Do you have to pick up horse manure out of your padock?

Question

I am using 1 acre of land with 1 horse and 1 really small pony and I was wondering if you have to pick up the manure out of the padock daily or if you can just disk the land a few times a year.

Answer 1

I would pick it up occasionaly, but  most of it will decompose. You just dont want the paddock to be flooded with poo.

Answer 2

i would once a week for they well be healthy and happy

Answer 3

I pick mine out daily because the bugs are a huge pain!!! and if the horse eats grass that grows from there p**p to soon it can make them sick, so i would try and pick it out at least once a week.

Answer 4

You may have to pick it up about once every three weeks and harrow it in between.  You will be amazed at how rapidly the manure piles up in such a small area.  Even with harrowing once a week, it will probably need additional picking up to have any decent grazing.We harrow our 1 1/2 acre pasture every week, and it is rotated with another.  We use a harrow and drag which breaks up the piles and spreads them very well.

Answer 5

You can drag the field if the weather is really hot, because the worm eggs will die in the heat. (for a small field like yours, with 2 horses you'll need to drag every other day.  And I would pick it out rather than drag, as the paddock is so small). When the temp is below 85 or so, you will definitely need to pick the field.  It's not good for the horses to graze fields with manure as they will ingest the worm eggs, esp in a 1 acre field, where the horses don't have a lot of choice about what grass to eat.

Answer 6

You might need to pick some up occasionally. Just keep an eye on it and if you notice it is piling up go clear some out. If it was me, I would probably clean some of it up every now and then (not daily though)

Answer 7

Okay the problem would be managing pasture and worms.

On that sized paddock you'd need to disk much more that a few times a year. Your paddock will be pretty mucked up every 4 weeks.

The problem with harrowing is that it can infest the entire paddock and give the horses no area to eat that may not contain eggs.

The best way to manage this small area, would be splitting this paddock into four with hot tape and move the horses each week, and pick up manure as you go.

You'd then allow the grass to grow behind them and recover (thus having less risk of weeds growing) and the ground would remain sweeter.

If you disc durring the wet seasons (or any wet week durring the year) you'd increase the spread of eggs through the pasture.

I'd recommend mucking out - but it's a killer isn't it. I'm still going..... currently 3 horses.....  gosh I wonder how much manure I've picked up over the years, must be tones!

Good luck what ever you decide.

Answer 8

Two equines on one acre is going to result in a very messy paddock very quickly!  A small pony may be small, but he poos just as frequently as a big horse.

I'd be in there with a wheelbarrow daily - if you don't, the paddock is going to get overrun with droppings soon, and you'll have a problem with worms and a horse sick field.

Answer 9

I would go through a remove the manure atleast every 2 weeks.

Leaving it sitting in your paddock can attibute to worm infestation.

Most horses will pick a bathroom area in a paddock, if yours hasn't try to help them pick out an area, away from where the eat a drink. Move all of the manure to one spot daily until they get the idea and then start keeping it clean up about 2 times a month. This will make it alot easier to keep the paddock clean.

You can disk the land up. But you should try to smooth it out if you can before putting the horses back in it. And when disking you also have to realize that you would be turning under what grass in it there.

Answer 10

yes, you need to clean it every day or at least once every few days... just easier if you do it every day because then you don't have to spend hours cleaning it up after waiting even just 3 days. i have to do the same... 1 acre w/ 2 horses. it usually takes me a 1/2 an hour to an hour depending on how much they p**p and what time i do it. i usually do it around noon. if you only do it a few times a year, it will get really messy, take a long time to pick up, not pleasant to look at, and they will be standing in it and will cover up all the grass. much easier to do every day. i do it by hand (poo fork) and toss it in my tractor's (deere 2200) bucket. usually 1 bucket load per day.

Answer 11

I find it better to pick it at least once a week...Too many plops of poo laying around will start to kill the grass underneath, not to mention increase any issues with flies.

I pick my pastures everyday but my barn is just a few yards back from the house so the smell and flies aren't pleasant to live right next to.

**Edit**

cece, great points!

Answer 12

I don't think you'll have to pick it up every day, but every few days or once a week will do.

Answer 13

OH!  the joys of owning a Horse!  I don't feel sorry for you a bit!  I feel sorry for your horse and yer pony, but not for you!  One acre is a Minimum for one horse and then the land will not accept all the manure.  Discing will help but the land will never produce enuf edible grass to support the one horse.  U must export at least 2/3 as much manure as compared to the import of outside feed.  You see, U don't have enuf pasture to support a horse.  You are one of those folks who think U love horses.  5 acres per full grown horse is marginally acceptable.  Anything less borders on animal cruelty.  A horse lives to run and work.  If U don't work a horse at least 4 hrs every day U are neglecting his needs.  10 hrs a day would be better for yer horse.  Look at yer history!  Horses WORKED dawn to dark in the 1800's,  saddle horses and draft horses alike.  All breeds of horses were much stronger then.  U ride yer one acre horse once a day?  I doubt it.  Many horse owners like U ride less than once a week.  I'll guess less than 50% of one acre horses get worked more than 4 hrs a month.  Animal cruelty!  The individual horses suffer.........the whole breed suffers.  U seen vids of wild horses?  They run for MILES, Just for the joy of it!  Not much joy on yer fetlock deep manure covered acre now is there?  Yes! U gotta shovel some manure!  Yes! U gotta give yer horse some real work!  Penning a horse on one acre is kinda like confining yourself to a single bedroom.  It's Cruel without getting the horse out at least once a day.

Answer 14

i would pick it up when there's a lot  but if only a couple just rake it a cross the pasture to use a free fertilizer

Answer 15

well, if I were you I would clean about once a week. Don't forget that you need to take responsibility for your horses and if the manure lays around it could create a breeding ground for the flies which is very dangerous to your horses health.

Answer 16

My daughter has her horse and donkey on a small acre next to her house and she picks up every day to help with fly control. She carts about a whole wheelbarrow full a day. That's a lot of p**p to accumulate if you just leave sitting. At worse, get out there every other day.

Not only will it kill your grass, but the flies will become increasingly worse as time goes so be sure to cart the p**p as far from your pasture as possible and if you have a well, make sure that you arrange removal as you don't want your water to become contaminated over time.

Answer 17

yes once a week is fine

Answer 18

On a lot that small you have to manage the land a lot more proactively than on a smaller lot. I don't know that you need to pick out daily  - weekly or bi-weekly would probably be fine. Although the more often you do it, the better for fly control.