fertilizing with horse poo???

Anonymous-0 · Feb 27, 2012

Hey folks,
Just got offered a piece of grass that isn't real big, but is joined by another piece that was garden spots which makes the whole thing an OK size to mow/feed several wagon loads of fresh grass. These were all plowed and disced last fall so empty now. Think I'd be doing a good thing if I spread 3 or 4 inches of fresh/clean (no sawdust or straw) horse manure on and harrow it in before planting grass?

Also, frost is out of the ground and it's supposed to warm up next week. Think I can get by with planting now?

Thanks, Dave

JDseller · Feb 27, 2012

That horse manure is better fertilizer than cow or pig manure. The horse passes more through without getting as much out of it. I would go a little lighter than 3-4 inch deep. More like 2-3 would be better for new grass. Plus the heavier layer would be better turned under with a plow or tiller. Just harrowing it in will not mix it as deep.

JayinNY · Feb 27, 2012

Lot of weed seeds in horse manure. Cows digest the seeds better.

Michael Soldan · Feb 27, 2012

My experience with manure is to let it stand in a pile and it begins to break down,moving it with a loader helps aeriate it and decomposition will occur quicker. Most folks don't want to have a manure pile around but I used to have them and it would be over a year before I spread..in any case manure of any kind will help fertilize a field after it breaks down,so discing it in and over time it will do the job.Horse manure,chicken manure, pig or cattle,liquid or solid it all does the same job.

ohiojim · Feb 27, 2012

like jay said, you get lots of weeds from the horse since they don't digest as well

Ken Macfarlane · Feb 27, 2012

Only thing is you lose a lot of nitrogen letting it sit to compost.

rad · Feb 27, 2012

Been there and done that ... ONCE.

Horse poo is full of seeds that will germinate and grow very well in the nutrient rich poo. Then you will spend the next several years pulling those very hardy weeds from your garden.

This is a mistake I will not make again!

Mike (WA) · Feb 27, 2012

Gotta disagree with you on fertilizer value of various kinds, JDseller- Have used them all (except pig), and horse is the weakest of all. Most of what they pass through is cellulose, and is of little value. Cow is much better, and chicken the best of all.

We dutifully spread the horse every winter, just to get rid of it, covering most of a 5 acre pasture- and can never see any difference in growth from where we don't spread.

JayinNY · Feb 27, 2012

I agree, horse poo has little nitrogen, but chicken poo is high in nitro. Horse manure is just a good soil admenment for organic matter

Dick L · Feb 27, 2012

If your horses are not fed weedy hay it is not a problem. I spread all of my horse manure back on my hay fields and mulch it down. I do not have a weed problem in my hay field. If you buy your hay I guess you wouldn't know until the weeds started coming up. My horses are so picky with their hay I doubt they even eat a weed with seeds. Even with my feeders they sort out the alfalfa first and only eat some of the grass. I put a bale of mostly grass hay in the feeder last week and three mares stood there all day long looking for what alfalfa was in it and dropped the grass on the ground. A bale lasts them three days normally but that one was gone in one. Put a bale of mostly alfalfa in and they were as happy as a fly on a road apple and it lasted three days. Like most horses they are spoiled brats. However when I bed the shelter with straw Pearl helps brake up the straw flakes with her hoof while I am shaking it out with a fork. The other two just stand and watch.

All need to know information above if your thinking about fertilizing with horse road apples.

^D

Tx Jim · Feb 27, 2012

(quoted from post at 12:41:51 02/27/12) Gotta disagree with you on fertilizer value of various kinds, JDseller- Have used them all (except pig), and horse is the weakest of all.

I 100% agree with you Mike.

showcrop · Feb 27, 2012

Like jay says horse manure is generally thought of as a soil amendment. I have hauled for people for that purpose. The biggest problem with it is the shavings that usually come mixed in, because as the shavings decay they tie up nitrogen reducing the nitrogen availability to the plant. If yours is clean with no shavings then it would be good fertilizer.

JayinNY · Feb 27, 2012

If you put horses out on pasture, you can't be sure there not nibbling on weeds of some sort. Maybe a racehorse that's in a stall 21 hours a day only eats hay, with no access to pasture grass.??

jackinok · Feb 27, 2012

dump all you can on it,BUT,and this is something most folks dont do,DO NOT EVER put any manure on pastures you are using.split your place up and fertilize it every third or fourth year if possible.fertilize that feild and leave it be,cut it and leave it lay out.any manure brought in from outside should be treated as toxic waste.who knows what diseases it has in it your bringing in.your own cattle or horses dont have a disease,they cant stand or they would all be sick.if you start bringing in manure from outside that may not be the case.allways manure unused ground, let it remain unused until next year,manure another one. let cattle in on it slowly and watch for signs of sickness. do this anytime your changing pastures regardless but especially if your changing feed,or turning them in one thats been fertilized.

Spook · Feb 27, 2012

It helps the garden a little, but I got a lot of weeds. Cow manure is much better, and I think chicken crap is about the best. Goat is good, too.

Paul from MI · Feb 27, 2012

Dad always said don't put horse manure on a garden unless it's been in a pile for a winter. Otherwise you'll get wireworms--don't know if he was right about that, but he was right about a whole bunch of other stuff so I'd listen to him if I only could. He's been gone since '95.

big fred · Feb 27, 2012

Kinda tough to get the cows to back up to the fence and poop over on the other side, though, ain't it? I guess you could put diapers on 'em to keep the manure off the pasture, but that seems pretty labor intensive.

JayinNY · Feb 27, 2012

Well it's a good point, I would be worried about spreading someone elses manure on a pasture and get parasites, thus could be transmitted to my horse worm larva bots ect.! I have never spread any manure on a grazing pasture, they fert it themselfs.

Anonymous-0 · Feb 27, 2012

Horse manure tests higher in NKP than cow manure.Judging by appearance will fool you.An old farmer told me this.Manure is best put on grass,keep it out of the garden.Use winter rye and buckwheat to build up poor soil.Buck wheat will smother weeds but turn it under when it flowers.Chicken manure has a lot of weed seed in it.

Tony in Mass. · Feb 27, 2012

In the immortal words of Donald Rumsfeld
'ya don't got to farm with the manure ya want, ya go to farm with the manure ya got'.

greygoat · Feb 28, 2012

A horse is Gods way of mooving weed seeds!

fertilizing with horse poo???

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