Horse Manure for Sale: How to Buy and Use It Safely

Horse manure for sale usually comes from riding stables, boarding barns and compost yards, and it is worth buying only if you know its age, its bedding and the herbicide history of the hay the horses ate. Penn State Extension puts the fertilizer value of manure without bedding at about 12 lb of nitrogen, 5 lb of phosphate and 9 lb of potash per ton, so a load is mostly a soil conditioner, not a strong fertilizer.

This guide is for farmers, market gardeners and smallholders in the US, Canada, the UK, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. It ranks the places to find a load, lists the questions to ask before it is tipped on your land, and shows what the nutrients are worth with a calculator you fill in with your own prices. It also covers composting, spreading rates and the rules that apply on farms and organic land.

Horse manure for sale at a glance

Stall waste is not one product. What a stable sells depends on how long the pile has sat, what bedding was used and whether it was composted hot. The table sums up the forms you will see in ads and at the barn.

Prices are set locally by each seller and change with season and delivery distance. We found no official price series for horse manure, so this page does not quote a national price. Use the calculator below to judge any price you are offered.

Where to find horse manure for sale: 6 sources ranked

We ranked the sources by how much you can learn about the load before you take it: age, bedding, feed and handling. A seller who can answer those questions is worth more than a cheap pile with no history.

1. Composting stables and compost yards

Best for: vegetable growers and anyone who needs a finished, weed-reduced product.

Some stables now run managed compost piles, and commercial composters often seek straw-bedded stall waste as a feedstock, according to Penn State Extension’s guide to horse stable manure management. The same guide notes that stables have given away or sold bulk and bagged horse compost, and that golf courses and nurseries take truckloads of it.

• Pros: more stable product, smaller volume, finer texture, often screened.
• Cons: costs more per ton than raw stall waste; quality depends on how the pile was managed.
• Ask for: pile temperatures, turning dates and the age of the batch.

2. Boarding barns and riding schools

Best for: farms with a loader and spreader that can take large loads of aged material.

Barns that keep horses in stalls build up waste fast. Penn State estimates that about 12 tons of manure and soiled bedding come out of each stall with a full-time horse every year. Many barns are keen to move it, so you may get a low price if you collect it yourself.

• Pros: large and steady supply; you can see the pile and the stalls.
• Cons: often fresh or partly rotted; bedding share varies by barn.
• Ask for: bedding type, how long the pile has stood, and the hay source.

3. Small private horse owners

Best for: home gardeners who need a trailer load or a few bags.

Owners of one to five horses often offer aged manure in local classified ads, garden clubs and community boards. Small owners can usually tell you exactly which hay they buy, which matters for herbicide risk (see the buyer checklist below).

• Pros: easy to ask questions; small, manageable amounts.
• Cons: supply can stop at any time; you usually load it yourself.

4. Farm supply and garden stores

Best for: raised beds, pots and buyers who want a labelled product.

Bagged composted manure is sold by garden centres and farm stores. The bag should state the product name and supplier, and in many places the guaranteed nutrient analysis. It is the most expensive way to buy organic matter, but it is clean and easy to handle.

• Pros: consistent, labelled and screened.
• Cons: high cost per unit of volume; source animals may be mixed.

5. Municipal and community compost programmes

Best for: community gardens and urban plots.

Some towns and councils run compost sites that accept stable waste with green waste. Supply and rules differ from place to place, so check with your local council or waste authority.

• Pros: often low cost; usually hot-composted at scale.
• Cons: mixed feedstocks; you rarely know the hay or turf history.

6. Online marketplaces

Best for: finding sellers in your area quickly.

Classified sites and local social groups list many loads, often free to collect. They are a good way to find sellers, but treat each listing as unknown until you have asked the questions below.

• Pros: many options; easy to compare.
• Cons: little information; quality claims are not checked.

How to choose a load: 7 questions to ask the seller

The biggest risk with bought manure is not low nutrients. It is herbicide residue that harms sensitive crops. The second is weed seeds and pathogens in material that was never properly heated. Ask these questions before you agree to delivery.

1. What hay did the horses eat, and was it sprayed? Some pasture herbicides (aminopyralid, clopyralid and picloram) pass through animals and stay active in manure and compost. NC State Extension’s guide to herbicide carryover says degradation is slow in piles of manure and compost, and that residues can damage tomatoes, beans, peas and other broadleaf crops.
2. How old is the pile? Fresh stall waste is fine for pasture or for your own compost, but not for crops close to harvest.
3. Was it composted hot, and how do you know? Ask for temperature readings and turning dates.
4. What bedding was used? Straw composts quickly. Wood shavings and sawdust break down slowly and can tie up soil nitrogen for a while.
5. Were the horses dewormed recently? Some growers prefer manure from horses that were not treated in the last few weeks; ask the seller and follow your own adviser’s view.
6. Is there trash in it? Twine, plastic and stones cost time at the spreader.
7. How will it be delivered? Agree on volume (cubic yards or cubic metres), the truck size and where it can be tipped.

