deep littering - opinions

[madabout2]

Now I am moving yards and going to be doing my boy myself - well hubby is as well!! we are looking at the different bedding options.
A LOOOOOnnnnnnngggggggg time ago we were taught to deep litter by some very professioanl breeder who had 7 -8 inch beds and only removed the poo.

I have heard of others who lift the bed weekly, monthly, and yearly and in some cases not at all. what is you opinion?

 

[spaniel]

Personally I think its revolting no matter how well its done but I do appreciate that a lot of people find it very convenient and sometimes a lot cheaper than other management systems.

I can cope with a weeks worth...just....but wouldnt keep a bed that way out of choice myself.

 

[Caritas]

If i didnt take my horse pee out everyday his bed would be filthy. He is on shavings and they always stay white and i remove all everyday

 

[equibabe20]

I personally wouldn't keep my boy on deep litter. I muck out properly everyday and make sure all my bed is thrown in even the banks. I have a couple at work that are deep littered and I personally think it takes longer to muck out as they end up filthy if they are not done properly or in my case if one of them pees for england then the whole bed ends up red with pee. Also when you do decide to empty the bed its disgusting!!

 

[helenandshadow]

I deep litter my mare, it's so much quicker and cheaper. I find having a 'base' is soaks up the wet which stops it getting mixed in, plus it's softer on the horse's legs. I dig it out when she first goes out at night in the spring and when she first comes in at night in the autumn, it doesn't take long at all.

However, some horses on deep litter are revolting so it depends on the horse, but it works brilliantly for mine and her bed is much cleaner than it was before she was on deep litter.

 

[serena2005]

im thinking about doing it for the winter, just because my lad is so messy i could go through at least 5 bales of shavings a week and it would still be a thin bed!

i tried it with him while he was on box rest and i didnt use as many shavings, his bed was bigger but mucking it out weekly it did stink and was very wet, but i usually take out 2-3 wheel barrows on a normal mucking out day to day, on deep littler mucking out weekly still only took out 3 wheels barrows, but not the trouble of picking out the clean shavings. so im still undecided

 

[Nari]

I usually take out the wet twice a week unless it comes near the top before then. When I do I turn over the entire bed & add new shavings but the rest of the time I just poo pick & straighten it up. I could probably get away with doing the sec D once a week but just find it easier to do them both at the same time.

I find I use less shavings, it's quicker on the poo picking days & takes no longer than a normal muck out when I do turn the whole bed over, the ID doesn't dig his bed up & it doesn't smell. Neither horse is excessively wet though.

 

[Nikiolola]

I deep litter in winter - Just take out the poo. I have the worlds messiest mare, and this is the only economical way of doing it. She eats straw, and I use too many shavings if I muck out every day.

The bed stays clean because I put clean shavings on top every day. It doesn't smell at all, and after a few weeks, a thick base is built up, meaning she has a soft surface to lie down and roll on throughout the winter.

I have never got a full barrow out of her stable on deep litter. On straw, it was normal for me to take out 5 a day! It has worked really well for us.

 

[hantastic]

I completely agree S. A stable has enough allergen that horses are subjected to without amonnia for some added fun becuase people 'cant be bothered' or its 'not ecconomical' to muck out properly every day. Not acceptable IMHO

 

[scrat]

I would not recomend this method as I strongly believe this contributed to our horse ending up with respiratory problems. We used a base of shavings with straw on top thinking that the shavings would help soak things up. In hindsight the ammonia must have built up, even though they were not left for long. Remember that your horses nose will be on top of this when he lies down so it is a risk.

 

[serena2005]

BLAGDON- very good point, but i think that also depends on the stable type, our cob was mucked out everyday but had a stable with a low roof and stone built, in that stable he suffered astma attacks.

i think if a horse is on deep litter with a big airy stable the risk of breathing problems is reduced.

but thankyou you have made me think twice about deep littering my other horse now!

 

[Christmas_Kate]

where I once worked the bigger horses were on the yearly clearout deep litter method, and it was awful! The ponies were on a monthly rota (because they were in most of the time) and was okay.
The hunters at another place were on deep litter, but most of the bedding was taken out twice daily (but still only droppings and the very wet stuff).
IMO deep littering can work for some, its personal choice, but I wouldnt do it. I like a nice deep clean bed. I wouldnt keep my dog in a bed of wee so why my horse?

 

[scrat]

I agree there were other factors too. The fact we used straw although he hadn't previously had a problem. Also it was a barn and although airy had a lower roof. I just think it could not have helped being on deep littered shavings as even after a week they made your eyes water mucking out!!. Looking back the way he was kept did a lot of harm we have since moved and he now lives out.

 

[Ginn]

I have always deep littered and love it! My beds are usually atleast 1ft high with a further 2ft minimum height in the walls. Last year I discovered that putting down a good 4 inches of shavings as a base followed by straw on top kept my bed beautifully clean - any dirty straw was removed (which really wasnt much) and the shavings remained at the bottom and out the way. Throughout the winter I only needed to replace the shavings base once but that was it - I used 6 bales of shavings throughout the winter (3 bales in the initial bed and 3 when I replaced the dirty shavings half way through the winter). I also only used at most half a bale of straw a week, if that. However, I always removed the droppungs, usually with hands and rubber gloves as that way I make sure to pick it all up without throwing out clean hay. You'd really never know that my stable is deep littered as the bed is so clean and in the winter very warm. Its cheap and quick to do and you'd have a job persauding me to change! The only time I ever notice a smell is when I lift the bed - the rest of the time the air is as fresh as it is elsewhere on the yard but them I have always kept my horses in very well ventilated stables.

