In humid climates, however, it is felt that harrowing the manure in pastures just spreads the parasite eggs over a larger area while still allowing them to be viable, so in effect increases a horse's chances of reinfestation. In such a situation, collecting manure manually or with a pasture sweeper would be best. Pasture sweepers are a recent innovation used on horse farms where many horses graze in a limited space. With a five foot sweeping width, the machine can clean up to 90 percent of the manure in a ten acre flat pasture in four hours. This increases grazing area and decreases parasite infestation.
Some sweepers are self-powered and others are pulled behind a tractor.
A recommended method of dealing with manure in a rural setting is daily collection and storage for later spreading. Composting manure for one year yields a product that is a very welcome addition to our mountain pastures. It is important to select a suitable site to store the manure. We have a lot of naturally occurring rock slabs in this part of the country which make a perfect pad for the manure pile base. We chose a slab in an area that is well-drained and down hill from the barn and pens which makes the tip with a full hand card easy.