Notmyhorse.com Home Page - For people who don't love horses, but love people who do.

Mucking 101

Sooner or later you’re going to get stuck shoveling manure.

    We try to avoid it, but once in a while we’re forced by circumstances to help out
    in the barn. How difficult can it be to muck out a stall or pen? You just walk in
    and start shoveling, right? While this method certainly accomplishes the job,
    with a little instruction you can save both time and money—always a pleasing
    proposition for non-horse owners.

    Stalls and pens, unfortunately, need to be mucked out at least once a day. Wait
    longer and the job gets tougher, and you may be setting up an unhealthy situation
    for the horse—which could lead to a vet visit and unwelcome expense.

    Horse urine and manure stink, and the odor will cling to your clothes, shoes and
    hair. It’s a good idea to wear overalls or other barn clothes, boots or old shoes,
    and a hat. Mucking disturbs a lot of dust and mold, so if you suffer from allergies
    or asthma you should probably wear a dust mask.

    When you get to the barn, find the mucking fork (which looks sort of like a long
    handled scoop with tines) or a pitchfork with the tines close together, a push
    broom, and a wheelbarrow or muck bucket. Pick up those tools and start mucking!

    Begin by leading the horse out of the stall or pen and either put him someplace
    where he can run and get some exercise….or tie him up. (If you’re like me and
    don’t know how to put on a halter—and don’t want to learn—schedule your
    mucking for a time when someone else is around to deal with the horse.)

    Most horses don’t mind a person in their stall or pen, but a few are touchy,
    especially around strangers. Others, the joker types, want to “help out” and will
    tip over the wheelbarrow. If you do leave the horse in the stall, be sure you don’t
    accidentally tap him with the pitchfork, because of if he kicks or spooks in the
    small space, you could get hurt.

    After the horse is out of your way, start with the water bucket. Dump the old
    water someplace outside the stall or pen where it won’t leave a mess, then take
    some clean water and rinse out the bucket. If you can find a scrub brush, use it
    to scour the bucket. Or make brush out of hay. Take a fistful, twist it so it forms
    a thick “broom” and use that to scrub the inside. Then refill the bucket and hang
    it back up.

If there is an automatic watering system, make sure it’s still working and scoop
out any debris that’s in the water.

    Now it’s time to get serious. Park your wheelbarrow facing in the direction you’ll
    want to go when the barrow is full. (It’s a lot easier to maneuver an empty
    wheelbarrow than a full one.) It’s tempting to fill it really high, but this can make
    it hard to push and easy to tip.

    If you’re cleaning an outside pen, start at one side and work to the other. Most
    horses seem to defecate according to a pattern, in the corners or along one edge.
    That will make your job a little easier. Big piles are easy to pick up. The little
    ones take more time because you’ve got to rake them into a pile.

    In stalls with bedding you’ve got another challenge, separating the manure from
    the bedding. Shake the bedding through the tines of the pitchfork or mucking fork.
    Bedding is expensive; you want to save as much of the dry stuff as you can,
    while removing all the wet bedding to your bucket or wheelbarrow.

    Next you’ve got to remove the bedding that’s been soaked with urine. Generally,
    geldings use a spot somewhere near the middle of the stall, mares go for the
    edges. Dump all the bedding that seems soiled.

    When that’s done, bank all the bedding to the sides of the stall, removing any
    stray droppings that you missed before. If possible, leave the floor to dry for a
    while before pulling back the bedding.

Add new bedding as necessary, and fluff the whole works up with your pitchfork.

It doesn’t hurt to take just a minute before putting the horse back in to glance
around for loose nails and other sharp objects that could cause trouble.

    There’s generally a spot where all the manure is dumped. Roll your barrow over
    and add to the pile. If you’re in a barn with other boarders, you’re going to want
    to sweep in the aisle if you’ve left hay, droppings, or bedding outside the stall.
    Take your tools back to where you found them. And that’s it!