[MistyBlue]

Not when they too freeze to the mats. I have some in the over hang (not bedded) that no amount of kicking is getting the loose.

I've bruised toes and heels trying to dislodge shite frozen to the ground. I'm lame on my off side right now due to trying to unstick a frozen clod of dirt that I kept tripping over. I thought I was being smart using my heel so as not to break a toe...yeah, didn;t work so well. It's still there and I;m still tripping over it.

[trubandloki]

I've bruised toes and heels trying to dislodge shite frozen to the ground. I'm lame on my off side right now due to trying to unstick a frozen clod of dirt that I kept tripping over. I thought I was being smart using my heel so as not to break a toe...yeah, didn;t work so well. It's still there and I;m still tripping over it.

I can only imagine the doctor's face when told "oh yeah, I was kicking this manure pile to get it loose so I could pick it up".
I have a few spots in the paddock that I can not get the piles up too. So annoying.

[betsyk]

And it's even worse when you split your boot from kicking the frozen pile, because you know that in a week when it thaws you're really going to wish that boot didn't leak.

I've given up on the wet spots. I'm picking the poop, pulling my little sled down to the manure pile, and looking forward to/dreading the day when I'll spend an afternoon stripping the area and making a whole bunch of trips to the manure pile, through the mud, then back from the bedding pile, uphill through the mud with clean bedding. The joys of self care.

[mvp]

Meh, it's frozen.

Nothing will happen til it thaws so don't sweat it until then. Put cleaning shavings over it and table it for warmer weather.

Seriously. Nothing is growing it it, no reeking is happening, so let sleeping dogs lie.

The idea that one should have to exert effort to thawing out piss and moving it seems just.wrong.

[candyappy]

I have tried the snow shovel...no go.

I'm thinking salt when it warms up a bit....like to 10*F!

I am not going to put salt down when they are in the stalls. I am thinking of sprinkling it ONLY on the pee spot, and then carefully remove, and sweep that specific spot to remove the residue. I would use one of the pet-friendly versions.

Rake the shavings away to expose your " pee pile" . Take a sledge hammer and knock it loose and pick it up with your fork. This is how I have to clean up after our milk cow :-) of course I am smacking frozen solid cow pies off concrete. It is a great upper body workout.

[SuckerForHorses]

Seriously. Nothing is growing it it, no reeking is happening, so let sleeping dogs lie.

The idea that one should have to exert effort to thawing out piss and moving it seems just.wrong.

Well, when you're taught to put a horse in a thoroughly cleaned stall, the thought of just leaving it there also seems "just wrong."

[Bells]

Don't use your heels to beat on the manure! I can tell you how painful heel spurs are

[saultgirl]

Well, when you're taught to put a horse in a thoroughly cleaned stall, the thought of just leaving it there also seems "just wrong."

I was taught that in really cold snaps, it's better to just clean the poop off the top and add more shavings; it makes a much warmer bed. You can even do that for the whole winter, it's just a lot of work to clean in the spring. I am doing this in my run-in shed. It's not dirty or smelly.

[RegentLion]

That happens regularly up here. Even at 'warmer' temps than -23*! Worst are the horses that seem to pee with SUCH FORCE that it moves the shavings away and they pee on bare mats. Sigh.

I just leave the pee, cover with a light dusting of clean shavings. By the time it gets to about 10*F or so, the pee WILL come up in a nice frozen pancake. You have to pry at the edges a bit but it does come up. Sometimes it takes a couple of days and the thicker the frozen shavings & pee spot the easier it comes up (gross I know). BUT on the bright side it doesn't spread into the rest of the shavings.

I prefer stall cleaning at about 10* Especially for the dirty/stall walkers. The pee freezes in clumps or hunks or pancakes and the shavings around stay really quite a bit cleaner.

So just cover... and wait.... :-)

[VTMorgan06]

My mare likes to dunk her hay, so the whole front of her stall freezes into a huge, thick mound of frozen shavings. It's always fun in March or so when it thaws to finally scoop it away. Each year my friends and I have contents to see which stall had the biggest frozen clump of shavings! You have to get it all in one piece though!!

[SuckerForHorses]

This weekend I was able to get most of it up. I just swept the clean shavings to the sides, so the pee spots are exposed and when they thaw, won't be mixed in with the clean ones.

I bring my gelding in for night feeding, so he will leave my mare alone so she can eat in peace; just walking around in his stall, he dislodged his frozen pee spots for me! Yay Jet!

[pj]

A blowdryer and a clothespin for your nose?

At -23* my pee freezes. Before I pee!

I can't stop laughing....I'll bet that hurts!!

[mountainbells]

I just use a shorter crowbar (sort of like using a pick ax) to pry the manure that has frozen into the ground. Don't know if it will work for the pee spots! Just hang it on the edge of the wheeled muck bucket as I go around cleaning up.

[reay6790]

I've never been in -23 weather...I think I would literally freeze! I freeze at 23*!! You are a brave woman!!!

[Wayne]

I have used an ice chopper to get under frozen poop piles in a paddock with limestone screenings. Works much better than trying to use a muck fork to work under them.

[morganpony86]

If the OP has rubber mats (I think the first post said so), then I had really good luck with a big ice pick or equivalent metal tool with a sharp pointed end. Usually the rubber mats are smooth enough that if you can get a good crack in the frozen poo/pee pile, it'll just pop right up off the mats.

And the way I see it, the only difference between anything below zero is just how fast your snot freezes to the inside of your nose. Now that was the most painful part for me...