There is a high demand for boarding horse stables in industrial countries, like in Germany, whether for leisure horses or for sport horses. That is why a lot of farmers changed or still change their farm to keep boarding horses. Most of these horses are kept in single stalls.
But this housing system requires a lot of labour time, especially the daily mucking out of the single stalls. There is varying information in literature about labour requirement for mucking out (between 25 to 50 percent of the total labour time), but it is always the main part of daily work. Therefore different kinds of technical systems were developed, which are able to transport the manure mechanical or pneumatic out of the barn.
To compare these systems with each other concerning the labour time and the costs, a model stable was created. A stable with 24 single stalls with adjoining paddocks has been chosen.
To ten farms questionnaires were sent, labour time measurements with a digital watch were made and also the farmers were asked at the farms. Companies, producing or selling mucking out systems, were asked for a financial offer.
The own measurements were completed with existing time calculations for a calculation of the labour time. For mucking out the stable with a wheelbarrow, 960 hours per year are needed, with the mucking out systems only between 711 and 765 hours. Because the transport with the wheelbarrow is no Ionger necessary, 20 to 25 % of the working time for mucking out is saved. Depending on the system, between 200 and 250 hours per year in a stable with 24 single stalls can be used for other work, in a stable with 40 single stalls already between 336 and 424 hours.
The various systems have partly more differences in the investment costs than in the running costs. The investment costs for the technique, the installation and the building are between 10,000 € and 30,000 €. The running costs, which include next to the costs for energy, labour and repairing also the capital costs for depreciation and interest proceeds are between 39 and 50 € per single stall and month. The labour costs for mucking out with a wheelbarrow are roughly 44 € per month and single stall.
As it is shown in the analysis, you can save expensive labour time and make the mucking out easier with every system. In self-doing the installation and the repairs the high costs can be decreased.
Every system has advantages but also difficulties, which you first have to face and get along with. That is why there is not the perfect system for anybody. The prerequisites on the farms and the preferences of the managers are decisive for the selection.
Although there are often problems in the beginning in using a mucking out system, the acceptance through the farmers will increase, because the advantages with regard to as well financial as the labour strength concerning are predominating. To reach these advantages, an exact planning, calculating and self-doing is necessary.
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There is a high demand for boarding horse stables in industrial countries, like in Germany, whether for leisure horses or for sport horses. That is why a lot of farmers changed or still change their farm to keep boarding horses. Most of these horses are kept in single stalls.
But this housing system requires a lot of labour time, especially the daily mucking out of the single stalls. There is varying information in literature about labour requirement for mucking out (between 25 to 50 percent of...
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