Best bedding for rubber mats and messy horse?

[ElleSkywalker]

Morning,

So my muckiest pup of a pony now has some lovely equimats (EVA and rubber mix ) I love them lots as she is so grubby it was taking ages to muck her out before (full aquamax bed) She now has a small amount of aquamax to soak up piddle but is such a grubby monster that her bed is quite mucky still.

I think that most people will say that pellets are the best but just wondering if there is any other type of bedding out there that is better for use with mats?

Tea for all

Elle

 

[Kezzabell2]

I've just put down a wood pellet bed this weekend and this morning was my first time of mucking him out (wasn't in on sunday night)

I can't believe how amazing it is!! I took out 3/4 of a bucket of mess, I usually get 3 or 4 a day!

I literally didn't waste any of the bedding, normally I will end up chucking away loads of shavings because I can't separte the clean and dirty!

My horse poo's then sort of hides it under his shavings, so you think its clean but its not! I literally have to move the whole bed every day!! but today I didn't!

I was paying £8.90 for a bale of shavings, using 2 a week last winter!

These pellets are costing me £4.20 a bag. I've used 4 to put the bed down and just added another 2 today to make it a bit thicker! and other people that use these seem to put around 2 extra bags in a week!! soooo its a lot cheaper than shavings!

 

[ElleSkywalker]

Am already using wood pellets and the stinker is still stinking them up

 

[Kezzabell2]

Am already using wood pellets and the stinker is still stinking them up

oh dear!! maybe turn him out 24/7 then haha

 

[WelshD]

I use Snowflake Softchip for both my ponies but the messy one has a layer of straw over the top which keeps the poo together better and stops it getting so lost in the bedding, its easy to get a (normal 4 tined) fork under the straw and flip the poo in to a trug

Once a week I scrape off the straw in to two piles, salvageable and dirty, the top of the snowflake softchip layer is firm, I whip over that with a shavings fork picking up errant poo, take out any wet bits, sprinkle down disinfectant powder, add snowflake to any gaps then put straw back on top

It takes a couple of minutes to muck out each day and about twenty minutes for the weekend clean

Its more manageable than I expected, the bed always looks clean and I don't smell after mucking out thank goodness!

 

[Fiona]

Pellets, but the messy mare gets a smaller bed than the clean mare...

Fiona

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

I would have said Comfy Bed, but thats now gone.
Can you try Lay Soft? Heavier chips, sooo much better for mucky-eejits (IMHO)

 

[Annagain]

In what way is he messy? Lots of wee / poo or kicking it all around?

If kicking around I'd stick with the wood pellets, one of mine does this but the wood pellets seem to pull the moisture out of the poo so when I muck out it's much easier to pick the bits up and not have bedding stuck to them.

If lots of wee, (like my other one) I'd be tempted to try more bedding as it will draw it down to the bottom and leave the tope layer clean. You can then removed the wee every few days.

If lots of poo I don't think anything makes a difference sorry!

 

[cazrider]

I have a wet monster on mats, and I use fine woodchip (Hunter type), with a thick layer of newspaper underneath, where he wees. It is free and saves me a fortune in woodchip. I just take out the poo by hand, and the middle bit of the bed including the newspaper, and replace the paper and the middle of the bed daily. I get through one bag of chips a week.

 

[ElleSkywalker]

Mainly wet as she also chucks water around as well enjoying a good piddle a bit she likes to grind poop up and hide it places too as well as stomping about moving it all around. Good job I love the monster.

TFF not heard of lay soft, will investigate

Fiona interesting you say mucky pony gets smaller bed. When I first put mats down bed was quite thick as the little love doesn't like change so wanted to get her used to mats gently, am.wondering if less is more.with her as thick bedding doesn't seem to work :rolleyes3:

Thanks all

 

[katherine1975]

I have the EVA easimats and find that wood pellets work out best and cheapest for my messy mare.

 

[Prince33Sp4rkle]

the cheapest shavings you can find and stop stressing!

Goof is a pig (so much for stallions doing it all in a neat pile grrrr). Its poop soup EVERY morning.

I take up the worst wet, the worst poo, level my banks and close my eyes to the millions of tiny bits of poo and brown shavings.

Nothing makes him better, nothing makes it look nice, its just how he is.