NC State says that if you do not know the herbicide history, you should run a simple pot bioassay before using the manure on sensitive crops: grow beans, peas or tomatoes in a mix of the manure and soil and compare them with plants in clean potting mix. Always follow the herbicide label and local rules, and get professional advice if a field may already be affected.

What is in horse manure?

Horse manure is a mix of digested forage and grain, urine and bedding. Penn State Extension says a 1,000-pound horse produces about 51 pounds of raw manure a day, and that each stall yields about 60 to 70 pounds of total waste a day once soiled bedding is counted.

▶ Why soil organic matter matters for crops, water and soil life. · 7:33

Its nutrient content is modest and varies a lot. Penn State gives about 12 lb nitrogen (N), 5 lb phosphate (P2O5) and 9 lb potash (K2O) per ton for manure without bedding at 20% moisture, and about 14-4-14 lb per ton for bedded stall manure at 46% dry matter. The University of Kentucky’s AGR-146 nutrient table lists beef and dairy solid manure at 11 lb N per ton and fresh broiler litter at 55 lb N per ton (as-is basis). So per ton, horse manure sits close to cattle manure and far below poultry litter.

These are guide values. Penn State and Virginia Cooperative Extension’s manure fact sheet both stress that real manure varies, so a lab test is the only way to know what a given pile contains. A test usually costs far less than a mistake in your fertilizer plan.

The main value of the material is organic matter. Stall waste with bedding adds carbon, improves soil structure and feeds soil life. That is why buyers who mainly want better soil, not a fertilizer, are the best fit for a load of horse manure.

Chart

Nitrogen per ton of solid manure

lb of total N per ton, as-is guide values

How much of the nitrogen do crops get?

Most nitrogen in horse manure is in organic form. Plants cannot use it until soil microbes release it, which happens slowly over several years. Penn State estimates that about 20% of the organic N becomes available in the first season after spreading. Later releases are about half of that in year two, a quarter in year three and an eighth in year four.

In practice, this means a single application feeds crops a little for several seasons. Regular applications build up a slow-release pool. It also means you cannot count all of the nitrogen on a lab report as crop-available this year. Use the first-year share in your plan and credit later releases in later years.

The Penn State guide also notes that most of the nitrogen in horse manure is in the urine, which the bedding soaks up. Some of that nitrogen can be lost as ammonia from piles left in the open. Cover the storage or spread promptly where the rules and weather allow.

Chart

Organic N released from horse manure by year

% of organic N applied, one application

Is a load of horse manure worth the price?

To compare a price with fertilizer, value only the nutrients your crop can use this season, then compare that value with the price plus the delivery and spreading cost. The organic matter benefit is real but hard to price, so the calculator leaves it out. If the price is close to or above the nutrient value, the load pays mainly through soil improvement.

Enter your own numbers. The example defaults use Penn State’s guide nutrient values and first-year N share, with round example fertilizer prices. At these defaults the nutrients are worth about $9 per ton, so compare that with the price you are offered.

Try the numbers for your own farm below.

Composting horse manure before you use it

Horse stall waste is well suited to composting. Penn State gives the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio of stall waste as 20:1 to 30:1, which is in the right range for microbes. Composting reduces the volume by 40% to 70% and gives a finer, more stable product that is easier to sell or spread.

Chart

Compost pile targets and volume reduction

low and high end of each range, %

Compost microbes work best at 130 to 140°F, with 50% to 60% moisture and 5% to 15% oxygen in the pile, according to the same guide. Under professional management, finished compost takes from 2 weeks to 6 months.

Steps for a farm pile

1. Build the pile on a firm pad away from wells, ditches and streams.
2. Keep it about as moist as a wrung-out sponge.
3. Turn it, or blow air through it, so that the core stays hot.
4. Check temperatures with a long probe and write them down.
5. Let it cure until it is dark, crumbly and earthy-smelling.
6. Run a bioassay if the herbicide history of the hay is unknown.

Rules for organic and produce farms

Certified organic growers in the US must follow the National Organic Program rule on manure and compost. Under 7 CFR 205.203, raw manure must be incorporated at least 120 days before harvest of crops whose edible part touches the soil, and at least 90 days before harvest of other food crops. Compost made with manure must reach 131 to 170°F for 3 days in an in-vessel or static aerated pile, or for 15 days in a windrow turned at least five times.

Other countries have their own rules, and produce buyers may set stricter ones. Check with your certifier, food-safety scheme or local adviser before using any manure on food crops.

