Dusty Aubiose bed

[Fieldlife]

I have a deep bed of aubiose in my horse's.

I put it down in July last year, and have topped it up occasionally.

My horse lives out, and comes in only for grooming / feeding / tacking up / physio etc.

He does wee in stable, and sometimes I catch it in a bucket, and sometimes I leave base to deep litter. I do sometimes dig the wet out and isnt too much.

However a year on, the bedding is getting dusty, and I am asthmatic, and notice it if horse turns a few circles in the stable.

I chose Aubiose over shavings, as thought be slower to get dusty, and it probably is.

Is there anything I can do, that is cost effective to lessen the dust.

Having a dry and drying surface for feet is important to me, so I do want a bed in the stable. Plus when I hang rugs up to dry in stable in winter, having a dry bed underneath speeds up the drying.

Would watering the aubiose help, or will it just go musty? I could put fresh bed on top before winter? Though it is plenty deep enough.

Anyone any other suggestions?

I guess any bedding will get dusty left long enough?

 

[poiuytrewq]

Yes i think your right. A year is a long time but I notice my very clean horses bed gets a bit dusty as they dont get the turn around of a normal stabled over night horse. Any bedding breaks down and dust settles.
Mine is in all day and is pretty dry, I've given him a smaller bed. Cut out the banks completely and he has a bed deep enough to wee and lie down but not big enough that bedding hangs round too long. Ive also stopped topping up routinely, I used to put half a bale in weekly but now I let it run a bit lower and this had helped enormously with dust levels. I too as asthmatic and chose this bedding because of it!

 

[The Xmas Furry]

I recycle Aubiose bedding from stables into the field shelters, usually twice a year when stables are completely swept out and scrubbed down.
Aubiose is pretty non dusty, but by the end of 5 to 6 months, its obviously picked up dust from everything else.

OP, have you never swept it out, de cobwebbed etc in a year??

 

[SEL]

My bed that has been down the longest (stables aren't used much & she's very clean) is also very dusty. Her neighbour is a very wet horse and hers is fine.

I dig out and replace annually

 

[Fieldlife]

I recycle Aubiose bedding from stables into the field shelters, usually twice a year when stables are completely swept out and scrubbed down.
Aubiose is pretty non dusty, but by the end of 5 to 6 months, its obviously picked up dust from everything else.

OP, have you never swept it out, de cobwebbed etc in a year??

I decobweb as and when. And I dig out the wet patches, my horse though only in briefly likes weeing in it (though I catch some with a bucket). But it is big stable and a big bed, I have not swept it out in a year. I do hand sort out any haylage at the front from mixing in.

It would be over £100 to take it all out and start again. Aubiose isnt cheap. I dont have mats, so want a deep surface, and ready if I ever needed an emergency stable. Ideally I would like to avoid spending that much!

 

[poiuytrewq]

I’d try turning it once a week or so.
I don’t think there’s any saving the current bed though sorry! You could try watering I guess but I’m not sure it would work.
I’d be inclined to cut my losses chuck it and start afresh but throw it up and sweep at fairly regular intervals

 

[SEL]

I decobweb as and when. And I dig out the wet patches, my horse though only in briefly likes weeing in it (though I catch some with a bucket). But it is big stable and a big bed, I have not swept it out in a year. I do hand sort out any haylage at the front from mixing in.

It would be over £100 to take it all out and start again. Aubiose isnt cheap. I dont have mats, so want a deep surface, and ready if I ever needed an emergency stable. Ideally I would like to avoid spending that much!

In that case just leave it down - I found with the pony's bed that I've had down the longest (she wees and poos in just one corner, so her stable is immaculate) that when she came in overnight for the one horrible week in Feb the dust dampened down pretty quickly. Its so dry at the moment that if she rolls in it then I do get a cloud of dust but otherwise I just try not to disturb it.

 

[Fieldlife]

In that case just leave it down - I found with the pony's bed that I've had down the longest (she wees and poos in just one corner, so her stable is immaculate) that when she came in overnight for the one horrible week in Feb the dust dampened down pretty quickly. Its so dry at the moment that if she rolls in it then I do get a cloud of dust but otherwise I just try not to disturb it.

thanks, think so, I was hoping for a magic solution.

Does anyone thing turning a bed over that isnt being used much make any difference to dust levels? I think it is the weeing and rotation through of adding clean and removing dirty bedding that keeps dust down in a bed in use. I am not convinced throwing clean bedding up with lessen dust if I am not taking bedding out. Just seems like a wasted effort with a large deep bed.

An open polytunnel fieldshelter, with a mud control mat base is on the wish list for later this summer. So if it happens, I could barrow out (probably 20 barrow loads to walk ten minutes - but I do go to field daily!) the dusty aubiose to the field shelter and replace. That way not wasted. I think dust issue would disappear in an open field with shelter open both ends, over winter!

