Composting wood pellet bedding

From: Irina

Dear Jessica, I read with interest your letter about wood pellet bedding for horses. I have been thinking of going to wood pellets instead of the shavings I have used for so long. This didn't seem like a very important issue when I had only two horses, but two years ago my mare had a foal, I adopted a PMU foal to bring up with my mare's foal so it would have a playmate, and then a very dear friend was in a horrible boarding-barn situation and needed to find a new home for her horse. As a result of all these "happenings" I now have five horses on my very small four-acre farmette.

It's very important for me to keep the place looking neat and tidy for two reasons. One is that I prefer it that way and the other is that "urban sprawl" is getting closer and closer, and I will probably have city people moving next door to me in a year or two if not sooner! I have heard stories about people who move out from the city to the country and then campaign to get rid of the horses next door, and I know that it will be easier for me to defend my farmette if it is neat and clean always.

With five horses, my manure pile is getting frighteningly big. I have been told that using pellets instead of shavings will decrease the total amount of manure-plus-bedding that goes on the pile. I have always tried to compost my horses manure but sometimes it doesn't seem to work. Can you tell me (1) if pellets really will help make a smaller manure pile than with shavings and (2) if the pelleted bedding is easier or harder to compost than shavings.

I love your books, and if you ever feel like writing a book about horse management, I will be the first person in line to buy it! I wish you lived next door so that you could look over my shoulder and advise me. Irina

Isn't it amazing how horses can accumulate on your property? With only four acres, and with the threat of new subdivisions looming, I can certainly understand why you would want to maintain the smallest possible manure pile. You are planning ahead in a very sensible way - well done you!

YES, I can tell you that in my experience, changing to pelleted bedding results in a significantly smaller manure pile. I haven't measured it precisely, but my feeling is that when I use pellets for the horses' bedding, I end up handling roughly half - perhaps a little more than half, but not much more! - the amount of manure that I handle when I use shavings. I don't have measurements and precise numbers to give you, but when I clean a 12x12 stall in the morning, I will typically fill a manure bucket if the bedding is shavings, and half-fill the bucket if the bedding is pelleted. With a larger stall or a very dirty/wet horse, the daily difference might be one full muck bucket using pellets, versus two full buckets using shavings. With one or two horses, this might not be enough difference to warrant making a changeover, but with FIVE horses, I think that changing over to pellets will let you see a significant reduction in the growth rate of your manure pile. You'll also find that the compost itself is better quality, finer, and more suitable for application to pastures, gardens, etc.

Beyond that, the best I can do is to suggest some other sources of information. My own composting methods are old-fashioned and crude - largely a matter of creating a manure pile out behind the barn, beginning a second pile next to it when the first pile becomes large enough, beginning a third pile next to the second piile when the second one becomes large enough, and hoping that by the time the third pile begins to loom large, the first one will have reduced itself to nice tidy compost that can be added to the garden and the riding paths. So far, this method has worked well, but I'm not very scientific or systematic about it. There are much better sources of information out there. Do an online search under the name "Peter Moon" - he is an expert on composting manure, has published quite a lot of material about composting manure on horse farms, and has undoubtedly forgotten more than I will ever know about the subject!

Another excellent resource is Horses for Clean Water - you can search under that name or under the name of Alayne Blickle to find all sorts of good information about pasture management, manure management, and MUD management. This group is based in Washington state, but much of the information they provide is helpful no matter where you are. One pamphlet called "How to Compost and Use Horse Manure" would be particularly useful to you.

Finally, yes, I will probably write a book about horse management at some point. ;-) Meanwhile, since it's not practical for me to look over your shoulder and advise you (and if I did that, it would probably be extremely annoying), let me remind you that there are some extremely good and useful books on the subject available, and I can heartily recommend HORSEKEEPING ON A SMALL ACREAGE by Cherry Hill. A new, expanded and updated edition of this book was published in 2005. Even if you already own and enjoy the original book (published in 1991), I strongly suggest that you invest in the new edition. It's a wonderful book, and an essential reference work for anyone who is involved in, well, horsekeeping on a small acreage. ;-)

Jessica

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