Bedding change - what to go for?

[Noodlejaffa]

Various things:

Our big lad has COPD and although previously stabled on shavings, he doesn't seem to be coping with the dust as well as he used to. He also pees for Scotland!

I have a youngster who is the messiest horse I've ever had - it's lucky dip time everytime it comes to skipping/mucking out

But to make up for those two, I have an exceedingly clean, neat and tidy (and grey!) horse who is an angel in the stable.

Anyway, I've decided that I'd like to try them on something else other than shavings. Can't do rubber matting and can't do straw. So, what should I go for? Wondered about Aquamax, Bedmax or Cushionbed. Everything seems to claim the same thing - less dust, less mucking out, less bags required, less cost overall.

Help! Anyone advise me as to what I should try?

 

[Tempi]

friend uses bedmax, i was going to use it but too expensive and Bloss is messy too, so wouldve got through loads of it.

i use dust extracted shavings for Bloss, she has a dust allergy too, but these are fine, she gets through one bale a week and has equimat rubber matting aswell so just a little bit of shavings to sleep on - rubber mats are so much easier!!!!!!!

 

[Ginn]

Does he have to be stabled at all? Would it be possible to errect some sort of filed shelter for him so that he has as much access to fresh air and as little exposure to dust as possible? I know its not ideal and not everyone has the facilities to do this but if you do it may be worth a try.

 

[Noodlejaffa]

Unfortunately, due to a number of factors, he does have to be stabled so that's not an option.

 

[evsj]

I can highly recommend Bedmax. Just changed my girl onto it after moving to a new yard with a much smaller box. Normally I am a die-hard straw lover but she was making such a mess (and scoffing it) that I had to try something else. I don't like shavings - being dust extracted didn't stop her coughing. I tried Bedmax cos of the big flake and I pay 5.50 a bale which is reasonable. I use a bale per week and I am impressed at how dry the surface seems to be. The big flakes are less likely to be inhaled, stuck in tail etc.

 

[Nari]

I use Bedmax & pay £5 a bale delivered to my yard. I semi-deep litter, taking out wet maybe twice a week (when it gets near the top) & turning the whole bed over when I do. I find it doesn't get as dusty as normal shaving, makes a comfortable bed & is light to work & handle. I keep a deep bed (about 8" with banks deeper) & usually use a couple of bales a week per stable which is the same as when I used normal shavings.

Some people on my yard use Aquamax. They were very pleased with it in the winter but in the hot weather we had recently it became incredibly dusty even when watered every day.

 

[meandmyself]

Try Equisorb. I really like it- absorbs very well, not dusty, and is really easy to handle.

 

[Alex_kate]

i use diced newspaper, find it the easiest. i have equimats but also have to have quite a big bed otherwise the pee goes under the mats then if u tread on the crack it spurts up!! not nice!

 

[mandy4727]

We have just gone onto Nedzbed for our horses. It is dust exracted chopped up straw. No dust all. Sprayed with citronella and eucalyptus so they don't eat it. £4.70 a bale and only need a bale a week. But if you order a certain number is goes down to £4.30 a bale. Smells great in the stable. Not as heavy to work with as shavings. But with a really messy horse who walks around a lot, hard to find the poos. But for a horse that doesn' walk around and all the poos are in one place it is great. Muck it out like shavings cos it is absorbant aswell. I was on shavings and didn't want to throw my bed away. So put the shavings as bankings and the nedzbed in the centre. They have their own website too. would say really that 1.5 - 2 bales a week looks a lot better. But it doesn't feel damp or wet when you touch it.

 

[Nic]

Not recomendations, but the opposite.

We found Bedmax very unabsorbant & lost a pony to impaction colic from eating a Hemp type bedding.

 

[icestationzebra]

Contact mrussell on here. She has recommended a shredded cardboard bedding to me which I am going to try once I move my horse when we move house. I was looking for a cheaper more absorbant bedding that shavings and this stuff sounds pretty good. Am also fed up of picking shavings out of her tail and rugs!

 

[faerie666]

Hi there,
we use easibed on our yard for our point-to-pointers. It's dust free, they don't eat it as it's quite coarse, and it's great for really dirty horses as well as it doesn't move too much when they walk round the stable. We have rubber mats with thinnish beds, but it actaully works even better with a really deep bed. I use on average 2 bales a week per horse. See http://www.easibed4animals.com/ for more details. Cheers.