Dam and blast!! horse eating straw bed - help

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NooNoo59

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Decided that with winter coming and more bedding needed that pony would go back onto straw which is £3 per week ad lib rather than bedmax shavings at £7.20 a bale, would probably need two bales a week. But lovely net of haylage hanging and the bugger is eating the straw!! Any ideas how to stop this?
 
Some people feed straw - I know others faint at the thought, but I have 7 on a mix of woodchips and straw and they all eat some of it, and two polish the lot off overnight (they are on rubber matting so I don't give that much straw!).

I have several friends who feed straw including a vet friend - I was told oat straw is more digestible and tastier, haven't tried it myself so can't comment, but my old cob starts with straw and moves onto the haylage later so you are not alone with one preferring straw!
 
I'd not worry about it. One of mine has ad lib barley straw available (on vets advice - he's had ulcer issues in the past so I want him to have constant access to forage but he can put on too much weight if this is all hay) and he's had absolutely no issues with it despite the scare mongerers spouting their doom at me :lol:
 
My new boy was allowed to feed on straw as a youngster... Now. Que problems. I've found nothing that will stop him eating his straw bed so... he has to be on shavings or paper stuff :o

You've got to be really careful with it though! Colic is a big problem with eating straw as they can't digest it very easily and they will also bloat if they're eating straw

Will be keeping an eye on this thread for any ideas :rolleyes:
 
Two of mine eat their straw beds - one polishes the lot off completely overnight (makes mucking out in the morning pretty easy!). My ex-racehorse when she was in training had to be switched to shavings because the trainer couldn't get weight off her and realised it may have had something to do with the fact she was devouring quite a lot of straw bedding when his back was turned!

Can honestly say it hasn't done them any harm!
 
NooNoo59 said:
someone suggested jeyes, would that be a good idea?
Click to expand...

We always mixed a dilute Jeyes / water and sprayed on new straw to discourgae eating when i was a kid with greedy ponies...... Never harmed them :) However mixing shredded paper in may be a better idea - chemical and all that - never kow how they will react!

If your any where near me I have papper in abundence ready shredded from my office! :)
 
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Put in more straw, you may even save on that nasty sugar filled hay and haylage.
Seriously though, straw will do far more good than harm. The chances of colic are no more than hay, and less than limiting forage.
We have used straw all my life, some horses eat lots some a little, never done any harm though.
 
You can get some stuff to spray on which is called Yuk, I think. Or mix it well with the used straw.

Unless yours is a fatty that eats too much, it is like everything else, if they start with a bit and their digestion gets used to it, then they shouldn't come to any harm. Horses can get colic, but that is if they suddenly eat a lot and it can cause compaction colic.

Mine eat a bit as an added extra to their hay ration, but luckily they don't consume the whole bed as some would.
 
Just noticed that yours is fed haylage - is that a new thing? Maybe your horse likes the extra fibre in the straw, as haylage has less fibre than hay (thinks this is right? I don't feed haylage).
 
I used dilute jayes and water and it did work, but being the daft tart that I am felt worried that it might cause a problem so switched to shavings lol. :)
 
My mare went out briefly on loan with strict instructions to NOT be on straw as she would eat it. A week later and I have a cross loaner on the phone as said mare is "eating an entire new straw bed each night"

Mare came straight back. Said mare takes greed to new heights and will not stop eating.

Either mix your bedding up with dirty or put back into shavings..
 
I would never spray disinfectant on the bed - what will that do to the skin ??

I tend to mix the old straw with the new - not as nice to look at, but he sure won't eat his old stuff !
 
Mine used to eat straw and never caused any problems. He was a dustbin on legs mind and would eat nearly everything you put in front of him
 
When mine were on straw I found that mixing a little bit of the wet into the bed helped, even though it pained me to do so as I like to take all the wet out daily. My big fellow would barely touch it that way, and it wasn't ever a problem.

Unfortunately he shot himself in the foot when treated to a massive duvet of straw that we needed to use up, and there wasn't enough wet to make a difference. He decided to chow down and gave himself colic. Now he's on shavings.
 
OliveBuffy1129 said:
We had this problem and we used some Jeyes fluid disinfectant its perfectly safe witha revolting smell it soon put the horses of eating straw!
Click to expand...

How do you know it's perfectly safe? Presumably because you haven't actually seen any effects for yourself?

I wouldn't consider it safe to eat or on the skin. Your horse may be put off by the "revolting" smell (I rather like it!) but some horses might not.
 
My greedy girl eats everything in sight, including her straw bed. I tried her on shavings and she tried to eat that too so she was straight back on straw. I also tried jeynes but even that didn't put her off, so now I just accept she will eat it and save money by giving her less of that expensive hay and let her chomp her nice cheap straw to her hearts content.

Jules
 
If that was my lot I'd simply feed less hay :D Not much help am I ? Sorry :( It wouldn't bother me at all if a stabled horse ate straw if it wasn't detrimental to it.

I am one that feeds straw in addition to hay, there is always a feeder full of straw in every paddock, if they scoff their hay ration (and rationed they are because of our hay shortage) then they can fill themselves with straw.
 
Provoding they drink enough then they should be fine eating straw. Mine all eat some of their straw. In fact i feed less hay than they need because i know they will eat their beds most of the night and they are all good doers so less feed value in straw than hay so i benefit from it as my horses don't get so fat from it. Never had a problem from it yet and i've had horses for 25 years, now i've said that i can guarantee something will go wrong!!
 
All very helpful, think i will just give the haylage ration ( he is on this because the hay makes him cough and snotty) and allow him to eat the straw if he wants to. In the summer when its dry and the grass is excellent where we are he comes in to a small haynet and a shavings bed and when its only one or less bales a week not a problem. But i dont like the thought of him being in during the winter, coming in around half three and not going out until seven, at least on straw he has something to pick at, always worried about this on shavings see my thread 'how long should a horse be left with nothing to eat' , thanks guys.
 
Not read all the posts but I've heard spraying a fairy liquid mix works well. I had one that ate straw even if I mixed in the clean with the dirty - he used to forage through it and find the clean. Nothing to do with the lovely hay hanging in the net might I add. I didn't try the fairy liquid thing but switched to shavings.
 
Tell me about it! My boy does the same thing! Most annoying, although we've had some different straw and he didn't eat one type as much as the other, also maybe he doesn't like the haylage? Leo wasn't keen on the hay we had at the time so was eating the straw more, changed the hay and gave him a bit more and he seemed to stop eating it as much, he still does tho as I get threw loads of straw!! He won't eat his whole bed though like my friends horse, who is now forever in shavings! Maybe try Yukabed, heard mixed reviews! :)
 
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