[smudger]

Good idea or bad?

I have posted a rather long query in land management and one response was the haylage may be unpallatable if I spread (rotted obviously) manure on the fields I will be cutting haylage from.

Any advice / experience?

I also came across this document which seems pretty good:

http:// www.kentdowns.org.uk/ PDF/ HorsemanagementKENT.pdf  (remove spaces)

It says to rot manure for minumum 12 mths to remove parasites but doesn't say anything about pallatability.  I would feel more confident if I had enough land to rotate where I cut haylage from but in reality only 2 fields are productive enough to take a crop from.

[robert waddell]

it would depend on what the horses would be bedded with straw would be alright wood shavings would not decompose as quickly most of the stables just stockpile there dung if spread on grass it is supposed to cause chickeen weed to grow and proliferate

[Sylvia]

I agree with Robert, a year for strawy manure but at least two years for shavings, it depletes the land of nitrogen .as the wood decomposes and what grass needs is nitrogen

[holz306]

MAYBE NOT QUITE WHAT YOU'RE ASKING, BUT I HAVE 23 HORSES, THEY GRAZE MY FIELDS FROM SEPTEMBER - MARCH, END OF MARCH WE HARROW ALL THEIR DUNG BACK OVER THE FIELDS AND ROLL, INJULY-AUGUST WE CUT HAY...PERFECTLY PALLATABLE, USING FREE ORGANIC FERTILISER    HORES ARE ALL IN GREAT CONDITION, AND THE QUALITY OF OUR HAY IS FAB. 

[smudger]

Holz306 - Great answer!

I have been feeling guilty at not poo picking, but it is a natural closed loop to return the nutrients to the ground from whence it came. Plus if you poo pick you have yet more manure piles to do something with...

I only use quick composting bedding - generally miscanthus pellets or fibre, so no issue there.

For the poo in the fields, harrowing will be done on a hot day/ dry weather and we will be cross grazing with sheep and cattle so hopefully ok from a worming issue, but will be worm counting this year to see how it goes.

[princesspiggy]

its the worm burden in the horse poo id be most concerned over if the haylage is being fed back to horses as it takes 2 years for worms to die on the grass.

[lachlanandmarcus]

 

its the worm burden in the horse poo id be most concerned over if the haylage is being fed back to horses as it takes 2 years for worms to die on the grass.

this! me too!

[princesspiggy]

For the poo in the fields, harrowing will be done on a hot day/ dry weather and we will be cross grazing with sheep and cattle so hopefully ok from a worming issue, but will be worm counting this year to see how it goes.

encysted red worm is ur big danger and a killer - doesnt show on a worm count or blood test - only postmortem - spreads to horses on the grass/manure. the best prevention is removing droppings from field so to use horse manure a a fertilser would be risky unless it was stored for more than 2 years to kill the worms - or if the haylage was used for cattle/sheep.

[holz306]

We've been doing this for many many years and none of the horses have suffered for it.

 basically, the horses are on the ground for 6 months/off it for six months, feeding them hay thats come off their own fields does them no more harm than puttting them back onto the grazing would anyway, which is how most people running a rotational grazing system would do it, so unless you're resting your horses field for 2years at a time, they're going to be at an increased chance of a worm burden anyway,....at least this way its used as fertiliser and i get a good hay crop.  Coupled with a good worming plan i find it works well, results in lower feed bills and healthy horses. So, i wouldn't worry about it too much

[lachlanandmarcus]

We've been doing this for many many years and none of the horses have suffered for it.

 basically, the horses are on the ground for 6 months/off it for six months, feeding them hay thats come off their own fields does them no more harm than puttting them back onto the grazing would anyway, which is how most people running a rotational grazing system would do it, so unless you're resting your horses field for 2years at a time, they're going to be at an increased chance of a worm burden anyway,....at least this way its used as fertiliser and i get a good hay crop.  Coupled with a good worming plan i find it works well, results in lower feed bills and healthy horses. So, i wouldn't worry about it too much

But if when grazing you are poo picking daily, and taking the poo away to a heap away from the fields and composting it for 2 years, then grazing again after 6 months would not have the same risk as a situation where poo picking wasnt happening, or where it was but the dung was respread after less than a year and then haylage harvested from the field. Worm counts wouldnt pick that up and eventually there could be even more wormer resistance than there is now.

