"What do you think?"

I think you will get an ear full about; A. Not just buying bagged mulch.( BTW,why not?) B. The saw dust material taking neutrents from soil surface to the determent of your plants. C, Your plan doesn't recycle which is near and dear to the majority of composters. Why not compost used material and horse poop then use as mulch,satisfying all the objections above?

A horse person here. If you are going to buy a bagged mulch there are much, much cheaper options than pelleted pine bedding!

If you want to throw some horse poop in there with a little urine and some leftover hay bits and create your own compost you'd be hard press to find a better bedding option! I regularly use pelleted bedding--pine or when I can get it pelleted straw--in my stalls. Then I compost the stall leavings and use the results as mulch.

If it's the bedding that puffs up when the horse pees on it ... I'd scoop out the puffy spots and use them as mulch, eventually covering the whole garden.

The used pellet bedding composts easily and then you can use the compost as mulch.

I use pellet fuel as kitty litter, and dump the sawdust (minus feces) on the compost pile.

I would use the bedding first with the horse, and then compost the result. There are far cheaper and better mulches available than fresh pellets. You might be able to get chipped wood in the area, or even compost from the local waste processors.
Renais

Regarding making my own compost...I don't have a tractor to turn a pile, I'm too old and decrepit to do it by hand. One suggestion to take the pee soaked pellets and put it out as mulch...won't fresh urine burn the plants? Using my aged piled manure/bedding produces lots of weeds since I can't turn the pile. My garden is strictly ornamental...no food plants.
Thanks for the replies.

Fresh urine could burn plants depending on the quantity and the amount of rain and the soil and the plants. Too many variables to reduce it to a yes or no. A small amount is OK. But definitely something to watch out for.

You don't really have to turn compost piles, it just makes them break down faster. I hate the idea of some day getting too old to turn my compost, but I guess it happens to everyone. :-[ Hang in there!

That could be done if cost is not considered. A quick look on line tells me that stall bedding is about twice the cost as shredded bark mulch.

Might it be least expensive and easiest to hire a neighborhood teenager to hand turn the compost pile a few times a year? Then the horse bedding can be disposed of and new pellets wouldn't be needed.

This post was edited by nhbabs on Tue, Dec 30, 14 at 16:26

One of the big stable managment advantages of using pellets for bedding is how fast they compost without any intervention. Just pile it up and ingore it. In about a year (or less) the pile will be a less than half to a quarter in size and you will have great compost you can use as mulch. No turning required.

I sure wish I could find a teenager willing to do some grunt work...had one out and after working for 4 hours he said he would come the next day but never showed up and didn't call either. I like what subk3 suggested and I will most likely use the piled, used bedding next year.

I'm back to discuss this farther. I hear what you are saying about hireing teens. Most are like Smith Barney,they earn money the old fashion way,just ask dad for some. There are gardeners near you that will jump at the opertunity to help manage your pile in exchange for a share of it. It's up to you finding them. Contact local garden club,feed/ seed/garden center,county ag extension office. Stop to say hello to owners of large gardens you see on daily travels. You can speed and improve the process by simply keeping it moist. Another option is vermicomposting. Go to the VC forum next door to search and read what Mendopete says. Pete has proved it can be done without breaking your back simply by relying on horse biskits for bedding and food. Basicaly you build a windrow as stalls are mucked out. Cover it with pieces of free used carpet to better manage moisture. Worms will seek the areas with optimum moisture and tempature year round in zone 9. Depending on how many horses you keep,you might wind up selling worms and compost on a "come out and pick your own" program. With a large pile such as this you can do as much or as little as you choose,when you choose and still have sucess.

cakbu, no gardener ever gets old and decrepit, the body might be tired but a gardener's brain, which can appreciate the extraordinary spring events of plants' growth, is forever young and well working ;-)

As I work a lot during the week, and I don't really look like schwarzy, I don't have time to turn a pile. I hardly have time to build piles. So I do like klem explains, I just build piles where I want to plant in spring. They shrink and compost very well (except now because it's freezing) with no turning and many worms participate in the process. And I mulch with fresh manure. I sort out the poop and wood shavings, then put used straw and hay to hide everything.

I would advice to just mulch with the horse poop and the used pellets directly so that you neither have to build and turn a pile, nor to move stuff several times around. It works great for me, trees, flowers, and veggies. It saves time, water, and you don't need any unreliable teenager, you remain autonomous.

There are plenty of horse-crazy teens (and adults) who would love to do chores in exchange for the opportunity to ride.