Nifty Facts About Manure
(A great conversation starter)
·
The average horse (1,000
pounds) produces 9 tons of manure
a year (50 pounds per day.)
·
In a 24-hour period, a horse
excretes 12.5 pounds of active solids. The rest is water.
·
In the 50 pounds of manure
dropped each day, there is a third of a pound of sodium, a quarter pound of
potassium and 0.000005 pounds of nickel.
·
Horses sometimes eat manure.
Experts say they do this because they need certain bacteria called “probiotics”
that aid digestion. Because
horses mostly eat grass and roughage, they rely on these microorganisms to
ferment and break down their food.
Eating manure may also be a sign of vitamin or mineral deficiency.
·
The color of manure usually
ranges from pale yellow to black, influenced by the color of the digested
food and the amount of bile, a greenish-yellow secretion from the liver,
necessary for digestion. High protein feeds require increased amounts of
bile for digestion. Alfalfa, a
protein-rich legume, will produce a darker green manure than a grass diet.
Oat hay, lower in protein, will produce light yellow to tannish
colored manure.
·
Horse manure has a
characteristic odor which is influenced by dietary factors and the health of
the horse’s digestive tract.
High protein diets usually result in a “spoiled meat”-like odor.
When horses are eating alfalfa hay, urinary volume increases with a
higher level of ammonia. Horses
consuming high levels of grain (carbohydrates) may have a distinct “sour”
odor to their manure.
·
The digestive system of a
horse is working constantly. It
passes manure 8-10 times a day.
Waste material is eliminated approximately 48 hours after consumption.
·
The amount of manure produced
is by a horse is generally influenced by the amount of feed ingested and how
much is utilized. A quiet horse at rest or doing light work will produce
more feces than an active horse.
·
While E. Coli from feces of a
number of species, including humans, can cause intestinal disease under
certain conditions, those of equine origin have not been shown to do so,
according to research.