That's horse...

A pile of horse manure does not compost make. Genuinely composting involves some science, a touch of management and a dash of art.

If you're willing to tackle the composting recipe, you can turn that 32 pounds of manure the average horse produces each day into something safe and useful.

Is the effort worth it? Consider the benefits, said Ellen Phillips, University of Illinois Extension agronomist. The process of composting reduces the volume of material by about two thirds; reduces issues with odor; reduces fly populations; kills bad bacteria; fungus, and yeasts; plus it kills weed seeds.

"Composted horse manure is a safe soil amendment if you're spreading it back on pastures or fields. Compost also is free of viable weed seeds and is almost sterile in terms of pathogens, so it's good for use in gardens and potting plants," Phillips said.

Simply stacking manure isn't composting. Composting involves an anaerobic bacterial process that requires air to work properly. A pile of manure left to its own decomposes via aerobic bacterial process and in essence it rots, Phillips said. Rotten manure is going to be loaded with pathogens and will smell bad, all the while providing a home to flies.

As it turns out, horse manure is a near ideal candidate for composting. Pure horse manure contains near ideal ratios of nitrogen and carbon components that make it compostable with limited need for adding anything to make composting work, she said.

There are numerous ways to get started composting horse manure, Phillips said. People often get caught up in the facilities and equipment of composting, but if you have a good understanding of how the process works you can manage composting with limited means.

"The process requires air to work. Keep that in mind. As long as you have a way to turn the manure from time to time, you can just make piles on the ground. The piles need to be large enough to start the heating process, and I recommend making a pile 4 feet tall as a minimum and 6 feet tall is about right. If you make the pile too tall and too big then you lose some of the aerobic activity," she said.

Once you have a pile of the right size, stop adding fresh material and monitor the temperature. The pile should heat up quickly - to no more than about 160 degrees - and then begin to cool down. Heating and cooling may take up to three weeks. Once the pile cools to room temperature or so, it's time to turn the pile. You may need a loader to turn a large pile, but if you have the labor, turning by hand does the same thing.

After you turn a pile it will heat up again. Keep turning the pile until the heating process stops. At that stage, the bacteria have used up the available food and you're left with a high quality fertilizer. How long the process takes will depend on weather, temperature and moisture.

Phillips noted there are a few things to keep in mind when considering horsemanure composting. Make an estimate of how much material the horses in your stable are generating. You can count wheelbarrows out, or estimate on a per horse basis about how many cubic feet of manure are being produced each day.

"You'll need enough room to make your composting piles, so you need to know how much manure is being produced. There needs to be enough space to keep making piles and turning the piles based on how much manure you have," she said.

Knowing how much manure is being created is important if you build facilities such as compost bins. The bins and equipment need to be sized to the task at hand. You don't want to spend more than is needed to build facilities and you want the facilities you build to properly do the job.

Locate all manure handing areas where drainage won't seep into surface or groundwater. It's considered good public relations to keep manure handling areas out of sight of the public and managed with environmentally sound methods, Phillips said.

Composting works best if the compost is all horse manure. Bedding such as wood shavings can affect the process. Try to separate the manure from the bedding. In some composting situations, adding some straw or similar materials is useful to the process, she said. If the horse manure has a high amount of wood shavings you may need to add a nitrogen source such as urea to feed the bacteria.

"You'll need to learn how to compost," Phillips said. "Moisture levels and air temperature make a difference. The pile should be about 65 percent moisture, so at times you may have to add water or dry matter to keep it adjusted. And composting doesn't work as well during really cold weather because it affects the heating process."

"No two compost piles are the same. It may take you a year or two to begin to get the hang of it. We can explain the science, but you'll need to apply the management and learn the art of composting yourself," Phillips said.

A "Heavy Freezing Spray Warning"

Ouch! Ick. Having a hard time understanding why anyone
needs to be warned to stay off the lake with predictions
of gale force winds and sub zero temperatures. Yet...

