Best bedding.

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Sandstone1

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Sorry to ask this but whats the best bedding to use?
Im a fan of wood pellets but the price has gone up a lot. Shavings are ok but as ive a wet horse find them wasteful.
Any other bedding preferably that can be bought in bulk thats absorbent, quick to muck out and economical?
 
I used rape straw last winter and found it less dusty than wood pellets but it's a bit prickly. They are on shavings at the moment because they are out at night but as soon as winter arrives they will have a base of rape with shavings on top as shavings cost £8.25 a bale and the rape straw only £4.50.
 
Could you do a pellet / shavings mix? Use pellets for wet bits or as the base ? Agree that pellet prices have gone right up , I'm keeping an eye out for best deals on full pallets. Noticed a lot of suppliers sell pallets that are under a tonne , we are paying more and for less . Luckily I club together with yo and another livery to help keep costs down . Seems the cheapest way to buy pellets is blown or dumpy bags but that wouldn't work for us . Luckily we have a local man that delivers bales of fab dust free small shavings for only a fiver each .
 
Ah sorry poiuytrewq, I'm north east . Another livery found them on hideous Facebook, on a local horsey group . You might be able to find something similar in your neck of the woods ? Good luck , stuff we get is what goes to the farm shop down the road , for £7.50 a pop!!
 
Even with the price increases I can't find anything more economical than wood pellets used on mats so the bed doesn't need to be too thick.
To make them last longer with a wet horse I don't dampen them at all, just remove the wet bit, not being too fussy, put about 5kg onto the mat and level it out a bit, then throw some of the old bedding over the top so that the new pellets don't get stuck onto the droppings.
 
Potea said:
It seems to be out of fashion, or at least on my yard, but I really like straw.
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Clean long straw is almost impossible to source, not just due to the summer we have have, but also due to modern combining methods and type of wheat. The days of 2 foot high straw is long gone, you would struggle to edge a straw bed with modern straw. The short straw is brittle and dusty which is of course, bad news for equine respiratory health.

There is a company in Shropshire who have just advertised on a local facebook page, selling bales of recycled egg box and fruit box material. Priced at £100 for a pallet of 25. I haven't used it and would guess you would need a fair bit to get a reasonable bed.

I use chopped cardboard in the lorry which I find to be excellent, absorbent, non slip and crucially, non dust for travelling horses, it also doesn't block the drainage system on the lorry floor which shavings did. I did try it in a stable and it was a nightmare, soggy stinky mush very quickly so I would be concerned the egg box bed could be the same.
 
Just started using Sorbeo and it's great stuff. Breggey is a really wet mare and her old bed with shavings was honking!! No smell at all with Sorbeo - very economical as big bags. We only take the wet out when it comes to the top but otherwise just take poo out and so far really very impressed. Also not much dust at all and makes nice solid base for her.
 
henmother said:
Ah sorry poiuytrewq, I'm north east . Another livery found them on hideous Facebook, on a local horsey group . You might be able to find something similar in your neck of the woods ? Good luck , stuff we get is what goes to the farm shop down the road , for £7.50 a pop!!
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Yep £7.50 is the cheapest at our local store some are over £10 per bale.
The cheaper ones I find dusty :(
 
Potea said:
It seems to be out of fashion, or at least on my yard, but I really like straw.
Click to expand...

me too but its just gone up in price 200% and thats if you can get a farmer to sell you any barley straw. Its cheap, horses like it, its good for their feet and dries legs off quickly.Personally I hate shavings and wood or straw pelleted beds but each to their own.

OP I really like the chopped miscanthus/rape-none are as absorbant as shavings IME but I did have a really mucky horse on auboise and it was great for him.
 
My old boy was also very wet. The economical solution I found was to use a medium bed of shavings on mats but add a thick layer of newspaper under the bed where he weed. I’d change this every day. Worked a dream and saved me a fortune in shavings. I’d beg newspaper from all the neighbours, so free. Most yards will let you put it on the muck heap, as long as it’s covered up to stop it flying about in wind, as it biodegrades very quickly. Some yards are not so keen though, so if you’re considering it I’d check first.
 
Carrottom said:
Even with the price increases I can't find anything more economical than wood pellets used on mats so the bed doesn't need to be too thick.
To make them last longer with a wet horse I don't dampen them at all, just remove the wet bit, not being too fussy, put about 5kg onto the mat and level it out a bit, then throw some of the old bedding over the top so that the new pellets don't get stuck onto the droppings.
Click to expand...

This. I bought my pellets from White Horse Energy at the summer price. It’s more expensive than this time last year but still massively cheaper than anything else I can find. I’ve tried practically every bedding in the market and although I don’t like the dust from wood pellets they’re by far the easiest to muck out with the least wastage of anything else I’ve tried.
 
I use White horse wood pellets bought around may/jun as its usually a lot cheaper on rubber matting. i would rather use straw, but struggle with the logistics of storage space, disposal of muck heap etc and dont get me started on the smell that lingers everywhere! The price of wood pellets had gone up even when i ordered them early summer and am thankful I ordered when i did.

We have a mare who wee's for Britain, we target the bedding to where she wee's and make sure there is always enough, fortunately, its always in the same place.
 
Straw makes a lovely bed but you have the costs of desposing on the back end... and it does make you smell when you muck out. My horses are on shavings beds all but one I only take the wet out once a week - the cob needs wet out every day he is so disgusting... all bedding is expensive these days - it’s my
Biggest cost
 
I use either Bliss or Equinola which is chopped rape straw. Shavings don't rot down or make good compost, where as rape straw rots down to make fab compost. Its absorbent and I just lift out the damp bits once a week and top up as needed. It seems to work well with rubber matting and doesn't "travel" like shavings do. Also, it smells lovely! Can't comment on wood pellets but I imagine they wouldn't rot down as well as the rape straw? That might not be an issue for you, but we cannot get our muck heap taken away so need to spread it regularly either on the garden or on one of the fields! It varies between £6 and £7 a 20kg bag, but it goes a long way.
 
I've been having success with NedzBed for my wet, messy, hoof-dragging-through-the-bedding mare.
Shavings large or small flake just get tramped into a poopy, pulpy mess, and she does the same with wood pellets (which is annoying as my other girl is fantastic on them!). Don't like regular straw as whilst it looks so amazing and comfy, I find it smelly and heavy. Tried Chipmunk Zebra bedding but it lacked absorbancy, and I found the same with Miscanthus.

This winter will be the real test though!
 
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