Bedding for very vet horse

[Pixielmh]

Hi all

So I've got my first horse. Shes a 21yo 15.3h mare, she from a rescue and not 100% sure on breed except shes part Tb and maybe part American paint.

Anyway she a very very very big wetter, it's usually in the middle. She has rubber matting which it soaks straight onto ( we want to keep matting) we was using straw untill found out she has possible COPD so I've found wood shavings which seem to be ok with her BUT I'm taking out so much each day of wet and her rug has wet patches on it too.

I'm due to do full stable clean weekend and want to find the cheapest but best way to a very wet horse. Oh n she likes to play hide and seek with her poo lol

 

[PurBee]

Pellets of straw/wood are better absorbing pee than shavings. Miles better.
miscanthus pellets (if you can source any) are even better.

Many use pellets as a base layer, and then have straw/shavings as a top layer - less messy if the horse lays down too.

 

[mavandkaz]

I really rate wood pellets for wet horses. My very wet mare is on them and it works really well. They are very absorbent, and it's so easy to muck out - they form a firm base so the poo just sits on top.
You have to get past the fact that they turn brown, which puts people off.
I have also used them under straw, which works well.

 

[spotty_pony]

Hi all

So I've got my first horse. Shes a 21yo 15.3h mare, she from a rescue and not 100% sure on breed except shes part Tb and maybe part American paint.

Anyway she a very very very big wetter, it's usually in the middle. She has rubber matting which it soaks straight onto ( we want to keep matting) we was using straw untill found out she has possible COPD so I've found wood shavings which seem to be ok with her BUT I'm taking out so much each day of wet and her rug has wet patches on it too.

I'm due to do full stable clean weekend and want to find the cheapest but best way to a very wet horse. Oh n she likes to play hide and seek with her poo lol

i use straw pellets as a base for my very wet gelding, and then I use straw banks and a thin layer of straw over the pellets

 

[ihatework]

Wood pellets under the shavings or straw and I’d strongly recommend a blood test for general parameters + Cushings given her age

 

[Quigleyandme]

You can put a thin sheet like a travel or show sheet over her stable rug to protect it from getting wet and smelly and just wash and dry it once a week or so.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

I used Megazorb as a base with Bedmax shavings on top, a really thick bed, for my very wet mare. When she had a Cushings test it came back positive and she did seem a bit less wet on the Prascend. I would certainly ask for a Cushings test for your mare.

 

[HeyMich]

Wood pellets under the shavings or straw and I’d strongly recommend a blood test for general parameters + Cushings given her age

We recently took on an older mare from a rescue centre who peed a lot, and the cushings test came back positive. She's so much happier in herself now on meds (if you ignore the other problems we have also uncovered!). I'd ask the vet to check if I were you.

And yes, pellets of some kind. We're just about to trial Concord straw pellets, so I'll come back in a week or so to update you all!

 

[Gloi]

I'd want an abnormally wet horse of that age tested for Cushing's. If she has and it is medicated you may no longer have a wet horse.

 

[QueenT]

Hi all

So I've got my first horse. Shes a 21yo 15.3h mare, she from a rescue and not 100% sure on breed except shes part Tb and maybe part American paint.

Anyway she a very very very big wetter, it's usually in the middle. She has rubber matting which it soaks straight onto ( we want to keep matting) we was using straw untill found out she has possible COPD so I've found wood shavings which seem to be ok with her BUT I'm taking out so much each day of wet and her rug has wet patches on it too.

I'm due to do full stable clean weekend and want to find the cheapest but best way to a very wet horse. Oh n she likes to play hide and seek with her poo lol

My very wet mare is on rubber matting (the big tiles with air canals underneath) and wood pellets. Never soggy now!

 

[Pixielmh]

Thankyou everyone, I'm due vet out next Thursday so will give them a call in morning and see if that can be done when they come or earlier date.

Are there any other symptoms I should be looking for?

 

[HeyMich]

Yes, cushings has a whole range of symptoms, but they may show some of them or none at all - the usual ones are a thick, curly coat that they hold on to longer than normal, general lethargy, skin conditions such as rain scald, recurrent hoof abscesses, excess drinking (and therefore peeing), sweating and not being able to control their temperature. I'm sure there are others too. The vet will likely take bloods and advise accordingly. Good luck xx

 

[Gloi]

Yes, cushings has a whole range of symptoms, but they may show some of them or none at all - the usual ones are a thick, curly coat that they hold on to longer than normal, general lethargy, skin conditions such as rain scald, recurrent hoof abscesses, excess drinking (and therefore peeing), sweating and not being able to control their temperature. I'm sure there are others too. The vet will likely take bloods and advise accordingly. Good luck xx

The earliest signs with ours were stopping for a wee while on a ride, sweating very easily and being susceptible to rain rash. All went away pretty quickly once treated.

 

[ownedbyaconnie]

Mine is wet and likes to trample so she has a 1/4 bag of wood pellets down in her "pee corner" with an otherwise normal shavings bed. I then take poo out every day and then full muck taking out the wet, putting down new pellets etc once a weekend. Before doing this I was using 2 bags of shavings a week and her bed was still gross. Now I use a bag every 10 days/2 weeks as I literally don't take anything out except poo.

 

[Flicker]

You can put a thin sheet like a travel or show sheet over her stable rug to protect it from getting wet and smelly and just wash and dry it once a week or so.

Yes, I generally pop an old rain sheet over stable rugs on wet horses. Especially on colder nights when I use heavier rugs - pee-soaked heavy stable rugs are no fun for me or the horse!