Don't know what to do... bedding...

S

spotty_pony

...
Joined
29 July 2005
Messages
12,552
Visit site
Hi,

I am currently struggling to pay for my horse and just about managing - what doesn't help is that I am having to spend a fortune on bedding, as he is very wet. Our turnout isn't great so he is in quite a bit. I am currently using Rape Seed Chopped Straw and trying to deep litter in but it isn't working very well. Am still having to add a bale every other day (sometimes two!) and at £5.50 a bale this isn't very economical! I don't have rubber matting and storing straw isn't really an option.

Anyone have any ideas? It's really getting me down. :(
 
I used to be on Neds Bed Pro; I loved it but it didn't work out price wise at nearly £10 a bale (used 2 every week!)

I swapped onto oatstraw in winter 2012 and haven't looked back. My horse has a bed as deep as his knees. It take 3 - 5 bales to make a bed in a 12x12 stable, I then add 1 or 2 bale (at £1.50) each week. The wet sinks to the bottom and the poo stays on the top making it easy to muck out, plus your horse isn't lying in it's own mess!
 
Throw all the dry bedding up into the banks during the day when he's in and leave enough to absorb anything/if he wants to lie down. Then at night lift the worst and pull the dry bedding back down, I do this and only top up a bag of shavings twice a week:) I used to do this with my young horse because he was FILTHY in the stable and it worked well for me, although I used about three bags a week. We get our sawdust/shavings at the local sawmill for £1-2 a bag if thats an option for you:)
 
Could you store straw on pallets with a tarp over ?
Deep litter on straw is the cheapest way to bed.
We had a very messy dirty horse on easibed on deep litter it worked well.
With deep litter try to pick out the droppings then flatten without disturbing the wet as little as possible ,in time the middle of the bed gets hard and firm them you get a thin layer of loose bedding .
You could also try starting the bed with some megazorb in the middle with absorbs a serious amount of liquid putting the other bedding on top .
 
I feel your pain! A very deep litter of wood pellets might be worth a try, perhaps a bit expensive intially (12 x £4ish depending on the size of bags) but if you leave it alone, don't be tempted to keep digging out it will absorb a huge amount of wee, only take the poo off the top and you should only need one bag a week to top up. Perhaps look at saving as much of your current dry chopped straw for your edges and banks :)
 
Can you find a yard with grass livery? Saves all round...

Assuming that is not an option, I also have a very wet gelding. No amount of straw absorbs it and have had wee seeping out under his door - yuck!

What I do now is put shavings in the area he wees, then a thick straw bed on top. I remove the shavings and replace each day and am using approx 1 bale a week shavings. The straw is only topped up a couple of times a week and at £2.00 a bale, does make it cheaper than a pure shavings bed.
 
Ah I feel your pain too, my boy is wet and although I'm managing to be thrifty and use a bale a week, he has bedmax shavings and I don't rate them for a wet horse :( the wet gets speed around and mixed in with the clean, I am changing him to hemp bedding (aubiose) from payday!!

Everyone else at my yard uses aubiose and swear by it. It is more expensive at just over 8 pounds, BUT it is so easy to handle, it is the most absorbent bedding Ive ever mucked out. every day you just simple take out the poos. Do a full muck out once a week but as you're removing so little, you'll likely use half to one bag a week. Majority of the yard use between half to 3/4 a bag and it takes well under 10 mins to muck out during the week. All their beds are lovely and dry, It's amazing stuff.

If you're not up for that I'd go for standard straw bed. Takes a bit longer to muck out but if you can find some for cheap you'll save money that way too.

Seriously give aubiose a chance, I expect to save a fewLo pounds a week and a lot of time and I'm only adding a bale of shavings a week.
 
