best bedding for very wet and dirty horse

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muffy32

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My horse is very wet and quite dirty in his stable. I am currently trying out Aquamax bedding and although it is very absorbant it is costing me a small fortune as I throw so much of it away due to it being saturated.
Before the Aquamax, I tried shavings but they didnt seem to absorb the wet enough and the wee would run out of the front of my stable even though I had a nice thick bed on top of EVA matting.
Does anyone know of a good bedding I could try that is extra absobant? I cant use straw because he eats it.
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I hate Aquamax but have to admit it is by far the most absorbant bedding I have come accross, you couldn't pay me to use it though I'm afraid!

I have a really wet and dirty horse and over 3 years have trialled and errored a variety of bedding and mucking out techniques.

I think I have now cracked it in terms of time/cleanliness/cost:

EVA mats throughout, back 1/3 of stable covered with a thin layer of flax, back half of stable covered with straw (but not too much). Sweep out front half daily and remove droppings from back, take a chunk of wet out midweek and then completely lift and disinfect base at weekend. 1/2 a bale of flax at weekend, 1/2 bale of straw at weekend and then a slice of straw daily.

Takes 5-10 mins to muck out, costs £5 a week in bedding. Not a lovely deep bed which I would prefer but much more practical.
 
Have tried loads of things with my dirty mare, she is very very wet (she drinks between 1/2 and 3/4 of a dustbin each night and shes on wet hay).
I keep coming back to auboise bedding.
Its the only thing that works for me. I find the best management is to throw up all the loose against the walls and let the base dry out throughout the day, this stops the wet absorbing into the rest of the bedding and if very bad you can just lift it out. Doing it this way I only use 1 and week.
Hope this is of help
 
But muffy says can't use straw coz he eats it
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Have you tried easibed? If the horse is wet and dirty, it will work well on a thick semi-deep litter basis. The wet will sink to the bottom, the top will stay dry, and you can lift the muck off the top daily. If on the other hand he also churns the bed up (like my other horse) it would work better with banks and a thin bed you can chuck out daily, like shavings but more absorbent and easier to handle.
 
rubber matts and a small corner of shavings at the back!!

Archie is the dirtiest horse alive when it comes to bedding, but on this he can poo where he wants (which is everwhere) trample it around (which is his favourite pasttime) and lie down on the shavings at the back!

I just sweep the muck out each day.

Ask Piaffe - he really is seriously messy!
 
miscanthus(sp) also know as elephant grass, i have used this bedding and it is highly absorbant, best used as a deep litter bed and perhaps only removing the wet once a week
 
I had the same problem with wee coming out the front of my stable with shavings as it wasn't absorbant enough. (I have mats a drainage runs wrong way due to tack room at back of stable)

I've previously used Aquamax but was getting through a lot and was quite expensive.

Currently using megazorb which I love due to being so absorbant and using about 1.5bags per week at £5.10 each so not too bad.
 
Megazorb as semi or deep litter is the best one I have used. When you come to dig the lot out it doesnt smell vile either!
 
My Wet boy is on Easibed, It seems to hold it's "shape" better than shavings as heavier (if that makes sense) I semi deep litter him on it and just take the droppings off each day and give it a muck out at weekend. He was on shavings before and was terrible!
 
Try woodypet, it is very similar to aquamax but cheaper, I used both and they both say mix in the wee but I tend to take out the wettest bit each day which makes the rest of the bedding last longer, I get through 1 bag per horse per week and one of my boys is very wet in his stable. The website is www.woodypet.co.uk. Also they deliver if you take enough bags.
 
Ummm.... same problem, Megazorb is great, but still find it a big soggy mess in the morning!

I still use shavings as they are cheaper than the megazorb, however since putting up his mirror he has been a lot cleaner.
 
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