Paddock sweeper/poop picker

[theboytheboy]

A large part of our business is providing DIY livery for horses.

For years we tried to get the owners to do their own poo picking. It is impossible to get them to do it in a way where everyone pulls their weight.
The amount of time spent monitoring them to make sure they turned up, or make sure they don't just turn up and chat for an hour then leave was not worth it. Not to mention the extra bitching backstsbbing and moaning.

We decided we would just do it ourselves and charge them. This seems to work much better and worm counts have improved dramatically. The grass has also benefited.

We have used a few machines but quickly found small ones powered off an engine were not big or powerful enough. Pictures below.

We have two old PTO powered terravac machines with larger capacity and better suction. These work well but with bad backs we now find the hose difficult to use, and the hoover attachment very slow due to its small size.

We are therefore in the market for a new machine.

Does anyone have any recommendations?

We have a Wessex sweeper coming for a trial this week. Is there anything we should be aware of?

Ideally we would like a machine that can do the job with one person from the cab.

Thanks

If this needs moving please do so

 

[Pieces_of_Eight]

In America there are trailed poo hoovers with hoses that are powerful enough to suck gophers from their burrows, a sort of ferreting but in reverse.

The Wessex one looks quite big.

 

[Kam]

Why not another Terra-Vac? I'm only suggesting them as they are fairly local to me & I know someone who works for them. http://www.terra-vac.com/

 

[yellowbelly]

I read the title of the thread and mistook it for an Alan Freeman tribute

 

[Dry Rot]

The sweeper types have the reputation of being associated with grass sickness. I have no idea whether that is true or not but they do smear wet muck.

After a fair bit of research and seeing a friend's in action, I purchased a Predator Lynx. I can use this by myself (aged 78) and can operate the hose while sitting and driving the Honda 350 quad. These machines are powered by a Briggs & Stratton 13.5HP OHV engine. (Diesel would be better). I have used it for several years without major problems, though it does have a few foibles!

The worst feature of this machine is the poor seller back up. I have just written a rather rude letter to them about their hopeless 'user mannual'. I encountered electrical problems and the circuit diagram and explanation were illegible, even by an 18yo with a magnifying glass! Finally worked it out by tracing the wires. A new Carb cost about a trenner from China and a replacement fuel tank sourced locxally £25 (Predator quoted about £125 for the tank).

Friends of mine wanted to get a new one but could not get a quote for putting one on a pallet and shipping it to Scotland! They found the owner rude and dismissive. There's more. BUT the suction will lift even wet dung out of long grass and I've found the machine easy to operate. A young man used to come down from town and use it without being paid, just because he enjoyed using it so much!

BTW, I have 12 Highland ponies but don't pick up poo except in certain paddocks. I've just acquired a new set of drag harrows from William Hackett's as I wore the last set out. Harrowing exposes worm eggs to the atmosphere where they are kiled by exposure to the elements, the pasture is then rested until the dung has disintegrated or disappeared. There is no worm problem here and the system seems to works. I do my own FECs. PM if you want more information.

 

[ngm]

Was going to mention risk of grass sickness from use of them but @Dry Rot beat me to it. Absolutely horrible illness which I hope to have no more experience of as already seen 2 horses die from it.

No experience of the machines other than having had one sit unused at a yard I worked at due to nothing to pull it around!

 

[honeyend]

What you would spend on the machine I would rather pay someone with a good shavings fork to do it and get a small tipping trailer with grass tyres. Our local livery has a 1/2 paddocks for each livery and a trailer is parked down the field for them to put the muck in. It seems to work. They have winter and summer paddocks.
Everyone I know who has bought a vacuum has given up. I used a contractor with a large muck rake for a field I took over one spring, it did a really good job taking out the thatch and removing old muck but I wouldn't want to use one on a regular basis, its a lot more aggressive than a grass harrow.

 

[TripleSix]

The horse place where I work has a commercial mini road sweeper with the brushes removed and a custom made front pickup.
Works well unless it's rained on the crap.

Has a cab, with radio and heater so it's not a bad job...
Hydrostatic transmission too.

 

[Dry Rot]

What you would spend on the machine I would rather pay someone with a good shavings fork to do it and get a small tipping trailer with grass tyres. Our local livery has a 1/2 paddocks for each livery and a trailer is parked down the field for them to put the muck in. It seems to work. They have winter and summer paddocks.
Everyone I know who has bought a vacuum has given up. I used a contractor with a large muck rake for a field I took over one spring, it did a really good job taking out the thatch and removing old muck but I wouldn't want to use one on a regular basis, its a lot more aggressive than a grass harrow.

