Bedding tips for a wet, messy horse

[tatty_v]

Currently struggling with the mess created in the stable by our IDx. He’s a very wet horse, plus he box walks. He has to be stabled overnight with our other horses to manage his weight (he had laminitis several times with his previous owner when out 24/7, even on restricted grazing - we are very much the last chance saloon for him, and have managed to get him down to a respectable size but it’s a daily battle to maintain it.)

When in he has equine company, soaked hay in multiple rations, a net of straw to pick at and 10-12 hours turnout a day, so I think we just have to accept he’s always going to walk as in his mind, he should be eating 24/7, which simply isn’t possible.

We originally put him on shavings, with wood pellets underneath to absorb the wee. The thinking was that if he was on straw, he’d gorge and likely give himself an impaction colic. Problem is, a year in and we’re still going through bags of bedding a week, and his box walking is just shredding the poo and stirring it in. Mucking out him alone takes 40+ minutes of soul destroying sifting and several full wheelbarrows.

I’m tempted to try wood pellets on the bottom for absorbency, and straw on top (given it’s so much cheaper) but am I setting myself up for even more mess? Does anyone use this combination successfully for a messy horse? I’d be full mucking out daily still as I just can’t see deep littering working for him due to the walking and the sheer amount of wet.

Clearly if we switch to straw we’re going to have to be on colic watch, which is another worry, but I’m all out of ideas!

 

[Barton Bounty]

I have a box walker, tried wood pellets and even dampened he trampled it everywhere, i only use sawdust , 6 bales at a time and he doesnt mess it so much, the wet part stayed quite compact

 

[AmyMay]

Do you have to soak his hay? That won’t help.

But essentially, I’d put good rubber matting down, and perhaps a sprinkle of shavings, and just sweep it out every morning.

 

[tatty_v]

Do you have to soak his hay? That won’t help.

But essentially, I’d put good rubber matting down, and perhaps a sprinkle of shavings, and just sweep it out every morning.

Sadly yes, he only has to look at food to gain weight ? but good point about where some of the excess wet may be coming from!

 

[Mouse19]

Do you have to soak his hay? That won’t help.

But essentially, I’d put good rubber matting down, and perhaps a sprinkle of shavings, and just sweep it out every morning.

This. We used to have a similar situation and in the end we did a small bed in the corner (1/4 bag shavings) a day and swept it out daily. Horse was disgusting. The only issue is that the horse was a livery and although the owner was ok initially the horse then got a capped hock ?‍. So they paid for straw in the end which I know isn’t an option for you unfortunately

 

[TheChestnutThing]

I have this with one of mine....rubber mats, wood pellets where he wees and straw. I use one bale of straw a week (he is 17hh in a big stable) and pellets every other week.

 

[Highmileagecob]

Any luck with a grazing muzzle? I was in a similar situation with my cob, and finally discovered a Tough 1 Easy Breathe which allowed him to graze without too much inconvenience to him. It reduced his intake by around 50% and he tolerated it well.
Bedding wise, he is on pulverised wood pallets (Purebed) with wood pellets in the middle. Purebed is a lot heavier than shavings and you can stamp it down to make a thick pad. It isn't absorbent though, so you need to deal with the pee patch.

 

[Starzaan]

Ok, the bigger the bed the better. You can give him access to forage 24/7, you just need to be smart about it. Look into something like a Haygain forager, or make your own with a hay box and caribiner clips. Mix straw in with his soaked hay (remember to only soak for an hour, in hot water).
As someone who has run rehab yards for many years, and dealt with hundreds of overweight horses on box rest who box walk, fidget and generally trash the place, a proper, BIG bed, and access to forage all night is the best way forward.

 

[Abacus]

I've also resorted to thick rubber mats with a small bed of wood pellets to wee on, and just removed it all each day. But if he is walking this much, he'd be better turned out more... I don't suppose you have that option?

 

[fankino04]

Ok, the bigger the bed the better. You can give him access to forage 24/7, you just need to be smart about it. Look into something like a Haygain forager, or make your own with a hay box and caribiner clips. Mix straw in with his soaked hay (remember to only soak for an hour, in hot water).
As someone who has run rehab yards for many years, and dealt with hundreds of overweight horses on box rest who box walk, fidget and generally trash the place, a proper, BIG bed, and access to forage all night is the best way forward.

Why soaked for 1 hour in hot water? Is this to do with the straw or new hay soaking info?

 

[Sprig]

I would go for a v small amount of wood pellets/shavings and take it all out every day.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Ok, the bigger the bed the better. You can give him access to forage 24/7, you just need to be smart about it. Look into something like a Haygain forager, or make your own with a hay box and caribiner clips. Mix straw in with his soaked hay (remember to only soak for an hour, in hot water).
As someone who has run rehab yards for many years, and dealt with hundreds of overweight horses on box rest who box walk, fidget and generally trash the place, a proper, BIG bed, and access to forage all night is the best way forward.

I gave my bought obese messy mare a Megazorb bed with shavings on top. She did walk the muck round the box but the Megazorb stayed put. I didn't soak her hay but gave her trugs full of plain oat straw chaff so that she could eat all night if she so wished. She did start to self-regulate after a while. Eventually she tested positive for Cushings and was less wet after starting on Prascend.

 

[Fabel]

I have a cushings gelding who also has allergies so he has to have wet hay. He’s on sundown yellow but I’m not happy with it anymore and think I’m either going to mix with shavings or gob back into shavings fully. My mare who is a poo machine and her bed is so much better than his

 

[Starzaan]

This is the ideal way to soak to remove sugars, if you soak for much longer thing start to ferment. I can’t remember the exact science but I had it explained to me by one of the Metabolic specialists at one of the vet hospitals I do rehab for, and the results have been really interesting since we switched over to this method. We can get weight off metabolic horses very easily, whilst still offering as lib forage.

