Does anyone not use banks in their stable?

[ecb89]

No banks at my yard, they all have rubber matting and shavings or straw. My horse is so messy that he gets a small bed, it's disgusting the next morning and you can then sweep the whole lot out.

 

[teddypops]

No banks for me!

 

[DabDab]

Nope, no banks in mine. Banks were like a religion when I was younger, but I've seen so many horses get cast up against a bank that I never really saw the point. Having said that, a bed with big banks does look aesthetically pleasing

 

[rosiesowner]

I can always see a squished patch in the shavings where chubby thoroughbred has had her nights sleep and she uses her banks as a pillow so I like to keep them a reasonable size. Plus, as others have said, it's a good place to keep extra bedding. For our full liveries we don't bother with big square banks and just have smaller ones as none of them are fussed, so long as their horse has a clean, thick bed

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

My boy loves his banks and uses them as a pillow, I see it on the cctv as well as an imprint of his head in the banks in the morning. I would never contemplate not using banks for this very reason.

 

[case895]

I don't. The idea that a 100-200 mm of shavings could prevent a 500-700 kg mammal becoming cast in a stable is farcical. If you cast them from concrete they might perform that function.

 

[amandaco2]

I just use a big fat shavings bed on top of rubber mats

 

[Nasicus]

Wood Pellets, no banks. Both my girls wee exclusively in them if I do them, so they get wasted.

 

[Sparemare]

This is the first winter I’ve done flat deep beds. When I cleared the stables at the end of winter this year I was horrified about the dust and rubbish in the banks, although I thought my stables were really clean. This year I’m making sure all the straw is turned every day and nothing musty left in there.

 

[Mari]

I do. I have rubber matting, large stables & use chopped rape straw & make a full deep bed. The banks are for comfort - draught excluders & my horse likes to lie against them.

 

[WindyWitch]

I only use banks to dry bedding for use at a later date when the floor needs emptying ( unless they drag them down to pee on sometimes&#129315

 

[Deltaflyer]

Always have banks. Sam uses them as a pillow. I lift the banks every day when I muck out so they don't get an accumulation of dust bitty bits at the bottom. I've done banks all my horsey life and really struggle when I do the yard and have to do flat beds as starting with the banks when I'm putting the bed down is second nature for me. It's also a useful way of having extra clean straw available if there isn't any left in the barn as sometimes happens at weekends.

 

[KittenInTheTree]

I like banks, therefore my stables have banks. About hip deep when measured from the top of the bed itself and then out from the wall by about a foot and a half. It's me doing the mucking out, so TBH I don't care what's fashionable or not! Horses aren't in much anyhow, aside from during the depths of winter, but they seem content with how they're kept, and that's good enough for me.

 

[texas]

Mine have banks. Tiny pointless banks, but they look pretty And provide clean shavings for a few days. One of them does get a big pile/bank in the corner, as likes a pillow.

 

[MuddyMonster]

Thanks for all your responses

I feel much more confident about trying a bankless bed when he is in overnight!

 

[Merrymoles]

I use them to store extra bedding too but they are not big enough to be effective for anything else. However, the stable cats seem to appreciate them as there's often a dent in each corner.

 

[LaurenBay]

I never did, but I must admit I do think they look pretty

Never had an issue with Horse getting cast. In fact the 3 Horses I've known to seriously get stuck have all had banks.

 

[WandaMare]

My horse did get cast when I removed the banks, but I think it was because she tried to roll over with the extra space. I haven't taken the risk again so my banks are back in place now.

 

[monkeymad]

No banks, but I do have anti cast strips.

 

[Hoof_Prints]

sometimes do, sometimes don't. Just moved on to shavings and they have a small bank around the outside and I move them every day, so sometimes just two walls have banks and the horse uses it as a pillow. Straw banks end up disgusting after a couple of weeks if not moved! I just emptied my stables of straw for horses that lived out mostly, and it was vile .

 

[claret09]

agree. my boy can make some very creative looks in his bedroom. he is very settled but god knows what he does in there. i frequently go in and there is a hole in the middle, the water buckets are full of shavings and he is stood looking cool as a cucumber and proud of his creativity!!!!

My mare pees in her banks and unless you pull them down every day they start developing new life forms. I'm sitting in the No Banks club too.

Boy horse just trashes his stable, banks or no banks. Sometimes I feel I should just chuck all his bed in a heap and let him put it wherever he wants....

 

[claret09]

fair enough it is personal choice what you do. we all do what suits both us and our horses

I like banks, therefore my stables have banks. About hip deep when measured from the top of the bed itself and then out from the wall by about a foot and a half. It's me doing the mucking out, so TBH I don't care what's fashionable or not! Horses aren't in much anyhow, aside from during the depths of winter, but they seem content with how they're kept, and that's good enough for me.

 

[ycbm]

fair enough it is personal choice what you do. we all do what suits both us and our horses

Mine take 'personal choice' to a new level . They live in a barn overnight. One of them digs a hole, puts up a bank, and lies in contact with the wall behind his back. The other lies flat out, dead to the world. And the two tinies curl up like dogs.

Each to their own

 

[First Flame]

Just a bank bank here! I couldn't quite go down to no banks but use the back bank to store some of the fresh bedding so it can be pulled down the day after.

 

[9tails]

I'm on woodpellets with half a bag of shavings on top for prettiness. Half bed on rubber mats with no banks. I keep the bed spotless but have no time for something that I feel has no worth and cuts down my large horse's sleeping area.

 

[Kikke]

I love my banks, looks so nice and tidy! Clean bedding goes on the banks to be taken down throughout the week.

 

[Stenners]

I've been intruiged by this - I have always banked, it was the done thing when I was younger. I'm now on a ayrd where everything is rubber matted and hardly any bedding used. I have started banking mine again but thinking I may use just a back bank but I do think banks looks much nicer and are comfier for them!

 

[nikkimariet]

Massive banks. 2 idiots that get cast sometimes.

I've tried without and it's much harder working getting them back up (and for mine, seemed to happen more often and they ended up bashing legs on walls too).