EnviroHorse 3027 St. James Rd. The presence of ammonia in water bodies, even in very small amounts, has been shown to be harmful to some aquatic life. As a consequence, livestock manure is coming under increasing scrutiny as a potential non-point source of ammonia pollution. Nitrogen is needed to produce ammonia. In horses, nitrogen comes from the protein fraction of the horse's feed.
Horses absorb protein in the form of amino acids directly into their small intestines.
The remaining ammonia that gets incorporated into manure comes from protein that is in the process of being converted to ammonia but has not yet been absorbed by the intestine. An experiment was performed to determine the volatilization potential for horse manure left exposed to the environment on the surface of the ground. Method Manure was collected from three horses. The horses used in this study were members of the Morgan breed. They were similar to one another in size and use.