 

[KatB]

People do deep litter and use it as an excuse not to put new shavings down. As long as its managed properly, it is actually just as hygenic as a fully mucked out bed, is quicker on a daily basis, and stops horses from going through to concrete.

I throw all the loose bedding up every day, so that is always white and clean, and leave the solid base down. This soaks up the wet, and my stables never smell. Any obvious squidgy bits in the base get removed as and when, and filled with clean shavings. I use a bale a week, and my beds always look and smell clean, just look deeper than traditional, and my horse never hits concrete when rolling etc.

If its managed properly, I think its the best way of bedding. If incorrectly, its disgusting, but my horse is certainly alot cleaner now than he's ever been, because the wet isnt as mobile so his actual bed stays drier!!

 

[rrose]

i dont like deep litter because, when you take the wet out it is very time consuming!! we deep litter at work at the beds smell. it also rots horses feet if left to get bad. o it also attracts flys

 

[baybeejay01]

Deep littering is disgusting in my opinion, the beds may look clean but in reality, how can they be? The build up of ammonia in the air contributes to respiratory problems and it also turns any standing water acidic. (Water acts a a sponge and attracts ammonia turning your clean water into acid). I wouldn't sleep on a blanket in my toilet, would you?

Must admit to having been forced to deep litter once as I had 9 in all winter and had to do them all myself. Swore never to let myself get in that situation again for their welfare and bought rubber mats and reduced the numbers!

 

[KatB]

Can see your point, but I wont use rubber mats, as at the yard I worked at, we had both rubber mats and deep littered beds.
The rubber matting stables ended up with horses lying in pee, so rugs were disgusting and horses filthy.All personal opinion, but I know several top yards that deep litter (the army base at Melton do to) and all there horses are healthy and happy, and in alot of cases competing at a high level. As i said, it depends how it is managed.
Also I feel horses shouldnt be in for such a long time, or in such poorly ventilated stables, that a deep litter bed would have an effect on them anyway.

 

[TinselRider]

I have deep littered and there are pros and cons.

pros:
* the bed has a nice base so when the horse lies down it isn't hitting concrete

* it is economical(SOME people say its laziness "cant be bothered" unfortunately not all of us can afford to put 5 bags down a week because our horses are messy!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

*it is warmer for the horse

*its time saving

cons:

* It can smell but I have found if you lift the clean bedding off of the urine while the horse is out it airs out and doesnt smell

*it can be heavy work removing it

really all I can suggest is you try it and if it doesnt work then go back to a full muckout.

 

[Ludi-doodi]

I normally take the wet out everyday as my lad is extremely dirty. However at the moment because he is box rest with a foot injury (10 weeks and counting LOL!) I've been semi-deep littering. I leave the wet in and take it out once a week. the reason I've been doing that is that I watn to ensure that the bed is deep and solid enough - he box walks - so that his foot isn't on the floor and that it;s soft underfoot. I tend to keep about 2-3" of soft, loose shavings ontop of the base. I took the wet out today and the floor - rubber matting - was quite dry, I think because it;s deep enough for the wet to soak down but not all the way to floor, in effect its between the floor and the top of the bed. I did once deep litter throughout the whole of teh winter and it was a b*gger of a job to clear it out, but it's only once or twice a year!

If anyone can tell me how to get a horse who trapples his poo to smithereens so that you can't find any whole drops amongst the shavings to stop it'd be appreciated!

 

[lilym]

i semi deep litter, i take out the poo's everyday and do a full muck out at the weekend washing the flloor and leaving the bed up all day, my girls aren't very wet so this system works well for me, but my old girl who, thank god is retired to grass livery was the dirtiest, most disgusting horse around and had to have a full muck out each day, i did once deep litter all winter, all i can say is never again, it took ages to dig out, and smelt disgusting!!

 

[Honeyb060674]

My mare has been deep littered on a straw bed for 15 years with no ill effects, and shes 28 now and thriving. I do it not for economy but because shes very restless in her box. The results is a soggy horrible mess ground into a pulp and bare floors for her to lie on or possibly slip on. Provided your horse isn't wet, and I know some just make such a mess it isn't an option, deep littering imo is fine. Her box never smells bad, and after I have poo picked, re-arranged and bedded down with ample clean straw, it makes for a lovely clean and warm stable

 

[katelarge]

Deep littering is a good idea on concrete-floored stables where the horse would otherwise slip. Mine slipped and got cast and I spent a lot of time and money getting him right again!

As rubber mats were not available at that yard I opted to deep litter and it worked amazingly well. Time and money were not factors, only the horses' health was. My bed was never wet on top or smelly (and I did ask the honest opinion of those stabled around me), the horse never got cast again and although I never really understood quite how it worked, for my horse, it was much better.

When we came to dig it out it took two of us a good half-hour, it's hard work and when the floor was bare again we laid down disinfectant powder too. There was no rotting of the stable's wooden walls but I had been careful to keep an eye on the edges of the bed.

The yard I am at now has rubber matting so he has a small bed of recycled paper, but if I ever have to move to a yard with concrete floors and I can't access rubber mats, I would deep litter again. I too used ton consider deep littering lazy and dirty, but not any more!