Horse manure in pasture

[tncattle]

I guess the would fall under the "Health" heading.

I will be putting 3 bred cows and 4 steers (weaned a little over 60 days) all Herefords in my 28 acre pasture on March 12. There have been 6 horses running on there over the winter and there is a decent amount of Horse manure scattered about. They will not stay in with the cows when they arrive. Should I drag the horse manure or does it really matter? Can they get any kind of sickness from the horse manure?

Thanks

 

[dun]

Just leave it sit

 

[brandonm_13]

They're not going to be eating the horse manure, and by the time they start eating close to it, it'll be nice and dry. There's always a chance of cathing some type of internal parasite from manure, but there's a whole lot more that they'll catch it from each other as they eat and poop and eat and...

 

[MistyMorning]

I guess the would fall under the "Health" heading.

I will be putting 3 bred cows and 4 steers (weaned a little over 60 days) all Herefords in my 28 acre pasture on March 12. There have been 6 horses running on there over the winter and there is a decent amount of Horse manure scattered about. They will not stay in with the cows when they arrive. Should I drag the horse manure or does it really matter? Can they get any kind of sickness from the horse manure?

Thanks

My horses and cows are pastured together, I asked the vet about any parasitic transfer, she informed me that should not be a problem. If it was my pasture and it was loaded with manure I would drag it, than again if I didn't have time I would leave it, probably with the same result as a cold, leave it and it will be gone in a week, medicate it and it will be gone in 7 days.

 

[Lucky_P]

Agreed. Few intestinal parasites shared by horses and cattle - and usually, the horses are more damaged by the few that may pass from cows to horses than vice-versa.
Horse manure can be a source of Clostridium tetani spores - but again, horses are more susceptible to developing tetanus than are cows.

Dragging to scatter manure piles is really only economically worthwhile if you're using it as a means of legal wealth transfer(paying your kids to do it, and writing it off as 'farm labor'); if YOU have to do it, there's bound to be better things you could do with your time, as well as the $$ squandered on fuel, wear & tear on equipment, and soil compaction.