What the Muck Is That? Manure Edition

July 16, 2014Amanda Uechi RonanUncategorized#whatthemuckLeave a comment

Each week we will investigate one equestrian conundrum in “What the muck is that?” This week we get the scoop on fuzzy manure plus 1o more fascinating poo facts.

First things first, let’s talk about fuzzy manure. It’s a common problem, usually accompanying dewy pastures…

Turns out, the “fuzz” is actually Cobweb Mold. It’s a fungal growth that thrives in high levels of humidity combined with high temperatures. It’s not dangerous to the horses and has absolutely nothing to do with nutrition or gastrointestinal health.

Here are 10 more fascinating facts about horse poo:

1. One horse produces about eight piles, weighing in at around 50 lbs, a day.

2. It usually contains grass and grain fibers, minerals, shed cells, fats, water and sand.

3. About 3/4 of the total weight of manure is water.

4. Manure is sometimes called buns, road apples, horse pucky, horse chips, horse hooey and horse apples. So the next time someone annoying shows up at the barn to take a selfie with your horse, say it’s only allowed if they help with the “organic horse apple” chores.

(SOURCE)

5. Horse manure should be spherical in shape. This is caused by the large intestine squeezing the contents into ball-like shapes as it extracts water.

6. Horse manure is unlikely to spread disease to people, including bacterial e-coli which is killed by sunlight.

(SOURCE)

7. Horse manure changes color and consistency depending on diet.

8. Particularly foul smelling manure could be caused by a rapid change in diet, too much fat or protein, ulcers, or internal parasites. For more nutritional info check out The Horse.

9. Before Charles and Diana’s Royal Wedding, the carriage horses were fed dyes so the horse manure would match the wedding’s pastel color scheme. (SOURCE)

(SOURCE)

10. Shear L’eau, owned by Leslie Law, sold a bucket of poop for $1,392 on eBay. Leslie and Shear won individual gold and team silver medals at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. (SOURCE)