10 Composting Resources on TheHorse.com
The average 1,100 pound horse produces about 9 tons of manure each year. That’s a lot of horse poop that needs some place to go. Many horse and farm owners choose to compost their horses’ manure and reuse it to fertilize and amend pastures, gardens, potted plants, and flower beds. In honor of Composting Day (May 29), we’ve compiled some of our top composting, manure management, and eco-friendly farm management articles available for free on TheHorse.com.

For additional composting and manure management information, visit the “Waste & Manure Management” topic page or search “composting” or “manure management” on TheHorse.com

Fact Sheet: Composting Efficiently managing manure is an important aspect of caring for horses. This free report provides a detailed overview of composting so you can decide if it’s right for your operation. Learn about details from how to choose the right compost location to how to assess the maturity of compost. Download Now

Blog: A 5-Step Guide to Composting Horse Manure If you care for horses on your own property, then you have no doubt wondered about what to do with that huge mound of manure and stall waste generated by your horse. Wonder no more: Follow five easy steps and you’ll find that pile of manure behind your barn will quickly turn into black gold! Read More

Blog: Spreading Compost Do your horses and your pasture a favor by spreading compost. The nutrients, organic material and beneficial bacteria and fungi in compost will help your grass plants become more productive. Here are a few things to keep in mind when spreading manure or compost Read More

Article: What Does Your Horse’s Stool Say? Before you dump that bucket of manure in your compost pile, take a closer look! Consider it a valuable window into your horse’s gut and overall health status. Find out why you should know what your horse’s normal manure looks like, and how to identify dry feces, diarrhea, and even signs of dental and parasite issues, before a major problem develops. Read More

Article: Windrow Composting for Parasite Control and Waste Management Researchers recently showed that windrow composting is an efficient and effective way of managing equine waste products while eliminating Parascaris equorum contamination. Read More

Article: Composting as Carcass Disposal Option for Horse Owners If you’re into horse ownership for the long term, chances are you will someday have to deal with the death of a horse. Disposing of a large animal’s carcass can prove challenging, but composting allows owners to dispose of their animals and at the same time naturally improve the soil conditions on their properties. Here’s what you need to know. Read More

Article: The Eco-Friendly Farm There’s a lot of buzz about “going green” these days. Managing horses is generally not forgiving to the environment (visualize brownish streams coming down the hillside from the manure pile in the rain, and fly-spray chemicals rinsing down the wash stall drain). Still, here are some ways we can adjust our horse management techniques to be more environmentally friendly. Read More

Article: Innovations in Manure Management Aside from the negative impacts of the mismanaged manure pile, we have come to a point in time when we realize we can turn that liability into an asset–something that can save us money or perhaps even make us money. Many new and interesting manure management technologies are on the horizon to help us do just that. Read More

Blog: Determining Space Requirements for Manure Storage If you are just building your horse property or thinking about relocating your manure storage, here are some factors that you may want to consider when figuring out how much space you will need for your manure or compost pile. Read More

Article: Environmental Best Practices for Horse Owners Managing horses can be both rewarding and challenging. Horse owners often struggle to balance their horses’ needs with environmental concerns, while remaining within their farm’s budget, Fortunately, researchers have determined a set of best management practices that are the most effective, practical, and economical means of reducing and preventing pollution. Read More