bedding again-cardboard this time, advice please:

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Prince33Sp4rkle

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for those who use cardboard, is it best semi deep littered or with wet out every day?

currently use arden wood shavings and take the worst wet out every day (we have to leave some damp in and mix it through or the beds are insanely dusty, as they boys are so tidy). They have 3/4 thickness beds on mats, and use 1 bale of shavings or just under, a week, each.

would the same method (all wet out though) work for 3/4 thickness cardboard beds on mats? want to cut down on the dust but think CS will eat hemp/flax based beds as he is a piggy!

whats the best way to muck out a cardboard bed, pitchfork?marigolds?shovel? i assume shavings forks no good?

we buy in bulk (2 years worth at a time) so want to get this right!


the other messy g*t is staying on shavings, as he is too grim for anything else, paper would be like papier mache, and hemp would end up like a churned up compost pit!

cant have straw as only a small muck heap, paper would be a nightmare blowing away (am assuming cardboard much better on the blowing away front?)


thanks!!!!!
 
I used the cardboard squares - Ecobed?Ecobale I think it was called? To be honest I didn't get on with it that well. When you deep litter it gets very soggy and heavy so I would take out the wet daily but I found that the bed wasn't very stable and moved about a lot. I used a shavings fork and that worked well for mucking out.

The bedding I really like is the chopped rape straw, Rappazorb? It's scented with citronella which means my greedy boy won't eat it.
P x
 
Not used cardboard but have heard they do get heavy when wet. You could try wood pellets. I use them and think there fab, wouldn't use anything else now. If you buy in bulk (i get 1 or 2 pallets at a time) they work out cheap too.
 
I haven't used cardboard but did investigate pro's & cons last year. The general thinking seemed to be that it became very heavy when wet & went mouldy & smelly.

Therefore I didn't go for it!
 
thanks all.

i wont use wood pellets as it will just break down to dust in the 2 tidy stables.

cardboard seems a no go then as both NMT and I have bad backs so anything that gets very heavy is a no go.

thinking about safemix from Arden as they have quoted a good price for 480 bales delivered-anyone any reviews of safemix for either VERY dry horses, or VERY wet horses? (we have one of each!)
 
I use cardboard, I shred it myself using an industrial shredder. We do a half bed on rubber mats and take the poo and wee out daily, the cardboard absorbs realy well so the wee patch remains isolated and you only take out what you need. Cant comment on what it would be like deep or semi deep littered, I would imagine it would get heavy. But for our purposes it is very clean, non dusty (important as we have one with COPD), easy to muck out and rots down quickly too.
 
bums, really cant have something dusty :(

magicmillbrook-have you got anything REALLY revolting on that system? would be taking all the wet out daily and CS/Fig are super tidy, its just bruce i worry about, would he end up mulching it all together every night??????
 
I've had mine on box rest on a 2 inch half bed of cardboard. Its been really good dust wise -completely dust free - and I think I prob added 1/3 of a bag a day to top up with to keep it nice and fresh taking out all the wet/poo/hay every day. I don't have a hay bar, and won't use nets so he tends to mix the hay in his bed too which is helpful - I need a haybar before long!

There are special forks you can get for cardboard - wider pronged than a shavings fork, but as mine has been a temporary measure (well, its been almost 4 months now!) I have just used a poo picker and then brushed out the wet underneath. It certainly hasn't gone mouldy in the stable, although my grey who is a filthy pig has had some pretty disgusting decoration by morning, another slight issue (perhaps) is that every so often some of the bed isn't entirely colour safe, but for mine I think an odd tinge of blue or pink every so often just added to the poo stains ;) I am growing an interesting crop of mushrooms on the muck heap too, some really weird ones!

I get mine from these guys, local to me but might give you an idea

http://www.walmsleypremierbed.co.uk/
 
I cant go anywhere dusty as i suffer from asthma, but i dont find the wood pellets dusty at all if used correctly. A lot of people don't keep it damp enough so it still absorbs the wet without drying out. Yes if you leave it to dry out completly it will eventually turn dusty. But used correctly they are fab.
 
No hugely heavy, but then I don't do a big thick bed really as I know he just wastes it! I have never used shavings with him (straw before) so can't compare, sorry! :)
 
What about soft chip shavings? They are my favourite for my clean boy, he's out mostly at the moment but when he comes in for the odd night his bed is still dust free.

They might suit Bruce as well as they make a bit of a firmer base than standard shavings so even when mine has box walked his bed is still reasonable.

Hate cardboard personally. But have only used it on horses that aren't mucked out very well and the whole thing becomes a damp mess within a day. Plus it's really heavy.
 
I used shredded cardboard at a yard where both my horse and the YO had very bad COPD so everything had to be dust free.

I found that the beds seemed to go from nice and deep and fluffy to thin and flat very quickly, no matter how much bedding we used.

