Bedding - how many bales

[MissyRogers]

We have our own yard for the first time. Livery yard owner not being exactly supportive given impending move so hoping someone can help!

Ponies currently on straw - one is the worlds cleanest (literally pee's and poo's on a target), the other is mucky. Yard owner has told me said pony has a smaller bed and they replace it fully each day.

If they were on shavings I know we'd need 6-8 to start then 4/5 bales a week between them so £40/50 roughly a week (been on them before).

Straw is meant to be cheaper but a bale is £30 so if I work on the same basis as shavings it's massively more expensive.... having a confused moment...help!

 

[Pinkvboots]

If your going to chuck out the whole lot daily you need a thin covering on rubber mats not a full thick bed.

Not the way I would like to bed a horse down surely if its your own space your renting how you bed them is up to you not the livery owner?

Why can't you stay on straw?

 

[rara007]

£30 must be a large straw bale?

 

[ElleSkywalker]

When I became responsible for my own muck heap I went from straw to Aquamax. Far smaller muck heap and also good for very mucky wet horses as you take out the worst of the wet and mix the rest in with the dry.

I use a bag a week per horse if they are in, think they are about £8 or a little more per bag if you get a pallet delivered. 4/5 bags of shavings between two a week sounds excessive.

Don't confuse Aquamax with wood pellets however, they don't work in the same way.

 

[Archangel]

I would say straw, especially big bale, is much cheaper than woodshavings.

I have 5 big barley straw @£45 each coming Wednesday. That should just about last until mid April for 2 with very deep beds, thrown to the sides daily.
One horse fine, one horse filthy. I find straw easier if the horse is really dirty.

Exciting to be moving to your own yard.

 

[MissyRogers]

I would say straw, especially big bale, is much cheaper than woodshavings.

I have 5 big barley straw @£45 each coming Wednesday. That should just about last until mid April for 2 with very deep beds, thrown to the sides daily.
One horse fine, one horse filthy. I find straw easier if the horse is really dirty.

Exciting to be moving to your own yard.

Thank you!!! I was thinking 1 big bale, possibly 2 to se the beds up and then 1 a month (we don't have a lot of storage sadly).. then I got myself confused with the cost lol

 

[MissyRogers]

If your going to chuck out the whole lot daily you need a thin covering on rubber mats not a full thick bed.

Not the way I would like to bed a horse down surely if its your own space your renting how you bed them is up to you not the livery owner?

Why can't you stay on straw?

Thank you - the beds have been getting progressively thinner for a while - and no - it's not how I want them hence being very excited about our own place. Just getting my head around the logistics I've done dealt with before.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Thank you!!! I was thinking 1 big bale, possibly 2 to se the beds up and then 1 a month (we don't have a lot of storage sadly).. then I got myself confused with the cost lol

You won't need a whole big bale to set up 2 beds, I wouldn't think. And I like well-covered floors, when ours came in overnight onto earth floors, I used 7 bales of shavings per box.

 

[P.forpony]

Just a side point to bear in mind, I've had messy horses become clean and vice versa on yard moves, and even moves to different stables on the same yard before, so messy horse may improve when you get him home.

I also usually find it counter productive to give less bedding, deep straw gets less messy than thin.
It usually works out about half the price of shavings too

 

[ihatework]

A big bale of straw goes a long way! It will always work out a lot cheaper than shavings.
But some of that will be offset by the size of the muck heap.

 

[Birker2020]

Pellets under shavings.

 

[Roxylola]

I've recently set up a bed on big bales of straw. I used maybe a quarter to third of the bale to set up the bed as a good flat bed in a 11x11 stable. I'd think 1 would set you up for the 2 easily. I put pellets under my straw for the wet and I think he's only getting a half big slice here and there to top up
At a rough guess id say there's more than 10 small bales in one large one so 1 a month should be more than enough

 

[tatty_v]

I use large bale straw and have one clean and one messy (the messy one is also a straw eater - he’s a PITA!) I think I use on average a bale between them every month, and I like fluffy deep beds. I’ve recently been using straw pellets underneath to absorb the wet and that’s been a revelation - beds smell less, stay more dry and use less straw!

 

[MissyRogers]

I use large bale straw and have one clean and one messy (the messy one is also a straw eater - he’s a PITA!) I think I use on average a bale between them every month, and I like fluffy deep beds. I’ve recently been using straw pellets underneath to absorb the wet and that’s been a revelation - beds smell less, stay more dry and use less straw!

Which pellets do you use?

 

[RHM]

I have just started using unibed rape straw, it’s chopped straw and rots down quickly but so easy to muck out. Works out cheaper than shavings for me as it’s £7.50 per bale compared to £9 for shavings at our local bedding stockists.

 

[rextherobber]

Deep litter on Aubiose, works well for both the tidy ones and the not so tidy, and rots down quickly

 

[blitznbobs]

I have 7 horses all
On straw I use a big bale a month (ish) and that is 35 quid… if I had them
On shavings it would be 14 bales a week which is approx 140 quid a week (round figures 600 per month) ie a years straw costs the same as a months shavings

 

[Exasperated]

Straw is MUCH cheaper than shavings! Usually far easier to dispose your muck heap, too, straw quickly rots down into usable manure.
There are different base-crops of straw, variations in quality, also size:
little oblong bales, large round ones, and huge oblong ones (Hestons, which can only be stacked and moved with machinery).
There will be at least 10 small bales worth in a large round one, more in a Heston.
Storage: straw does need protecting from rain, at least a tarpaulin, whereas shavings are in polythene bags. You can arrange regular deliveries of whatever bedding, altho probably work out more per bale for multiple delivery trips (of anything).
Generally horses prefer to roll and lie on straw beds, but they also snack on it! A deep shavings bed can be back breaking to dig out, straw is easier to fork into.
If you also have stable matting, you wouldn’t have the worry of ‘thin’ beds, whichever bedding you choose. Good air flow / ventilation (not draughts) is important in all stables, with all types of bedding.
Very exciting for you, good luck!

 

[Lucky Snowball]

Congratulations on getting your own place. I’d be using straw.

 

[Welly Boot]

If you have the storage, shop around as you'll get better prices buying a pallet of bedding than a handful of bales at a time.