He was getting though 2.5-3 bags of shavings a week when i obsessed over it, now i give less of a **** he gets 1.5 and i just try not to look at it too hard!

 

[Britestar]

If you can find it, shredded cardboard for the wet monsters. Its satys in one place so you just have a shovel full to remove.

 

[kimberleigh]

My lad is filthy and I mean he is the dirtiest, messiest horse I have ever known! He seems to delight in actually playing with his wee and poo by stepping in it, stomping it around and then doing a dance all over the stable just to make sure its as well trodden and splashed around as possible.

He used to be on shavings then had to swap to straw when we moved yards who insisted all horses must be on straw. Whether he had a huge bed or the very bare minimum his bed would need completely removing every single day

Now we are at a new place and he has lovely matting which drains so well, so he has 1 slice of straw just because I would feel so mean putting nothing down and the other 4 horses at the yard have straw. But now they are in overnight rather than during the day he is laying down and covering himself in poo. Think we are going to have to revert back to shavings but it costs a bloody fortune with how disgusting he is. I think I may simply try deep littering during the week and doing a full muckout at the weekend and see how we get on!

Those of you who have dirty horses have my every sympathy but Im pretty sure my boy is up there with the worst of them

 

[ElleSkywalker]

the cheapest shavings you can find and stop stressing!

Goof is a pig (so much for stallions doing it all in a neat pile grrrr). Its poop soup EVERY morning.

I take up the worst wet, the worst poo, level my banks and close my eyes to the millions of tiny bits of poo and brown shavings.

Nothing makes him better, nothing makes it look nice, its just how he is.

He was getting though 2.5-3 bags of shavings a week when i obsessed over it, now i give less of a **** he gets 1.5 and i just try not to look at it too hard!

Noooooooooooooooooooo. Beds have to look perfect. What if the Queen came to visit?!

Does seem like am on the best combo really. Was just hoping for a miracle type of bedding that she won't be able to mess up as much Tho seem to remember vets using cardboard and those stables being quite clean. Will add to list to investigate...

When I get round to getting the other 4 mats their beds will be a doddle, that's why stinker got to try them first as if her mucking out time improves on them then the rest will too

 

[Fiona]

Our mare is a boxwalker when upset, so we just keep the back 1/3 of box bedded to mop up pees She is quite happy to lie down on mats alone, though wears turnout rug inside. ..

Definitely think less is more especially with a mare who pees into the back bank..

Fiona

 

[Prince33Sp4rkle]

ha ha ha if the queen came i would show her Figs stable which is immaculate white shavings, perfect huge square banks and not a single strand of hay mixed in.........he is very house proud bless him.

I would pretend Goof wasnt mine lol!!!!!!!!

I have to say that as i become less obsessed and the bed has built up thicker, it stays in place better and he isnt able to completely pull the banks down and pile it all up in the middle as its more *solid/heavy*. so for Goof a slightly dirty but thicker bed is definately easier than a thinner but super clean one as its harder for him to cover the poo up, he can scatter it far and wide but not mix it right in to the bed.

 

[LCH611]

ha ha ha if the queen came i would show her Figs stable which is immaculate white shavings, perfect huge square banks and not a single strand of hay mixed in.........he is very house proud bless him.

I would pretend Goof wasnt mine lol!!!!!!!!

I have to say that as i become less obsessed and the bed has built up thicker, it stays in place better and he isnt able to completely pull the banks down and pile it all up in the middle as its more *solid/heavy*. so for Goof a slightly dirty but thicker bed is definately easier than a thinner but super clean one as its harder for him to cover the poo up, he can scatter it far and wide but not mix it right in to the bed.

