Horses are a common sight along Minnesota’s roads. No one knows how many horses there are in the state, but most enthusiasts would agree that the popularity of horses continues to rise. At the same time, new residents keep arriving, especially in the Twin Cities metro area, where forecasters estimate 600,000 more people will live by 2020.

As a result of these trends, Twin Cities recreational horse owners increasingly find themselves in the middle of urban or rapidly growing suburban areas, where they often receive more scrutiny from their local government and neighbors than do their counterparts in rural areas. To maintain good relationships and minimize the need for regulation, it is critical they know and practice proper manure and pasture management.

This publication is intended to help recreational horse owners better manage manure and pastures. It describes two options for manure management: land spreading and composting. It also offers guidelines for improving pasture productivity, and it provides practical management suggestions for owners in urban or rapidly growing suburban areas.

TIP: A typical horse, which weighs about 1,000 pounds, produces between 45 and 55 pounds of manure per day, or around nine tons per year. Hennepin County’s 2,800 horses have the potential to produce 50 million pounds of manure annually.

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