Horse Stable Manure Management
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HORSE FACILITIES 3 Horse Stable Manure Management anure handling is a necessary horses are kept in suburban or rural evil of stable management residential settings, it is essential for Contents with horse owners naturally horse owners to be good neighbors. M Stall Waste Production and preferring to ride rather than clean Often, suburban horse facilities have Characteristics ............................................ 2 stalls. Making sure that stall cleaning limited or no acreage for disposal of and other manure handling chores manure and soiled bedding. Several Environmental Impact ................................. 3 are done efficiently can lead to more alternatives for handling manure in- Minimizing Nuisances ............................ 3 time spent with the horse. It is impor- clude land disposal, stockpiling for tant to recognize that horses produce future handling, removal from stable Preventing Water Pollution .................... 4 large amounts of manure that quickly site, and composting. Some stables Manure Handling ......................................... 6 accumulates! About 12 tons of ma- have developed markets to distribute Manure Storage ........................................... 7 nure and soiled bedding will be re- or sell the stall waste. Whether in a moved annually from each horse stall suburban or rural setting, proper ma- Construction of the Manure Storage ..... 8 (housing a full-time occupant). Care- nure management is based on simple Siting the Manure Storage ..................... 9 ful consideration of how this material principles that will virtually eliminate Management of the Stored Manure ..... 11 is moved and stored is needed for ef- environmental pollution impacts and ficient manure management. Getting nuisances such as odor and flies. Vegetated Filter Area ................................ 11 the manure out of a stall is only the Manure Disposal ........................................ 12 beginning. A complete manure man- agement system involves collection, Other Stable Wastes .................................. 14 storage (temporary or long-term), Keeping It Legal ......................................... 14 and disposal or utilization. This publication provides information to Have a Plan ................................................ 14 stable managers on horse manure Summary .................................................... 15 characteristics and options for Additional Resources ................................ 15 its movement and storage. Associated issues such as Acknowledgments ..................................... 15 odor control, fly breed- ing, and environmental impact are addressed in relation to horse facilities. Manure management practices within horse facilities deserve careful attention. Since most 2 Stall Waste Production and about 60 to 70 pounds of total waste leading to a steady stream of waste material is removed daily. This results to handle. There are several com- Characteristics in about 12 tons of waste a year per mon stall bedding materials and Manure includes both the solid and stall with 8.5 tons being manure from each has different characteristics in liquid portions of waste. Horse ma- a 1,000-pound horse. handling, field application, suitability nure is about 60 percent solids and The density of horse manure is to composting, and acceptance for 40 percent urine. On average, a horse about 63 pounds per cubic foot (lb/ sales. Availability and cost of bedding produces 0.5 ounce of feces and 0.3 ft3 ). Therefore, 51 pounds of manure materials in the stable area will prob- fluid ounce of urine per pound of would occupy about 0.81 cubic feet. ably have the greatest influence on body weight every day. A 1,000-pound The soiled stall bedding removed bedding selection (Tables 1 and 2). horse produces about 31 pounds of with this manure would be about The manure management needs feces and 2.4 gallons of urine daily, twice this volume, so the total volume of pastured horses are different which totals around 51 pounds of of stall waste removed per day per from those of stabled horses. The total raw waste per day (Figure 1). 1,000-pound horse may be estimated field-deposited manure is beneficial Soiled bedding removed with the as 2.4 ft3. To put all these numbers in because it serves as a fertilizer. Sub- manure during stall cleaning may perspective, annual stall waste from stantial amounts of manure can ac- account for another 8 to 15 pounds one horse would fill its 12-foot by 12- cumulate where horses congregate per day of waste. The volume of soiled foot stall about 6 feet deep (assuming around gates, waterers, favorite shade bedding removed equals almost twice no settling). Plan now for handling areas, feeders, and shelters. These the volume of manure removed but this material! areas should be cleaned weekly for varies widely depending on manage- Barn chores include a daily clean- better pasture management, parasite ment practices. So for each stall, out of manure and soiled bedding, control, and to diminish