Bedding dilemma!

[Flash_28]

Hi

I require people’s help with bedding here. With winter just round the corner I’m back to trying to find decent bedding for my lot. Tried Megazorb for the 4 I had at this time last year and it really did suit one TB who was really clean on it and stayed put when all 17hh of him laid down on it even though it was not a full size bed as he has rubber mats underneath. Also suited the little pony who wees for England and was on box rest last year due to Lami. She’s the smallest of the lot and the dirtiest! But need help with the other 3 and needing recommendations on bedding to try.

They all have rubber mats but all have different problems.

One is a the new addition and youngster who is just a total dirty sod so need a bed that is quite cheap to replace as he goes through a lot. Obviously needs to be quite absorbent for him aswell. He doesn’t really mix the bed together but just poos everywhere and will then stand in it so you went up taking a lot out.

Second is a pony who does wet quite a bit but has taken to mushing everything together and is a total nightmare on shavings. The bed is rank after one night in it and being a tad OCD it drives me insane. I end up almost replacing the whole bed every day where everything is mixed. If left for a day or so the whole bed is brown and very smelly. Megazorb didn’t seem to stay put for him at all and he is normally a super clean pony. On a full bed of straw before rubber matting he was a doddle to muck out and took 10 mins which included disinfecting his floor every day.

Third is a TB mare who if stressed will box walk and even when she doesn’t box walk is just so dirty anyway. She is even worse than the pony on shavings. Tried sprinkling of shavings over the mats but she will then not wee unless she is really desperate and won’t lie down in her stable so almost falls over in the field attempting to sleep. Tried the megazorb and that was better for the wee but was having to take the wet out every day as she was bringing it to the top. It must be where she was box walking and not allowing the bed to settle. Even then I was still going through about 4-5 bales a week. I have tried deep littering before I had the mats and she still went down to the floor and the bed ended up a big mess meaning weekends were a nightmare with almost a new big bed every week. Last year we moved not long before stabling for winter so the box walking was a big problem but she appears to be much more settled so far this year.

I am unable to have straw as the yard doesn’t allow it due to it not mulching down but I am struggling with shavings as it just leaves the stables minging, smelly and end up with massive puddles of urine under all the mats which then trickle out the front of the stable. Plus the costs of the shavings is getting silly. I am going to ask if I can try cardboard on the dirty 3 as this is cheaper than shavings and the megazorb. I did ask about paper last year but did not really get a yes or no to that. Obviously looking for something cost effective with my tribe of horses but something that is easy to work with really. Not a big fan of the early winter mornings before work esp with 3 rank stables waiting for me every morning. Any ideas would be great or recommendations on bedding as feel I may go a tad insane esp if we have a terrible winter again this year!

 

[Montyforever]

I would put them all on bed-down excel Only about £7 a bale the same size as a shavings bale but goes very far and smells wonderful! Ive found it very absorbent and only have to buy a bale every 2 weeks for my dirty welsh a!

If not straw? I find thats easier for box walkers personally

 

[lachlanandmarcus]

I would try wood pellets as they are cheap to try and they combine well with other bedding (eg hemp, shavings etc). I used mine combined with hemp, altho hemp costs more per bale it goes a lot further than shavings and also doesnt stick to anything.

They dont eat it, its a lot more stable underfoot so box walking not a problem and is very absorbent.

I used to get through 6 bales of shavings a week for my two and they ate straw beds. Now I get through 1 bale of hemp (Aubiose) and two bags of wood pellets (local scottish ones) and they have much nicer bed too

ETA this with rubber mats underneath

 

[Flash_28]

I would put them all on bed-down excel Only about £7 a bale the same size as a shavings bale but goes very far and smells wonderful! Ive found it very absorbent and only have to buy a bale every 2 weeks for my dirty welsh a!

If not straw? I find thats easier for box walkers personally

Thank you Monty. I used to have my 17hher on the Beddown and it does smell lovely! Used to love opening the bales up just to get a wiff of it. I kinda remember it being more absorbant than normal shavings. Just a bit worried it might all get mixed in still. Think I will try one of them on it and just see what happens.

I would love to use straw as it is so much cheaper I can really keep the beds nice and clean and fresh. But the yard won't allow it. Straw was the best for the box walker before as I could just chuck it out and give her clean bed without too much money being spent.

 

[lisab]

Ah the never-ending bedding dilemma. Welcome to my world! (COPD/RAO horse, trying to find dustfree bedding is like looking for rocking horse poo).

I used paper for a long time until I wasn't allowed any more (in my experience, you'll probably have a bit of trouble getting rid of it as the farmers don't like it and your YO will probably say it's too messy blowing around, which to be honest, it is). I was having to bag it up and take it to the allotment every week, which is yet another horrible job to have to do, but the old folks used to come running with their wheelbarrows when they saw us coming - apparently it's like black gold for gardening.

But paper is cheap and I found it very easy to muck out with rubber gloves. I didn't like cardboard because it was all different colours and it was hard to find the poo. Also looked and felt uncomfortable (yes, I did lie down on it to check ).

