Yup.
Sledgehammer.
A couple of taps usually loosens even the huge piles.
Be most careful kicking it loose ! :lol:
eek:
Problem with the mattock is it sprays it all back on you, ice chips and frozen poop shards. The floor scraper works much better.
[QUOTE=trubandloki;8495602]
I am one of those people who keeps my paddocks very clean, picked daily, etc.
I hate this time of year. Between the manure being buried in snow and the piles being frozen to the ground I feel like my paddock is a disaster area.[/QUOTE]
I clean daily during daylight savings and in the AM and PM otherwise. I am anal.
Me too. Me too. I close my eyes and wait for a thaw. Then I am out there the SECOND I can.
[QUOTE=airhorse;8496321]
Problem with the mattock is it sprays it all back on you, ice chips and frozen poop shards. The floor scraper works much better.[/QUOTE]
I’ve had poo in the eye…and in the mouth…careful with the hoe or heavy rake - if you really put some muscle into it to break the poo free, then it may go flying places you don’t really want it to! :lol:
:lol: sorry everyone! No excuses when you can smash the poops free with the rake in sub-0 Vermont. If I can do it, you all can too! :lol:
Meh, I’m another in the ‘give up’ category. DH and I both work full time and are essentially not home during daylight hours for December and January, so between the frozenness and inability to see well beyond the spotlights, we just let the paddock go until the temperature and daylight increase and the snow melts. Makes for a mess each spring, but the horses don’t seem to be any worse for the wear for having frozen poo in the paddock. The first year we had them home it drove me nuts, now I just accept it and forget about it. If we get an occasional warm, sunny weekend day I may try to pick some, but it’s rare that it will warm enough to thaw it in just a day. One thing I wish we had for spring was a tractor to dig it all up and take it out- but alas, no budget for a tractor and with only 3 horses, hard to justify one anyways. As another poster said, spring cleaning helps shed some of our own winter pounds :lol:
Just give up at this time of year!! Bear in mind…no flies or smell to worry about and it is all biodegradable “matter”. It will more than likely be gone by warm weather and act as fertilizer!! Take a break!!
[QUOTE=trubandloki;8495602]
I am one of those people who keeps my paddocks very clean, picked daily, etc.
I hate this time of year. Between the manure being buried in snow and the piles being frozen to the ground I feel like my paddock is a disaster area.
I do give up at some point.
Since our winter has been mild so far, thankfully I have not had to totally give up yet. There have been some piles that no amount of kicking and poking will make them break free, so those are left there to annoy me.
When spring gets here and things start to thaw I spend way too much time scraping all the mess up.
I suppose I can call that my spring exercise regimen, to get into shape for more riding time. :lol:[/QUOTE]
Will you take a video of yourself kicking the frozen poop-cicles? Please?
Give Up.
Two winters ago it dropped WAY WAY below zero for Indiana right after a very wet couple of days. It froze so hard I had two stalls in a drafty barn freeze solid. I couldn’t get it up with a pitchfork. Even the sawdust was frozen solid and the batch we had was slightly damp enough to also freeze solid. I ended up covering it all up with a bale of straw and kept straw in it until eventually it got warm enough to strip the entire thing out.
One of the mares was actually frozen into her stall when the mat in the aisleway heaved up then froze to the ground. Couldn’t get her door open. Spent two hours with hot water, pick axes, and really really good friend to get the mare out.
[QUOTE=Kodidog763;8495942]
I tried the rake method and bent the rake.
I have also shot frozen manure into my face when trying to backdrag with the rake. Just not worth it.[/QUOTE]
Much thanks, Kodidog 
See?
Can’t take a chance on bending my $20 rake!
OR getting an ice poo facial :no:
[QUOTE=Ghazzu;8495992]I just wait for warm weather. It forms kind of a manure/snow parfait, and when things warm up, you can remove a layer or two at a time.
Much easier than beating at the frozen awfulness.[/QUOTE]
AHA!
This is technically Medical Advice :yes:
Who am I to argue against years of schooling & practice? :applause:
Frozen poop is not something I worry about, since I can’t do anything about it. I can’t imagine walking a paddock every day and picking up poop. I would never get to ride! I drag my paddocks every couple weeks, and the horses are rotated around.
When things thaw out a bit, I’ll pick up the poop in the shed where my round bale is.
[QUOTE=D_BaldStockings;8495664]
Pick axe.
and a determined high school boy.[/QUOTE]
So that’s where I’m going wrong. I have the pick, just no determined high school boy!
Sledge hammer. Just a few taps to the side will loosen the whole pile.
Blowtorch.
[QUOTE=cayuse;8497375]
Blowtorch.[/QUOTE]
Don’t forget the marshmallows!
Can I ask why?? I get it if you horses are milling around the barn area…otherwise the energy to try and remove frozen manure boggles the mind.
[QUOTE=airhorse;8495978]
We scrape about 1X per week with the FEL.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/QEP-7-in-Wide-Floor-Tear-Out-Scraper-75006Q/100193678
Above works pretty well for breaking up piles frozen solid to the ground.[/QUOTE]
This is what we do in our sacrifice paddock. We wanted to get it clean before the big snow and DH used our compact Kubota to knock up all the piles and I came by in our Bobcat ATV and scooped it all up. There wasn’t a huge amount, since we stay on top of it when we get thaws.
[QUOTE=judybigredpony;8497984]
Can I ask why?? I get it if you horses are milling around the barn area…otherwise the energy to try and remove frozen manure boggles the mind.[/QUOTE]
Well, when you only have 2 horses, two FELs, and a small paddock it isn’t so bad!
I’m and OCD poop picker. I use a spade. If you shove it under the edge as hard as you can, it usually pries off the ground easy enough. Except if its -30, then all hope is lost.
