WOW. You are so lucky. Get all you can. Use it just as you described. Then blend #1, #2,#3 together in a couple wire bins, water it down and in a couple months, you will have a most excellent compost. Although an excellent product, it shouldnt be necessary to purchase the goat manure compost. Click on my name to see my bins.
Bill Hill

I'd go for door #1. Free and loaded for you--how can you beat that?
The horse stall material sounds great, too, if you have the time and energy for it. You'd have to take a bit of care in seeing how old it was before you used it-fresh manure will kill things-- but I'm salivating over a big pile of pooh. :)

I never can work up much enthusiasm for city compost. It's probably okay, but I always wonder what kind of pesticides and weed killers are in there. My concerns have no basis in any facts however, just my own paranoia.

Free local horse poo, unless there's a reason you can't load it yourself, like a broken foot or something, in which case, free non-local fair poo.

From "Primal Compost Making" site:

· Pig manure is rich in potash, and when well humified, is best applied to root crops, especially potassium-hungry leeks, celeriac and potatoes. Pigs are primarily rooting animals, feeding on roots they dig up.
· Horse manure is light and will lighten heavy clay soils. Horses feed primarily on foliage and grass; consequently, their manure aids leaf and foliage development. Horse manure, which is rich in ammonia, will heat steadily for a long time. This makes it ideal for use in hot beds for raising seedlings in the spring. For a home garden, or even a larger garden where no greenhouse is available, this is a good way to start plants.
· Cow manure is best for composting purposes, as the nutrients have been stabilised in the long digestive process of the animal.
· Rabbit manure, rich in nitrogen, is good for foliage, stem and shrubbery development.
· Chicken, pigeon, and other bird manure is good for seeds, flowers and fruits, because their manure is rich in phosphorus. Chicken manure, which is sticky, wet, and odorous, is hard to compost. It is best made into a liquid compost by mixing it into ten parts water and and letting it ferment in a barrel (stir regularly for 6-8 weeks).
· Sheep and goat manure are excellent for increasing the quality and aroma of fruits and the oil content of herbs.

IMO, all manures should be composted before adding to a garden for safety reasons and for best utilization of nutrients found within the manures. Again, this is my opinion. Keeping this and the above in mind, this is what I would do:

Door #1) I would use this as my base as long as it is relatively free of trash and does not have a funny odor. Also, I would inquire if they use sewage sludge, if so I would not use it on vegetables, period. The price is right and the amount is unlimited; get it while the getting is good.

Door #2) I would use this due to the "woody" base, this insures a good amount of humic and fulvic acid within the pile (the best of the best from composting IMO). Due to the cost I would only get one load; the load can be used to blend into the others.

Door #3) This would be my compost bin base, due to the fact the woody material probably isnt composted completely. It too will call for a lot of work, thus that would factor into how much I get at one time. However, when I needed organic material, this would be the place I go.

Door #4) For my vegetables this would be a must. As stated above, composted goat manure is hard to beat when adding flavor to foods IMO. Due to the cost, only one load that would be blended into any compost I used on my vegetables.

A lot of work and blending you say? Yes, but the results are well worth the work after the harvest IMO. For the flowers, they should be happy with anything I give them (or they can leave as some have said before). Knowing how much room you have over there I am sure you can work out that little detail with no problem. As always, I am just offering what I would do, not what you or anyone else should do, my intent is to help in any way I can

Blutranes

thanks all for your comments and suggestions and especially blutranes for such a wonderfully detailed reply. I appreciate your experience and expertise.

I posted on craigslist today and have already gotten 3 or 4 responses...several for FREE (all horse) one for $20 a load and one mystery manure :) left a message for them.

"I posted on craigslist today and have already gotten 3 or 4 responses...several for FREE (all horse) one for $20 a load and one mystery manure :) left a message for them."

I used to work with a guy who had horses and he paid to have the manure hauled off.