Dirty horse and winter bedding and my money tree is disappearing

[Carrots&Mints]

My horse is DISGUSTING!!! He thinks that money grows on trees and that I can buy him a bag of shavings every other day! Well Merlyn I'm not! Your going to have to change bedding!

Any recommendations on what bedding?!

Shavings too expensive and are literally draining my wage and can't have straw as the fat knacker eats it all! Anything else? He does have rubber matting but would like to have a fairly deep bed ? I think.

Would off ginger nuts but I've eaten them, might have a few crumbs left

 

[muckypony]

I recently started using hemp after only ever using shavings and I love it! I was using Rapport but can't get it now so will be using BedSoft which is about £6.80 a bale.

 

[becca1305]

Don't know if you've tried it but I had one that ate (devoured more like!) his straw bed. A (new) garden weedkiller spray pump bottle filled with some vinegar diluted with water sprayed ln the bed soon stopped him in his tracks . Bit of a faff but may be worth doing if straw is considerably cheaper than other options (and you don't want to deep litter a shavings bed).

 

[Carrots&Mints]

Well I was wondering about wood pellets. I've tried the hemp and had no success and was still expensive

 

[cheeryplatypus]

Worth investing in rubber mats?

 

[JustKickOn]

Wood pellets are good. One bag bulks up to quite a lot when watered, but they go down to dust sometimes and I think the bed looks dirty from the off with them. There are hundreds of posts on here about wood pellets, tap it in the search bar and lots of people have posted opinions and reviews about the different brands available.

 

[WelshD]

A cheap bedding is Arden Safemix which is worth a look

Horse may like a deep bed but he doesnt really need one so if he was mine i would be putting minimal bedding down on his rubber mats and taking most of it out daily

 

[Mince Pie]

Does he he disturb the bed or is he just minging? I gave up and deep littered my lad when he was on diy - pellets on the bottom and shavings on top. He got 1/2 bale of shavings per week and a bag of pellets every 2-3 weeks (I scrape the lot few inches off the wet layer then add the new bag). Ok it's more work in the spring to dig it out (though you don't have to if you keep the wet layer at a suitable level - the deep litter beds at the farm have been down for 15+ years) but so much easier in the winter!

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

I have 2 horses & they've been on shavings for years however I started to find it too time consuming & damn hard work mucking out so looked for an alternative. I'd tried straw, Bliss, cushion bed etc & all were heavy work specially cushion bed & some didn't seem to be as absorbent as it should be.

I decided to try wood pellets & bought a pallet load from Corley Bio. I set up the bed a fortnight ago for one of the horses & am really pleased with the results. He's easy & quick to muck out in the morning, I remove the poo easily & very little bedding comes with it as it just falls through the fork. The wee makes the bedding clump together so it's easy to remove also.

The second horse has been away for a few days & I've now given him a pellet bed to come home to. I'll have to see how he gets on with it over the next week or so.

At the moment it seems to be working out cheaper than shavings but, although cost is an important factor, it's not the main one. I want to muck out easier & with far less effort & at the moment the pellet bedding is giving me that.

 

[Carrots&Mints]

Worth investing in rubber mats?

All ready have rubber mats

Does he he disturb the bed or is he just minging? I gave up and deep littered my lad when he was on diy - pellets on the bottom and shavings on top. He got 1/2 bale of shavings per week and a bag of pellets every 2-3 weeks (I scrape the lot few inches off the wet layer then add the new bag). Ok it's more work in the spring to dig it out (though you don't have to if you keep the wet layer at a suitable level - the deep litter beds at the farm have been down for 15+ years) but so much easier in the winter!

He is just minging. I think what it is at the moment, the lady who I rent stables wth we had a 'deal' where I said Id muck hers out at night and shell muck mine out in the morning, but that doesnt seem to be happening, yet im still mucking hers out!

I have 2 horses & they've been on shavings for years however I started to find it too time consuming & damn hard work mucking out so looked for an alternative. I'd tried straw, Bliss, cushion bed etc & all were heavy work specially cushion bed & some didn't seem to be as absorbent as it should be.

I decided to try wood pellets & bought a pallet load from Corley Bio. I set up the bed a fortnight ago for one of the horses & am really pleased with the results. He's easy & quick to muck out in the morning, I remove the poo easily & very little bedding comes with it as it just falls through the fork. The wee makes the bedding clump together so it's easy to remove also.

The second horse has been away for a few days & I've now given him a pellet bed to come home to. I'll have to see how he gets on with it over the next week or so.

At the moment it seems to be working out cheaper than shavings but, although cost is an important factor, it's not the main one. I want to muck out easier & with far less effort & at the moment the pellet bedding is giving me that.

 

[paulineh]

Why would you want to give him a deep bed on rubber matting.

They are horses and if out would not have a deep bed ,just the ground to lie on.

I have rubber matting and if mine come in (They live out 24/7) there is a small amount of shavings so that they can wee and poo on them.

If he eats a straw bed you need to spray the bed with a weak solution of Jeys Fluid.

 

[Shysmum]

Shy is a dirty boy in his stable usually, so this year I am trying a semi -deep littering, and IT WORKS !!

I started by putting down several bags of the cheap shavings, and then I put a bale of straw on top. It took about two weeks to settle down, and every day I scrape off the really wet straw only, and the poos. I leave the straw up to allow the base some drying time, and then put the straw back down with just a couple of sections of clean. Once every two months, I take out the wet shavings from half the stable (going to do it alternately), and bung in a new bag of shavings, and off we go.

