bedding

landy77

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17 November 2011
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This is my first ever post, and I was hoping for some help with my mares bedding, I am currently preggers and due between christmas and new year so as the horses live at home the mucking out at times will have to be done by either my mother with a bad back or husband with asthma and a typical farmer attitude. The pony isnt a problem as he is very easy, but my mare is a nightmare, she is wet, loves squashing her poos into the bedding and just making a general mess. I have had her on shavings for many years with rubber matting and taken the poo out every day and done a full muck out alternative days often working in with my own work, which is fine for me in normal situation. For the last couple of weeks I have tried just doing a full muck out weekly (putting the bed up) getting the poo out everyday and any wet that comes to the surface but that hasnt worked and the bed looks awful. So I need an easy as possible option, my mare is 20 and suffers from a dust allergy and with an asthmatic hubby I need something very dust free, I need it to be light to help me at late stages of pregnacy and mum with back and as quick as possible. I tried magasorb and hubby says it is dusty and I found the bed wasnt as thick as I had hoped and mare managed to make it look messey.
 
I have thought about that but they have never lived out except the odd very hot summer day, and as I bought her as a 3year old and she is 20 the other one we have had since 2 and he is 15!, think that would be a shock to the poor girl she is always stood waiting to be brought in, think if it wasnt jan/dec I would have tried.
 
if she get's tea and hay when she comes in, she might well be stood waiting for that, rather than waiting to be in her stable? The weather with us is mega mild, so maybe give it a go while it is so nice? I'm sure they would get into the swing of it easily enough and would take alot of pressure and worry off you? If they don't settle to the idea then you can always start bringing them in at night again with nothing lost.

Re bedding - I've just moved my (wet, box walking, COPD) mare onto safemix. Bloomin brilliant stuff! I poo pick each day and then take the wet out once or twice a week.

Alternatively, could you get a sharer for a couple of days a week or even loan to take the work load down for your family?
 
What about wood pellets put down at the bottom of the bed dry to absorb the wet and either take the wet out on a weekly basis or top up with more pellets and go deep litter until you are back mucking out. I use a mix of pellets and shavings where I put the shavings on the bottom and the shavings back on top.
 
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