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Read carefully, you might have the very same question.
Composting shavings
It seems that the wood in shaving takes a very long time to compose. Is there an additive or special handling that can be done to speed up the composing process. My neighbors have a mountain of the stuff that doesn't seem to be composing very well.Dr. Lori Warren, University of Florida
Actually, wood shavings can compost quite rapidly, if managed properly. The advantage wood shavings or sawdust have is that the particle size is much smaller than straw, providing more surface area for the microbes to go to work. However, this smaller particle size can also be a disadvantage because it doesn't allow the same amount of air space as straw, so the microbial environment can quickly become anaerobic making them quit. In addition, wood products are quite high in carbon, often off-setting the C:N ratio so much that the microbes don't have enough nitrogen to grow (no growth = no composting). So, when working with wood products, we've got to pay attention to the air space and the nitrogen in the compost pile. Turning the pile more frequently, or adding a bulkier material (although it also means adding more carbon) like leaves, old hay or straw will help trap some air in a manure pile full of shavings. Unless the horse owner is quite conscientious about cleaning stalls (meaning, they remove a minimal amount of shavings), adding a nitrogen source is almost essential. Urea is probably the most efficient N source (high in nitrogen, so don't have to add large amounts.)