Alternatives to small flake shavings?

[HelenBack]

Those who can't get hold of small flake shavings this winter, what are you using instead?

Horse is generally quite clean and I tend to take the wet out most days. I don't mind whether I carry on with that or just lift it once or twice a week but I don't want it to be an ordeal when I do.

We both have dust allergies too so it needs to be non-dusty.

Options available I think are all three types of Burlybed, a flax one, Equisorb and Easibed. Bedmax I've already ruled out because I don't find it very absorbant and end up using quite a lot of it. I can probably get hold of straw pellets too but have heard mixed reviews on those. Wood pellets are too expensive and I can get Aubiose but it's £££ and I found the weekly muck out hard work when I used it before.

All thoughts gratefully received. Thanks.

 

[HelenBack]

...

 

[rabatsa]

Cardboard. https://the-bedding-barn.myshopify.com/products/supabed-cardboard-bedding-new-1-flat-cut

 

[HelenBack]

Interesting, hadn't considered cardboard but have just found someone quite close to me who manufactures it.

Do you tend to take the wet out daily or just skip it and lift the wet every few days?

 

[maya2008]

Paper? Only used it once but it did an excellent job. Blows off the top of the wheelbarrow when taking to the muck heap though…

 

[lamlyn2012]

I've used cardboard for years and love it. Makes a really soft, absorbent dust free bed.
I normally take the wet out daily (about 2 scoops) but OH says I'm wasting bedding so have started doing it every other day and seems to be working fine. Horse is in for about 16 hours over winter. I have a supplier fairly close who does an excellent deal if you collect a bulk load. Not sure what area you are.

 

[MissTyc]

I got a pallet of Cavianthus for the first time this year and I'm quite liking it. Not as good as the aubiose, but so much cheaper and for my tidy mare I've barely even topped up the bed since 1st december,

 

[mini-eventer]

I got a pallet of Cavianthus for the first time this year and I'm quite liking it. Not as good as the aubiose, but so much cheaper and for my tidy mare I've barely even topped up the bed since 1st december,

I tried Cavianthus this year, my boy is pure filth on it. I have never known anything like it, his bed is sodden every morning. I seriously regret buying it. Maybe it works well for tidy horses.

 

[HelenBack]

I tried Cavianthus this year, my boy is pure filth on it. I have never known anything like it, his bed is sodden every morning. I seriously regret buying it. Maybe it works well for tidy horses.

I can't get Cavianthus near me anyway so that rules that out. I can get Burlybed, which I think is similar but have heard that can be dusty. I do feel for you though as my other horse is a revolting pig and I'm not sure anything will work well for him really ?.

Have contacted the local cardboard people so will see what they come back with and maybe give that a go.

 

[rabatsa]

I muck out the wet every few days with cardboard, skipping out daily.

 

[Britestar]

Interesting, hadn't considered cardboard but have just found someone quite close to me who manufactures it.

Do you tend to take the wet out daily or just skip it and lift the wet every few days?

I lift the wet daily on the whole. Maybe once a week they get skipped out because of work schedules.

I love the cardboard, so easy to keep.

 

[Surbie]

Easypack miscanthus and a scattering of straw pellets in the wee patch. I switched when shavings hit £13/bale here. I do use more but it still works out cheaper.

 

[sallybess]

I found burleybed very dusty and I coughed like mad after opening a new bale or moving the bed around. My horse seemed fine with it so I'm not sure if I have a sensitivity to it butI know I'm not the only person to report this. I found probed (which is rape straw) good as a similar alternative for a clean pony. I finally settled on Concorde straw pellets for my much messier mare & subsenquently for both stables which I really like and has cut down my mucking out time considerably.

 

[HelenBack]

I found burleybed very dusty and I coughed like mad after opening a new bale or moving the bed around. My horse seemed fine with it so I'm not sure if I have a sensitivity to it butI know I'm not the only person to report this. I found probed (which is rape straw) good as a similar alternative for a clean pony. I finally settled on Concorde straw pellets for my much messier mare & subsenquently for both stables which I really like and has cut down my mucking out time considerably.

Thanks for this. I've looked and I can get these pellets locally to me so they're definitely an option. Do you mind me asking how you manage the bed on a day to day basis I will terms of how often you take the wet out and so on? And how many bags do you go through a week on average? I'm interested in both for your clean one and your messy one as although the one on shavings is clean, I do also have a filthy pig and am always looking at different alternatives for him too.

 

[Sussexbythesea]

I’ve moved onto chopped rape straw after years on pellets. I find it makes a very stable bed, very absorbent and use about 1 bag a week. I’ve put it on top of what was left of my pellet bed so not 100% rape straw. I only take the wet patches out about every 3 days and just droppings the rest of the time.

