Dirty horse; is there anything that can help?

charliehands

charliehands

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23 February 2010
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My mare is so messy in the stable it's unreal. I switched onto wood pellets as people said about how absorbent they are but my mare wees and poos for England then decides to trample in it and walk it around you literally can't separate the poo and wee from the wood so I end up wasting my wood pellets. Is there anything that Can be done to stop her being like this or am I stuck with it? I've swept it back so only 1/4 of her stable has bedding so she can wee and have somewhere to lie down so will see how that goes for now. I didn't know if getting a trickle net would keep her eating longer so maybe make her stand still a bit more? Any help gladly received :(

Ps I do have a photo from one nights worth of partying but cannot post at the moment, will try later if anyone wants a laugh.
 
Join the club! My mare is the muckiest horse I've ever met. It depends on the flooring, which bedding is the best for her. On an earth floor, she is fine on chopped straw as it drains well but on concrete she does best on small shavings. I find that a deep bed works best to keep her clean. Yesterday she decided to cut down on the mucking out by using her bucket! But normally, like yours she mashes everything up together.
I do hope you have an enormous stable if she only has 1/4 of it to lie down in, I wouldn't want to risk her getting capped hocks etc as well as stable stains.
 
My lad is the same, poo spread all round the box, I use rubber gloves to muck out, since they have the choice to be in or out it is easier, but I find it easier to deep litter, I have a base layer of shavings, topped with straw, which will be topped with more shavings, the heat generated by the rotting straw keeps them warm, I skip out the solids daily and clear the lot in spring, it works for us
 
snap ! My mare is disgusting in her stable, I use shavings & straw and by the morning I can garantuee there won't be a dry bit of straw left & no matter how much or less I seem to put in the outcome is the same.

there 's 18 livery's where my horse is kept & they all call her the messy one. Whilst there all picking out the bad bits, there's me having to wash down her stable & replace everything :/
 
One of my TB's is the worst swamp donkey in his stable... He is a real fidget in the stable and drags his feet through everything . I now have him on rubber mats with 'eco comfybed' on top - it's shredded wood which immediately creates a firm bed that doesn't move anywhere near as much as the other beds I have tried (shavings, paper, cardboard, chopped rape straw....) If you deep litter it it is incredibly economical too!
 
My gelding was reknowned at our old stables for being the messiest (poo through a sieve then dance on it...) when he was in a 12x12. Now he's in a 16x12 and is as neat as can be....

Also I find Aubiose a great addition to wood pellet bedding, as it really keeps the poo in place and absorbs all the moisture. I add Aubiose at about 1 to every 4 pellets. Hemcore is hemp like Aubiose but I dont find it as absorbant and its greyer colour means its harder to spot tiny bits of poo. Altho Aubiose is expensive per bale, it goes a long way and would def help your pellets be a better bed.
 
this is my stable after one night!

IMG_1143.jpg


:(
 
I've been trying the eco comfy bed as well and also find it holds the bed much firmer so less likely to get stirred up. Its wood fibre so its heavier than wood pellets and once its settled they walk on top of it so it stays cleaner. I'm using it with a layer of shavings on the top and its going well for my messiest. Also, do you have much problem with mice or rats as we occasionally get the odd 'visitor' and I have realised now that my boy's bed is much more stirred up when there have been rats around. Once the poison goes down round the back of my stables the beds are definitely not as messy in the mornings!
 
Things that have helped my bedding bill are;

Switching to a stable in a quieter area or near a preferred horse has helped to calm a busy horse.
Ad lib hay to last all night. Lickets etc.

Being the first one to be turned out. Sometimes the trashing is done in the last anxious hour when they see others having breaksfast or going out.
 
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