I recently purchased a set of "grass and spike" drag harrows from William Hackett Ltd. I was surprised to get a set with square links, 3" spikes one side and none the other, as it wasn't what I thought I'd ordered!

Harrows come in all shapes and sizes and my previous set were spiked on both sides, one set of spikes I think 3" and the shorter ones perhaps 2". Both did a fair job of spreading dung but were too aggressive, as you say.

I've never even seen harrows with square links before but they are fantastic for breaking up and spreading horse poo! They stand up vertically when in use so the V of each link does the work. Not only that, but they don't bounce like regular harrows, so I can go quite fast with the MF135. Harrowing is best done when the "pebbles" of poo will break up when rubbed with your boot otherwise you are just spreading them.

The only downside is that I need my big tractor with a front loader to turn the harrows if I want to use the reverse side. Maybe there is another way but I've not worked that out yet.

As I've said, the suction type poo vacuum does need a bit of experience to get the best results. If the pipe gets blocked, sometimes a kick to the tube at the bend will get things moving again. I also carry a stick for poking up the spout if it gets blocked. A thorough cleaning occasionally with a powerful pressure washer is essential or the poo will set like concrete and jam up the mechanism. Again, the retailers have let the customer down by pretending it is so easy. Sorry, but your shavings fork will not do near as clean a job as the vacuum and it will be far slower.

 

[honeyend]

I use the something like this,
https://www.equisupermarket.co.uk/f...8o8TIZmMAmad0ATDyV9jpwVqTyLUFG5saAlfiEALw_wcB
and use it like picking up peas with a fork, anything that breaks up gets raked into a heap and lifted. I can also lift the cow splats if they have done it on the track.
My large barrow and fork or over six years old and cost less than £100. As to being slow, as the paddocks that are kept clear are done daily or every other day, the most it takes is 45 minutes for five horses. My youngers fitter helper does it in less time.
It makes me laugh that people love a neat and tidy stable full of expensive bedding, but grumble about clearing their paddock when all it costs is time

 

[Loftyrules]

I used to sell these
https://towandfarm.co.uk/atv-attachments-home/ the land driven one was very good for up to 4-5horses if used daily or every other day and the engine driven one was good for 5+. I think all machines struggle in long grass. These machines were purpose built a lot of the other sweepers on the market have been adapted

 

[Deutzdx3]

The sweeper types have the reputation of being associated with grass sickness. I have no idea whether that is true or not but they do smear wet muck.

After a fair bit of research and seeing a friend's in action, I purchased a Predator Lynx. I can use this by myself (aged 78) and can operate the hose while sitting and driving the Honda 350 quad. These machines are powered by a Briggs & Stratton 13.5HP OHV engine. (Diesel would be better). I have used it for several years without major problems, though it does have a few foibles!

The worst feature of this machine is the poor seller back up. I have just written a rather rude letter to them about their hopeless 'user mannual'. I encountered electrical problems and the circuit diagram and explanation were illegible, even by an 18yo with a magnifying glass! Finally worked it out by tracing the wires. A new Carb cost about a trenner from China and a replacement fuel tank sourced locxally £25 (Predator quoted about £125 for the tank).

Friends of mine wanted to get a new one but could not get a quote for putting one on a pallet and shipping it to Scotland! They found the owner rude and dismissive. There's more. BUT the suction will lift even wet dung out of long grass and I've found the machine easy to operate. A young man used to come down from town and use it without being paid, just because he enjoyed using it so much!

BTW, I have 12 Highland ponies but don't pick up poo except in certain paddocks. I've just acquired a new set of drag harrows from William Hackett's as I wore the last set out. Harrowing exposes worm eggs to the atmosphere where they are kiled by exposure to the elements, the pasture is then rested until the dung has disintegrated or disappeared. There is no worm problem here and the system seems to works. I do my own FECs. PM if you want more information.

I can ratify the rudeness of the owner who makes lynx. About 8 years ago I made my own paddock vacuum using a huge wheelie bin and the same suction pack as a trafalgar. Works a treat. Still use it today. He commented on the YouTube video I made of it, to say the least he was rude and obnoxious.

 

[Deutzdx3]

Wessex, logic and d w Tomlinson. They all do the same thing. Rotating brush at the front. Just depends on personal preference as to what you like and or dislike about the particular brand.

