As an organic fertilizer, horse manure offers many benefits for gardens and farms. But sourcing quality manure for free or cheap can be a challenge. This guide shares tips for locating free horse manure near you.
Why Get Free Manure?
Using horse manure in your garden provides:
- Rich nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium to fuel plant growth
- Organic matter to improve soil structure and moisture retention
- Slow-release nutrition as manure decomposes over time
- A natural fertilizer that enhances soil biology and microbial activity
However, bagged manure can be expensive to purchase in the volumes required for most gardens. That’s where finding a free or low-cost local source comes in handy.
Where to Check for Free Horse Manure
Here are some places to look for free or inexpensive horse manure in your area
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Local stables – Horse boarding facilities accumulate a lot of manure which they need to dispose of. Many are happy to let you haul it away for free.
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Riding schools – Check with stables at nearby riding academies, camps, and equestrian event facilities. Offering to clean stalls can score you free manure.
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Horse breeders – Farms focused on horse breeding often have an abundance of manure they want to get rid of.
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Horse owners – Those with backyard horses need to discard manure and may give it away to a good home.
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Livestock auctions – Manure piles accumulate at sale barns. Ask politely to take some.
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Farrier postings – Monitor where local horseshoers advertise as they may post about free manure opportunities while on jobs.
How to Find Leads
Use these approaches to connect with potential manure sources:
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Search online classifieds sites like Craigslist using keywords like “free horse manure” or “horse manure wanted.”
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Check community and gardening Facebook Groups for those giving away or seeking manure.
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Look under “manure hauling” in online business directories. Reach out to see if they have excess to donate.
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Search for nearby stables online and call to ask about manure availability.
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Post in gardening forums or social media requesting leads on free horse manure sources.
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Drive around rural areas looking for horses and signs about manure availability.
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Ask any gardening friends if they have a good source to share.
Questions to Ask Potential Sources
When contacting possible manure sources, ask:
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Is the manure mixed with straw/shavings or just poop? (Mix provides carbon.)
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How long has the manure aged? (Fresher manure can damage plants.)
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Are horses treated with medications like dewormers? (May influence composting.)
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How much manure do you anticipate having available regularly?
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When is manure typically available for pickup?
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Do I need to load/shovel it myself or can you assist?
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Are there any restrictions or requirements for taking manure?
Transporting and Handling Manure
If sourcing manure yourself, a few tips:
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Use a pickup truck or trailer to haul larger volumes efficiently.
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For smaller amounts, containers, buckets, or garbage cans work.
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Load piles loosely so air can flow for composting.
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Cover loads with a tarp to prevent spillage on roads.
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Contain manure neatly when storing to prevent runoff.
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Wear gloves and wash hands after handling to prevent germs.
With some diligence and relationship-building, you can locate quality free horse manure near you to give your garden a nutritional boost while saving money. Happy manure hunting!
This Manure Will Destroy Your Garden!
Manure has a lot of nitrogen, organic matter, and different minerals. It makes the soil healthier and more fertile, so you can grow lots of green, happy vegetables. It’s generally considered to be one of the best amendments you can add to your garden.
At least it used to be.
Now adding manure to your garden is playing Russian roulette with your plants. There’s a very good chance that it will completely destroy your beds and cause your plants to grow into twisted parodies of their proper growth pattern before dying ugly and unproductive deaths.
That Herbicide is Poison
From my reading, it wasn’t too much nitrogen. The symptoms were too strange. And it wasn’t a virus.
The only thing in common between all these sick plants was one big load of manure.
When I told the local master gardeners about the symptoms, they didn’t have any good ideas. So I started looking for answers on my own, typing in terms like “twisting leaves manure” until I found an article about a disaster in a community garden on the left coast.
They bought a load of manure compost, but suddenly many of their plants died because of a new herbicide made for cattle and hay farmers.
I had met my nemesis.
I called the farmer who sold me the manure and asked him what he had used to treat his hay fields. He told me that he had tried a new product that the University of Florida had suggested for getting rid of spiny pigweed, which was an annoying weed that kept coming back in his pastures. “It worked really well,” he told me.
I shared that all my plants were dying and asked if he could find out what he’d sprayed. I thought I knew already, but when he sent me a picture of the label, I was sure.
It was Grazon, an aminopyralid-based toxin from Dow AgroSciences.
Aminopyralid isn’t the only persistent herbicide, however. Clopyralid, picloram, aminoclopyrachlor, and hexazinone are other persistent herbicides that often contaminate manures, straw, hay, compost, and gardens. These herbicides are sold under many brand names, so it’s important to look at the label of a product to determine if it includes one of these chemicals.
Growing on a Budget Using Horse Manure
FAQ
When should you not use horse manure?
Can I put horse manure straight on the garden?
Can you put too much horse manure in your garden?
What is the disadvantage of horse manure?