Why soaked for 1 hour in hot water? Is this to do with the straw or new hay soaking info?

 

[tatty_v]

Yep, he has a grazing muzzle (flexible filly one he tolerates really well and doesn’t rub him) - definitely helps cut down the intake when he’s out during high risk periods.

I’m a fan of a big bed as well - my other horse has an enormous straw bed which is SO much quicker to muck out, but he’s not a box walker so all his poos are intact. My worry was if I went for a big bed with the messy one, he’d just churn all the straw into filth, but it sounds like it might be worth a go.

 

[RHM]

When my mare was on boxrest all she did was walk. The bigger the bed the better and straw is 100% your best option. I feel your pain it’s would destroying mucking them out!

 

[PapaverFollis]

My big mare is officially the most disgusting creature ever to get put in a stable.

A deep, deep straw bed is best for her. But a thick bed of wood pellets and easibed mixed together also held up reasonably well. But that was in a very big stable. In the small stable she was in when we first got here I'm not sure anything would have helped. So that was rubber mats, minimal bedding and take it all out. It's not as nice for them, but honest to goodness you do have to keep yourself sane as well!! I could have sat and cried at the state of her stable some days.

 

[Starzaan]

Yep, he has a grazing muzzle (flexible filly one he tolerates really well and doesn’t rub him) - definitely helps cut down the intake when he’s out during high risk periods.

I’m a fan of a big bed as well - my other horse has an enormous straw bed which is SO much quicker to muck out, but he’s not a box walker so all his poos are intact. My worry was if I went for a big bed with the messy one, he’d just churn all the straw into filth, but it sounds like it might be worth a go.

A proper straw bed (I mean at least a foot deep, so you can stab the bed with a pitchfork anywhere and not hit the ground beneath) is the best because it’s stable. When he poos, it will fall through and be at the bottom of the bed, then when he walks he isn’t mashing it all in and stirring things up. That, plus ensuring he has forage 24/7 and you’ll have a much nicer time mucking out!

 

[chaps89]

Would he be any better in a coral when he’s in, if one is possible? Appreciate we’re coming into the wrong time of year depending on ground/weather conditions and/or funds/inclination to put an all weather option in but possibly something to consider if you think he might be staying and will have to do time in.
Some of the Timothy haylages are very low in sugar/starch and are quite dry so that might be an alternative to hay soaking?

 

[meleeka]

I just used a quarter of a bale of shavings and thick mats when I had a messy horse. I just couldn’t see the point in providing a nice bed for him to ruin every night. He didn’t seem to mind not having one, as long as he had enough to wee on.

 

[Jellymoon]

Also fan of a very deep straw bed, but I also put a layer of straw pellets underneath. So a good layer of those and then about a foot of straw on top. I buy big
Round bales and I pile it in, bigger the better. The straw pellets contain the wee, and the straw on top stays dry and the poo falls through.

 

[maya2008]

I had a box walker TB. We pretty much tried everything, results below!

- straw: endlessly wet and stinky. Best used on rubber mats if absolutely necessary, which was a ‘clear it all out every morning’ situation.
- shavings: nice for her but endlessly, endlessly expensive and time consuming as she used large amounts of bedding.
- aubiose: actually really good, one of the better ones we tried but unfortunately it triggered my asthma and I had to pay someone else to muck out ?‍.
- paper: actually quite ok, but when we moved we couldn’t get it any more. I used it while she was on box rest for laminitis, but I will say that the stables were on cobbles and any liquid drained away beautifully, so might not have been a completely fair test. Biggest downside I found was that they blew away across the yard on the way to the muck heap!
- wood pellets on mats: best solution and the one we stuck with while on livery. Quick to muck out, stayed reasonably dry and gave her a reasonable bed to lie down in.
- megazorb: similar to wood pellets, was difficult to get hold of but we liked it when it was available.
- deep litter (on bare earth for us so rots down rather than needing to be removed): absolutely the best, most economical and pleasant for her. Takes a little while to create the required solid base, but once you have it, it’s amazing. A nice solid, yet porous platform that drains away so is always dry on top. Droppings lie on the top and are easy to remove. Stays slightly warm in winter, so keeps the horse happy too. Overall best option (we have done this with shavings, sawdust and straw - shavings/sawdust being best) but I am not sure it would work the same way in a standard concrete based stable.

In a standard stable, on livery, I would go with mats and some kind of pellet or aubiose - whichever is currently cheaper!

 

[Annagain]

I find wood pellets are great unless you have one who is wet AND box walks. It needs to be relatively undisturbed to perform at is best as the bottom layer firms right up. If you have box walker they never leave it alone long enough for it to settle. It would need to be a VERY deep bed to achieve that.

Would leaving his door open onto the yard be an option so he could walk more freely and not mess his stable up? I've seen some set up electric fences for this with posts set in concrete inside a tyre so you can move them around if necessary for access. I think BBP has something like that for her horses?

 

[tatty_v]

Right, we’ve bitten the bullet and a great big straw bed went in today, so let’s see how tomorrow morning’s muck out goes!

I gave him a lot more snacking straw the other night to see what happened and he left some so ? he has an off switch somewhere. He was asleep last thing when we did night checks so apparently it meets his comfort standards if nothing else ?

Thank you for all the suggestions - a corale or access to an outdoor area attached to his stable would probably be ideal but unfortunately we can’t make that work in the current setup (it’s on the wish list if we ever move!) There’s also the fact that he isn’t the brightest so it would have to be idiot proof ?