Curious..... What bedding is everyone's favourite

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woody2211

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Hi just wondering what every one thinks is the best bedding.
More interested in shavings. As have very wet mare. But OH wont muck out if its straw haha. Used to use easi bed, but was wondering if any one else had any better experiences?

Thanks
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I used to use straw but it really stank as my lad used to be very wet too...so moved onto shavings, the cheapest here, elite dream or smart horse, personally prefer the ones with slightly bigger flakes but dont like the massive flake ones plus they are too expensive! :) Get through half a bale every week...and no smell :)
 
I used to love shavings, but having 6 horses with various "bedroom manners"... I have tried most options in the last few years. (I hate straw btw)

Comfy bed was ok but which ever way I tried, (deep litter, semi deep litter, full muck out...) it ended up too costly and killed my back with the weight of the wheelbarrow.

I have also tried: a mix of comfy bed and shavings,
Straw pellets
Wood pellets
Straw pellets / wood pellets mixed with comfy bed or shavings
Bliss (only 1 horse- hated it)

Currently have the guys (inc v active youngster) on Hempcore. Not at full depth yet as they are still out at night. I am mucking the beds out fully once a week and skipping out the rest of the week. ALL of the beds look great, lovely and clean. Easy to work with AND the wheelie doesn't weigh a ton. It breaks down easily and quickly so the muck heap doesn't get too big.

The other half can muck it out easily, it doesnt smell (other than citronella) and it is working out quite cheap. I might just be staying with this one! :)
 
Anyone on pellets?? I switched over to shavings last winter from straw thought I was in heaven- it was brill. Now doing research on pellets.... Can anyone advise? I hear Aquamax or LWP are good but that Aquamax more expensive but both are less work than shavings once down.
 
I use bliss eucalyptus as it is low in dust and better for my lad who has problems with dust from hay and bedding. It rots down quick on the muck heap too.
 
I am an old school lover of straw.. nothing like a nice big deep straw bed for them to bed down into but other than that my mums horse is on sawdust and i don't mind that either!
 
We use shredded rape straw. We used to use Bliss but have recently swapped to simbed http://simbed.co.uk/whatis/whatis.htm which is very similar and £2 a bag cheaper. We live close enough to go and fetch it in the horsebox. I think is an appealing bedding, it looks nice and is reasonably easy to maintain. We tend to used deep litter over rubber matting. The only downside is that some horses will eat it if hungry unless you go for a eucalyptus or citronella additive.
 
I have three horses, one of which is a mare, and after years of using different types of bedding - straw only, straw with sawdust, sawdust and shavings - now use wood pellets and would never go back! I didnt like them at first as they didnt look as pretty as either a straw or shaings bed but I can now do all three stables (16 x 16), do haynets, water and make up feeds in under an hour - it makes for a much smaller muck heap as well as you dont take out half the bed with the poo and the dry pellets actually turn to sawdust when initially wet so you only take out the wet when it becomes saturated - usually once a week but, very concentrated so easy to remove and nowhere near as smelly as either straw or shavings!! I use Verdoo wood pellets and buy them by the pallet. They come in 15kg bags, which are slightly heavier than some of the other wood pellet suppliers but the bags are lighter than a bale of shavings - once water has been added, they fluff up really well. I don't pour the water in the bag (as suggested on the bag) but empty a few bags in a space in the stable and then spray with water from the hose, wait half an hour and then add more water if needed. Where the horses pee the most, I put down some non-watered pellets and cover. It may not look as pretty as a shavings bed but it makes a much denser bed without the faffing! My horses lie down everynight and I don't get stable stains on my rugs anymore, they are not lying on wet shavings/straw!!
 
...me too....I love the look of deep shavings beds....but with 3 of them it takes me all day to keep them clean!! On the wood pellets, it takes me about 5 minutes.....to do all 3!!
 
Favourite bedding - deep, deep bed of barley straw with huge banks!! However, I now use Bliss chopped rape straw. My mare is incredibly wet and messy and this bedding works so well as I don't have to do a full muck out every day, just skip out poos and clear any hug pee piles. I top up with a bale once a week. I still miss those lovely straw beds though......
 