 

[BigRedDog]

I have been using this for a couple of months, bed have been down a couple of months, and so far no dust. Much better than shavings/aubuoise

Benefits of Cardboard Horse Bedding

Cardboard Horse Bedding has many benefits. High Absorbency, Dust Free, Warm and Insulating, 100% Biodegradable, Eliminates Odour.

www.greenmilebedding.com

 

[Goldenstar]

I use an another brand of chopped rape straw for one of mine .
The difference it’s mucked out and stacked daily it does grind down to dust loads more than the Bedmax that I use for the other horse .
I am not at all suprised in makes for dusty deep litter and as it composts incredibly quickly I am not at all surprised it affects your chest , the bedding will be producing spores .

 

[SEL]

thanks, think so, I was hoping for a magic solution.

Does anyone thing turning a bed over that isnt being used much make any difference to dust levels? I think it is the weeing and rotation through of adding clean and removing dirty bedding that keeps dust down in a bed in use. I am not convinced throwing clean bedding up with lessen dust if I am not taking bedding out. Just seems like a wasted effort with a large deep bed.

An open polytunnel fieldshelter, with a mud control mat base is on the wish list for later this summer. So if it happens, I could barrow out (probably 20 barrow loads to walk ten minutes - but I do go to field daily!) the dusty aubiose to the field shelter and replace. That way not wasted. I think dust issue would disappear in an open field with shelter open both ends, over winter!

I find the less movement the better.

In my shelter I put a load of old & new bedmax shavings 2 years ago and they've gone to dust now.

 

[Dontforgetaboutme]

aubiose should be watered when it gets laid to stabilise. I had the same thing with a wood pellet bed that was horribly dusty, I ended up using couple bag of shavings on top to keep dust down. Just skipped the poo all summer, horse was in for few hours per day

 

[poiuytrewq]

I was just thinking that when i chuck mine up there is the dustier bits left on the floor so i then sweep that up, this smaller particles/dusty bits would otherwise just stay in the bed and build up making the whole thing broken down and dusty.
I don't do my rape beds every day so its not a major thing.

 

[Fieldlife]

aubiose should be watered when it gets laid to stabilise. I had the same thing with a wood pellet bed that was horribly dusty, I ended up using couple bag of shavings on top to keep dust down. Just skipped the poo all summer, horse was in for few hours per day

My long term experience is wood pellets very dusty in summer, shavings less dusty, aubiose even less dusty.

I think adding shavings now would not improve for long.

 

[BSL2]

I was taught a deep litter bed should be approx a couple of months. Then all cleared and replaced. But I'm old. Happy to be corrected.

 

[Jambarissa]

Everything organic will break down into dust eventually. If you've a good turnover of being it might be OK but during summer when they're barely in it's awful. I replace my pellet beds with megaspread during the summer, the larger the flakes the longer it takes to turn to dust.

If you don't want to replace it you could try watering it, that'd wash the smaller particles into the base and generally dampen it down. Remember that grass and earth are damp and your horses have no issues being on that 24/7 (probably).

 

[Jambarissa]

I have been using this for a couple of months, bed have been down a couple of months, and so far no dust. Much better than shavings/aubuoise

Benefits of Cardboard Horse Bedding

Cardboard Horse Bedding has many benefits. High Absorbency, Dust Free, Warm and Insulating, 100% Biodegradable, Eliminates Odour.

www.greenmilebedding.com

I would love to know how you manage your bed, I tried it and it was lovely and crisp and springy for a few days but then all went soft and it was hard to figure out what was wet and dry and I was chucking loads away.

 

[Dave's Mam]

Surely if the bed is down & not being used, it's going to get dusty. As far as my experience goes, everything to do with horses is dusty & if the bed isn just sitting, it will accunulate dust.
When Dave is out for summer & only in for short times, I make a little "Day bed" or "wee pad", that is mucked out every couple of days to avoid dust accumulation.

 

[Boulty]

I think even the places that use this or similar as deep litter field shelters have to dig the whole lot out a few times a year. Would say you’ve probably reached the point where it all needs digging out & a deep clean of stable before starting again.

If horse is in less in Summer then next year I’d be tempted to run the bed down so it’s a bit smaller the last few weeks of being in overnight & then it’s less of a task to dig out & can just be maintained as a smaller day bed until following winter.

 

[rabatsa]

Even cardboard beds end up dusty in time if not lived in full time. Hooves bring dirt in, hairs drop off ponies along with dirt from rolling outside.

All beds need to be completely removed several times a year when done like this.

 

[SantaVera]

It's a natural product it will be degrading.