Asked August 10, 2023, 6:54 PM EDT
I volunteer at a horse rescue. The owner has 60 horses on 2.5 acres. The horses spend most of their time in the dirt arenas (we do not have any pasture land) - the horses go into their stalls to eat in the morning and at night. She has the stalls cleaned daily with the manure being thrown into the arenas. The biggest arena is .32 acres and generally has 27 horses on it for 18 hours a day plus the manure that is tossed in from the stalls for these horses. There are 2 other arenas one is .11 acres and the other is .19 acres where the other horses are let out- same deal as in the front, the manure from the stalls in thrown into the arenas and the horses are also in these arenas 18 hours a day. The rest of the property has a house, a barn, stalls, tack rooms, sheds and trailers. As I am reading and hearing people talk about manure management, I am worried about our health and the health of our horses. The flies are out of control on the property. The lady that owns the place said a vet told her this was fine. Now that I am reading up on this, I am concerned. Can you please give me some thoughts on if this type of manure management is OK? We are in the desert - very hot, dry climate. When it does rain, the stalls and arenas become a muddy mess and when we or the horses step into them, you sink up to the your ankles. She doesn't think it is an issue and I don't want to say anything unless I know for sure that it is a problem. Thank you in advance!
Pinal County Arizona
