Why did you think of me when you mentioned horse s--t?
Break it up or leave it be although breaking it up will allow water to get through easier. It must have been some pretty juicy stuff to have formed a crust. Mine never has done that.

For the first time I got some horse manure this Spring. Making my rounds as a part-time assessor I came across a man who had a couple of horses. On inquiring if I could have some he said sure. Were do I deliver it?

Well I ended up going there with a trash barrel and loaded up with HM. It was compsted HM. Looked just like my own coompost of garden/kitchen waste. Couldn't tell the difference. When asked about the fresh stuff he replied not good as it has a lot of weed seeds.

Still I wondered about using the partially decomposed HM. By using the coposted material was I missing the many wonders of HM that Karl has talked about?

Still wondering? What about it Karl?

In the spring I put about a 2-3 inch layer of manure on my rosebed. I just buy the bags from the local nursery. It always gets really hard and crusty. I actually hate the way it looks because it just looks like really dryed out dirt no matter how much I water it. Is it not normal for it to get really hard and crusty like that? I try to put compost on top of the manure to make the bed "prettier" lol!

Unless I know the source of aged manure, I don't use it, especially the bagged stuff. Like you said it looks like dirt. Taken from a farmers pile that is all manure I imagine some of the good stuff has been leached out of it but it still has soil building abilities.
I try to get the fresh stuff and put up with any weeds that may appear. Most of the time I get mine and apply it in the fall so by spring it's pretty well composted on site. Perhaps that's why It doesn't crust for me. All that snow on it soaks the good stuff into the soil for a spring boost and it looks like good rich soil on the surface. Putting it down after the roses are dormant doesn't stimulate any growth in the fall.

Maybe I misunderstood...is it top dressing during fall prep. and winter protect?...or top dress after spring prune?
My roses appear to like it and I cover it with fresh mulch so it doesn't look like dirt.

I don't use it to winter protect. Cankers tend to develope on any canes that it lays against all winter.

The roses that I used this on now look wonderful. The crust has broken down and I have mulched over the broken down manure. Alchymist( second year) is 10 feet tall with huge blooms on stems almost long enough to be HT specimens. I will do this again next year.