It wasn't particularly heavy to muck out ( we all had bad backs too!) but it wasn't quick to do either as the poo seemed to blend in with the cardboard and wasn't easy to spot.

I feel fairly neutral about it really, I would use it again but it probably wouldn't be top of my list.

I think you need to try a few bales/bags before you commit yourself to a large delivery, you might find you hate it and have a barn full to use up!
 
I love using cardboard bedding and don't find it heavy or smelly. However I take the wet out everyday. It is very absorbant so the wet is confined to a small area which I take out with a shovel and then fill in the hole by scraping the bedding into it. I poo pick first with gloves and a bucket and then take the wet out. Once a week and turn the bed over. I use about 2 bales a week for my wet mare and about 3 bales a fornight for my gelding. My stables are quite big too.
The best bit about it is that it does not set off my asthma, whereas straw, shavings, aubiose etc does. So I figure that it must be totally dust free not to set me off!
 
I always advocate eco comfybed for people asking about bedding on here. Cheap, dust free and really easy to muck out. give them a buzz
 
Bill tends to wee right in the middle and is often a bit loose, so we have to take more out for him, but I think I would have to take a lot out whatever he was on.
 
hmmm, really mixed reviews then!

the arden stuff i use currently is softwood and still eventually breaks down to dust :(

have asked people for a quote for a 3 month trial and then for 2 years worth as yes dont want to be stuck with a load of stuff we dont like!

thanks, keep the reviews coming :)
 
I've used it in the past, it was ok but not the best tbh. It does clump together and the droppings drop through it so you have to root for them. Overall it's cheap and just ok but I much prefer shavings or pellets.
 
I've replyed on your other post but i currently use Mendip woodchip, sort of a cross between bedmax and little max. Find they dont break down nearly as quickly as normal woodchip. I think with all wood chip you end up with that fine layer, annoys me to be honest but i sometimes think it is worse because he is really clean.
 
I have the whole yard on Laysoft, which is a bit like Easybed, only better and cheaper. I have a host of allergies and can't do dust at all, this bedding suits me well. It works best for me deep littered, but is doable with the wet removed every day.
 
I used Ecobed cardboard bedding for my previous horse and loved it. My cats loved it too which told me a lot - it was warm and dry. They hated Aubiose and so did I, plus horse ate it even when sprayed with disinfectant etc. I used the cardboard on top of rubber mats and would skip out the droppings 3 times a day. I took the obvious wet patches out each day but did not disturb the whole bed until the weekend when I had more time. Once I got used to it, I had no problems. I have a bad back and so does my Mum and we both had no problems with the bed. During a horrid thunderstorm when I got stuck at the stable, I spent a couple of hours sitting on it while listening to rowing and judo from the Australian Olympics and found it very comfortable! I bought 2 year's supply after I had trailed it one winter. Hope that helps!
 
vam do you know which cardbord you used?

have had several quotes back now, all comparable to the quote from Arden for a full artic load of 480 bales, so really have just got to decide which to go for now.
 
As its such a big decision could you not take the pressure off yourself by buying a couple of bags of various bedding to see how dusty they are

I do like Megazorb, its a bit dusty but not awful - expensive though :(

Or how about one of the beddings that look like flax but are harder such as Softchip/Softbed Softchip
 
WelshD said:
As its such a big decision could you not take the pressure off yourself by buying a couple of bags of various bedding to see how dusty they are

I do like Megazorb, its a bit dusty but not awful - expensive though :(

Or how about one of the beddings that look like flax but are harder such as Softchip/Softbed Softchip
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sadly ill only know how much they are going to break down, 6 months down the line :( its not the initial dust im toooo worried about, its the fact that now its all turned to dust and everything is constantly covered in a fine yellow layer of dust, waters are dusty as soon as a horse rolls or moves, horses and rugs covered etc. never had it happen before but i guess because the 2 TB's are so dry and tidy, theres very little moisture retained. short of taking out the entire bed and dumping it, which would be very £££££, not sure what to do.

still leaning towards cardboard.........
 
I've used cardboard for a couple of years now, with a bad back. I have half sized beds on rubber, about 6" thick, skip out two or three times a day and take the wet out once a week. Its worked well for me.....
 
Hi I have used cardboard as my lad has a dust allergy. It is deffinately the best for low dust but found it hard to work with as very heavy when wet and seemed to need a lot more of it to keep a decent bed - even on mats. I have been using Bliss Eucaliptus for ages now and really like it. Very easy to muck out, even for a messy cob and is good dust wise too.
 
I use Ecobed. Ben has about 5 bales ontop of matting; I take out poo with gloves first, then take out wet everday with shavings fork. Its very quick and easy. I put in about 3 bales a month, wouldn't use anything else now :)
 
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