Not-So-Speedy Dressage
From Endurance to Dressage
Yep. I got poop patrol again for the weekend. Three days of cleaning stalls, filling waters, turning out, blanketing, and feeding. I don't mind. With weather as nice as this, there's nothing I'd rather be doing.
You may or may not know this, but many Californians are pretty green. Many communities even have recycling cans at the curb (they're blue), and many locations around town have large recycling bins for drop offs (newspapers, cardboard, etc.) We even have designated lots for dumping our dead Christmas trees. RM is very green. She even has a special container for toxic trash: fly spray bottles, wormer tubes, cleaning products, etc. In the barn, we have two containers for trash, one for recyclable materials, and one that is for plain trash. RM's green barn-management style extends to manure disposal as well. There are many ways we deal with manure in Bakersfield. Silverado, the last place I boarded, kept a large manure pile that was frequently hauled off to the green waste facility, which is a typical strategy. Other barns have a field for spreading. Others simply spread the manure in their arenas. RM decided to recycle the manure for use around the barn. She built a pretty cool composting bin that does the job quite well. The slats of the walls are easily removed for tractor access. Periodically, the tractor is used to rotate the manure to aide in composting. Special tubes are inserted into the manure to allow oxygen to do it's job, and the temperature of the compost heap is taken regularly. The thermometer looks like like a giant meat thermometer. Once the temperature of the pile reaches a certain degree, the manure is officially called dirt and is then spread around the property to fill in holes. It's an amazingly efficient system that converts lots of poop into recycled dirt. Here are some photos of the compost area. That sounds like a great system. I'm surprised at how little poop there is in the photos (I'm presuming there's only one set of compost bins?), but I guess your beautiful weather dessicates it very effeciently. Is that some old hay decomposing to the side of the bins, too?
Karen
1/17/2012 08:33:16 am
We only have four horses and the compost does break down very quickly. And yes, some hay that got wet and molded is composting on the side. I am not sure what the plan is for that! Comments are closed.
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About the Writer and RiderI am a lifelong rider.
I began endurance riding in 1996 where I ultimately completed five, one-day 100 mile races, the 200-mile Death Valley Encounter, and numerous other 50, 65, and 75 mile races. I began showing dressage in 2010. Welcome to my dressage journey. About Speedy GSpeedy went from endurance horse to dressage horse. After helping me earn a USDF Bronze medal in the summer of 2020, he is now semi-retired. Speedy is a 2004, 15'1 hand, purebred Arabian gelding. His Arabian Horse Registry name is G Ima Starr FA.
About IzzyIzzy was started as a four-year old and then spent the next 18 months in pasture growing up. I bought him as a six-year old, and together, we are showing at the lower levels. He is a 2008, 16'3 hand warmblood gelding. His Rheinland Pfalz-saar International (RPSI) name is Imperioso.
National Rider AwardsState Rider Awards
State Horse Awards
Working Towards:
CDS Sapphire Rider Award Third Level: 63.514% Third Level: 62.105% Fourth Level: Fourth Level: 2023 Show Season
Show Rating (***) CDS/USDF/USEF (*) CDS (s) Schooling (c) Clinic (r) Ride-a-Test Clinic 2023 Show Schedule
TBD 2023 Completed … Pending 2023 Qualifying Scores
Regional Adult Amateur Competition (RAAC) Qualifying Training Level 3 Scores/2 Judges/60%: Score 1: Score 2: Score 3: Archives
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