fly breeding. Figure 1. Daily manure and stall waste production from a typical 1,000-pound horse. Manure Daily 31 lb of feces + 2.4 gal of urine = 51 lb of manure (0.5 ft3) (0.3 ft3) (0.8 ft3) Stall Waste Daily 8–15 lb of bedding + 51 lb of manure = 60–70 lb of stall waste/day (1.6 ft3) (0.8 ft3) (2.4 ft3) 3 Table 1. Approximate water absorption Manure collected from paddocks and Environmental Impact of dry bedding materials (typically 10 pastures may be added to the stall percent moisture). waste stockpile. Minimizing Nuisances Horse manure has been consid- For a suburban setting, one potential [Reproduced with permission from Livestock Waste Facilities Handbook, MWPS-18.] ered a valuable resource rather than problem includes overcoming mis- a “waste.” Fertilizer value of the 8.5 conceptions about the nuisance and Pounds of tons of manure produced annually water pollution potential of horse facilities. absorbed by a 1,000-pound horse is about 102 Most people enjoy horses, yet neigh- per pound pounds of nitrogen (N), 43 pounds bors can be more concerned that Material of bedding of P O (phosphorus pentoxide horses are manure-generating, fly and Wheat straw 2.2 2 5 [phosphate] = 43.7 percent P), and 77 odor machines. A horse facility oper- Hay—chopped, mature 3.0 pounds of K O (potash = 83 percent ating with a large number of horses Tanning bark 4.0 2 K). The nutrient content of horse Fine bark 2.5 on limited acreage can intensify nui- Pine chips 3.0 manure can also be represented as sance problems not noticed at small Pine sawdust 2.5 12 lb/ton of N, 5 lb/ton of P2O5, stables. Generally in the Northeast, 2 Pine shavings 2.0 and 9 lb/ton of K2O (nutrient values to 3 acres of good pasture per horse Hardwood chips, shavings, sawdust* 1.5 for any manure vary widely, so these is needed for summer feeding pur- Corn shredded stover 2.5 are only guidelines). Traditionally, poses. More horses per acre are com- Corn cobs, ground 2.1 nitrate-nitrogen is the component mon and successfully managed with Not recommended for horse stall bedding: flax straw, oat that presents the most pollution supplemental feeding. Fortunately, straw, black cherry, and walnut wood products. The horse potential since it moves freely in the careful management and attention to may eat oat straw. soil. Most of horse manure’s nitrogen detail can overcome potential prob- *Walnut shavings cause founder, so all hardwood is contained in the urine. lems of intensive horse operations. shavings should be avoided on the chance that some walnut shavings could be mixed in. These values are an average for Pests commonly associated with horse manure (urine and feces). animal agriculture are flies and small With the large amount of bedding rodents, such as mice and rats. Flies material mixed with manure in typi- and odors are the most common cal stall waste, the fertilizer nutrient complaints, but proper manure man- Table 2. Hay and bedding material value would vary (see Direct Disposal agement can virtually eliminate farm density. section on page 12). pests and odors. Figure 2 shows some [Reproduced with permission from Livestock Waste simple yet important site-planning Facilities Handbook, MWPS-18.] features to minimize nuisances as- Form Material Density (lb/ft3) sociated with manure management. Loose Alfalfa 4 Insects. It is always easier and more Non-legume hay 4 effective to prevent fly breeding than Straw 2–3 it is to control adult flies. Eliminating Shavings 9 Sand 105 the habitat required by the larvae to Baled Alfalfa 8 hatch and grow significantly reduces Non-legume hay 7 fly populations. Because flies deposit Straw 5 eggs in the top few inches of moist Wood shavings 20 manure, minimizing moist manure Chopped Alfalfa 6 surface area is one reduction strat- Non-legume hay 6 egy. Eggs can hatch in as little as 7 Straw 7 days under optimal temperature and moisture conditions. Fly breeding season starts when spring temperatures get above 65°F and ends at the first killing frost in the fall. Under ideal breeding conditions, it 4 has been calculated that one fly can dations deter rodent entry as do Preventing Water Pollution produce 300 million offspring in metal shields on doors and screens Manure pile runoff. Any on-site ma- about 60 days! Few flies will develop over small openings. Young mice nure storage should not contribute if manure is removed from the stable can squeeze through an opening as to groundwater or surface water site or made undesirable for fly breed- small as 1/4 inch. Overfed, pet cats are pollution. Leachate is the brownish ing within a maximum 7-day cycle. not usually good mousers, but a barn liquid that has “leached” from the Keep manure as dry as possible, cat can deter rodents. Poison bait is solid pile contents and drains off a below 50 percent moisture, to make not often safe around horse facilities waste pile bottom. Not all piles will it less desirable for egg deposition. due to the presence of pets and chil- have leachate; in fact, proper manage- Spread manure out in thin layers dur- dren; however, secure bait boxes are ment can avoid leachate formation.