Feel like SUCH a bad mummy tonight =[

My lad is permanently covered in poo stains- he uses his poo piles as a pillow for goodness sake. He's mucked out daily, sometimes twice, and he always has a big clean bed.

But he always lies in the cr@ppy corner- that's just horses for you unfortunately!

so glad it's not just my horse that does this! she's only 4 as well and lies flat out every night, her head and neck are always in the poo!

.... and she's (meant to be) piebald!!
 
I am pretty horrified to find out that I am neglecting my mare....

Since getting to the 6 months pregnant stage I can only take out her wet straw when my OH is here otherwise my back kills. So she sometimes has this wet straw in for 3/4 days...

And she wears hers turnout rug 24/7 so gets wee stains on it...

Don't worry OP I have already reported the lot of us to the RSPCA...
 
Perhaps Op uses minimal bedding and sweeps it out each day and starts again ? :)


i can see what SusieT is trying to say ... if you use a thick deep bed it will hopefully minimize urine contact with horse ? :)
 
OMG SuzieT has obviously not met my muck spreading haydunking bank digging bed eating pee machine of a mare !

What is a dry bed ????

(Perhaps her horses came out of a box marked Barbie )


OP I too have felt over the last month or so that I have forgotten what my 2 look like as it's ALWAYs dark - the light is at the end of the tunnel though now, soon they will all be rug less and mud less and we'll be able to toddle up the field in our flip flops and make daisy chains rather than sloshing water buckets down our wellies and pulling our hair out with hay nets :-) ..... the sun is shining through my window today can you tell !!!!

.... toddles off to find babyoil supply (wondering if boots best aromatherepy oils from Christmas will do the trick)
 
i thought the horse and hound forum was to help each other out with advice etc ??? no need for evrone to keep being rude and abusive !!

my horse is a 7 year old warmblood he stays out during day and in at night - he has rubber matting and a MASSIVE bed which gets mucked out and left up every day - and yes there are parts which are wet in the morning its just the way he is ! i wouldnt let him get matted but im lucky enough to have the time to spend with him twice a day every day - my friend has a full time job as a macmillan nurse and part time job at a pub so her 3 horses live out and in the winter only get seen in the dark so she has no time to groom etc, its just the way it is ! but they are happy and healthy ! a bit of matting will not kill your horse so dont worry ! as long hes fed i dont think he could care less what he looks like - and also my warmblood (who is looked after very well clean rugs etc etc had lice so no its not because you dont look after them its just bad luck)
 
Oh, I really wouldn't worry what SusieT says, she's been spouting abuse in CR too.

Bored are we?

SusieT, in an ideal world, I would like to agree with you, but, tbh, I think there really are more important things to be worrying about than PEE!

J&C
 
Haven't read all the whole thread as I'm at work but would suggest a layer of straw on top of the savings if this is a problem and horse won't be bothered by a little extra dust.

Most of the wet will run through and soak into the shavings (like it does now) whilst the straw should make a bit of a barrier between it and your little one. Obviously take out any wet straw daily but you should be able to rake most of it off the top and leave it to one side for reuse.

(NB obviously not practical if you're on livery... speaking of which... to the pregnant lady I'd suggest that you consider getting some more help if at all possible, or turning the horse out. 4 days is a long time in terms of the fumes that build up and you'll probably need some more help/to turn that horse out when your little one arrives anyway - good luck!)
 
Oh, I really wouldn't worry what SusieT says, she's been spouting abuse in CR too.


J&C

whats CR ? iv only just joined HH forum - and a bit disappointed to be honest that people can be so rude !!! her horse is alive and well (much luckier than most horses ) and people feel the need to be horrid - everyone does there horses differently ! so what !
 
I agree with SusieT here, put a really deep bed down to drain the urine away from the surface. Urine can burn the skin and breathing in the ammonia can irritate the nasal passages. Why not try a weekly deep litter system? And if she comes in at night why can't you check her over in the lights of the stable?
 
Oh dear me, I better go get my little fella and bring him home for a bath quick as! He comes in each night legs covered in mud and tonight rolled in the same place his friend had a wee, disgusting little beasties! :rolleyes:
 
I agree with SusieT here, put a really deep bed down to drain the urine away from the surface. Urine can burn the skin and breathing in the ammonia can irritate the nasal passages. Why not try a weekly deep litter system? And if she comes in at night why can't you check her over in the lights of the stable?

Don't know about OP...but I have no leccy on my yard- so no lights. I do have a rather fetching head-torch though:D
 
Susie T - Out to make friends again today then hon!!!!!:D

I agree and disagree with the comments really. My mare is gross and she is on rubber matting with a sprinkling of shavings, i tried the deep huge bed to keep her clean but that just results in huge big mess and cleaning the whole stable out daily, she has barely nothing now and is still gross and lies in it all, no more dirty than when she had a big bed but a lot cheaper for me.

I do agree that the matts shouldn't get too bad as they can pull at the skin and urine can also burn, having said that, it would have to be hugley bad for that to happen.

