*Spyda*
Active Member
Which is most cost effective? Pros and cons please!
Bliss bedding or Auboise bedding?
- Thread starter *Spyda*
- Start date
BSL
Well-Known Member
Aubiose was my favourite. Fresh smell, no allergies (human) where as others made my daughter ill. Super absorbant. The best bedding of all I have tried except for Megasorb. Just so expensive. I am back on shavings as have a good deal and horses fine.
honetpot
Well-Known Member
I have tried about every make. Aubiose is the best, but a £10 a bale its just too much. Next is flax or hemp bedding, takes longer to settle and compact. Then mischanthus and chopped rape straw. If you can get a good price on the Bliss, its OK. Have a look at Equinola?
*Spyda*
Active Member
Thank you. Not heard of Equinola, will look it up on Google.
I agree Aubiose is expensive. I was only considering it as my boy is going in for an operation this Thursday and will require 6-8 weeks continual box when he's home. I thought it would be more pleasant for him to have something less dusty and more comfortable over his rubber mats. Atm I use wood pellets under straw over my mats when he's in at night in winter. The pellets can be dusty in summer without regular dampening down and the big bales of straw that our yard supplies definitely isn't dust free! It makes me cough when I'm laying fresh down, until it settles. Definitely not ideal long term.
*Spyda*
Active Member
See I didn't like Megazorb. One reason being that I found it too light and that moves about too much. I also tried it in my guinea pig pens and actually found it quite dusty - well, if not dusty like straw exactly, it still puffs little particles of its substrate into the air as I lay it, so even stopped using it for my pigs. But I know a lot of people love it for both horses and small animals. I just didn't get along with it.
I also suspect my horse is going to be cheesed off at being box rested when the rest of the yard are still 24/7 at grass, so anticipate him being restless in his box - although we do plan to administer ACP to keep the edge off. A bed that can create a good solid base will be most ideal.
be positive
Well-Known Member
I have used Bliss as a cheaper alternative to Aubiose and found it fine, it does get a bit darker and not look as fresh so used the odd bale of aubiose or shavings mixed in to lighten it up, I had one on box rest one winter on it, 4 months in total, it made a good bed that I could semi deep litter, it is easy to muck out and it stayed firm even when he was doing interesting moves in there, he also required regular sedalin to keep the lid on him.
*Spyda*
Active Member
Thanks Be Positive. That's useful feedback! Hope your boy made a good recovery? We wont know until February the outcome of ours.
be positive
Well-Known Member
He did eventually!! hope yours comes through it all ok, waiting until Feb to know the outcome is going to be tough, the worst part is when they are allowed out to walk in hand and they grow an extra couple of hands and you are struggling to contain them knowing that if they mess about too much the recovery may be set back or worse.
If you can set up a restricted area now so it stays nice until he is allowed out it will help, mine was injured in the winter and it was too late for the grass to grow in the safest areas near the yard so getting him back out was difficult, if I had known he was going to get injured and been able to plan ahead it would have been so much easier.
*Spyda*
Active Member
So glad to hear a positive outcome. Great news. ����
Yes, the walking out in hand malarky is going to be fun (not!)
I remember years ago a bad experience I had when leading one of my big (18hh) TB mares after a period of box rest following an arthroscopy to remove fragments from a hock; I was leading her out in a snaffle bridle and 8ft long rope but towards the end of our short walk across one of the fields she reared right up and dispite the bridle and extra long rope I had no choice but to let go as the rope was snatched out of my hands and her front legs were dangling inches from my head as I tried to hold her. She shot off across the field at a pace, heading towards the gate leading onto the long concrete drive down onto the main yard. As she came off the grass and hit the concrete drive and attempted the necessary right-angle turn up the drive her feet shot out from under her and she skidded several feet along the drive on the front of her hind fetlocks and stifles. I have gruesome photos somewhere. She took perfectly circular 2" diameter areas of hair and skin off the front of both fetlocks - right back to the bone beneath. Both stifles were severely grazed, but thankfully not to the extent of those fetlocks. �� Jeeze, talk about one step forward and another 50 backwards. She made a full recovery in the end and the healed scars were practically invisible, although I do remember a gruelling and protracted battle with proud flesh during the healing process. She was only a 3 year old so I think healed better than perhaps an older horse might have. Still, it's not something you forget happening! It's overkill in precautions whenever I've had the job of walking a potentially suicidal horse out in hand, since.
Fingers crossed Raffy proves to be a better patient!
Luckily I have half his paddock fenced off as he's on a permanent diet during the summer, so will have a nice area to go out on once he's permitted. The grass on that side is about a foot long.