Bedding Question....

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JenHunt

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I've been using wood pellets for about 3 years now - quite like them really, they're convenient, economical and effective, but they're not the nicest looking once the mucky one has mulched it all about for a night.:( however hard I try it looks like I don't muck him out, whereas Ron's bed looks spotless....

Question is do I go for Verdo Wood Pellets at £290 per pallet (66x15kg bags) and put up with the grubby look, or do I try straw pellets (at £297 per 66x15kg bags) or miscanthus pellets (at £328 per pallet of 66x 15kg bags)?

has anyone used straw or miscanthus pellets? and how did it work out for you? have you used wood pellets and how did they compare?
 
Why pay £290/tonne for a dark, not very absorbent pellet??

There are lots of lighter, better, cheaper pellets out there ;)
 
we use straw pellets and have found them much more absorbent than wood pellets...which are just so hard. There big advantage is that you do not need water them as they are made softer. They are darker but not an issue for us.
We have also tried miscanthus pellets which are a light colour with similar absorbency
 
I've been wondering similar tbh. I currently use verdo (think that's the correct name!) and have established pellets are a good choice for me as my stable tends to get a bit damp in the rain which is perfect as it saves watering them! Next I want better preferably paler pellets.
 
i tried stovies pellets, then verdo. changed back to shavings as i deep litter and horses and rugs were coming out stinking of pee every day,. spoke to shop who supplied them (owner had won a competition so was using verdo also and she said the same, smelly. easier to muck out but they didnt work for me i am afraid :(
 
JenHunt said:
straw pellets (at £297 per 66x15kg bags) or miscanthus pellets (at £328 per pallet of 66x 15kg bags)?

has anyone used straw or miscanthus pellets? and how did it work out for you? have you used wood pellets and how did they compare?
Click to expand...

Hi,
Where can you get the miscanthus pellets? I've not seen those.

From my experience the Straw pellets are a lot darker than the wood pellets
 
Have used straw pellets but found they still end up with the same grubby look after a while but they do seem to 'fluff up' easier. I have found the best mix is Verdo Wood Pellets with a bale of shavings every week. This makes the pellets more absorbent, makes a bigger bed and helps to keep it looking cleaner and lighter in colour. :)
 
Personally I wouldn't use Verdo pellets again - I got some as they were half the price of the 5* ones I was using, but I got through twice as many, they were much darker, and much less absorbent - I was having to take a lot of wet out every day as it was coming straight to the surface and spreading; cue wee smelling rugs...

The stable next to me uses straw pellets from pelletbedding, and they are darker, and don't seem to make a firm bed - the horse doesn't really boxwalk etc, but the bed is always everywhere in the morning...

I have looked at the miscanthus pellets a few times, and loved chopped miscanthus for deep littering, but it's a lot more expensive than any of the wood pellets stocked near me.
 
I use miscanthus but not the pellets. Once set up I skip out daily and then take all wet out every other weekend but put fresh bale in weekly. Horse is in 18 hours overnight and bed always looks clean and light coloured. So £42 to set up then £7 a week for 6" bed over 12x10 area
 
I have recently got some Corlery bio wood pellets and I put them where he wee's. then cover with shavings.
bed isn't a nice as a lovely clean shavings bed, but then he rarely had a nice bed for long as he is so mucky

I don't think I will use the pellets on their own as like the fluffy shavings
 
the chopped miscanthus would work out more expensive for us then - at the moment we only top up with two or three 15kg bag of wood pellets a week (1 or 2 per horse).

I just can't work out whether the pelleted miscanthus is worth a gamble for the extra money! :confused:
 
Hi, try straw pellets, much cheaper i pay £95 per half tonne, look up straw pellets ltd in south somercoates lincolnshire, much cheaper than everyone else.
 
2 bags Pellets verses 1 bag chopped Miscanthus I mean. Really is joy to muck out. Wouldn't go back to shavings and pellet seem enormous faff to me.
 
Like OP, I'm on my 3rd year of using wood pellets over rubber mats as I think they're brilliant but this year, I think although the horses have been no wetter/messier than other years, it must be because it's been so damp for ages that the beds have been a disaster unless I've used at least 3 15kg bags which makes them more expensive than shavings. I love the ease of mucking them out, the smaller muck heaps and so on but I'm changing over to Probale or chopped straw for the rest of the year. No doubt I will be pulling my hair out and complaining about my bad back in a few weeks but the one I've changed onto it already couldn't believe his luck when he first saw it, rolled and came up like a snowman; he's laid down a lot more since changing over too so it must be right for him at least which is what counts.
 
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