How much horse manure to spread on fields

Base your rate on a soil test and the crop’s needs. Penn State says field application should follow the fertilizer needs of the crop or pasture, should go on as a thin layer, and should not go on frozen ground or near waterways. Thin spreading also dries the manure and breaks the fly breeding cycle.

When manure is applied to meet a crop’s nitrogen needs, phosphorus often goes on in excess. The USDA Economic Research Service notes that heavy use can build up nutrients in soil, which can then leach or run off, and that testing manure and soil helps avoid over-application. A soil test every few years tells you whether phosphorus is climbing.

In the US, the Natural Resources Conservation Service sets a nutrient management standard (Code 590) used in many state plans; the NRCS 590 standard covers rates, timing and setbacks for manure. Some states go further. Penn State notes that Pennsylvania’s Nutrient Management Act treats farms with more than 2,000 pounds of live animal weight per acre as concentrated animal operations, and horses count. Twelve 1,000-pound horses on 5 acres already pass that line.

In England, farms in nitrate vulnerable zones face limits on manure nitrogen. GOV.UK guidance on nitrogen in NVZs sets a loading limit of 170 kg of nitrogen per hectare a year from livestock manure, averaged across the holding,, and a field limit of 250 kg of total nitrogen per hectare from all organic manures in any 12 months. Canada, Australia and New Zealand have provincial, state or regional rules. Check the local rules and get professional advice before you plan rates.

Storage on the farm

If you buy more than you can spread at once, store it well. Penn State suggests sizing long-term storage for about 180 days in cold climates, on a firm pad, with clean water diverted around the pile and any leachate kept out of streams. Keep the pile as dry as possible in fly season, or remove or spread manure at least every 7 days.

In England, GOV.UK rules on storing manure in NVZs allow temporary field heaps of solid manure only at least 10 metres from surface water or land drains and 50 metres from a spring, well or borehole, and the heap must move at least every 12 months. How manure is stored also affects emissions: the US EPA says manure management makes up about 14% of greenhouse gas emissions from US agriculture.

▶ Seven simple practices that protect soil and water on the farm. · 4:34

Where horse manure fits on a working farm

Horse manure suits a few jobs especially well:

• Pasture and hay ground: spread thinly after grazing or cutting to return nutrients. NC State notes that manure from horses fed treated hay is safe on grass pasture and hayfields, where it recycles nutrients without harming the grass.
• Market gardens: well-made compost improves bed structure and water holding, but test for herbicides first.
• Orchards and vines: composted manure as a mulch or top-dressing under trees, at rates that fit a soil test.
• Land restoration: compost helps on poor or disturbed soils, where organic matter is the main limit.

For field crops, manure works best as part of a plan that also uses soil tests and, where needed, fertilizer. Watching how the crop responds over the season helps you see whether the plan is working.

The Farmonaut Satellite + AI Farm Monitoring System shows satellite vegetation maps for fields you draw, so you can compare zones that got manure with zones that did not over the season. It shows changes in plant cover, not the cause, so pair the maps with a field visit and a soil test.

▶ How mixing crops and livestock recycles manure as fertilizer on one farm. · 2:55

How we checked the numbers

We used extension and government sources only. Nutrient values, waste volumes, nitrogen release, composting conditions and storage advice come from Penn State Extension’s guide to horse stable manure management (updated 2019). Comparison values for other manures come from the University of Kentucky’s AGR-146 table (revised 2025) and Virginia Cooperative Extension. Herbicide guidance comes from NC State Extension (reviewed 2024). Rules come from 7 CFR 205.203, the NRCS 590 standard and GOV.UK guidance on NVZs. We did not use prices from sellers or ads, because there is no official price series for horse manure.

FAQ

How do I find horse manure for sale near me?

Start with boarding barns, riding schools and compost yards in your area, then garden clubs, council compost sites and local classifieds. Ask each seller about the hay source, bedding, age and whether the pile was composted hot before you book delivery.

Can I put fresh horse manure on my vegetable garden?

It is safer to compost it first. Fresh manure can carry weed seeds and pathogens and can burn young plants. US organic rules require raw manure to go in at least 90 or 120 days before harvest, depending on the crop.

Is horse manure better than cow or chicken manure?

Per ton, it has about the same nitrogen as beef or dairy solid manure and far less than poultry litter, based on Penn State and University of Kentucky values. It is a good soil conditioner but a weak fertilizer. Chicken manure supplies far more nutrients per ton.

How long should horse manure age before use?

A well-managed hot compost can be ready in 2 weeks to 6 months, according to Penn State. A pile left to rot on its own takes longer and may still hold weed seeds. Look for a dark, crumbly, earthy-smelling product.

Why did my plants curl after I used horse manure?

Twisted, cupped leaves on tomatoes, beans or peas can point to herbicide residue from treated hay. NC State suggests a pot bioassay before planting sensitive crops, and asking the seller which herbicides were used on the hay or pasture.

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