But if you can get hold of proper Ecobed cardboard bedding, that looked good, but no-one does it round here.

I've been using Aubiose hemp bedding for a good while. It is more expensive than shavings, but it is far more absorbant, so you don't throw so much away. It's a bit like Easibed but soaks the wet up. Don't even bother with Easibed if you have big wee-ers. It soaks up nowt and you get a huge puddle under the door.

Not sure if Aubiose would be suitable for box-walkers though, because it is very pale and you can see every tiny particle of poo and feel obliged to remove every tiny bit. Well I do anyway. So I have started adding the odd bale of shavings to break the surface up a bit so I can't see the tiny bits of poo but the Aubiose keeps the dust down. Works for me.

Shame you can't have straw, as that would be easiest - just chuck it all out every day.

Some of these YOs are funny creatures. At my last yard, I wasn't allowed shavings or Easibed because they apparently don't rot down. And now you're not allowed straw but are allowed shavings because straw doesn't rot down Never mind, keep buying the lottery tickets.

 

[Flash_28]

I would try wood pellets as they are cheap to try and they combine well with other bedding (eg hemp, shavings etc). I used mine combined with hemp, altho hemp costs more per bale it goes a lot further than shavings and also doesnt stick to anything.

They dont eat it, its a lot more stable underfoot so box walking not a problem and is very absorbent.

I used to get through 6 bales of shavings a week for my two and they ate straw beds. Now I get through 1 bale of hemp (Aubiose) and two bags of wood pellets (local scottish ones) and they have much nicer bed too

ETA this with rubber mats underneath

I was very close to trying wood pellets last year for them but quite a few people wanted me to buy 12 bags and worked out at about £80 per stable. As I had just moved yards and had to rent transport and kindly had 2 vet bills to pay at the time aswell my purse was only harbouring moths! Also the one that I was looking at did say that I would need to water the bed. Did confuse me a little and I was worried about how much time it would take to water each bed. It was something like every bag of pellet required so many litres of water. I was also worried that it would be damp for the horses to lay on. With my oldies not the best thing for their creaky joints.

Can I ask why do you combine the hemp bedding with the wood pellets? Do you mix them together or just put the hemp bedding on top?

Ah the never-ending bedding dilemma. Welcome to my world! (COPD/RAO horse, trying to find dustfree bedding is like looking for rocking horse poo).

I used paper for a long time until I wasn't allowed any more (in my experience, you'll probably have a bit of trouble getting rid of it as the farmers don't like it and your YO will probably say it's too messy blowing around, which to be honest, it is). I was having to bag it up and take it to the allotment every week, which is yet another horrible job to have to do, but the old folks used to come running with their wheelbarrows when they saw us coming - apparently it's like black gold for gardening.

But paper is cheap and I found it very easy to muck out with rubber gloves. I didn't like cardboard because it was all different colours and it was hard to find the poo. Also looked and felt uncomfortable (yes, I did lie down on it to check ).

But if you can get hold of proper Ecobed cardboard bedding, that looked good, but no-one does it round here.

I've been using Aubiose hemp bedding for a good while. It is more expensive than shavings, but it is far more absorbant, so you don't throw so much away. It's a bit like Easibed but soaks the wet up. Don't even bother with Easibed if you have big wee-ers. It soaks up nowt and you get a huge puddle under the door.

Not sure if Aubiose would be suitable for box-walkers though, because it is very pale and you can see every tiny particle of poo and feel obliged to remove every tiny bit. Well I do anyway. So I have started adding the odd bale of shavings to break the surface up a bit so I can't see the tiny bits of poo but the Aubiose keeps the dust down. Works for me.

Shame you can't have straw, as that would be easiest - just chuck it all out every day.

Some of these YOs are funny creatures. At my last yard, I wasn't allowed shavings or Easibed because they apparently don't rot down. And now you're not allowed straw but are allowed shavings because straw doesn't rot down Never mind, keep buying the lottery tickets.

Ha ha! Love the rocking horse comment!

I was thinking of just getting the straw and then disposing of it myself. But as I looked into muck heap removal it all got a tad expensive! I wouldn’t know how else to get rid of the straw though.

Locally I have only found 1 horse shop that sells the paper and it is the same price as the shavings. But I did use to look after a racehorse on it and it was so easy to muck out and bales so light to carry. I must be quite lucky then as the cardboard bedding I was looking at is the Ecobed. Guess I could also try that. I have plenty of horses to use as guinea pigs!

Again I have tried the hemp bedding as I was at a yard where you weren’t allowed shavings as they were not biodegradable but could have aubiose. Other than that it was straw. The 17hher is allergic to straw so had to use aubiose for almost 3 years and just didn’t get on with it with him. It always seemed to move around and he always went through to the floor. This is before my rubber mats. Also just didn’t seem to soak up the wet. But then I was having to take the wet out every day as it was just at the surface right in the middle of the stable. Took me so much longer to muck him out aswell.

Still trying to win the lotto! Trust me!

Thanks for everyone’s help so far! Noting everything down!

 

[Flash_28]

Bump!

Or if anyone has any ideas on where I can dispose of straw.