Also, if it is very cold and dry the moisture will evaporate and it may be that in another day or so they will pop right up. But it can’t be 30 and damp, you need it to be 5 and really dry.
It is amazing how fast (as in glued down) they will get.
I can’t believe this is a real issue! Of course I’m from sunny California…
Heat gun (looks like a hairdryer but much more powerful) and a metal shovel. Heat up the shovel, it should slide under the poop. If you use hot water, put plenty of salt in it so it won’t freeze before you can clean it up.
If you’ve tried several implements and can’t get it loose, you need either better implements or a gym membership.
Don’t use hot water. You’ll swap a small poo problem for a large sheet of ice problem.
There’s not much you cant break with a fencing bar. Something like http://www.homedepot.com/p/Klein-Tools-71-in-x-1-1-16-in-Round-Fence-Bar-5FBR180025/203581222#specifications
I have no suggestions but cannot wait to hear what the solution is … my imagination is running wild with some of these suggestions! :lol:
Pick Ax. I had some poop freeze in a doorway and I couldn’t get the horse into the stall, then I couldn’t get the horse out of the stall. Use a pick ax to get it up.
Yes, it’s a real problem with temps of 0 here.
Hope the OP hasn’t fallen on the poop and can’t get up … would love to hear what worked!
[QUOTE=HorseKrazy;7394274]
I can’t believe this is a real issue! Of course I’m from sunny California…[/QUOTE]
Keep horses in the Sierras. Or even Lake County.
[QUOTE=goodhors;7393446]
Do you have a tractor with a back blade or front end loader? You could just push the manure loose from frozen base, then pick it up.
Other items to use if no machines, could be a thick 3/4 to 1inch steel rod, hit it with a sledge or heavy hammer, driving rod directly into the pile, break it apart in small sections. Pick axe if you can swing and hit what you aim at, will be faster than sledge method. Both methods reduce bigger pile to smaller size pieces by putting small metal tip end in, break the ice bond. Gives more force to small spot over shovel with wide edges, in breaking stuff up. WEAR safety glasses, goggles, for flying, frozen chunks that come loose. Frozen poop can hurt like rocks hitting you.
Wow, using all these FIRE based things in a dirt aisle, with lots of dust and chaff that “happens” without cement, seems like a real big danger to the BARN ITSELF! I didn’t notice any of them saying "Have your fire extinguisher handy while using blow torch, Acetylene torch, Salamander heater that have REAL FLAMES involved as they burn fuel!! You folks sure live to live dangerously!
Good luck OP. Tripping on that stuff is so AGGREVATING. I would be NOT happy with whoever let horse wander to leave piles in the barn aisle.[/QUOTE]
OP said nothing about dirt aisles, but when have you ever seen dirt or frozen manure combust?
OP said in first post, " and it froze solid to the ground. " I took that to mean dirt, and poop stuff does stick MUCH worse to dirt than cement.
The only place I ever kept horses with dirt floors was IMPOSSIBLE to keep well cleaned out because those poops stuck so badly. You could spend hours trying to chip poop off the dirt, still not do a good job in those single digit or less, temps.
I do hope OP is still in good shape, didn’t finally hurt themselves on the frozen poop hazards.
Mini jack hammer? You might be able to rent it from your local hardware store.
Ice chopper? http://www.amazon.com/Bully-Tools-92200-Sidewalk-Chopper/dp/B000PAQEKU to be found at local Home Depot type store
[QUOTE=ReSomething;7395038]
Keep horses in the Sierras. Or even Lake County.[/QUOTE]
I live in the Sierra foothills. We do get snow, but it warms up quickly and I have never heard of poop freezing to the ground! I know plenty of people keep horses in seriously cold parts of the country, but didn’t realize how prolific the frozen poo problem was!
I had a pile of frozen poop once that was in a high traffic area that I simply could not chop up (didn’t have a pick axe though, that would probably work). I took a heavy duty trashbag, laid it on top of the pile, and filled it with hot water. Tied off the top, put a muck bucket over the top to keep warmth in and left it for about 30 min. It didn’t defrost but softened enough that I was able to finally break it up with a spade shovel. Be sure not to puncture the trash bag.
Salt…
Why not put a small electric heater near it while working in the barn? Defrost and remove? I wouldn’t leave the barn with a heater running for even a second but she should be fine if she doesn’t leave it unattended.
[QUOTE=HorseKrazy;7395633]
I live in the Sierra foothills. We do get snow, but it warms up quickly and I have never heard of poop freezing to the ground! I know plenty of people keep horses in seriously cold parts of the country, but didn’t realize how prolific the frozen poo problem was![/QUOTE]
I think it takes four days of below freezing weather before the stuff freezes down. The dog run is just disgusting and not much to do about it.
If a dry poop hits a dry surface it’s not usually too bad, but wet on wet or warm on ice and they congeal and make trip hazards. And then there’s a pasture that’s been allowed to get mucky and pocky, once IT freezes it’s a royal PITA, tripping over the craters of the moon. But if it were warm, it’d be slippery muck, so you can’t win.
[QUOTE=goodhors;7393446]
Do you have a tractor with a back blade or front end loader? You could just push the manure loose from frozen base, then pick it up.
Other items to use if no machines, could be a thick 3/4 to 1inch steel rod, hit it with a sledge or heavy hammer, driving rod directly into the pile, break it apart in small sections. Pick axe if you can swing and hit what you aim at, will be faster than sledge method. Both methods reduce bigger pile to smaller size pieces by putting small metal tip end in, break the ice bond. Gives more force to small spot over shovel with wide edges, in breaking stuff up. WEAR safety glasses, goggles, for flying, frozen chunks that come loose. Frozen poop can hurt like rocks hitting you.
Wow, using all these FIRE based things in a dirt aisle, with lots of dust and chaff that “happens” without cement, seems like a real big danger to the BARN ITSELF! I didn’t notice any of them saying "Have your fire extinguisher handy while using blow torch, Acetylene torch, Salamander heater that have REAL FLAMES involved as they burn fuel!! You folks sure live to live dangerously!
Good luck OP. Tripping on that stuff is so AGGREVATING. I would be NOT happy with whoever let horse wander to leave piles in the barn aisle.[/QUOTE]
Can’t speak for the rest of the commentators but I was having a little fun with this thread. Considering it has been read over 1,300 times since posting it’s a interesting distraction for others also.
But as funny as the title is any of us in cold climates know what a PIA a frozen pile that becomes “glued” more like epoxied to the pavement as Hilary put it. And she would know being from NH.
I would like to think most people would know using an Oxy-Acetylene cutting welding/cutting torch would be like killing a fly with a sledge hammer. I would also like to believe that the vast majority of people could deal with this without burning the barn down and or need to have the fire department on call just in case.
But then I am a believer in Darwinism if it does happen. Let the lord sort it out as they say.
[QUOTE=buck22;7395634]
I had a pile of frozen poop once that was in a high traffic area that I simply could not chop up (didn’t have a pick axe though, that would probably work). I took a heavy duty trashbag, laid it on top of the pile, and filled it with hot water. Tied off the top, put a muck bucket over the top to keep warmth in and left it for about 30 min. It didn’t defrost but softened enough that I was able to finally break it up with a spade shovel. Be sure not to puncture the trash bag.[/QUOTE]
I like this idea the best so far.
Though a hot towel wrapped around it would make for a better conversation if someone walked in the barn. An interesting “visual” also.
