muddybay
Well-Known Member
He's out all day so when he comes back in is when the yard normally starts winding down for the evening. His stables always clean when he comes back in and then he's turned out the next morning
Fed up with straw
- Thread starter muddybay
- Start date
The Fuzzy Furry
🦄 🦄
If he is only getting short turnout at present due to ground conditions (too muddy or too frozen), its def worth asking.
I had one grubby gelding who I even double checked again before leaving, even removing heap was a saving.
Shysmum
Well-Known Member
I recently switched from deep litter shavings, to straw, as I had a lot in the barn to use up. It was UNBELIEVABLE the state of the stable every morning!!! It was like he had had a party with all his mates, and I literally had to take out the whole lot. Now back on shavings, and normality is restored. It was disgusting ?
Lintel
Well-Known Member
Scotland? Central, should be £20 but getting a wee bargain
muddybay
Well-Known Member
He's being skipped atm I forgot to add I was just thinking about normally
Flowerofthefen
Well-Known Member
It doesn't look like he has much bedding. The more straw you put in the more absorbent it is so therefore should be cleaner.
AShetlandBitMeOnce
Well-Known Member
You must have a very small wheelbarrow as I could take out the whole middle of that bed in 1-2 loads easily.
I would try another bedding, looks like he is a box walker though or moves a lot as it's all mixed in, so you may find you throw away a fair amount of any bedding you put in. A solid base for deep litter can be hard to build up if they're active when they're in
I would try another bedding, looks like he is a box walker though or moves a lot as it's all mixed in, so you may find you throw away a fair amount of any bedding you put in. A solid base for deep litter can be hard to build up if they're active when they're in
muddybay
Well-Known Member
He eats it it's normally very thick when we leave him! that's part of the reason why I want to switch
PurBee
Well-Known Member
I think youd find pellets - wood or straw - a great alternative. He seems to poop everywhere rather than choose a place in the stable.
im getting a tonne of wood pellets for 280 euros. Thats around 5.60 for 20 kilos and they are the best absorbant bedding material as they expand so mich, and the wee is contained in a lump rather than running all over the place.
when i first had horses i used straw - nightmare from many angles. I’d use chopped straw as a top layer above pellets if thats all i could source.
i dont have a pic but i use pellets underneath shavings. My 2 poop at the back and lay at the front. some horses are muckier than others. Youd be glad of switching to pellets as i can see youre having to take out the majority of the bed.
Try getting 20 bags of pellets, before committing to a tonne and see how you and he get on with them.
my only complaint with pellets are they can be dusty when broken down. Thats why i use shavings on top. The shavings get mixed in somewhat but i do a weekly refresh with a topping bale.
if your horse has COPD and lies down in the bed a lot pellets could be too dusty.
im getting a tonne of wood pellets for 280 euros. Thats around 5.60 for 20 kilos and they are the best absorbant bedding material as they expand so mich, and the wee is contained in a lump rather than running all over the place.
when i first had horses i used straw - nightmare from many angles. I’d use chopped straw as a top layer above pellets if thats all i could source.
i dont have a pic but i use pellets underneath shavings. My 2 poop at the back and lay at the front. some horses are muckier than others. Youd be glad of switching to pellets as i can see youre having to take out the majority of the bed.
Try getting 20 bags of pellets, before committing to a tonne and see how you and he get on with them.
my only complaint with pellets are they can be dusty when broken down. Thats why i use shavings on top. The shavings get mixed in somewhat but i do a weekly refresh with a topping bale.
if your horse has COPD and lies down in the bed a lot pellets could be too dusty.
muddybay
Well-Known Member
I think he moves around a lot! He gets quite stressed
This was a good day but the only photo I have because he chucked his feed bowl and I wanted to show someone!
muddybay
Well-Known Member
Thank you that's really helpful!
Pearlsasinger
Up in the clouds
This^^^^^.
I think that is at the root of your problem. How is the horse supposed to know what the different parts of the stable are for? Horse's minds just don't work like that.
You might find that a base layer of shavings/woodpellets/Megazorb with straw on top, works better. But fill your stable with the base layer, or it will just all move about with the horse, which is what that picture shows happens currently.
