Best bedding - COPD

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missmatch

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Recently had a horse diagnosed with COPD.
Switched to bedmax & haylage but I hate bedmax. I'm using 3 bales a week and the bed is still pitiful. I can't use wood pellets and I really dislike matting.
So, can anyone recommend a bedding which is nice and comfy, lasts well without deep littering and obviously safe for pony.
I muck out fully daily so no wet left in
I really need a big bed due to other issues which are being investigated.
He was on straw previously and is not particularly dirty.
Thank you.
 
With COPD you really are between a rock and a hard place as far as bedding is concerned.

My lad has good quality mats, laid on stone in a very large field shelter. I then put bedmax 6" deep on 4 of the mats, because the floor is stone any moisture that goes under the mats soaks away leaving the bed clean.

Keeping COPD horses housed is not ideal but not all thrive living out. Difficult one.
 
Mine has mild copd, I moved her to a yard where she has a wind tunnel of a stable, sweeps out all the dust. She has regular turnout and is bedded on dust extracted shavings. This is really suiting her and her symptoms are to a minimum. So I suppose it's environment to keep dust and other factors to a minimum, not necessarily just bedding factors.
 
I use Laysoft which is a wood chip bedding on top of mats. I don't remove the wet every day though, only when it comes to the surface
 
I use Snowflake Softchip, which is similar to the Laysoft mentioned above, it's a wood chip bedding. I really like it, I used to deep litter it but now I take the wet out daily.
 
Bedding at the start of my boys condition (copd, he needs inhalers to keep on top of it) was a nightmare, so i feel for you.
On the vets advice to me, i moved my boy onto rubber matting and with a thin bedding of bedmax, and it did take me months to get use to it. i hated it at first but now it's the easiest thing to muck out. I clean most of the bed out and lay new, helps keep the dust to a minimum and i go throw about 1 bale per week,
though what works for me probably wont for you as i see you need a think bed for health reasons, maybe you could mix bedmax with a triple extracted shaving? would make it more absorbent and still help to keep the dust down? i do this with my mare (doesn't have copd but i do find it keeps the dust low)
have you thought about paper or cardboard? i have never use it but I've been next door to a horse that did, looked like a comfortable bed but not very easy to muck out. but always good to look at all the options.
 
jackbox said:
have you thought about paper or cardboard? i have never use it but I've been next door to a horse that did, looked like a comfortable bed but not very easy to muck out. but always good to look at all the options.
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I tried cardboard and it was a nightmare without rubber mats. It soaked up all the wet and most of it had to be removed most days - I imagine it could work with mats or really really good drainage but for mine it was expensive as I needed a new bale most days.

I have used deep littered rape straw and chopped miscanthus before I got my mats (rubber topped EVA, really worth it as far as I am concerned) not sure how well they would do without deep littering? I preferred the miscanthus, slightly less woody than the rape straw.
 
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Sorry - late to the party!

My pony has severe COPD and I use Probed and it's been great, so easy to muck out and it absorbs a lot of wet, which is great and his breathing has been good one it. I only put a very small bed on top of mats so I only use one Probed bale a week (£7 each) so that makes me happy :)
 
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