I'm new to horses, and just learning how to muck out a stall. Just can't seem to get the hang of it, though!

How do you muck out a stall??

Thanks, hope this isn't too stupid!!!

No question is too stupid...no worries.  Though my horses are turned out 24/7 with access to their stall I fully muck their stalls once a month with cleaning as needed.  You can put in heavy shavings and clean spots as needed with adding a small amount of shavings back.  I would buy a mucking fork (any tack shop) for about 10-20.00 and use this to pick up soiled spots and manure.  Put it in a wheelbarrow and then dispose in manure pile.  Add some shavings or completely strip the whole stall daily if putting a normal amount of bedding in (usually a full bag does well for my 10 x10 stalls) daily.  When my horse was on stall rest I fully stripped the stall once a day and tried to clean it out 2 times a day by picking up manure.  I am sure there are more experienced people as my horses are turned out mostly.  

Thanks 

Thanks for your quick response, it's a help!

This is the manure fork I use and I love it - from Tractor Supply.

It takes some time to get on to just grabbing up road apples and leaving the shavings behind, but you'll get the hang of it:)

Congratulations on your horse!

 http://www.tractorsupply.com/detail.asp?pcID=6&paID=1045&sonID=264&page=1&productID=25405

Yeah, I guess  it's just one of those "you'll get it eventually" kinda things!

Thank you!!

Just wanted to come back to add what I couldn't before.  My job gets in the way sometimes

If you create a manure pile, remember that it will "grow forever" unless you know for sure you can find someone to come and clean it down once or twice a year.

Or if you have enough property and live in an unincorporated (rural) area, you can spread the manure and shavings.

 I have four horses that come in every night, so I clean the manure every morning.  On Saturdays I clean down their pee spots, shake some dolemite lime (can buy at Tractor Supply) in the cleaned down pee areas,  put fans toward the stalls to air dry them, then put fresh shavings down just before the horses come in that night.

I used to buy Tractor Supply shavings because I get a discount for buying by the pallet.  TSC does NOT use 100% wood shavings.  A local lumber man just went into business selling his own shavings, so I now buy from him.  I get more in the bag for less money than TSC and he delivers and stacks if I buy 50 bags or more.  Since he's also a life-long horse owner, he is well aware of which type of trees make for safe horse bedding and which ones do not

I am not as diligent about cleaning pee spots in the winter as I am in the summer.  I can't stand the ammonia smell, plus it keeps the fly population down to about zero in the barn.

I have a dump cart that I load the manure on, take it to a spot where the grass needs help (we have 14 acres), tip the cart, pull the manure off by hand, and spread it with a rake.  Wish I had a manure spreader to fit my compact tractor but I can't afford it right now, so I do everything by hand.  Besides, at age 60 I need all the extra "upper body strength" I can get

Thank you!!!!!

 I do have someone who will come once a week to remove the manure pile; he can come  less/more often if it turns out I need him to. 

I like the pine shavings for bedding, and yeah, if I buy in bulk it saves money, not to mention trips to the store!

Thanks again!

Remember you may have to dig to find the wet spot, but you DEFINITELY want to get that out every time.  For mares, it is *usually* around the edges, geldings *usually* in the middle area. 

 I also like to finish a stall with most of the clean shavings raked away from the edges of the stall.  As the horse moves around, he will naturally scatter and push the shavings back out.

I pick 1x/day.  I like using the plastic forks with the tines real close together.  If you bank the shavingsd up against the wall while picking the turds roll to the bottom.  Most have a definite wet spot, so I remove that, remove the obvious piles of manure and then use the banking method to get the stray turds.  Scape all the clean shavings back i the middle and go to the next stall.

This is a real help, thanks! "Banking method" it is!!!  

I also just wanted to add a quick reminder about the amount of bedding put in to the stall. Where I work we have stall with cement, cement with wood boards ontop (previous owner put them in), and cement with rubber stall mats (current owner putting in). The stalls with just a cement floor are bedded very deep while those with stall mats have enough shavings in them to soak up urine and spilt water from the waterers.

There's what is called a "deep litter system" where you bank the clean shavings around the stall. Remove the manure and pee spots. The slightly damp shavings can be added to the bank to dry out and clean shavings brought down to the middle. This saves shavings, lengthens the amount of time between complete strippings and believe it or not, does not seem to increase the smell or fly population. Also, I have found that banking higher in the 2 back corners keeps the horse from knocking down too much into the middle as he moves.

Another advantage of Scout's Mom's system,  which I also really like is that it reduces the possibility of the horse getting cast.

Thanks, povertybyhorse! I never thought of that! Duh me! (hope this little smiley guy works)

What kind of bedding are you using now? What do you have down on the foor? Mats, concrete, dirt? Are you just cleaning one stall? Is he really messy or kinda neat?

If he's kinda neat and you're not cleaning a lot of stalls, I recommend getting a woody pet type of pelleted bedding. When I was bedding my stalls, I used it and loved it to pieces. Easy to clean, lots less waste, and cheaper in the long run. The down side to it, is it has a tendecy (sp??) to freeze in the winter if you don't have it bedded deap enough. Or if you have a lot of stalls to clean, it does take you a little longer to clean, because you really have to sift if out. If you don't sift it out, it's not doing it's job correctly and you'll end up using more bedding than you really need.

If he's more on the messy side, use shavings. Quick clean up. And still cheap. The key to bedding is having it deap enough. Some like to just put in enough to soak up the urine. Which is fine. It's what ever you find the easiet for you without causing the horse discomfort.