Burlybed

[HelenBack]

Has anybody used any of the different types of Burlybed please and how do you find it if so? Our local shop stocks all three types but I'm currently thinking of the rape straw based on what I've read on their website.

It's for two horses, one is pretty clean really and the other is average wetness but poos for Britain and does it everywhere! I'm currently on shavings but am fed up of having to sort through them for the poo and wasting shavings that don't shake through the fork easily. I currently take out the wet either every day or every other day but if I could save time by reducing this to a couple of times a week without it being back breaking and stinky when I do, that would be great!

 

[tyner]

Didn't know about this, but the price is good compared to pellets and looks very promising. Curious to see how it goes, but concerned as miscantus is a grass so I'd be worried they might try to eat it?
One of mine was as you described above and after I got his gut flora sorted out, things got much better.

 

[HelenBack]

Thanks for your reply. I think they have straw options as well as miscanthus and they treat them to make them less palatable so hopefully eating it wouldn't be a problem.

Do you mind me asking what you did to sort your horse's gut flora out as I've been thinking about that. He does eat a lot so it makes sense that he poos a lot too but still...

 

[Dontforgetaboutme]

I used the miscanthus but wasn’t my favourite brand as was dusty and not as absorbing as others

 

[Wishfilly]

I used this at my old yard- I sort of half deep littered it, took out poos in the week, dug out all the wet at the weekend in the morning, and then put in a fresh bale in the afternoon. This did require a bit of investment at the start to build up deeper bed. Other people with shallower beds took out the wet daily- but I do think it is a bit better than shavings for wet horses. I found it pretty easy to manage, but my only comparison is to straw.

My boy does eat straw beds, but wasn't interested in eating this- it doesn't look or smell palatable, I don't think, but I suppose a very greedy horse might try and eat it?

I think the main advantage is that it's more biodegradable, so better for muck heaps than shavings?

 

[HelenBack]

Thanks both, that's helpful information.

 

[Baroque]

It certainly produces a much smaller muck heap over time and rots down quickly in to a wonderful 'black gold' that locals like for the garden, so that's a huge positive. It is also a doddle to muck out and separate poop from bedding. It's designed to semi-deep litter and does it well so long as you're very generous with the initial bed depth.

On the negative side, I don't find it very absorbent at all (hence the need to semi-deep litter, it's very expensive to remove wet every day) and it pretty dusty. I do wonder whether some of the dust is mould since it makes us all cough deeply the day we've laid it. In fairness, the horses seem absolutely fine with it. Miscanthus is like rape straw in that it's difficult to dry it properly in the field before baling and I suspect that may make mould a potential problem with many of these newer forms of bedding.

None of our horses have shown any interest in eating it luckily.

 

[rextherobber]

It certainly produces a much smaller muck heap over time and rots down quickly in to a wonderful 'black gold' that locals like for the garden, so that's a huge positive. It is also a doddle to muck out and separate poop from bedding. It's designed to semi-deep litter and does it well so long as you're very generous with the initial bed depth.

On the negative side, I don't find it very absorbent at all (hence the need to semi-deep litter, it's very expensive to remove wet every day) and it pretty dusty. I do wonder whether some of the dust is mould since it makes us all cough deeply the day we've laid it. In fairness, the horses seem absolutely fine with it. Miscanthus is like rape straw in that it's difficult to dry it properly in the field before baling and I suspect that may make mould a potential problem with many of these newer forms of bedding.

None of our horses have shown any interest in eating it luckily.

I used it for years and it was never dusty or made me cough, then about 18 months ago, opened a bale, and it was awful, dusty and made us cough terribly. No good for a horse with respiratory issues, and no good for me. Have swapped to Aquamax , and Bedmax for the one with breathing issues.