 

[theboytheboy]

The sweeper types have the reputation of being associated with grass sickness. I have no idea whether that is true or not but they do smear wet muck.

After a fair bit of research and seeing a friend's in action, I purchased a Predator Lynx. I can use this by myself (aged 78) and can operate the hose while sitting and driving the Honda 350 quad. These machines are powered by a Briggs & Stratton 13.5HP OHV engine. (Diesel would be better). I have used it for several years without major problems, though it does have a few foibles!

The worst feature of this machine is the poor seller back up. I have just written a rather rude letter to them about their hopeless 'user mannual'. I encountered electrical problems and the circuit diagram and explanation were illegible, even by an 18yo with a magnifying glass! Finally worked it out by tracing the wires. A new Carb cost about a trenner from China and a replacement fuel tank sourced locxally £25 (Predator quoted about £125 for the tank).

Friends of mine wanted to get a new one but could not get a quote for putting one on a pallet and shipping it to Scotland! They found the owner rude and dismissive. There's more. BUT the suction will lift even wet dung out of long grass and I've found the machine easy to operate. A young man used to come down from town and use it without being paid, just because he enjoyed using it so much!

BTW, I have 12 Highland ponies but don't pick up poo except in certain paddocks. I've just acquired a new set of drag harrows from William Hackett's as I wore the last set out. Harrowing exposes worm eggs to the atmosphere where they are kiled by exposure to the elements, the pasture is then rested until the dung has disintegrated or disappeared. There is no worm problem here and the system seems to works. I do my own FECs. PM if you want more information.

Have read about sweepers causing grass sickness but not found anyone who has experience of this first hand.

We do Harrow with spring tines when we change fields.

We have up to 30 horses and don't do small paddocks so they are spread over a fairly large area meaning poo picking takes even longer.

 

[theboytheboy]

Was going to mention risk of grass sickness from use of them but @Dry Rot beat me to it. Absolutely horrible illness which I hope to have no more experience of as already seen 2 horses die from it.

No experience of the machines other than having had one sit unused at a yard I worked at due to nothing to pull it around!

Is there evidence that this is 100% caused by using sweepers?
Is there anything that can be done to stop it occurring?

 

[theboytheboy]

What you would spend on the machine I would rather pay someone with a good shavings fork to do it and get a small tipping trailer with grass tyres. Our local livery has a 1/2 paddocks for each livery and a trailer is parked down the field for them to put the muck in. It seems to work. They have winter and summer paddocks.
Everyone I know who has bought a vacuum has given up. I used a contractor with a large muck rake for a field I took over one spring, it did a really good job taking out the thatch and removing old muck but I wouldn't want to use one on a regular basis, its a lot more aggressive than a grass harrow.

We are not interested in employees due to all the red tape and the headaches that come with it.

We don't do paddocks as we rotate the fields throughout the season and cut hay off lots of it. We also graze them in a herd so small 1 acre paddocks are no good.

Suspect we would get a lot of moaning about "my paddock is wetter/drier/stoney/muddy/shady/exposed/further away etc etc etc then hers"

 

[theboytheboy]

The horse place where I work has a commercial mini road sweeper with the brushes removed and a custom made front pickup.
Works well unless it's rained on the crap.

Has a cab, with radio and heater so it's not a bad job...
Hydrostatic transmission too.

Any pics would be interesting

 

[theboytheboy]

I used to sell these
https://towandfarm.co.uk/atv-attachments-home/ the land driven one was very good for up to 4-5horses if used daily or every other day and the engine driven one was good for 5+. I think all machines struggle in long grass. These machines were purpose built a lot of the other sweepers on the market have been adapted

Think we need something bigger.
Usefully to hear your views on long grass.....I've a feeling that the sweepers are best used on bowling green type conditions....

 

[TripleSix]

Any pics would be interesting

I will take some on Friday

 

[Dry Rot]

We are not interested in employees due to all the red tape and the headaches that come with it.

We don't do paddocks as we rotate the fields throughout the season and cut hay off lots of it. We also graze them in a herd so small 1 acre paddocks are no good.

Suspect we would get a lot of moaning about "my paddock is wetter/drier/stoney/muddy/shady/exposed/further away etc etc etc then hers"

I suppose it depends what you call a paddock. I was at college with Aussies and I asked them what they'd be doing when they got home. They said "getting the horses in from the back paddock". That turned out to be 6,000 acres and was expected to take a couple of weeks!.