Another Liverpool pellets thread!

McNally

McNally

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I have decided to give them a try, but am just not sure if i should go for premium or economy as there is no explanation of the difference on their site.
Does anyone know please?

Also from reading several wood pellet web sites some state that for them to work best the wet should be left in and the bed disturbed as little as possible- is this the case with Liverpool bedding or would i remove the wet and chuck the bed back to dry the floor as i currently do daily?
and.....sorry almost done!! Can i do decent banks?
 
If they are working right, ie thick enough, undisturbed you will very rarely need to take wet out at all. I've never seen bamks made with pellets as it would be v expensive but if money is no object I don't see a problem.

I have a heavy footed cob who loves to lie flat out. I could never get the bed to settle enough to be really effective but others on the yard did and loved them.
 
sorry dont know about the diff between economy or premium! Love wood pellets though! People manage wood pellet beds in lots of different ways - its very much a case of trial and error and finding what works best for you and your horse :) for example I take out the wet every day, my friend hardly ever takes it out. Never seen anyone do banks with pellets though!
 
Great Thanks!

I placed my order- I went for premium but as far as i can make out the only real difference is the colour. I believe the economy ones are browner in the first place and it was only about £10 difference on 500kg.

Do you just mix new bedding in dry (once the enitial bed it set up)

Am quite looking forward to getting them!
 
What worked for me

(11 x 14 stable, no mats)

14 x 10 kg bags to start, hosed and left overnight, probably too many :) but I panicked that there wasn't enough bed but when I came back the next day it was about a foot deep. Didn't need to take any wet out for 2 weeks so just poo picked and removed any bits of hay.

After that I just took any really wet (red) bits out twice a week and added 2 bags a fortnight. I found it worked better if you added new pellets in quantity IYSWIM. One bag soaked in a wheelbarrow until it was about only 25% of the pellets were left whole, the other bag unsoaked and just tipped in the pee patches. I used about 40 bags in total between December and the end of April last year and they were in a lot because of the bad weather.

If I ever have another stabled horse I wouldn't use anything else, never moved under the horse, so easy to muck out, very economical, tiny muckheap and practically dustfree. I did find that it got a bit whiffy if I didn't remove the very wet bits twice weekly and it sure isn't pretty to look at.
 
I read a good tip on here which really helped laying the bed in the first place..... lay the bags out in the stable and cut each bag diagonally from corner to corner (X). Then add the water to the bags and leave until they expand. Then tip out. I did this with the second stable and it was a lot easier than tipping the dry pellets out and then adding water which I did with the first. I haven't used them for long, but so far so good!
 
Am I the only one that doesn't like them? I found that unless you wet them thoroughly the bits that were still pellets just got tipped out again. If you do soak them then the bed is quite damp which last winter was not good. My boy has arthritis and I want a warm, dry bed!

Everyone on my yard that uses them gives a very thin, small bed - we have good rubber matting but the horses don't look that comfortable lying down. I've gone back to shavings - lovely!!!!! :p:p
 
McNally said:
Also from reading several wood pellet web sites some state that for them to work best the wet should be left in and the bed disturbed as little as possible-
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This is exactly why i dont use them. Regardless of the make, they all work the same. If you leave wet in your horse is stood and sleeping in urine soaked bedding. A haven for bacteria too. :( If you take all the wet out then the bed can be dusty. Even if the bed doesnt feel damp it has moisture in it, thats how the bedding works. I know that a bed isnt sterile but moist wood pellets will have more bacteria than a dry bed.

The economy ones are made from cheaper wood, which can be contaminated with all sorts as it is a by product. Only virgin wood pellets wont have this problem and few pellets are made from thi because of the greater cost.


Pellets were made for burning, it just happens that theyve cottoned on to using it as a bedding. Not suitable though imo
 
Hi,

Just to clear up a couple of issues.

Regarding moisture, the wood chip that goes into wood pellets is very dry, around 5-6%, where as wood shavings have a mositure content of around 20-30%, so even after you have added a bit of water to the pellets they are going to be drier than wood shavings.

The economy pellets are cheaper becuase they will contain a little bit of bark, and hence why they are slightly darker. The reason why bark is an issue, is due to the fact that when your burning the pellets, bark creates more ash then the wood it protects. Modern wood pellet boilers are designed to produce a minimum amount of ash, so the manufacturers always recomend pellets that have no bark, and hence will produce less ash. Premium pellets contain no bark at all, thats why there very light.

If anybody requires any more info, please just call us, we are here to help, and somebody once said we were quite friendly.
 
it is nice to see responses from firms trying to clear up problems, so are the value ones just as safe as bedding as premium ones, thanks
 
This is my third year and I wouldn't use anything else, the horses love them too and lay down lots.
The only thing you must be careful of is to make sure you scrape up all hay that gets into the bedding as that seems to 'mat', hold the moisture and makes it heavy - don't ask me why, I don't know but you'll soon notice a difference if you don't take out any mixed in hay and I know which I prefer. You don't have to be anal about every strand of hay but do get any chunks of it out, you will notice a difference, believe me.

As to banks, any banks need to be solid and at least two foot high (higher for horses) to be anywhere near enough to be effective; most straw and shavings banks are nowhere near high enough anyway but you would need to use an awful lot of pellets to make proper banks.
 
mon said:
it is nice to see responses from firms trying to clear up problems, so are the value ones just as safe as bedding as premium ones, thanks
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Yes, they are safe, we would not be selling them if they werent, we have feelings too!
 
Another vote for wood pellets-I wouldn't use anything else.Quicker to muck out-and I have 3 really dirty horses!-more economical,less space to store and can be stored outside.The horses seem just as happy too which is the major factor,although I do have rubber matting underneath.Agree with Maesfen you must remove stray bits of hay to keep it working properly
 
It was odd to see post about horses not looking comfy, since they lie down on hard damp ground in fields and are quite happy. Mine much prefer the 'forest floor' of wood pellets and they are much cleaner with less disturbed beds, they will also lie down in a bigger variety of locations.

Its a much more stable bed, smells nice, doesnt stick to rugs or horses and really doesnt feel damp.
 
elizabeth1 said:
Another vote for wood pellets-I wouldn't use anything else.Quicker to muck out-and I have 3 really dirty horses!-more economical,less space to store and can be stored outside.The horses seem just as happy too which is the major factor,although I do have rubber matting underneath.Agree with Maesfen you must remove stray bits of hay to keep it working properly
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can you really store them outside, mine say that they must be inside as they must be kept 100% dry.
 
lachlanandmarcus said:
can you really store them outside, mine say that they must be inside as they must be kept 100% dry.
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If you buy them by the palletful, they are in plastic bags and the pallet is sealed with clear plastic so you just need to unravel enough to take the bags you need off; easier if you take a layer at a time too and not just from one corner. Those are certainly possible to store outside although the bags might get a bit wet at times, the insides are dry. When I used the bagged stuff I'd use rubber gloves too, nothing worse than wet gloves!
If you buy by the tonne bag (like a builder's bag) then yes, that needs to be kept under cover (and somewhere a forklift truck can put them too). It stands to sense that if that gets wet, the pellets expand before you need them!
 
lachlanandmarcus said:
It was odd to see post about horses not looking comfy, since they lie down on hard damp ground in fields and are quite happy.
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I always find these comments odd too as our horses are also frequently seen lying down on the rockhard, stony ground in their fields.

I feel the same about people wanting to see their horses "cosy in their pyjamas" ie. stable rugs. in discussions about leaving wet turnouts on overnight (I do as I find they dry better and I'm not taking a warm rug off the horse to be put a cold one on).
 
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