I mentioned on another post a few days ago about rape straw. I've tried both shavings (snowflake) and straw and shavings far better, quicker, lighter and generally easier to clean. However price of snowflake was getting a bit silly, so end of last winter had a go with rape straw and I'm converted. It's somewhere between easibed and shavings. I use 2 to make a fresh bed then with daily picking of poo and wet might use 1 bale a week to top up. It's nice and easy to sift and as it's a bit heavier than shavings, it stays put. My local supplier delivers a bulk load for £6.50 a bale.
 
debserofe said:
I have three horses, one of which is a mare, and after years of using different types of bedding - straw only, straw with sawdust, sawdust and shavings - now use wood pellets and would never go back! I didnt like them at first as they didnt look as pretty as either a straw or shaings bed but I can now do all three stables (16 x 16), do haynets, water and make up feeds in under an hour - it makes for a much smaller muck heap as well as you dont take out half the bed with the poo and the dry pellets actually turn to sawdust when initially wet so you only take out the wet when it becomes saturated - usually once a week but, very concentrated so easy to remove and nowhere near as smelly as either straw or shavings!! I use Verdoo wood pellets and buy them by the pallet. They come in 15kg bags, which are slightly heavier than some of the other wood pellet suppliers but the bags are lighter than a bale of shavings - once water has been added, they fluff up really well. I don't pour the water in the bag (as suggested on the bag) but empty a few bags in a space in the stable and then spray with water from the hose, wait half an hour and then add more water if needed. Where the horses pee the most, I put down some non-watered pellets and cover. It may not look as pretty as a shavings bed but it makes a much denser bed without the faffing! My horses lie down everynight and I don't get stable stains on my rugs anymore, they are not lying on wet shavings/straw!!
Click to expand...

Wow..... Thanks.... Sounds like a perfect solution.... Have you tried any other pellets? Was wondering whether there Is there much difference between brands in terms of how they perform.
 
We are just thinking of moving from shavings onto wood pellets, e mailed LWP and they have sent us a couple of bags to trial, so far seem very good. We are about to order a pallet cos I think we need to get ready for winter, they will come in over night, so beds will have to be ready soon just in case winter starts early!
 
I've used bedmax and wood pellets in the past but they are both horribly dusty. Now I'd only use shredded cardboard, either squares or strips.
 
I have just switched to wood pellets and I LOVE them! I have two horses that are in every night, one is very tidy but being a mare, really wet, and the other is a vile, dirty beast who likes pee and poo constantly and then wander round the box churning it all up.
I found some pellets from a local fuel company, they cost me £3.99 a bag delivered (LWP are about £3 a bag bought in bulk I believe and very similar)
I can now muck both horses out, hay, water, scrub buckets and sweep yard in half an hour without rushing or cutting corners.
Oh, and my trousers still mostly smell of washing powder when I'm finished!
 
I am an avid supporter of Eco ComfyBed - it's one of the cheapest per kilo types of bedding on the market and it's easy to use and very economical, saves me bags of time each morning!
 
I wouldn't really call wood pellets a bed as such, they just are there to absorb the pee on top of rubber matting. I love a deep fluffy bed so prefer shavings, but they aren't very absorbent and they blow everywhere ..... Hate straw, heavy and smelly.

I've never found a bed I like ......
 
I love a good deep straw bed and so does my mare, so she's on that (thankfully she is very tidy in her stable). My gelding on the other hand is a nightmare so he is on shavings - so much easier to skip out his mashed-into-the-bed poo!

I have been thinking about trying straw pellets this winter, but it's justifying the cost of a pallet to OH - it would work out cheaper in the long run, but he had heart failure at the initial outlay!
 
those of you on wood/straw pellets, how do you find them with very wet horses, mine likes to stand in the doorway and make her mess there, and proceeds to mash it all into the bedding, if i don't bring the bedding almost to the door she makes a mess directly onto the concrete YUK! (not sure if its a youngster thing or a mare thing)
 
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