Bedding - which rots down quickest?

[SpruceRI]

Next year I need to change from straw to something dust free .... so am considering options.

Taking into consideration the best dust free options and cost, does anyone know how quickly they all rot down?

I love my straw muck heap! Just keep piling it up and in no time it rots down to lovely black stuff to put on the garden.

Last year I partly used shredded cardboard, didn't like it all that much, and now, clearing the muck heap out, I can still see all those little squares of cardboard still whole!

I think that on the basis of what's best for the horse, top of the list is probably cardboard bedding, quickly followed by shredded newspaper..... and then after that Bed Down, Bed Max, Equisorb etc.

I'm not sure what each one is, so have got to look them all up, but how long do they take to rot?

I was at my last livery for 12yrs and the 12yr old shavings muck heap pile was still there, not going anywhere!

 

[Tnavas]

I was going to say shavings - but it does need to be watered regularly to help it break down.

 

[Snowysadude]

Flax is the fastest I think, you can buy shredded flax and straw mix treated and dust extracted and that rots down very quickly. Belvoir bed is what I think its called

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

I think the wood pellet bedding rots down the quickest. It breaks down in the stable to an almost peat consistency so it can't take much time to rot. I know the farmer that accepts our muck trailer likes it.

 

[hobo]

Hemp type products are brill with a clean horse you will barely have any waste and it srinks right done and adds to the soil as appossed to woodchips which take from the soil when rotting. I use oboise.

 

[lachlanandmarcus]

Hemp is amazing, very stable and supportive to the horse and doesnt get everywhere like shavings. There are 2 main brands, Aubiose (not Obiose!) and Hemcore. The Aubiose is much better I think, as it is fluffier and also looks cleaner in the stable so its easy to tell dirty from clean. Very absorbent.

It rots down mega quick and into the most amazing black gold of compost.

Also it's made from the chopped inner stalk of the hemp, so making use of a by product. (The hemp itself goes for other uses like hemp oil and also my horses stable walls insulation which is like the fibreglass rolls but made of hemp+chopped up prison uniforms!

 

[SpruceRI]

Thank you all )