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How to Be the Perfect Horsekeeper
You and a friend can each receive a FREE copy of Dr. Karen Hayes’ book, How to Be the PerfectHorsekeeper simply by referring them to O2Compost and exploring the possibility of installing a compost system at their horse facility.
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Here are some excerpts from the book:
The Problem
One 1100-pound horse passes manure, on average, seven to ten times per day, adding up to a total daily output of about fifty pounds. A small operation housing only ten horses accumulates almost seven tons of manure in just one month.
First Impressions
Even if you have only one horse, the pile mounts up to an amazing degree. Many horse facilities are part of somebody’s home property and the muck pile is an eyesore that stinks, and it detracts from the aesthetics of the property.
Fecal Matters
Each defecation contains millions of a particular category of bacteria called coliforms. Coliforms are a notorious bacterial family that includes tetanus as well as other dangerous and often fatal disease-producers such as Rhodococcus, E. coli, and Salmonella species. Your risk of tetanus, as well as your horse’s, is higher if a flesh wound happens when on horse property.
Flies
Manure is a breeding ground for flies. If you have a typical muck pile, then every year your fly population increases, in spite of diligent use of larvicides, insecticides, and repellents. It starts up as a nuisance and escalates to a health issue and a problem that quite literally ruins the summer days, with you and your horses swatting and stomping.
The Environment
There are two ways to look at the environmental issue. One is our horses suffer from being made to live among filth. It threatens the health of their gastrointestinal tract, their respiratory tract, their skin, their nervous system, their eyes, their hooves, their offspring and their quality of life.
Second, the horse facility that doesn’t deal responsibly with its muck pile is vulnerable to being sued for contaminating ground water and surface water. This was a small risk 20 years ago. Today it’s inevitable.
The Perfect Solution: From the Top of the Heap
The king of the manure mountain is an engineer named Peter Moon. In addition to degrees in geology and geotechnical engineering, Moon’s got experience, enthusiasm, and a nose for a good compost pile. More than any so-called expert I’ve ever consulted, he “gets” compost and is anxious to spread the word.
Aeration without Turning
It all comes down to oxygen. Peter’s work has shown that within about 30 minutes after turning the heap and raising the oxygen levels, the levels quickly plummet – often to levels as low as 1 percent, even lower than they were before turning. His system is able to maintain aerobic conditions throughout the pile without turning. The beauty of his system is that it will work for a one-horse enclosed bin as well as for a 2,000 horse mega facility’s mountain of manure.
Visit our website to read more from Dr. Hayes' book.
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