Easy Manure Management for Small Farms

One horse needs about 1.2 hectares

If you are lucky enough to have a large land holding which has a stocking rate of around 1 horse for every 1.2 hectares you wont have to manage the manure as it will manage itself. You probably wont even have to feed your horse very much, if at all, providing you have a good pasture cover. But these days as land has become more scarce we have less and less of it for our horses and so we overstock it because we have no choice. This leads to all sorts of issues and one of the biggest problems is managing manure.

As everyone knows excess horse manure in your paddocks can be a real problem. It reduces the area available for grazing, it provides a perfect habitat for flies to breed, it contains worms and worm eggs which can be passed on from horse to horse, it can contaminate waterways and dams and it reduces the aesthetic appeal of your paddocks.

Compost is great for the garden

Ross Mckinnon, Gardening Guru says composted horse manure is a little milder than cow or chicken manure but still very good. If it contains urine also it makes a magnificent organic fertilizer to turn into a liquid fertilizer, because it can contain up to 18 per cent nitrogen, 4.5 per cent phosphorous and 13.2 per cent potassium _ all elements needed for vigorous root systems, flower-set and fruiting. Manure can also be used to even out uneven land by filling up holes with it, it can be used as a weed suppressing mulch and can be spread to cover bare patches of earth to help them recover lost pasture.

HARROWING AND SLASHING:

In larger paddocks that are being grazed rotationally, slashing and harrowing may be enough to keep manure under control.

Harrowing breaks up the clods and makes them break down into the soil much more easily. Once your horses have eaten your grass down to 5cm. It’s time to move them on to the next paddock, mow the resting paddock to and even length, and then harrow.
You don’t even need to go out and buy a harrow, you can use something as simple as a piece of old cyclone mesh fencing or and old gate dragged behind a vehicle.

COMPOSTING:


Lots of people, with all good intentions, try composting horse manure and don’t have any luck, though it is easy though. There are just a few crucial things you need to do and you will be sure to have lovely compost for your gardens, or to spread back on your paddocks to replenish nutrients for the grass.

The first thing you need to do is choose the location to compost. You will want somewhere that is easy to access for both adding manure to the compost and for taking the composted material away, where the chance of any odours reaching yours or your neighbours houses are minimized ie. not somewhere where the prevailing winds will blow passed the compost and into your kitchen, it will need to be in the sun and you will need to be able to get water to it if need be.  Recently, at a presentation, someone asked me what to do if they couldn't get a hose to their compost heap or if they were on tank water. The answer to this is to think about putting in a tank just for your compost heap. It doesn't need to be big. There are lots of small tanks available these days. Perhaps you could catch runoff from a shed or other outbuilding.

You will also want to make sure that runoff from storm water runoff won't carry your compost away through overland flow to the nearest creek or neighbours  pool.

You will need to work out how much space to set aside for your composting operation. If it’s just for one or two horses a corner of the paddock will do nicely and you don’t even have to make a formal structure for it you can just pile it up in a few square metres.

If you have more horses and a larger operation you may want to build yourself some more formalized composting bays, but they still don’t need to be too complicated.

A shovel and barrow will be required

Once you have decided where to put your compost the rest is simple.

Here is my tried and true easy composting method.

1. Be patient : The poo pile needs to get very BIG before it will generate enough heat to begin the composting process. It needs to be around 2 metres across at least and about 1.2 metres high.

2. It needs to be in the SUN. A shady pile will take the rest of your life to compost.

3. It needs to be DAMP. When I say damp, I mean that if you put a pair of gloves on, pick up a handful and squeeze it, it will stay together. Not too wet though, not mushy and oozing water, just enough dampness to stay together. This means that in our climate sometimes in the heat of summer, the poo will dry out before it has a chance to start composting, so you might need to give it a bit of a hose now and then to dampen it (of course abide by any water restrictions and wait for rain if you have to). If you don't have a hose that can reach it you may need to think about building it where you can also incorporate a small rainwater tank. These are readily available at hardware stores.

The pile needs to get big before it will begin composting

4. Some people like to build elaborate structures for their compost heap, but you don’t really need one. The ground will do fine. Just as long as it isn’t in a spot where it will float off to the nearest creek or into the neighbours dam (or pool) at the first heavy rain. I have even composted in a deep depression in a paddock to fill it up and make it even with the surrounding ground which put a smile on the farm managers face when he realized he didn’t have to avoid it with his tractor any more. If you do want something more permanent here is a link to a really simple design made from old pallets : http://smallfootprints.com.au/blogs/garden-blog/default.aspx

5. You should think about locating it where it is easy for you to get at with a wheel barrow or trailer (for when it is ready).

6. Don’t worry about flies. Flies don’t like the compost heap. It gets too hot for them. My horses spent all last summer standing right next to ours because it was the only place that didn’t have flies. You can cover it with a tarp if it bothers you.

7. Once your compost heap is happening it will get so hot, it will kill all the weed seeds, so don’t worry about them either.

8. Compost heaps need to be tossed around a bit to keep fresh air getting in too. The easiest way I find to do this is every time I take a barrow to the heap I dig it over a bit before I throw the next load on. Before you know it there will be worms in there.  I have found ’build it and they will come’.

Lots more Sustainable Horsekeeping information, including some great free booklets, can be found here : GOLD COAST HORSE