Follysmum
Well-Known Member
I have one that is particularly wet and dirty but he does eat nearly a whole bale of hay, he’s a massive lad shire x
Have tried all sorts of bedding over the years and we always go back to straw. I make a massive bed with banks and semi deep litter. It’s never smelly and he’s not standing in any wet. When he was on shavings he was on a bag a day and it was completely sodden
Have tried all sorts of bedding over the years and we always go back to straw. I make a massive bed with banks and semi deep litter. It’s never smelly and he’s not standing in any wet. When he was on shavings he was on a bag a day and it was completely sodden
PapaverFollis
Well-Known Member
My disgusting mare is much, much cleaner on deep littered straw than on any previous beds. I'm just dreading giving it a proper dig out!
palo1
Well-Known Member
I am impressed - how many bags of pellets do you add on average per week?
muddybay
Well-Known Member
Just wanted to say his bed is thick every night before I leave it! He eats his straw in the night which is why it looks so thin in that picture
muddybay
Well-Known Member
HorsesRule2009
Well-Known Member
I'd also say you need far more straw in the bed, I work a yard and all bedded on straw they are so much easier and clearer with nice thick beds fully mucked out daily.
Also probably worth him having more hay as you say he's eating the straw but in the dirty pic you put up there's not a scrap of hay left. So if he gets more hay may not eat so much bedding
Also probably worth him having more hay as you say he's eating the straw but in the dirty pic you put up there's not a scrap of hay left. So if he gets more hay may not eat so much bedding
PapaverFollis
Well-Known Member
If he's eating that much straw then that would explain the ridiculous volume of poo. I am happy for my horses to eat a bit of their beds but would not be happy if they were clearing a whole stable every night. I think you would be best changing bedding.
muddybay
Well-Known Member
That's my thought! I'm definitely going to try to switch he just seems to eat so much of it even when we upped his hay
poiuytrewq
Well-Known Member
I’ve switched to straw pellets. I prefer wood pellets but not allowed them.
I can set my alarm 20 minutes later since switching! I fit all 4 into one barrow it’s revolutionary ?
I strongly dislike and struggle with the darker colour but not enough to even consider swapping back to (free) straw.
I can set my alarm 20 minutes later since switching! I fit all 4 into one barrow it’s revolutionary ?
I strongly dislike and struggle with the darker colour but not enough to even consider swapping back to (free) straw.
muddybay
Well-Known Member
That sounds like the dream!
Sussexbythesea
Well-Known Member
The last ones I bought were Firepower pellets as on offer from White Horse energy. A pallet of 65 / 15kg bags worked out at £3.90 a bag. I get through about 2 per 5/6 days per horse in winter. I’d say FP are slightly coarser grain than either the unbranded or Platinum Plus from the same supplier.
meleeka
Well-Known Member
I’d change the bedding to pellets (make it quite thick and lift wet only when it comes to the top). I wouldn’t be happy with a poor doer eating that much straw. I’d also up his hay so there’s some left in the mornings
Roasted Chestnuts
Well-Known Member
Just watch with the straw pellets, our boys ate them. My boy who doesn’t eat his straw bed was scoffing the pellets by the gobfull when he encountered them.
muddybay
Well-Known Member
He seems to see everything as food! I do wonder if he ever had a lack of in a previous home
PurBee
Well-Known Member
I was worried with my 2 eating wood pellets even, as they love to knaw on tree bark out in the forested areas and so theyre not adverse to something really chewy - yet they dont touch the wood pellets! Even though they know pellets=food balancer mixed with beetpulp - they dont eat them. Im so thankful. They dont eat shavings either being fir based wood.
Any other bedding they’d hoover up no matter how much hay they got. They seem to love variety. Even with a variety of hays on offer, grazing on various grasses, theyd still choose to try the bed too!
im yet to sample them with straw pellets but i think theyd be too tempting...
Any other bedding they’d hoover up no matter how much hay they got. They seem to love variety. Even with a variety of hays on offer, grazing on various grasses, theyd still choose to try the bed too!
im yet to sample them with straw pellets but i think theyd be too tempting...
brighteyes
Pooh-Bah
Means very little, sadly, if he isn't making much of it. I might be tempted to increase the bucket-feed with some kind of forage replacer, like sugar beet or speedi-beet and/or fibre-beet.
Roasted Chestnuts
Well-Known Member
He seems to see everything as food! I do wonder if he ever had a lack of in a previous home
I’d get the wood pellets if you are going down the pelleted route if that’s the case. I couldn’t believe my boy started eating them, and I don’t mean just sampling I mean he was eating them like it was his feed, he’s a Welsh D so you will get the idea *oink ???*
If he has empty nets in the morning then I’d up his hat intake. My 15hh d youngster gets 10kgs a night dry weight. Then again my friends horse, who is my boys field buddy, leaves his perfectly good wrapped hay to eat a straw bed so you might be damned either way.
PapaverFollis
Well-Known Member
There were straw pellets available at my last livery yard. They had a whole pallet sitting unused because every horse that had tried them had tucked into them like feed!