paddock is bordered along one side by a retirees caravan park :) and means that all areas of the paddock are utlilised. I do think if you are restricting grazing (which I do) then it is only fair to remove droppings as if restricting you are increasing the chances that your horses will eat the soured areas and hence come into more contact with the larvae.

for info we have 2 on 4.5 acres. In the summer they are on about 1.5 acres strip grazed while the rest is used for hay :)
 
I never poo pick :o

I have the horses worm counted once a year and worm if needed, not all of them need doing everytime.

We harrow and move the horses to different fields.

I guess if we just had small paddocks near the house we would, just to make it look nicer. :)
 
Well I have always had low worm counts so really want to keep it that way. Dreading this one though, new horse and my mare has been to stud so it could be anywhere. I also have my 3 acres seperated into 4 paddocks so I can easily keep on top of the poo. Plus I hate pooey fields looks horrible and then knowing my luck the day im riding hrose has rolled in a fresh green sloppy one. :D
 
thats a good point ..... we also ride in our field a lot.... its easier if you dont have to dodge the poo too much :)
 
I try and give minimal chemical wormers and regular poo-picking makes it much easier to do this! My lot are done for encysted in winter and tapeworm in autumn and often don't need anything through spring/summer. Saves me money and is much better for them too! It also means less flies and fewer rough patches in the field - as well as looking much nicer.
 
I poo pick because I keep mine in small paddocks rather than huge fields and I cannot stand to see them covered in muck!! It just looks so minging, I don't worry so much in winter though as most of it gets trodden in the mud. I also find regular poo picking in summer keeps the number of flies down.
 
I poo pick the 'toilets' although not religiously, not every day. And will poo pick any poos they do in the nice bits of the field too. We have four on 12 acres which are split into two main fields, which are split further with electric fencing. The fields get harrowed at least once a year - were done a month or so ago, and were rolled this weekend.
 
We poo pick to clean up the paddocks, it reduces worm egg numbers and reduces the flies in the area. Not sure if it is this or our area, but we have considerably less horse flies than yards down the road!

I worm when needed and try to use worm count kits mainly. There is a growing problem in worms developing a resistance to commercial wormers. And at the moment I think the general consensus is that when this happens, we are all a bit screwed until another anthelmintnic is successful and readily available. For this reason I try to keep the worm burden down and try not to religiously use commercial wormers.
 
i poo pick every day to keep the worms down and i only have 1.5 acres for my pony so i need all the grass i can get especially in the winter
alsoif you poo pick this means you dont need as much wormer esecailly if you do an egg count thing,so the wrms dont get imune o the wormers and the dont rip the horses stomach if you use less wormer:)
 
I would be tempted to say that 2 horses with 14 acres you would not need to poo pick. I've only recently had to poo pick where there is very little grazing. In the past (when my horses have been in large fields) the fields would get harrowed once a year which helps disperse poo and worms. When living on a farm the sheep were good in that they would eat all the sour grass and help control the worms.
 
No! I only worm once a year with a broad spectrum wormer in the winter so that everything including bots are caught. I poo pick almost every day and worm count twice a year. Having said that - my horses are at a DIY yard where we have individual turnout and I've had my same fields for the last couple of years,

However it would be a different matter if my horses were turned out with others who were less fussy!!
 
Mine is on small paddock of one acre, short grass as she's a good doer in the summer, I poo pick because I can't stand seeing masses of poo in the field, it keeps the flies down, looks nicer and I only worm her twice a year as I'm not fond of the strong chemical wormers these days, one or two of them she can have a reaction to. Her winter paddock is the same I pick up and take to the muck heap every morning, and if she's out in the field at the time she follows me round and helps me do it.
 
i have never poo picked- I have 4 horses in 23acres of dairy pasture so worms are not an issue anyway. I don't envy anyone who has to do it- looks a rubbish job!
 
I never poo pick, my horse is out with dairy cows and sheep, so no need. If I had to keep her in a small paddock, no doubt I would. Sometimes she comes into my orchard if the grass is too much, then I religiously poo pick as it beside my house.
 
Wino said:
I would be tempted to say that 2 horses with 14 acres you would not need to poo pick. I've only recently had to poo pick where there is very little grazing. In the past (when my horses have been in large fields) the fields would get harrowed once a year which helps disperse poo and worms. When living on a farm the sheep were good in that they would eat all the sour grass and help control the worms.
Click to expand...

that's exactly my point of view really. The big field is in use all winter (nov to april/may) and then harrowed hard, fertilised, rolled, left for 6 weeks then has cattle and sheep on it until august. the other 2 (well technically 3, but the third is mostly trees/stream/pond and the boys are convinced there's nothing to eat and stand by the gate all day) are only used april/may to november, and we only poo pick the smaller of the two as the footpath goes through their lavatory area :o and we have enough issues with the council about it without them whinging about there being a poo on the path (they actually cut down our new post and rail fence without our permission because they thought it made the stile too high, even though it was the same height as the old one! :mad:).

The boys are worm counted twice a year (as we change fields) and we have not yet had to worm Ron in 6 years that I've had him, and Tom was done twice the year we got him (9 years ago). IMO that's a huge benefit, for very little effort!

It's been really interesting hearing everyone's justifications though, and it's nice to see that everyone has their reasons for doing it and not "just because" or "because i was told i should" :) keep up the good work folks!
 
I don't poo pick: firstly its my own land so I do as I please! and also because we graze other stock in the field and rotate.

The problem is, if we did poo pick, is where the heck to put the muckheap? Near the stables isn't a good idea as mine has sweet itch, so you don't want any muckheaps nearby, and the other only alternative is in the field, which still means you get flies and things.
 
Does anyone know what effect birds have in picking through the poo? I always have crows and magpies rooting through my neds' poos.

Do they eat the larvae?
 
MH, no not really they are after all the little critters in there, they might pick up some worm eggs in the process but I'd be doubtful at how effective they were! we have a lot of rooks and crows too.

Sheep are your best bet for grazing off larvae :)

jh, I think if I had 2 on 14 acres I wouldn't either :D
 
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