During their studies on Estate Maintenance, the Level 2 Diploma in Horse Care students became curious to discover what happens to all the horse manure that is produced at CAFRE’s Enniskillen Campus. The students embarked on the short journey to Maguiresbridge to visit Sue Prenter at Lady Muck organic manure. Lady Muck has come up with an innovative approach for the disposal of stable waste which complies with all relevant environmental requirements. Sue Prenter explained how she has owned and worked with horses for many years and was well aware of the issues associated with the disposal of the waste, including the fact that a horse produces its own weight in manure every three weeks! Sue described how she spent quite some time researching composting methods and systems, including work at the University in Washington DC. A pilot project was carried out to test the systems and resulting product.
A mixture of horse manure and bedding such as paper, straw and wood pellets or shavings is screened to remove large debris, stones and other unwanted materials. It is then processed without using any chemicals or additives. As a result, this process has produced a product that solves waste management issues and one which is gaining prominence in the market place where it has received lots of very positive feedback. This Organically Composted Horse Manure is suitable for soil conditioning, feeding and mulching, planting trees, shrubs, roses, fruit and vegetables and is ideal for sowing or laying new turf lawns. It is well rotted and produces a low odour and humus rich peat free product. It has become widely available and is distributed the length and breadth of Ireland through numerous distributors.
All the students thoroughly enjoyed their visit and really appreciated the time taken by Sue who provided them with a very open discussion on how she went about setting up her successful company.
If you require any further information on the Level 2 Diploma in Horse Care or any other equine course at Enniskillen Campus please contact us on Freephone 0800 0284291.
Sue Prenter discusses the process of producing the organic manure with some of the Level 2 Diploma in Horse Care students.
Source: CAFRE – Students Discover there’s No Waste with Horse Manure
