Bedding for foaling

I have never used chopped straw but i presume it is very fine and almost dusty.it sounds like it would get everywhere including the mares reproductive track while the foals backlegs are still inside her,probaby get into eyes and ears of mare and foal.Can you not get "normal straw"?I tend to foal out if the weather is good but use normal straw for early foalings.Hope you find the right solution and good luck with the foaling.
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Its not a problem using straw, I just wondered, as I already use dustless chopped straw, whether it would be suitable, but it sounds like it wont be. Thanks for reply.
 
Normal straw and plenty of it. Not chopped the foal may inhale easier, and especially if the foal is slow to get going the reflex may not be there to get it out! And defo not shavings. Foaling out> ok if dry and warm, but risky in my experience.
 
We foal down on chopped straw, have done for years and swear by it. I beleive all chapped straw on the market is dust extracted and we have certainly never had problems with it getting into the eyes and ears of the foals let alone into the mares reproductive track!

The main pluses are

Foaling beds can be kept spotless prior to foaling.
Mares disturb their beds a lot on the hour/s running up to actually having the foal and with chopped straw they dont seem to get so many bare floor patches with mountains of straw in other areas
Once you have a foal, soiled areas can be removed without disturbing the whole bed.
Foalie can walk so much easier ON chopped straw compared with walking IN long normal straw and getting around its legs.

All personal preferance but I would swap back on choice
 
I use normal straw but, in agreement with Dalcotes, find that especially with a weak foal, getting up and walking through a deep bed can be hard.

The only chopped stuff I ever tried was Dixons Dustless and a biger misnomer than 'dustless'would be hard to find.

What works for me as mare gets really close is to lift the bed and spread Aubiose type as a base layer, damping it down as you would with a normal bed of it, then replace the top layer of bedding.

This makes a firm base that is very absorbent, and helped me with a foal that had a protracted birth and was shell shocked for want of a better word, and he couldn't get himself up on a normal bed (with rubber mats underneath). Once I used the Aubiose he got himself up without assistance and problem and sleepless nights solved.
 
Thanks for the comments.

It is dixons dustless that I use, I find it absorbant and easy to muck out. I have rubber mats down in all my stables, but still do quite a thick bed over the back half, for foaling I will go for a complete full bed.

If needed I could use "normal" straw, but if chopped straw won't cause the foal and mare any problems then I'd rather stick with that, it will save me hunting around and buying in bales of straw just for this occasion.
 
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