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
A HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY WARNING MEANS HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY IS
EXPECTED TO RAPIDLY ACCUMULATE ON VESSELS. THESE CONDITIONS CAN
BE EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS TO NAVIGATION. IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT
MARINERS NOT TRAINED TO OPERATE IN THESE CONDITIONS OR VESSELS
NOT PROPERLY EQUIPPED TO DO SO...REMAIN IN PORT OR AVOID THE
WARNING AREA.

A GALE WARNING MEANS WINDS OF 34 TO 47 KNOTS ARE IMMINENT OR
OCCURRING. OPERATING A VESSEL IN GALE CONDITIONS REQUIRES
EXPERIENCE AND PROPERLY EQUIPPED VESSELS. IT IS HIGHLY
RECOMMENDED THAT MARINERS WITHOUT THE PROPER EXPERIENCE SEEK SAFE
HARBOR PRIOR TO THE ONSET OF GALE CONDITIONS.

Equine mind games

Dr. Jeannine Berger

The better you can manage "mind games" with your horse, the more likely you can get the results you want.

Principles of horse behavior are universal. Sure, genetics and situations affect how an animal acts, but you can count on a series of common behavioral responses among horses that can be used while training.

"The trick is to get the horse to want to do what you want it to do," said Dr. Jeannine Berger, an equine behaviorist from Davis, Calif. To start with, understand that horses have a highly evolved fight-or-flight response, she said.

Reacting quickly to perceived dangers and threats is what kept the herd alive and thriving. Primitive horses had to learn the hard way that running away was a good thing. "Their flight-or-fight response is what kept the horse from ending up as a painting on a cave wall," Berger said.

Berger offered three principles to managing equine behavior: understand what stresses the horse; prepare you and the horse for those stresses; and provide motivation to overcome or accept the stresses. Behavior management is essential for performance horses that are constantly taken to competitions, but sound behavior management can greatly improve the experience for the pleasure horse and rider, too, she added.
Since horses have such a highly developed flight response, it's easy to produce stress. Stress results from a constant sense of fear brought on by situations in the environment the horse can't control or understand. If the horse feels it can't control its situation, it wants to take off If the horse can't take off because it's in a pen, on a trailer, or being ridden, the stress can cause undesirable behavior.

"When the horse can't control the outcome of a situation, then the stress can often become distress. Not only can you see bad or altered behavior, constant stress can also begin to lead to health issues like ulcers or other disorders," Berger said. "Problem horses and horses with metabolic disorders are often horses under stress."

Horses are creatures of habit and most view change to their routine as bad. Loading on trailers, travel, new stables, new footing, different water and feed, new sounds and noises can all stress a horse. Getting the horse to accept change requires the handlers to build trust.

"You should be able to ride a horse up a telephone pole, but it's your responsibility not to try it," Berger said. "It's good to start by getting your horse used to lots of different situations. Change the routine once in a while. Some fresh obstacles in the paddock or stall make for good distractions. Make change part of the routine."

If you travel with your horse, bring some clues from home. Horses have a keen sense of smell, so having along blankets and tack from home can help. Bring a friend if you can. Horses usually hate to be alone, and other horses or animals from home are a comfort.

"You are the one who must stay consistent. Your horse is counting on you to be its pillar. A horse must be able to rely on its human to be the one who it trusts and looks to," Berger said. "A horse needs a consistent human with a reliable plan."

Bring feed and water from home if possible. If you can't bring water when traveling, Berger suggests adding a drop or two of vinegar to the water at home. The change in taste is harmless to the animal but prepares it for changes in the water from place to place. Increase the long-stem roughage in the ration. Horses need forage in their guts at all times, and keeping them full of hay reduces stress.

"Mostly, take your time," Berger said. "If something startles your horse, bring it back around to the spot again. Pretend that you always have all the time in the world."

Finally, if you have your horse on a trailer, do everything possible to make the experience positive. Abrupt stopping, starting and turning can be a terrifying experience to a horse.

"I have a clinic where I have horse owners get in a trailer and we go for a ride," Berger said. "They usually come out with a whole new understanding of what it's like for a horse in a trailer."

Work the animal's instinctive behaviors into your training program. Reward positive reactions to possible stress situations and build the animal's confidence in you by managing changes and situations for the horse, she said.