For those who use straw...

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FinkleyAlex

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do your horses/ponies eat it at all? I've just put mine back on straw after 3 years of shavings but he's so dirty it was costing a fortune (getting through 3 bags a week!) He's now got rubber matting and a big bed of straw but was picking at it untill I put his haynet in. He has been on straw before without a problem but how much do your horses eat and has it ever been a problem for you?
 
Cat used to eat a lot of his bed. I never had any probs but he was only ever in if the weather was nasty, so it didn't happen a lot.
 
yes. if your using matting you shouldnt need to make such a deep bed, i used to spray my beds with part jeys fluid and part water, it did take a fair amount of time but was well worth it
 
I just put a little soiled bedding on top of the clean, and it seems to deter most of them.

It really doesnt matter if they eat straw, afterall, that's what chaff has in it... so long as they're not eating copious amounts. But as you have rubber matting you don't need to use that much anyway.
 
He digs holes in his bed if it is thin and will not lie down on the rubber matting which is why the bed is fairly thick. I read on another forum that jeyes fluid wasn't such a good idea, as even when really diluted it was quite poisonous if horse did decide to eat it?
 
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yes. if your using matting you shouldnt need to make such a deep bed, i used to spray my beds with part jeys fluid and part water, it did take a fair amount of time but was well worth it

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I disagree. Matting and a thin straw bed simply don't work. You need a deep bed of straw to get it to absorb the urine and stop it from smelling.

As for the question from the OP, I've never worried about the small amounts of straw they occasionally eat. I find it comforting to know that there is something they'll have a mouthful of if I'm ever late across the yard to put the haylage in.

There's something warm and snuggly about a deep straw bed in winter too. I always think the horse must prefer it to shavings to lie on, but as I don't speak horse that's just speculation!
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think we're the only yard without stable cats! We do have a number of small dogs though! Will try the soiled bedding if it becomes a problem, thanks!
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I changed from shavings to straw, and for the first week or so my horse ate quite a lot. Now, he doesn't, especially if he has plenty of hay. I think it was the novelty! I wouldn't worry, if I were you, just give lots of hay.
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George will eat his if his hay has run out, and when I'm carrying fresh straw in for his bed he lunges for it! Like others I just put a bit of soiled on top and that helps.
 
There is a product called Stable Fresh (to stop smells obviously) and that stops them eating it if sprayed over the bed..... it is also safe to do so according to the container. It does work too!!!
 
Murphy eats his straw, he just picks at it a bit sometimes...I was a bit worried about him eating it, but when I had a nutritionist out to see him she said it wasn't a problem, and in his case was actually quite a good thing, as he needs to lose weight and is better off with a smaller haynet and nibbling at a bit of straw if he gets hungry, than having a big haynet.
 
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I thought eating to much straw causes impaction colic.....

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it can but in general only when that is the only forage offered. also the straw may be a bit of a novelty atm which may well wear off.

eta I would rather mine have some straw to pick at if he were to run out of hay, than stand hungry for hours like some horses on shavings have to.
 
Make a 50/50 vinegar and water solution, put it in a plant sprayer and cover the bed in it. The stable stinks like a chip shop but it works!
 
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