Best bedding for horse on box rest?

J

jen1

Well-Known Member
Joined
11 July 2006
Messages
872
Location
Herts
Visit site
My horse is currently on box rest. He is on shavings but it's currently soul destroying and expensive as i am getting up to 3 barrow loads out each day! Just wondering if there's any other bedding which would be better for soaking up the wet but still provides a decent bed. Not allowed to use straw on our yard. Was thinking Aubiose or Hemcore What's the difference or maybe mix this in with the shavings??
 
I'm in the same situation, I currently get through 3-4 bales of shavings a week. At £7.35 per bale it is not cheap!

Can't offer any advice really, I personally think shavings are the best for box rest but they are just so expensive.

Will be interested to see what other people suggest though.
 
I Think Flax may be better for you as its up to 4 times more absorbant and you dont have to take the wet out and it does not get churned up as much. I used to get through 2 - 3 bags of shavings now I get through 1 bag a week.

The down side is the bed does ove for the first couple of days but my horse does not ind. You can mix with shavings so to reduce the cost of removing the old bed / swapping.

I have also had Megazorb suggested to me as that is very absorbant you put a bag under the bed i.e. for a gelding in the middle dont bother with the banks and put shavings on top.

hope that helps and is not too long
 
I was a big fan of easibed but i happened to buy a bag of Hemcore and it is sooooo much more absorbent and seems to go a bit further. I have never tried Megazorb but have heard alot about it on here, i have never seen it for sale in this area. Good luck with the box rest i have been through 7 months of it and it is hard work trying to keep the box rest neddy happy!!
 
I second the megazorb bed if you put down about 3 or 4 bags then add shavings its like deep littering without all the smell.
 
Flax or hemp are very absorbent. Equisorb is quite hard to get hold of in my area now, so I used a few bales of Aubiose which is expensive but seemed quite good. I've now taken delivery of a pallet of "Thorobed" which I ordered direct from a company called Allenshill, it works out at just over £6 per bale if you buy a pallet of 36. It's chopped flax straw, and seems very similar to Equisorb. This type of bedding also provides very good support for the feet.
 
Went to the local tack/feed place today and questioned them and they said unless your horse is normally very clean using Aubiouse or Hemcore type stuff won't make much difference as the poos will get more mixed up and break up more than they do with shavings. She said she would willingly sell me some but thought I would be better staying with shavings. Also the Hemp/flax or what ever those beddings are are more expensive than their shavings so she wasn't trying to just sell me a more expensive bedding for the sake of it. Oh well suppose I will stick to shavings... If anyone has any better ideas though let me know!!!

Cheers!
 
Ah well I have had a lot of experience with box resting horses recently. I am lucky I have access to a very very well ventilated stable and excellent quality straw. I don't mind if they eat a bit of straw but it must be good quality and as dustless as possible- it is so much cheaper than shavings and you won't cringe when you take a wheel barrow full out!
 
I used Snowflake Softchip which is like Easibed but cheaper, they were about £5 a bale and got cheaper the more I bought from our local feed merchant. It's fine if you've got a horse that doesn't kick his bed up too much as it needs to settle and the wet needs to sink down to make a good base. With one of mine it worked really well, but with the other I went back to straw because he used to ruck it up so much.
 
I used to use Aubiose for my mare when she was on box rest, but found that it is quite abraisive and rubbed her heels sore, so changed to shavings.

She is now in at night and find that a mix of 2 bales shavings to one of aubiose works quite well.
 
Try megazorb - when I first had Chancer he was filthy and I was going 3 barrows a day - he peed everywhere and then mixed all his poo in so it was a brown mash for a bed.

Very easy to keep - put in the bed and pat it down hard with fork. Only take out the poo for first two weeks - do not turn the bed over. Keep adding little more megazorb on top.

Every few weeks did out the wet and top up. I used two bags a week of megazorb at first then went down to one bag. My muck out time when from 20 mins to 5 - just skipped off the poo which sit on top and then at weekends 10 mins to skip, dig out wet patch and top up. I also only had one barrow a day - great for my back.

I am back on shavings - it was a bit of a trek to get the bedding and he is now very good and wees in one spot and poos at the back of the stable. Essex Animal Feeds are the nearest supplier to you according to their website.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top