Will the manure have hogfuel or other bedding matter in it?
Composted horse manure is fantastic. I don't know the method you talk about, but I'm eager to look it up.
However, I can talk about the horrible experience I've had with fresh horse manure. My grandfather being of the mind that if composted road apples are the bestest thing ever, then fresh would be even better than the bestest thing ever. So lets put it in every garden uncomposted.
Here's the highlights of what it did when spread directly on the gardens/lawn/fields:
-Weed seeds
-More weed seeds
-absorbs nitrogen the first four years or so
-killed all our clover
-as much as I complain about weed seeds, it also killed/prevented a lot of our plants from growing. We found out later that it was a herbicide used in growing the hay that actually persisted after it went through the horse. Sadly it did not kill weeds.
-these horses were highly medicated, which may or may not transfer to the soil.
6 years later we are still fighting the effects. Not all horse manure is going to act this way. What bedding they use will also affect how the manure decomposes.
If I were to do it again, I would listen to traditional wisdom and
compost the manure for 4 years, turning the pile once a year with the tractor. I would also consider what meds/wormers/other treatments the horses have and what their diet is - as mentioned earlier, there are now herbicides and pesticides that remain active after they pass throught the digestive track.
Don't shy away from it because of my bad experience. If it's free, there is always something you can use it for.
Please let us know how it goes - the good and the bad.
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