I would try wood pellets where he wees, do not wet before you put them down and then the what ever bed you can afford around and semi deep litter the rest. The base should end up at least 6inchs deep.
I to like aubiose but it has got really expensive, I had the same bed down for two winters. Flax bedding is almost as absorbent but cheaper, it takes longer to pack the base down. I have also used wood pellets with straw, I was feeding straw so I just put was left over on the bed and added a flat of fresh straw to the bed so I was using about a bale of straw and half a bag of wood pellets a week, this was on a really wet pony. Cat litter wood pellets are just the same as horse ones and you can get them from most supermarkets.
 
I switched to shredded paper which I got free from the office at work :)

I was taking home about two to three bags a day, like extra large bin bags of it, in summer when out I gathered it up so I had about 40bags sitting and I used to put in about two bags a night. Very absorbent and no dust which I felt better with for the veteran and the gutsy Cobley couldn't eat it ;)
 
I have just switched from Bedmax to Blue Frog shavings, I didn't think I would like them but I have actaully found they are more absorbent than bedmax and I don't use as much a bag goes along way. I was really suprised as I really liked Bedmax but not the price I have to say !
 
Have a look in your area for a biomass wood chip company, the waste product of screening the wood chips is a very fine version of easy bed and as its ever so slightly damp ( but no where near wet, it doesn't stick to horses or rugs ) its not dusty. They may well give you it free of charge. I bed mine on this and its great, they have great big beds, its very absorbent ( wet just stays in one place ) and you can choose to deep litter and then just take the wet out or muck out every day. It doesn't move about much either. I get mine for free and have it coming out my ears.
 
I have tried semi deep littering this year and love it. Two bales of shavings as the bottom layer, topped up with lots of straw. I only take the wet straw and poo out, and leave the shavings alone completely. The add one section of straw a day.

I take the shavings out (half a stable at a time) about every eight weeks, chuck another full one down, and off it goes again.

Hope that helps :)
 
At present my 8 are living out 24/7 but when they are in then I have them on rubber matting and very stables slightly sloping with drainage channel on one side. I have banks on straw on the other three sides and a sprinkling of straw in the middle which gets swept out every morning and replaced. This has been the cheapest and the least time consuming way for me, I have tried everything else. flax, shavings, straw, deep littering, paper, wood pellets. THe only difference is the two ponies who due to COPD have shavings instead of straw on their matting, one bag between them a week.

THe rubber matting was a big initial layout though as bought really good thick mats 6x4.
 
I use shavings and wood pellets and it really is amazing!
I guess you could easily use current bedding and wood pellets

I've been using it just over a year now and would never swap
Have had 2 different horse on it. One pretty wet and totally messy. Current mare is wet but only pops in 2 places :)
Basically I have mostly a shavings bed to look at but underneath in the wet areas I put down dry pellets which I leave for several days and dig out then add more pellets
However if I didn't have arthritis I would leave it down a LOT longer probably just scrapping a little off to stop it becoming too deep then add more pellets and put shavings over the top

Basically it soaks up the wet and forms a deep solid area. If you take it out too soon it becomes messy and more expensive
Anything I sweep from the front of the stable including little bits of haylage I put on top of the base layer then add pellets as it all helps keep bed bigger

I use hunter shavings which are very expensive at £9.50 a bale BUT I recently tried Thorowgood ones having £2.00 a bale. However side by side they are visibly smaller, far less compacted and lighter. Plus less absorbent. So I switched back

I get thro 1 bale of shavings every 10 days and 2 bags of the Corley wood pellets
 
i am trying aubiouse on a deep litter system, my boy is pretty wet but I am using max 1/2 bale a week. it doesnt smell is always dry on top and am pretty happy with it as in addition to money being tight I have real problems with muck heap disposal.
 
If you have access to it I swear by shredded paper... I put a base layer down and cover/mix in with straw - makes the straw go a lot further and is good with the wet - especially with no matting. Be careful where you get it from though as some have staples left in. I shred loads at work so I am fortunate in knowing whats going in her bed.


Just an alternative idea..!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top