This service is available on the Devon and Cornwall border, between Saltash and Launceston, Tavistock and Liskeard.
Getting rid of your muck heap can be a headache for many horse owners. However, it is essential if you want to reduce problems with flies, prevent run-off into water courses, and to keep your property well maintained.
In most instances we can remove your muck heap for you, helping to take care of the above mentioned problems. We tend to remove muck heaps during the autumn period, which coincides with farmers spreading manure on their own fields.
As a horse owner there are a couple of steps that you can take, which can help to manage your muck heap and the subsequent removal of it. These are:
- Accessibility – ideally your muck heap should be sited in a position which is not only convenient for you, but more importantly is easy to access with large vehicles such as a tractor and trailer or a lorry. If vehicles cannot get to the heap, you may find yourself having to wheel barrow the contents to a more accessible location, which is not an ideal situation.
- Location – make sure that your muck heap is not located near to a water course, e.g. stream, pond etc, as run-off from the heap can pollute the water, killing animals and plants in and around it. You could also incur the wrath of the Environment Agency, which could result in a prosecution and/or fine, if you’re found guilty of polluting water courses.
Design – ideally a muck heap, and the area around it, should be on a solid base, e.g. concrete. This will be easier for you to sweep up and keep tidy, but will also be easier for vehicles to get to the heap, without churning up the soil, if the conditions are muddy. Another alternative for muck heap design is to have a tipping trailer, specifically for your muck heap. Once the trailer is full it is much easier to get rid of the muck.- Good husbandry – many muck heaps we come across are sprawling messes, as a result of countless barrow loads of muck being simply ‘up-ended’ and left. To help keep your muck heap to a minimum, where possible, try to create a defined boundary or wall, which will contain the manure. In doing so, you will find it easier to throw the muck on top of pile, thereby taking up less space. You should also trample down the heap to reduce the volume, and to help the rotting down process happen much faster.
