Best Bedding for Clean Horse

[atropa]

Bit of an odd one this as I know we usually ask for advice the other way around, but one of my mares has turned out to be exceptionally clean in her stable, all droppings in one neat pile and very little wet as she prefers to pee in her field if possible - the complete opposite of my big warmblood.
As a result, I take out very little of her bedding day to day and am finding I only need to add a bale of chopped straw maybe once every 10 days. Unfortunately due to this slow turnover of new bedding, I'm finding her bed looks quite dingy and beige coloured.

Wondering what people would recommend for a very clean horse that will stay looking white/bright for longer? She needs a decent thick bed as has no mats currently, and I'm happy to combine bedding types. I know this seems a really stupid thing to ask for advice about but I just feel a bit conscious that her clean bed looks dingy in comparison to my big mares, who is so dirty she has a new bale every couple of days.

 

[Louby]

Cant advise Im afraid but Im having the same issue. My mare is on shavings, for whatever reason has decided she will not wee in her stable which is a pain now shes spending more time in as I worry she needs a wee!! and her bed looks awful now as its just so old. I do put put a new bale as a banking and pull a bit down everyday to put a clean 'sprinkling' on top but Im putting more down than I throw away lol!!

 

[eggs]

Have you tried making banks with new bedding and then pulling a little bit down each down to cover the main bed? That way you always have a clean covering although to be fair your horse won't mind if the bed looks a bit dingy.

 

[TPO]

I have one clean horse and hes bedded on Nedz Pro

The two mingers are on it too and it works perfectly for the too

 

[PapaverFollis]

Easibed stays nice and bright if they are clean types. Do a good thick, wall to wall bed and mix some wood pellets into the pee spot and you'll barely have to muck out at all...

 

[outdoor girl]

I have one like this and I wish all the others would follow her example. It's like there are 2 different horses in her stable because she wees and poos at one end of her bed and that end stays lovely and tidy like there hasn't been anything in it, but she sleeps at the other end and really digs that up. I deep litter her on shavings and have a dig out once a week. I find that if I add a small amount of fresh shavings (maybe half a bale) every week and then a full bale about once a month, it stays looking lovely and clean.

 

[J&S]

I use Eassibed for a very clean mare. Just pick out the poo and brush up. Looks fine for much longer than shavings. I dig out any wet patches every now and then. Companion pony is a mucky moo though but Easibed still seems a good option on the whole.

 

[Michen]

A lovely thick straw bed

 

[tatty_v]

For my very clean Shetland, I use shavings on the bottom with a nice thick layer of straw on top. The shavings soak up all the wee and he doesn’t poo on the bed, so I only properly muck out about every 10 days. I top up the straw on top about twice a week to keep it fresh and looking nice!

 

[atropa]

Thanks all so much for the great suggestions so far!

Have you tried making banks with new bedding and then pulling a little bit down each down to cover the main bed? That way you always have a clean covering although to be fair your horse won't mind if the bed looks a bit dingy.

This is a good idea that I can try, I don't currently use banks so perhaps this would help!

I have one clean horse and hes bedded on Nedz Pro

The two mingers are on it too and it works perfectly for the too

Thanks TPO, its a chopped rape straw that they are on already. It's a great bedding choice.

Easibed stays nice and bright if they are clean types. Do a good thick, wall to wall bed and mix some wood pellets into the pee spot and you'll barely have to muck out at all...

Easibed seems like it might be a good choice, mentioned a few times! Mixing in dry wood pellets is a godsend for my other mare.

A lovely thick straw bed

Unfortunately straw would be the only bedding I cant use here, ironically at our last yard she was on straw and it was mucky as anything as she was soo stressed out in her stable there. Big round bale straw is always my #1 choice if available!

 

[PapaverFollis]

I actually find the clean one who poops all in one place harder to muck out on straw... it forms poop pancakes in layers which have to be carefully excavated! He was easier on Easibed. Whereas the utterly disgusting mare is much easier on a straw bed because it can be made really deep so she doesn't mix the wet through with her heavy footed wanderings.

 

[holeymoley]

Can you put in half a bale every 5 days to keep it looking fresh?

 

[dogatemysalad]

Straw is always my first choice, unfortunately we don't have storage space on our current yard.
I love Megaspread, made by the hunter shavings people. It's a large flake, but they also do a small flake version, but I can't think of the name right now.
As you've said, the downside to a clean horse, is that less changes of bedding means they look grey after a while. I use a bank at the back purely to pull a bit down every few days to keep the bedding fluffy and clean looking.
Because we're on flesh eating clay mud, horses legs and frogs get hosed off when muddy which helps to keep the stable less dusty.

 

[rabatsa]

Shredded cardboard.

 

[atropa]

Thank you all, have bought a few bales of Easibed to try this afternoon and will try implementing banks and pulling down some fresh every day....I'm just terrible at actually making beds look neat so its been easier for me in the past to keep a flat bed but will need to get the bank practice in!