If there’s a constant in this life it would be mucking after the horses. It’s a never-ending job and sometimes a hard and boring one at that. We may wonder if keeping our horse’s stall or paddock clean is that important. The answer is: Yes, it’s very important to keep the stalls and paddocks clean on a regular basis.

You want to be on top of mucking if your horse lives in a stall. A horse living in a dirty stall can develop hoof diseases, such as thrush, from standing in manure and urine for long periods of time.

Ammonia vapors can accumulate from lingering urine and can cause problems in your horse’s lungs.

A dirty stall attracts more flies, which means more flies that will irritate your horse.

A paddock is less of a concern than a stall, but it’s still important to keep up on paddock cleaning as well.

You can help mucking become easier by investing in some good equipment, such as a good manure fork and cart on wheels for starters.

You should also have some way to dispose of the manure. Composting or spreading are some of the best ways to deal with manure, but if those options are unavailable to you for whatever reason you can check with your local officials to ask how to properly get rid of animal waste.

Make mucking a habit. Set aside a time each day to muck and keep doing it until it becomes a habit. If you clean daily, it will be a lot less work for you in the long run and your horses will be happier and healthier.

(free photo from Canva - https://www.canva.com/ )

~ Saddle Up