It goes without saying that collecting the horses' manure is critical to maintaining the horses' health and managing odors (ammonia) and files around the farm.

The ideal "initial mix" for horse manure composting has a ratio of 75%-80% manure to 20%-25% stall bedding. To make it possible to minimize the amount of stall bedding in the mix, it's important to use fine textured bedding in order to separate out the "lumps and bumps". Alternatives for fine textured bedding include: mini-flakes, wood pellets, and hemp.

Of these three options, my preference is hemp. While hemp is 50%-70% more expensive than an equivalent volume of pine shavings, the net-expense is considerably less when considering the full life cycle of the product. Hemp is highly absorbent which helps reduce ammonia and related odors in the barn. It is also effectively dust free, thereby protecting the horses' respiratory system. As a stall bedding, it takes about half the amount of shavings to accomplish the same performance (i.e. about one bale per 7-10 days), and it lasts longer between stall-stripping events.

When all time-related expenses are added up, hemp will reduce your overall stall management expense:

• cleaning stalls takes less time
• less manure waste is generated
• fewer trips to the compost system
• a faster cycle time to convert raw manure to a high-quality, finished compost product

If you haven't tried hemp as a stall bedding material, I suggest you give it a try in two or three of your stalls for a week or two. Try it with a tidy horse and with a "pig" and compare the results. Once you've tried it, you can decide for yourself if it's a viable option.