 

[HashRouge]

Mine are on Easibed at the moment and I quite like it. They're both pretty clean though.

 

[Sossigpoker]

LittleMax shavings are lovely . Much smaller than BedMax , which I also hate.
If you want really , really small , then I'd go for Thoroughbred shavings if you can get them.

 

[chaps89]

I’m using easibed at the moment - one very clean but wet pony and one filthy but drier pony.
They get a bale in every 4 or 5 days at the moment, but that is based on being in a lot, they will be out fully during the day by the end of the week by which point I expect to only use a bale a week each.
And at less than £8 a bale it’s quite reasonable.
5 or 6 bales sets a bed up on rubber mats quite nicely I find.

 

[marmalade76]

Does it have to be small flake? Natural Flake is not bad, big bales too, much better than Bedmax which I hate with a passion. My fave is Pure Flake & Pure Flake Extra but it's got too expensive round here.

 

[spotty_pony]

Wood pellets under straw for me

 

[sallybess]

Thanks for this. I've looked and I can get these pellets locally to me so they're definitely an option. Do you mind me asking how you manage the bed on a day to day basis I will terms of how often you take the wet out and so on? And how many bags do you go through a week on average? I'm interested in both for your clean one and your messy one as although the one on shavings is clean, I do also have a filthy pig and am always looking at different alternatives for him too.

Yes - I'm now on Winter number 2 of Concorde Pellets and am still very happy with them. I have one very messy horse (mare) who doesn't lie down much and I want her to feel as comfortable as I can so I make her a really thick bed to start with about 12 bags of pellets to start and some shavings as a bank. I found a fine shavings fork better for me than a poop scoop as she manages to mix in and bury a lot of poo so I just sieve out the poo with the fork. This year I have been taking out any wet patches that I can see on the surface on a daily basis - but I only take out a circular "core" of wet bedding down to the floor, scraping away clean bedding from immediately around it first to avoid taking out too much. Then rake it all flat, sweep back and I'm done.
I also have a pony companion who has a smaller, thinner bed but I muck out it in the same way. I muck out on my way to work & time is precious - it takes me about 5-10 mins per stable depending on how much I faff!
I was getting through A LOT of bales of chopped straw for my revolting mare previously (like a new bale every 4-5 days!) so I'm not really trying to win any prizes for being mega economical with how many bags I use (however, I probably average 1.5 bags a week for my big messy horse but I'm not really keeping track, and definitely use less than 1 bag per week on average for the pony), but it has definitely reduced my costs and muck heap size overall. The biggest win is my time as it's SO much quicker to muck out, & in addition I don't have to do big weekly muck outs (I used to semi deep litter) like I used to. The other unanticipated benefit for me is far fewer trips to the agricultural merchants to buy bedding as I can easily get 12 bags of pellets easily in my car boot without needing to lay seats flat etc.

 

[HelenBack]

Yes - I'm now on Winter number 2 of Concorde Pellets and am still very happy with them. I have one very messy horse (mare) who doesn't lie down much and I want her to feel as comfortable as I can so I make her a really thick bed to start with about 12 bags of pellets to start and some shavings as a bank. I found a fine shavings fork better for me than a poop scoop as she manages to mix in and bury a lot of poo so I just sieve out the poo with the fork. This year I have been taking out any wet patches that I can see on the surface on a daily basis - but I only take out a circular "core" of wet bedding down to the floor, scraping away clean bedding from immediately around it first to avoid taking out too much. Then rake it all flat, sweep back and I'm done.
I also have a pony companion who has a smaller, thinner bed but I muck out it in the same way. I muck out on my way to work & time is precious - it takes me about 5-10 mins per stable depending on how much I faff!
I was getting through A LOT of bales of chopped straw for my revolting mare previously (like a new bale every 4-5 days!) so I'm not really trying to win any prizes for being mega economical with how many bags I use (however, I probably average 1.5 bags a week for my big messy horse but I'm not really keeping track, and definitely use less than 1 bag per week on average for the pony), but it has definitely reduced my costs and muck heap size overall. The biggest win is my time as it's SO much quicker to muck out, & in addition I don't have to do big weekly muck outs (I used to semi deep litter) like I used to. The other unanticipated benefit for me is far fewer trips to the agricultural merchants to buy bedding as I can easily get 12 bags of pellets easily in my car boot without needing to lay seats flat etc.

Thanks for this additional information. It sounds like your requirements are similar to mine in that you don't want to be spending loads of money but also can't be taking ages over mucking out. I'm currently doing the semi deep litter thing and big muck out day for the dirty one is awful! If I get them both done in ten minutes or so each that would brilliant. I'm also a bit tight on storage space so the benefit of being able to fit more bags into a smaller space is one I definitely a good one! Think I'm going to give these a try and see how I get on