[SunshineKid-GardenCoach]

Hi Buck, just wanted to clarify my reply to your question about using horse manure in your garden. First of all, I am not an expert in anything but I like to ask questions to learn as much as I can about things and share information that I think will help. I love that Freesteading.com provides the forums and discussion tools that allow us to share information with each other. I think we all know that a variety of information is available from a variety of sources so I always try to get as much information as I can to make an informed decision. I was trying to be helpful in responding to your question about using horse manure because it was the very same question I asked of someone years ago. While I did not ask the person who answered my questions for citations from actual cases of tetanus that occurred to contact with composted manure from non-vaccinated horses, I do highly respect the person that provided the answer and it was particularly interesting to me when he mentioned tetanus. When I had a severe allergic reaction to a Tdap booster several years ago, my doctor told me not to get the Tdap vaccine again. Since I am a gardener and work with the soil I did a risk assessment and made the decision not to use horse manure in my garden but since it has been stated that the “spores of tetanus bacteria are everywhere in the environment, including soil, dust, and manure”, using horse manure or any other manure might or might not be an issue. I also read that the tetanus spores are highly resistant to heat and “can survive autoclaving at 249.8 degrees F for up to 10 to 15 minutes” (see link below) so the spores may not be eliminated by composting but composting is still necessary to prepare it for the garden. It has been 24 years since my last vaccination and so far no tetanus but that is only my experience 😊. As I said in my initial reply, tetanus is probably not an issue for most people if they are vaccinated but it might for some so again I was only trying to be helpful and hope I did not cause confusion. Here are a couple links to some additional information on tetanus and horse manure:

https://equusmagazine.com/horse-care/facts-about-equine-tetanus/

https://equusmagazine.com/horse-care/protect-yourself-from-tetanus/

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/tetanus.html/

https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/tetanus/

Thank you to all in the discussion who have shared their thoughts and insights on this topic. The more information we have the better informed we can be!