I completely agree with this & with 5 to do every morning before school & work I simply don't have time to obsess about less than immaculate beds. 2 are absolute swamp pigs. They have rubber mats & I use wood pellets. One can't be bothered to walk to the back of the stable to poo neatly, just lifts his tail where he stands, then walks it over to the door, spreads it around a bit and then lays in it. I take the wet out of his bed every morning and as much of the poo as I can, and close my eyes to any that have been truffled. The other one makes me want to weep when I open the door and discover Poomaggedon every morning. I am now feeding ad lib hay in the field so he gets less haylage every night and will go back and eat the bits that he has trampled into his bed. He is very very wet as a full water bucket is his best toy and he dunks, slurps and wees all night. He is a big horse and needs more condition so he has a lot going in one end and coming out the other! I have discovered that it is best to deep litter him so I just rake everything off the top and then pull more dry bedding in to cover the wet bits. The advantage is that he now has a very firm base and is finally lying down, but neither he nor his bed smells and we are getting by with just putting 3/4 bags of pellets in a week and I can do his stable in 10 mins including a trip to the muck heap. It would be a nightmare dealing with him on straw or shavings

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

Poomaggedon made me sn igg er LCH611 :biggrin3:

FLF is a dirty cow too, so she is staying out at night unless the weather/ground gets really foul. She has a big field shelter (which she doesn't do anything except eat hay or sleep!!) set in a tiny paddock.
When she is in, she will be on deep bed, no banks and I will lift off/hunt for poo only & level it all over daily. It compacts down & I'll take out the base at the end of winter or if she really soaks it too much in between, otherwise I'd cry.....

TF, adores sleeping in, overnight - very houseproud, she sleeps on the right & poops on the left

 

[dianchi]

Just started using miscanthis and so impressed with it! poo stays on top and is quick and easy to skip out daily then full muck out at the weekend.

 

[Prince33Sp4rkle]

poomaggedon massive lol! describes it perfectly!!!!

 

[ElleSkywalker]

Poomaggeden

Last night I was greeted with a soaking wet bed. Couldn't tell what was wee wet and what was water bowl wet. I'd run out of space in the wheelbarrow and DSW looked at me daggers when I suggested emptying it so chucked in 2 more bags of aquamax and mixed for all I was worth. Looks not too bad today. I think I need to learn the correct amount to use really.

Am however going to have a good sniff round at YHL on Sunday to check out all the other bedding suggestions so thanks guys

Oddly she I quite neat in some respects, poops right at the back of stable (down the wall) in a nice big pile on the right hand side and pees on the left. Then smears her hay all over, she takes it over to look out of window, she loves her window, then drops hay when she sees something interesting and refuses to eat it again as it's landed in wee corner. She then cheerfully grinds the rejected hay into her bed *sigh*

Strange pony.

 

[TGM]

If wet is the problem and you need something with more absorbency then Megazorb is a good option, and is what I use over rubber mats.

 

[LCH611]

I did a very extensive trial of every conceivable kind of bedding for my boss who has a high goal polo yard and the bedding consumption was absolutely staggering. By then I was used to wood pellets so didn't like having to deal with the fluffier bedding, although found the chopped rapeseed/miscanthus ones were very absorbent, but the one I liked best was the coconut fibre one as it was so fine that it just slid through the tines of the fork and I didn't chuck any away. They decided not to use it as they like light coloured beds and it was dark brown.

Perhaps we should have a compare and contrast poomaggedon picture competition. I will have to tell the swamp pig that everyone likes the phrase that I wail in such despair every morning. He is entirely unrepentant so I hope it doesn't spur him on to greater endeavours!

 

[Prince33Sp4rkle]

i will try and remember to snap a poomaggedon pic this weekend lol!!!!!

out of interest what is the commercial name of the coconut fibre bedding?

 

[ElleSkywalker]

Poomaggeden comp who shall we get to judge it? Maybe the Queen is free.....

 

[LCH611]

The bedding is called Tropibed and having 4 greys I thought it might stain their coats, but it didn't seem to (thankfully the mingiest one is bay). I thought it was really easy to use, and slovenly mucking out was handily disguised by the fact that it was dark brown in colour.......

 

[PorkChop]

I couldn't get on with wood pellets so I went back to miscanthus.

I semi-deep litter, pick up poo every day and then wet out once a week, it is also an attractive bed

 

[Blimpy]

Paper is the best for my really messy one. Clean it all out every day and just put down enough to soak up the wet. If he will pee in the same place each night it helps alot! He is too messy to leave any in there so no matter how big the bed it would all have to come out every day. Paper is the most economical and very absorbent if you can get it to stay in the right place.

 

[sasquatch]

following this thread, my boy is on rubber mats, pellets and shavings and is still a mess.

can't help, but can sympathise