How to dispose of shavings

[podkinpie]

We rent a field and stables from a man who has it attached to his private house,so not a farm or anything.
When we moved there in October I asked what to do with used bedding(shavings).
He said I could pile it at the side of field and it would eventually rot down.
Both of us were pretty naive, we being his first tenants, and it being our first stable.
Of course the heap has got bigger and bigger, and isn't going to go way.
I get through a lot of shavings.We have two horses and one is very messy- so most of the heap is shavings not poo.
I have tried very hard to cut down on what I clear,as also it is so expensive.One stable with messy horse in is big so I use at least one to two bags a week.
He is now getting fed up and implying i should bag it and take it away.
I tried bagging it tonight and it was a nightmare, really heavy and don't know if a tip will take it or bin men?
I cant justify buying a trailer just for this, (actually would be a good excuse to buy a horse box,but not sure my bank overdraft would stretch).
ANY SUGGESTIONS?
I would be open to using something else, more economical and disposable.

[KoLaTo]

Mmmm, burn it? I don't burn mine but friend with 6 stabled on a mixture of easibed and shavings burns hers daily or weekly so only has a small pile of ashes to dispose of. Or you could bag it and put it out on the road for people to take as manure although this does attract a lot of interest from passers by so you may not wish to do this if outside a private house! So I would say best to burn it down and bag the ashes to dispose of, much easier!

[maislow]

If he doesn't want you to burn it you'll have to bag it up for now or go to a local allotment & ask if they want free manure & get them to come & bag it up. I would say muck out from now into bags as its easier that way.

[kofihorse]

Hi podkinpie, isn't it amazing how much even one horse can produce!! There are 2 things you can do, one is to make a proper muck heap (with 3 sides) and lay all your muck in it in an orderly fashion, packing it down to keep it as small as possible. Once it has rotted down, then you get a local farmer to take it away, perhaps once a year - they often charge for this. This keeps the visual aspect of a muck heap to a minimum.

Or you will just have to bag it and remove it. I have to do this but fortunately I only have one little'un in at nights. I bag everything, using supermarket bags for the solid stuff and strong black binbags for the shavings. We have a recycling situation with the wheelie bins and have a brown bin for garden rubbish which includes hay/straw. Some of the bagged solids go into the green bin along with household waste. The rest of it I have to find a home for myself!! I have bought a small secondhand aluminium trailer (like the little ones they sell in Halfords) and often manage to persuade gardeners to take a load now and again. It is much easier to persuade people to take just poo with no bedding as this rots down very quickly and they can just dig it straight into their flower or vegetable beds or even just spread it on top. I just ask everyone I know if they want any.

The stuff that's hardest to get rid of is bedding, shavings in particular because they take so long to rot down. At one point a couple of years ago, I had a neighbour who took it all as long as I used Flaxabed (this rots down fast and is very good for gardens but I don't know if you can still buy it). Sometimes I manage to get a bagfull into the green bin if I haven't had too much household rubbish that week but usually I have to take it to the council tip ( or Civic Recycling Centre as it's called LOL). I usually end up making one journey every week or so with a trailer full of bagged bedding and muck.

Some types of bedding rot down faster than shavings, hopefully someone will post with suggestions.

Oh the joys of keeping horses - you pay a fortune to shovel it all in at one end and then you have to pay a fortune to get rid of it all from the other end!!

[roo]

Try putting a notice up at the local allotments with your contact number offering bags for £1. The allotment folk will be happy to come and collect the bags....some even provide bags for you to fill!! Or look for a manure removal service/ grab lorry service in your area.

[sooleo]

If you are on clay soil and have a muddy gateway then tip several loads into the gateway. It will break down fast in the mud and is wonderful to walk on. It actually improves the soil and the grass will grow as normal in the spring.

[bumblesmum]

I find paper to be very effective and cost effective with one cleanee and one messee beastie! It rots very quickly when i used it i made a muck heap using pallets on three sides and it kept it small. It also makes better manure for allotments im told.
Hope it helps!

[fin]

Hmmmm--I think that shavings as they rot down actually remove nitrogen from the soil, which is why a lot of gardeners aren't too keen on them....

[Casper]

We burn our shavings muck heap. It is always smouldering away whatever the weather - and the birds love it! However our yard is in the middle of nowhere. If it is built up where you are there may be rules about not being able to have fires because of the smoke. We have got five horses/ponies in on shavings and the muck heap is tiny.

Like the idea above about putting some of them in muddy gateways etc - sounds like a really good idea to me.

[natalia]

try Hemcore. its great stuff and more ecological than shavings. It rots down quicker too. I would call your local farmer and ask them to remove it, expect to pay between 50 and 200 pounds for muck heap removal, depending on your area. you may be better in future to either get it removed properly evry few months or maybe speak to your local council. Some will provide a large wheelie bin and dispose of it at regular intervals at a cost. One yard I was at used this system and mucked out directly in to these large skips.

[kas]

Make some enquiries at your local horse shop. I used to have a man who delivered a trailer and I paid £25, when it was full he came back and swapped it for another empty one - another £25. With stamping up and down my trailer used to last me about 6 weeks to 2 months for 3, but I maybe didn't have as much mucking out as you. Having said that, I poo picked the fields, so it might work out about the same.
Yes, gardeners probably won't be interested in your heap, too many shavings. They'd take bagged up poo off the field if you poo pick.

[annie]

I am in exactly the same situation as you regarding renting off a private landowner. I use shavings and a local farmer removes the muckheap when required at a cost of £20.

[Liz]

My friend has a small stud/racing yard where all the horses are on shavings. There is a muck heap which does get pretty big but it is maintained properly and tamped down very firmly when fresh muck is added. The heap composts well and on cold days it is a foot warming job to tidy the heap! Local gardeners come around and help themselves to the old stuff as it is really black, rich compost which is also spread on her resting fields each year, with the addition of a little lime which the soil needs. All the youngstock have thrived on the pasture and the haylage cut off these fields.

There are strict regulations now in force regarding the farm waste, which includes muck heaps, and the information can be found on the Defra website. It may well make it more difficult to get farmers to collect your muck.

[williamsis]

I was also told by a gardener that shavings is also not good for the soil

I would also be very careful about burningy our muck heap as you may find yourself with the council on your back if the neighbours complain

I bag my muck up in mollichop bags, I am on rubber matting (another option you could consider) so there is not as much muck and then take it by trailer to the farmers muck heap which I and lots of other people use it free of charge. It is then spread yearly on the fields. Unfortunately it can be messy bagging it up or you could just put it straight in a trailer and fork it on

[js]

I separate my poo from the shavings and heap that, then slow burn the shavings - although this may not be ideal given the situation you are in, but it's worth asking. I've heard Hemcore is a great alternative to shavings.