Aubiose

[poiuytrewq]

I’m wondering about the quality of straw this year, I can’t see it being great the way things are right now, certainly in my area.

Looking at bedding stocked locally the prices have gone up so much since I last bought any.
Aubiose now looks far more comparable price wise to shavings, I used to think it was really expensive but seems to have increased in price less than other packed beddings.

I’ve never used it. I have a biggish stable and a very clean horse.
He’s out every day all winter.
Would this be a good option? How many bales would I be looking at weekly?
I assume it’s one that needs a good thick base, do you chuck it all up and dig over daily?
Lastly what actually is it? I’m not allowed wood products on my muck heap, pretty sure it’s not!

 

[meleeka]

If you’ve got a clean horse it’s very economical and you probably would be unlucky to use one bale a week. It works best as a semi deep littered with the wet taken out weekly. It doesn’t move around like shavings so doesn’t get mixed up with dung as much. If you like a fluffy bed it’s probably not for you, but it is very easy to manage.

 

[Btomkins]

Just started using it myself and liking it so far. It’s made of hemp.

They advise on the bag to put a good thick base down and leave the wet until it turns red. Take out poop daily. Very quick to sort and no smell at all.

ETA - I’d imagine you’d use no more than a bale a week if your horse is clean. I haven’t even used that yet.

 

[poiuytrewq]

Sounds hopeful!
I’m not worried about a fluffy looking bed no.
I wonder how many I’d need to bed up first, I suppose that might be the expensive bit.
I’d maybe put the ponies on it aswell but the one is really quite minging and I think he’d cost too much. The other should be ok.

 

[poiuytrewq]

Hemp is….. linseed straw??
I’ll Google it!

 

[Surbie]

Hemp is in the cannabis family but has none of the recreational effects. It's nearly as fast a grower as bamboo and is used a lot for clothing/materials. It rots down very quickly.

 

[poiuytrewq]

Hemp is in the cannabis family but has none of the recreational effects. It's nearly as fast a grower as bamboo and is used a lot for clothing/materials. It rots down very quickly.

I just googled and decided there must be a different kind of hemp
As well, either way it’s not wood based so I’m allowed to use it which is good!

 

[Hobo2]

Love it spend at the beginning to save the rest of the winter. It does need a little sprinkle of water when you start the bed new to help set it . It feels wrong doing it but it works.
I have huge stables 20 by 20 so can not advise on how many you need to start it . I only dig out the wet once a year at the start of the winter .
I couldn’t use anything else.

 

[SEL]

I've used it for a few years and it's great with my very wet one. I practically deep litter over winter so reduce the time mucking out. Also rots down quickly on the muck heap.

 

[motherof2beasts!]

I love it , very soggy gelding but I just take the wet patch out once a week. The pee patch is always in same place so only take out a little. I use a bale a week but was using 3/4 shavings !

 

[Dontforgetaboutme]

I used for very tidy mare who tended to pee one side of bed. Works best semi deep litter avoiding disturbing the wet until weekly lift of bed. Quick to skip & tidy in the week & satisfying to lift and reset at weekend though pee patch stunk! Only would get wheelbarrow of pee out a week. I found keeping it deeper locked pee under layer of clean so didn’t smell till lifted. Speedskip to get all the bits of poo out. Found it easier to muck out than shavings. In a 14 x 10 bed I’d put 5 in with banks and then maybe 6 a month in winter, much less when they were out longer. Another plus is hay doesn’t get as mixed in. Only negative is rats & mice love nesting in it so getting pallet can be problematic if no yard cat

 

[Jambarissa]

I do like it but was using loads when I treated it like shavings - looking for wet patches each day and a full muck 8ut each week.

The actual instructions are to ignore wet patches because they are capable of absorbing a lot more when they're wet and to only remove when they turn red. It actually says to stamp down any wet bits and re-cover until redder. Sounded awful but I did as it said and finally was on one a week.

However, wood pellets prices have fallen again and they're my favourite. I like a base of pellets with a top layer of large flake shavings. This means the top stays dry whilst the base soaks up. It keeps the dust down too.

 

[Domirati]

I use Pure Green from Mole Valley, cheaper and prefer it to Aubiose. More absorbent

 

[Nudibranch]

I like Aubiose, it's very absorbent. Having said that the last bale I bought from Wynnstay was £12 which seems a lot! It was all they had at the time. I now only use it for the trailer and for poultry growers as the goats can access the horses shelter, so it's rubber mats only (goat poo is not easy to sift out!). I might set up a bed in one of the stables for winter, in which case I'll probably use Aubiose as it'll just be for bringing in pre-ride.

 

[poiuytrewq]

Sounds like it would be a really good move then.

Those of you that leave the wet all winter, how deep do you keep the bed to do that?

The weekly mucked outers, do you just dig the wet patch or do you turn the whole bed over weekly?

Jambarrisa, I think it’s hard changing isn’t it! It’s natural to want to dig the wet out.
I find it hard if I’m mucking out for someone else and they say leave the wet!
I quite like wood pellets but am not allowed to use them sadly.

 

[poiuytrewq]

I use Pure Green from Mole Valley, cheaper and prefer it to Aubiose. More absorbent

I’ve used that before, is it similar? I did one winter use Aubiflax which I loved but was the only person who purchased it *proven by each time I bought the packaging had faded Mir red and gone greener so when I’d bought all their stock they never got it in again.

 

[Ratface]

I used it many years ago with a very messy just-gelded 14.1hh Arabian. I found it very economical, comfortable for the pony, and easy to keep clean and tidy.

 

[meleeka]

Sounds like it would be a really good move then.

Those of you that leave the wet all winter, how deep do you keep the bed to do that?

The weekly mucked outers, do you just dig the wet patch or do you turn the whole bed over weekly?

Jambarrisa, I think it’s hard changing isn’t it! It’s natural to want to dig the wet out.
I find it hard if I’m mucking out for someone else and they say leave the wet!
I quite like wood pellets but am not allowed to use them sadly.

When I used it I forked up the whole bed each week, but I had a filthy gelding who used to mash his dung into the bed. If it were a clean horse I’d just dig the wet out weekly.

 

[poiuytrewq]

I’m in!!
Rarely do you ONLY get good reviews on something!

 

[marmalade88]

Sounds like it would be a really good move then.

Those of you that leave the wet all winter, how deep do you keep the bed to do that?

The weekly mucked outers, do you just dig the wet patch or do you turn the whole bed over weekly?

Jambarrisa, I think it’s hard changing isn’t it! It’s natural to want to dig the wet out.
I find it hard if I’m mucking out for someone else and they say leave the wet!
I quite like wood pellets but am not allowed to use them sadly.

I use miscanthus in the same way and only take the wet out weekly and a bale in a week for a filthy wet gelding. I turn the whole bed over weekly. It’s surprising when you turn the banks how much the bedding compacts down over the week so it’s worth doing the entire bed.