Lets not beat about the bush. Poo picking followed by 24 month composting is the optimal way to ensure minimum risk here on ground that you are also cropping for feeding to the same species. Some horses might do fine without such extremes, but to minimise risk, thats the route to follow.

[Remy]

My winter field doesn't get poopicked, the horses move off it late March and I harrow and roll it then let it grow for a few months.  A neighbour cuts it for silage/haylage and leaves me a bale or two which I feed to the horses over winter when the weather is bad - I've never had a worm problem.  The horses go back onto the field in Nov/Dec depending on the weather.

I poopick the summer fields all during the growing season and also cross-graze with sheep all year round.

However I don't re-spread my summer muckheap even though it's pure horse sh*t, as I think it would be too much along with the droppings already there.  A farmer neighbour takes it away for his arable land!

[smudger]

Probably rotting horse manure for 2 years is a good idea to be safe.

I am not sure if worms survive the process of making haylage (anyone know?). I am sure I read somewhere (possibly Eblex lealet) that taking a forage crop also reduces worm burden on pasture.  Like others I will be cross grazing with sheep and cattle which also kills of worms (and probably won't put horses on these fields as I don't want it getting churned up). The haylage crop will be the only "contact" with the land I may spread the h/manure on.

In respect of encysted redworms (and tapeworms), these are the two worms types which have to be wormed twice a year, irrespective of pasture management or worming strategy as they don't show up in worm counts. As there are only one or two drugs to combat them, then potential worm resistance is difficult to avoid.

[Hellybee]

we chain harrow after the ponies have been moved to fresh grazing, leave to grow on and then put the sheep in, they ll sweeten it back up, then harrow again then rest  

[smudger]

Another useful resource - Surrey Council:
http://www.surreycc.gov.uk/environment-housing-and-planning/countryside/managing-the-countryside/horse-pasture-management-project/manure-storage-and-disposal-advice#5

Once manure has been composted for twelve months, it is generally accepted that the larvae of harmful parasites will have died.

Also covers the law in respect of waste regulations. No license required - but only if not mixed with other waste.

Where horse manure is being used as a fertiliser on any land (such as grazing, agricultural farms, allotments or private gardens etc.) for benefit, it is not treated as controlled waste. A permit or exemption under the Environmental Permitting Regulations is not required to store or spread the manure as a fertiliser on the premises where it was produced, or at another premises. Neither is a waste transfer note or waste carrier registration required for the movement of manure that is to be used as a fertiliser.

and

If manure produced at a private, agricultural or commercial stables is disposed of by burning, tipping or burial or mixed with other wastes, then it is classed as a 'Controlled Waste' and subject to Environmental Permitting Regulations.

More worryingly:
An average horse will produce 20.4 kilos (or 45 pounds) of manure each day, equating to 7.5 tonnes annually! This quantity does not include the addition of soiled stable bedding material.

This is why I seem to spend more time shovelling h/s**** than riding! . And why they are now turned out....

That means I should design my manure storage on basis of at least 30 tonnes of manure pa for 2 years

[OhLaLa]

Our horses are wormed regularly.

The horse muck goes onto the muck heap. It stays there for about two years and is completely turned about 3 or 4 times per year.

Any waste hay can be burnt (but we don't get much).

The composted muck (and any ash) then goes onto the (fairly large) vegetable plot. It's always good dark compost full of earthworms. We never spread it on the fields.

Surprisingly our muck heap isn't too large, and it always gets used up.

    

PS: We are talking about a very small amount of hay, not even half a bin's worth. You can buy small galvanised bins for burning, and this is ideal for the job.