I have n't poo picked since November.

[midgey]

This is the first winter I have had three horses to look after .They all live out the 2 geldings are in a 3.5 to 4 acre field, that had been rested all summer and was really like hay on the stalk when I turned the geldings out, on to it .They are fed twice a day and I have just started feeding them hay. I work full time and have not got the time to clear droppings from the field.The horses were wormed in October with Equimax and I am worming this week with Equest.They look well. A friend said my field looked bad as i had not been poo picking.

I would love to poo pick every day but with three horses and a full time job as well as family commitments I have not got the time.

In the summer I keep alll three on a smaller area and poo pick daily.

My friend brings her horse in at 4.30 and turns out at eight.
I prefer my way of keeping my horses.

Am I compromising their well being.

I will harrow and top the field when the time is right.

What are your views.

[clipclop]

I have ALWAYS poo picked all year round.

However, this year I've had to admit defeat - 6 horses, personal life issues and the amount of rain we've had just make it impossible. Even if I could get the barrow round the field, I wouldn't get back out again!!

I will harrow as soon as it's dry enough!

Sent from my ST18i using proboards

[smoo1604]

Our summer fields are poo picked but we don't do the winter ones, they are rougher and hillier and likewise, would get the barrow in but not a hope of getting it out full!

[KimT]

We havent been poo picking in the wet weather. I gave up when the wheelbarrow got physically stuck and left mud tracks on the grass. X

[SarahW]

I've given up too - four to six horses on nine acres. They'll all be wormed properly and the fields will be harrowed at the first sign of hot weather (hot weather? a new concept) and then I'll start again. My NF ponies are out on the Forest so they never get poo-picked!

[antares]

I don't poo pick in winter either, haven't done for the last few years. I always worm count in the spring and they only ever come back low or medium and the horses are wormed accordingly

[wabuska]

They'll live. You're following a worming programme.... I feel sorry for you being guilted like that by a friend. You have to put yourself first and sounds like the horses are a-okay. I do pick my fields, but I can really feel middle age creeping up on me doing it on the hills. Dire even with a quad and trailer.

[specialized]

Life's too short, remember poo picking is only one method of pasture management and has its place on small, heavily grazed areas.

[kizi]

I've decided to experiment! There's no way I can poo pick now as well as everything else.. Haven't been able to for a while anyway with the weather etc.
So.. I'm going to start giving them a small handful of whole oats with their small feed.. Theory is the oats pass undigested and the birds pick them out of the dung there-by spreading it! It then dissolves (or whatever it does) quicker and is exposed to the weather better..
Anyone done it? I know any time coarse mix was fed it happened, but I don't feed mix normally... And hey.. They birds are fed too!

[antares]

Whenever I've feed mix the birds do pick through and scatter. Also certain times of the year the dung beetles here are plentiful

[kafee]

I poo pick in summer while the ponies are on a small area, but I've never poo picked in winter. I use one half the field in the summer. the other in the winter. Until 2011, I wormed 6 times a year, using an invermectin wormer in November and January, and the other wormer in the summer, double dosing against tapeworm once a year. I had a the first worm count done july 2011, and expected the worst, but I was pleasantly surprised: all counts were no eggs seen except for Tor, (550) who was a lot heavier than I'd thought when I weight taped him.

As a result I have switched to worm counting and worming twice a year, but worming those with any eggs every 2 months between counts. All had a zero count in December, except the foals who I've just introduced to the field. I will be worming them every 2 months for their first year with me.

[mrsfields]

Jan 5, 2013 22:34:06 GMT 1 kizi said:

I've decided to experiment! There's no way I can poo pick now as well as everything else.. Haven't been able to for a while anyway with the weather etc.
So.. I'm going to start giving them a small handful of whole oats with their small feed.. Theory is the oats pass undigested and the birds pick them out of the dung there-by spreading it! It then dissolves (or whatever it does) quicker and is exposed to the weather better..
Anyone done it? I know any time coarse mix was fed it happened, but I don't feed mix normally... And hey.. They birds are fed too!

i have noticed this too, quite by accident! i feed my lads whole oats, but soaked overnight to soften the husks so they (hopefully) get some goodness out of them, and ever since i started feeding the oats i noticed that, in certain areas of the track/field close to the hedgerows, the birds tend to break the droppings down and there is literally nothing left to pick - it's fab and really does seem to work! however, the birds don't seem to venture out into the open fields tho!

really glad to read this thread as i've been feeling so guilty these past few weeks as it's just been too wet to poo-pick - i can barely walk down our track, never mind push a barrow - have only managed to clear the areas around the hay feeders, but that's about it! seriously can't wait for some dry weather...

[midgey]

Thank you for your replies. I feel much better now. When I was in my teens about 30 plus years ago ,no one poo picked and hardley ever wormed. Thinks have moved on . I do worm counts as well 2 -3 times a year. I will hold my head high now . Harry the polo pony has just started on a build up coarse mix so will be interested to see what happens .May have to add a few oats.

[kizi]

I think it was the tutor when I studied nutrition may have mentioned it.. Or we had discussed it there anyway.. But I'll give it a go for a week and see!
I do get a lot of crows and pigeons here as well as magpies and have a lot of resident pheasant so they might even be racing each other to poo spread!!!! Hopefully! My hands are too bad in winter to even contemplate poo picking and my poo vacuum is destined to never work! Lazy poo pro!!!

[jinglejoys]

My neighbouring farmer hasn't chased his cattle/sheep round with a wheelbarrw either