Shy is now much more settled - he poos in one corner, and wees in the same place. His feet are not affected at all which I was concerned about. Mucking out and the muck heap take less than ten minutes now.

I hope that helps.

ps the horse next door is on unselaed rubber matting and just straw, and it STINKS. Imho, using shavings over the mats would help with the smell.

 

[Mince Pie]

Wood pellets are good but mine is so wet that you'd have to replace the bed every other day on them (he is on them at the moment, I'm not sure how happy YO is with him!)

 

[Tinypony]

"He is just minging. I think what it is at the moment, the lady who I rent stables wth we had a 'deal' where I said Id muck hers out at night and shell muck mine out in the morning, but that doesnt seem to be happening, yet im still mucking hers out!"

Does this mean they are living in? If it does... turning out for as long as possible would save bedding, and might mean he scuffles about less. As you have rubber matting, as said above, reduce the size and area of the "bed". Also set it up in an area where he tends not to wee, and put a bucket of Megazorb down where you think he normally does.

 

[honetpot]

I would second the base of shaving and then straw on top. I had a very mucky stallion, because I was on rubber I only bedded down the middle third but I used wood pellets and straw, the wee was soaked by the base and the straw made it look good to lie on and I only needed to add a couple of slices a day. It means that any mess that is not on the bed can be just scooped up. I would also look at where you put your water and hay bucket, they need to be where he wants to stand most of the time usually by the door, so he is not forever moving to and from the haynet.

 

[Tinypony]

Op said she can't use straw because he eats it.

 

[ester]

was he not moving to be out? no ideas I'm afraid I am just very grateful for my tidy lad!

iirc is there a cat-litter type absorbent thing that people put under beds, I was thinking about it for a friend the other day but couldn't remember!

 

[susi]

my gelding was on shavings for a few weeks before he was PTS. he was foul as well. it ended up with the entire bed being removed every 2 days. massively to expensive. he used to eat his straw as well i did the spray with vinegar and he hated it so left it alone. it takes a couple of mins after cleaning out. it also helps with flies in the summer as they hate the smell i find.

pellet bedding is used where i am now and i hate it. its damp all the time and looks grubby. its only been down days. the horse on it is quite wet though. horses owner is cleaning him out really though so its the bedding with the pony.

i was going to try pellet base then shavings ontop.

im like you i like deep beds ontop of matting.

my mare is on straw. shes quite clean so for now im sticking put. in the summer i may change to something else

 

[Frosty89]

Rubber matting and wood pellets does wonders for my messy mare

 

[Carrots&Mints]

Yes I think Im going to go for the wood pellet option and try it, ive tried everything else. Hes in the majority of the day as we have no grazing either, but half of his stable is just rubber matting and the other half is his bed. But, his bed is nearest the window which he gazes out of most of the day and the other half is where the door to his stable is (its a full door not a stable door)... what if i moved the bed to be on the other side of the stable and then hes not walking around in it???? Just a thought (We are an 'iggeldy piggeldy' yard lol)

 

[Carrots&Mints]

so, if i move the bed to where he doesnt stand most of the day but is still rubber matting then i should have a less churned up bed??? so to speak??

 

[WelshD]

so, if i move the bed to where he doesnt stand most of the day but is still rubber matting then i should have a less churned up bed??? so to speak??

Yes absolutely

 

[ester]

yes def move it to the low traffic areas!

 

[Carrots&Mints]

Will be doing that tonight then!! Then weekend.... pellet bed for the horrible mess!!!

 

[mjcssjw2]

I started on paper about a month ago, its making a good bed and the best thing is I get it from work and its free, its the little square not the strips.

 

[Carrots&Mints]

I started on paper about a month ago, its making a good bed and the best thing is I get it from work and its free, its the little square not the strips.

How do you get into squares??

 

[mjcssjw2]

work chop it up like that with a cross shreader- thankfully - how tediuos would that be cutting it into square he he!

 

[Carrots&Mints]

work chop it up like that with a cross shreader- thankfully - how tediuos would that be cutting it into square he he!

Haha yes that would be very annoying!!! lol

 

[CBFan]

I was just about to say that this year I have changed my boy from having a full bed right across the stable to having a 6ft x 6ft bed in the back, furthest corner from the door as he was pooing in the back corner nearest the door and then churning it up lots as this is where he stands... doing it this way saves a hell of a lot of wasted bedding as, despite the fact that he seems to like to poo and wee on the bedding, he doesn't walk it in so much (he also does quite a few poos in bhis usual place at the back nearest the door. I was however having problems with wee running and pooling due to not enough bedding to saok it up so last weekend I put down three partially wetted bags of wood pellets under my rapport and I am AMAZED I think I will need to put 1-2 bags a week in but the bed is staying pristine, soaking up the pee and is dry as a bone ( I do take out the wet daily) I would try a smaller wood pellet bed If I were you...

 

[smellsofhorse]

From what you are saying basically he is box walking so disturbing his bed, plus hes in 25/7 and the lady you have a deal with is only doing a quick job or mucking out.

To be honest I'd move yards.
Let horse be turned out a lot more.
Either 24/7 or a full day and just in at night.

The dirty bed is s symptom of the actual problem of your horse not being happy suck in his stable.