Basic Manure Management Equipment for Horse Properties

Basic horse manure management equipment includes a good wheelbarrow and manure fork.
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manure and pitchfork
The right tools make all the difference in efficient farm management. | iStock

If you’re a novice horse owner or new to horse keeping on your own property, you might feel a little overwhelmed by the thought of acquiring all the equipment you think you’ll need to manage your property. Fortunately, you can actually do a good job of land management without going overboard on expensive new equipment. In the next couple of blogs I’ll go over some basic, realistic equipment considerations for a small acreage horse places. I’ll start with manure management equipment and will go on to pasture equipment. I’ll finish with ideas on alternatives to buying new.

Manure Management Equipment

Start off with managing the back end of the horse first: A horse produces 50 pounds of manure daily, so it is important to have the right equipment to make the job doable for daily removable manure in stalls, paddocks, confinement areas, and other high-traffic areas. Manure that’s not removed creates more mud, odors, flies and potential runoff of nutrients, bacteria and sediments that can cause water quality issues. Plus, it can become a horse health issue by reinfesting the horse with parasites or other pathogens.

Basic manure management equipment includes a good wheelbarrow and manure fork. That may sound simple, but there is actually a bit of an art to the selection of an effective wheelbarrow and manure fork.   

When choosing a wheelbarrow, look for:

  • One that will be easy to dump (especially important if you have back problems). That usually means, depending on how tall you are, a long handle so you don’t have to bend over as far.
  • Propper sizing; an extra-big wheelbarrow will clean several stalls and paddocks before it gets full, but it might become quite heavy and unwieldy in the process. Or you might prefer a smaller sized one that is easier to dump, especially if your compost bins are close by and easy to dump into.
  • Ease of maneuverability, an important consideration if there’s a lip or board in front of the stall or if there are any tight spots.
  • If you need to lift versus dump into your compost pile, you might want to consider something lightweight and not too big, such as a manure bucket with a cart.

There are several different designs around for these

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Written by:

Alayne Blickle, a lifelong equestrian and ranch riding competitor, is the creator/director of Horses for Clean Water, an award-winning, internationally acclaimed environmental education program for horse owners. Well-known for her enthusiastic, down-to-earth approach, Blickle is an educator and photojournalist who has worked with horse and livestock owners since 1990 teaching manure composting, pasture management, mud and dust control, water conservation, chemical use reduction, firewise, and wildlife enhancement. She teaches and travels North America and writes for horse publications. Blickle and her husband raise and train their mustangs and quarter horses at their eco-sensitive guest ranch, Sweet Pepper Ranch, in sunny Nampa, Idaho.

7 Responses

  1. re: Basic Manure Management Equipment for Horse Properties

    I’ve been a one man band for 20 years. I use a many-tined metal fork, same one, the whole time. I got rid of the stalls and filled my barn with gravel and it cleans like kitty litter. The horses prefer to stand on it. All are transitioned. I abandoned

  2. re: Basic Manure Management Equipment for Horse Properties

    My horses go in and out of their stalls into a drylot whenever they want. Stalls and drylot get cleaned daily. The stall floors are concrete with stall mats and shavings on top. The horses are so much healthier and happier when they have the opportunit

  3. re: Basic Manure Management Equipment for Horse Properties

    Our horses spend most of their time outside, but when we clean their stalls we dump the manure and shavings in the turnout. We harrow the turnout when the weather turns nice, and we never have to worry about the smell, plus the turnout looks really nic

  4. re: Basic Manure Management Equipment for Horse Properties

    I don’t use lime in that fashion, Frederick, but have worked in stables that have packed lime as the stable flooring.  Twice daily stable cleaning is better than lime – its not just the odour that can be problematic, but also the fumes, which can

  5. re: Basic Manure Management Equipment for Horse Properties

    anyone dust down the floor of the stall with lime, to absorb urine and kill germs before bedding down?

  6. re: Basic Manure Management Equipment for Horse Properties

    Don’t discount metal manure forks.  Choose a fork according to what your bedding is.  I use chopped newspaper and a plastic fork will not peirce the wet paper well.  I need the metal fork and foot pressure.  You might also consider

  7. re: Basic Manure Management Equipment for Horse Properties

    Thank you very much. I have both of these pieces of equipment and find them to be very valuable. The fork was a bit pricy but it has a lifetime guarante.

    The wheelbarrel was also pricey but both were worth every penny and make our job so much ea

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