Keltic
Well-Known Member
Does anyone use this? Is it any good, ive got rubber matting and straw at the moment but been looking at this. Any thoughts?
Aquamax Bedding
- Thread starter Keltic
- Start date
3Beasties
Well-Known Member
Stick to Straw ........Far Cheaper!
Sorry not much help am I! Never used AquaMax but was using shavings with my rubber matting and recently gone back to straw which I think is a lot easier to deal with.
Sorry not much help am I! Never used AquaMax but was using shavings with my rubber matting and recently gone back to straw which I think is a lot easier to deal with.
RachelB
Well-Known Member
Quick to muck out, but very very dusty in summer. I wouldn't use it for my horse as she has respiratory problems.
ajb123
Well-Known Member
Now just finished my 1st month using this with an extremely mucky mare! Overall would give the following comments and pointers:
1. Do be generous putting the bed down - I thought I would scrimp and only put down 4 bags but you do need the 8 they recommend.
2. Get the proper fork for mucking out - otherwise you get lots of little tiny bits of poo left in the bed (v. little bits but I hate them with a vengence!!)
3. It really is mega mega absorbent - am only taking out half a wheelbarrow instead of at least 1 overflowing w/barrow daily!
Overall I do like it but you dont land up with a "nice" looking bed if you know what I mean. I like to see a big bed with lovely banks and you just dont get a bed like that with it. Also I dont think it saves much in the way of time - but having said that this mare is so disgustingly mucky any bedding she is on takes an age to muck out!!
1. Do be generous putting the bed down - I thought I would scrimp and only put down 4 bags but you do need the 8 they recommend.
2. Get the proper fork for mucking out - otherwise you get lots of little tiny bits of poo left in the bed (v. little bits but I hate them with a vengence!!)
3. It really is mega mega absorbent - am only taking out half a wheelbarrow instead of at least 1 overflowing w/barrow daily!
Overall I do like it but you dont land up with a "nice" looking bed if you know what I mean. I like to see a big bed with lovely banks and you just dont get a bed like that with it. Also I dont think it saves much in the way of time - but having said that this mare is so disgustingly mucky any bedding she is on takes an age to muck out!!
LankyDoodle
Well-Known Member
I LOVE the flippin stuff. My bed stays looking ok and I have a really really messy, wet gelding.
Some people say it soaks the moisture out of the poos and they break up, but I find that by using the proper fork it really is not a problem and they stay sat neatly on top usually anyway!
It does save me time in some ways, but because you have to take the solid out each day, which includes bits where the wet cannot be soaked up anymore because it has reached maximum absorbancy, you can't really deep litter the stuff. Deep littering (which we did back in a time when we didn't know how to use it properly) results in a real mess and wrecks all the bedding because what wet is left in there will break the rest of the pellets down too soon, so you don't get maximum use from them.
What I do is every day I take out the solid wet and the poo and because he's on mats he only has a half bed with tiny banks. I then use my feet to mix what bedding is left in together like you are supposed to do - this means that the older bedding continues to be mixed with newer stuff and you get better use, although George tends to wee in one large area so I make sure plenty of newer stuff is there. That's it. He's in at night and it takes me about 15 minutes to muck out, taking out the solid wet and poos and then sweeping it all up and mixing around. I take about 1/4 of a small barrow out each day (and he really is a messy gelding), and I replace with about one bag a week. Sometimes I'll put half a bag in mid-week and the other half at the weekends; other times I might sprinkle some in on a day where I seem to have taken a lot out; but mainly I just put the bag in at the weekend. His bed is amazing.
I've tried him on loads of beddings and this is by far the best. You do have to know how to muck it out properly, though, because if you don't then you might be left feeling like it's crap bedding.
Some people say it soaks the moisture out of the poos and they break up, but I find that by using the proper fork it really is not a problem and they stay sat neatly on top usually anyway!
It does save me time in some ways, but because you have to take the solid out each day, which includes bits where the wet cannot be soaked up anymore because it has reached maximum absorbancy, you can't really deep litter the stuff. Deep littering (which we did back in a time when we didn't know how to use it properly) results in a real mess and wrecks all the bedding because what wet is left in there will break the rest of the pellets down too soon, so you don't get maximum use from them.
What I do is every day I take out the solid wet and the poo and because he's on mats he only has a half bed with tiny banks. I then use my feet to mix what bedding is left in together like you are supposed to do - this means that the older bedding continues to be mixed with newer stuff and you get better use, although George tends to wee in one large area so I make sure plenty of newer stuff is there. That's it. He's in at night and it takes me about 15 minutes to muck out, taking out the solid wet and poos and then sweeping it all up and mixing around. I take about 1/4 of a small barrow out each day (and he really is a messy gelding), and I replace with about one bag a week. Sometimes I'll put half a bag in mid-week and the other half at the weekends; other times I might sprinkle some in on a day where I seem to have taken a lot out; but mainly I just put the bag in at the weekend. His bed is amazing.
I've tried him on loads of beddings and this is by far the best. You do have to know how to muck it out properly, though, because if you don't then you might be left feeling like it's crap bedding.
embonaught
Well-Known Member
I use it with my very wet mare and am pretty pleased to be honest. I put in two bags every fortnight (seems to work better). When I've just put the bags in, I spend the first week just taking out the poo. Then, during the second week, I take out the 'piss pancakes' that have formed in the usual places.
In the summer, you really need to take out the whole bed if they're out - it becomes dusty because there's no moisture and the product breaks down - hence the dust. Over winter, it's fab.
In the summer, you really need to take out the whole bed if they're out - it becomes dusty because there's no moisture and the product breaks down - hence the dust. Over winter, it's fab.
angiebaby
Well-Known Member
I picked some up for a friend this morning; I did chuckle when I saw how small the bags were!
The owner of the store told me he uses cat litter for his horses; exactly the same stuff ( just a smaller bits) comes in larger bags and is cheaper.
Any one else use cat litter?!!
The owner of the store told me he uses cat litter for his horses; exactly the same stuff ( just a smaller bits) comes in larger bags and is cheaper.
Any one else use cat litter?!!
LankyDoodle
Well-Known Member
Hehe. Yes the bags are small because they are little pellets. When you first set up the bed the pellets multiply in size about 10 times before they compact and need taking out.
ernikins
Well-Known Member
Have you thought about trying nedz advance? it is similar looking pellets but you don't have to water them and they aren't at all dusty, very very absorbent.