Cardboard Or Shavings?

RubysGold

RubysGold

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My horse is coughing on Straw so I want to get her onto something less dusty.
She is on box rest, and will be for a few months yet.

If anyone uses shavings or cardboard, just a few questions :)
If youve tried both which do you prefer?
What do you pay per bale?
How many bales do you use a week?
Do you have a full bed including banks?
Can you bank these beddings without ending up wasting alot?

Anything else you can think of to mention?
 
Never used carboard myself but know of a few that do and its a bugger when its wet to clean out.
I found that cheap shavings are often dusty when first laid but once they settle are normally fine. I found a very good non-dust one was easi-bed :)

We use a bag a month but we are on a half bed on matting, before we got matting we used a bag a week.

ETA: I have banks but that is only to keep some shavings clean to spread over the top of bed, they aren't big enough to actually do anything :p
 
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I find shavings are dusty for a horse that coughs. TBH I would put mats down and go for cardboard or paper. I didnt get on with cardboard so use paper but wouldnt use shavings out of choice.
 
See I have mucked out cardboard and paper and hated both for that side of things.
But in terms of dust, if its better for her, then I will learn to deal with it lol.

I do have rubber mats, but they move, (3foot by 3 foot) so I keep a thick bed to ensure she's not through to concrete when she rolls/lies down
 
Neither! Megazorb is best. I would never use anything else since I discovered it. Takes a quarter of the time to muck out and a quarter of the space to store. My second choice would be wood pellets.
 
is megazorb the same as wood pellets?
I used wood pellets before and although I liked it I found it dusty, although looking back, it probably just needed more water adding
 
If youve tried both which do you prefer?
Have tried both and prefer shavings for ease of mucking out but cardboard far and above overall for my lad with COPD...totally dust free for him and a warm bed to lie on. Would not change back to shavings now as they are never really dust free.

What do you pay per bale?
Cardboard - £6.96

How many bales do you use a week?
One per week but he has rubber mats and a small bed for COPD reasons again.

Do you have a full bed including banks?
No, as above.

Can you bank these beddings without ending up wasting alot?
Shavings might be better for banking longer term.
 
RubysGold said:
is megazorb the same as wood pellets?
I used wood pellets before and although I liked it I found it dusty, although looking back, it probably just needed more water adding
Click to expand...

No, it is completely different. It is virgin wood pulp. It never goes dusty, though dust will collect on it (as it will on anything) if the stable is left unused for weeks. But the dust never comes from the megazorb.
 
Hi
I use shredded paper for one of my horses. My other horse is so messy that straw works best for him.
I LOVE paper- my horse coughed on straw& hasn't coughed once on paper.
I use gloves to muck out- pick up the poo by hand is the quickest& I use a straw fork rather than a shavings fork to bank up.
It's really easy to muck out the wet as the paper just clumps together & you can pick it up by hand.
I have rubber mats but also have a full bed with banks.
I find it really clean& I love using it.

Better still - I get it free from work as we have big industrial shredders& friends also bring smaller bags home from their work. Worth asking friends& family if they have shredders in work- most councils etc etc do.

The only thing my husband moans about is that there are always little shreds on paper left on our yard- but it's free so cant moan!

B x
 
I use both, and I have had a horse on box rest/ living in for the last 6 months!!

The card board is easier (and cheaper!!) for wet, and it isn't a problem to muck out, I throw out much less card board than I do on a shavings bed!!
I get a Half barrow out of cb, whereas it's usually a barrow of shavings.

I like to put shavings Ono the banks and over the top because I think it's comfier for him, rather than any other reason

I think it's down to personal preference. I hate cb, I think it looks horrid and isn't comfy, but it's a lot cheaper!! (I pay £5 for both cb and shavings)
 
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