Eating his bloomin bed- HELP

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brokenleg

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So my fussy/greedy WB gelding is eating his straw bed!

This is causing him to cough and give him a bit of snot!, lovely

I am currently changing him over from hay to haylage as the hay we have is v dusty at the mo so i've been soaking it and i dont think he overly approves so he's helping himself to his bed!

I've started spraying any new straw i add with a dilute mix of jeyes fluid but he just rummages through his bed for the non sprayed stuff.

Any suggestions???? just to add my colt is also on this straw and doesn't touch it!
 
Are you feeding enough fibre, haylage contains more water than hay and you may need to feed nearly half as much again by weight,as hay. A big problem with haylage is that for many horses ,feeding enough fibre with haylage, means the diet is far too rich. There is plenty of good hay about, so maybe you should reconsider hay and find some better stuff.
 
yes he's getting plenty of fibe (speedi beet/alfa pellets) plenty of hay/haylage and out grazing for around 9-10 hours a day.

dont really want to swap bedding as i have two to bed/feed and its a lot easier if both are on the same, plus the star works out so cost effective i'm loathed to change to a different option
 
Well, whatever you do please do not spray his bedding with Jeyes fluid or other chemicals. Use more straw if you have too, sounds like you will just have to put up with it. ;)
 
that's kinda what i thought!!

i'm going off to do research on other cost effective bedding!! suggestions welcome

i like paper but not sure i could get a constant supply
 
paper bedding is not brilliant, I tried it once, it was yug. If the YO won't allow shavings only straw, try spraying bitter spray on it (you can get this from the vet it is horrible tasting) or I always use TCP on tops of doors when I get a nibbler, it stops them and it doesn't smell so bad.....thats if you like the smell. Also works for chewing dogs
 
I have a straw eater too. I stopped it by mixing dirty straw in with the new. She has a good sniff, then goes to her hay.

When mucking out, only take the poos out (you can take SOME wet out, if your Horse is quite wet) add the new straw and mix well, I do a full muck out every 3 weeks (she does eat some straw the next day though, but only for the 1 night until I have some fresh wee to mix in) I am very lucky that my Horse isn't very dirty.
 
What about buying rubber mats? That way you only need enough shavings to stop the ´splashback´ and soak it up. Mucking out is done in a flash. The stall is 100% cleaner, more hygenic and just as comfortable for your horse. If you ever change yards you hoick up the mats and take them with you:) If the owner still insists on straw (I can´t think why anyone would insist on straw!!!), again, you will only need a little. There are animal friendly disinfectants on the market that you can mix with water and put in a spray bottle to give the straw the once over and deter chomping their bed. But also, as others have suggested - check fiber levels in the feed your horse is receiving.
 
When I used straw, I also used to mix used straw with clean. She would eat the bed when it was fresh and clean, but as it becam used, then the eating would stop - brainwave moment :D Mix it up.
 
If he's coughing and snotty that sounds more like he's got a dust allergy than it being caused by eating his bed? Sounds like he'd be better off on something dust free.
 
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