So there are arguements on both sides. My mare is brushed daily to make sure she is comfy but then that is what i like to do doesn't mean it's the law. Ponies will live being a little dirty, unless you all want to join me on my nightly stint around the Welsh Mountains, Dartmoor, Exmoor and the New Forest as it does take me some time to get round all of those wild ponies and brush them clean!!!!:D
 
Don't get me wrong, my youngster only gets a lick and a promise through the week, as I'm not going to groom him before work, and in the evenings he's too wet to brush. In fact, in the mornings he looks like a tortoise as he's covered his wet back with a crust of shavings. But wet mud is not the same as being covered in pee. I'm sure it's horses for courses but I've always kept my horses on a semi deep litter system and they've never had wet or smelly beds.
 
I have to say my horse, bedded on rubber matting with a decent straw bed, always poos in the same place (always has), he wees in the middle and sleeps in the corner. His stable is about the easiest to clean ever. My sister's however just gets it everywhere and seems to like to lie with his face in his own poo!

My youngster (2 in may) is out 24/7 with 2 others. They have 6 acres of field and a shelter in which half is rubber matting with straw on (cleaned out once a week). He CHOOSES to lie in on the straw in the *****!!! He could lie on the grass, they could NOT mess on the straw but they do. He just seems to like to stink of cr*p! lol. i too don't get to see my horses in the daylight, other than at weekends as I work full time so they are done morning and night in the dark. The ones out 24/7 are left to get as dirty as they like. Thankfully, rain generally gives them enough of a bath and rolling in the mud will help remove most urine and poo. This morning i was trying to pick the bots of gorse out of my youngsters mane - he obviously likes to go in the gorse too - obviously 6 acres of grass isn't enough!
 
I use the deep litter system for my horses through the week and start again at the weekend. However I don't think a wet bed would manage to infiltrate the layer of mud they insist on covering themselves in.

I brush them, they roll, I brush them, they roll, I don't brush them they roll!

We've rented to the field next door out to someone with a couple of gypsy ponies for a couple of months. Why oh why do they look pristine and my lot look like Swampy?

Some horses are just mucky beggars I suppose.
 
I have to say, I have kept horses on shavings for the last 20 years and have never had a horse lying in it's own urine. If the bed is deep enough, it will remain dry on top. I think that rubber matts have a lot to answer for, people think that because the horse is not lying on the concrete, they don't need to put as much bed in. However, horses out in the field would never lie in their own mess, so if we shut them up in a stable, I think we have an obligation to make sure that they have enough bedding to soak up the pee.
 
I agree with SusieT here, put a really deep bed down to drain the urine away from the surface. Urine can burn the skin and breathing in the ammonia can irritate the nasal passages. Why not try a weekly deep litter system? And if she comes in at night why can't you check her over in the lights of the stable?

Exactly...totally agree. I have had many horses on shavings beds, the top layer has NEVER become wet!

IMO the problem arises when people are too stingy with the original bed. A lot of shavings beds make me totally cringe. The horse only has to run in a circle and they are down to bare concrete.

I can't say I have ever had anything like a matted coat with any of my horses either, but perhaps I have been lucky.
 
Her bed is perfectly acceptable but she digs, makes holes, kicks it about, rolls on it, etc.

I sweep out every single day fully and completely so she has a brand new shavings bed every day that is fully dry.

Seen her in the light this morning and actually she doesnt look that bad-a bit scalped on one side but she's good. Shes also nothing like as dirty as I thought, the top of her is yukky but if you put your fingers through she's clean at the skin. Xxx
 
Some horses/ponies are just messy.I know of two ponies who have their beds changed everyday,yet it looks so messy next morning.My horse is really messy,pees everywhere and then churns it up,so it looks horrible,Now hws back home,hes happier that he lives out.
 
Hey
The fact you feel bad about it makes you anything but a bad mummy!
At the minute my boy lives out and looks like an untouched mountain youngster, but gets fed everyday + only rode once a week if I'm lucky but he still greets me withp a happy neigh everyday! So the fact you care and try your best will mean the most to your horse. Its not always easy!
 
I have had many horses on shavings beds, the top layer has NEVER become wet!
Have to say, neither have I. My horses have never had wet beds, top or bottom. More shavings should eradicate FHs problem.

I think SusieT has been unfairly got at here and she is absolutely right, however FHs youngster won't exactly keel over because its covered in wee mats.
 
what about trying a deep full bed and take the urine patches out every 2nd or 3rd day as you are pushed for time :)

i have matting in my stables but i do not like using a thin layer of bedding for a few reasons, hence why i still use a deep full bed, costs me £9.00 per week which i feel is good. :-)
 
I solved my messy horse in stable issues 24/7 turnout she is much happier out. Mind you I had to really scrape hard to get the mud off yesterday. looked like a bog pony rather than a TB
 
It may b common practice for most horses not to dig up there bed, but this is not necessarily true for all. Especially youngsters, which I think it was said this horse is!
 
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