I shred them up a bit with the shovel, then they break up more as I work them into the soil.
I was asking the fellow at the garden center at Lowe's about manure products and mentioned I was using un-composted, or fresh manure, and he warned me that it could toxify the soil. Later while gathering cow patties I realized he thought I meant really fresh, as in wet, goopy, and stinky!
