Honest Feedback Please from Snowflake Woodshavings

T

Theresa_F

Well-Known Member
Joined
10 August 2005
Messages
5,577
Location
London - Essex side
Visit site
Personally I don't like the soft chip when I tried it - does not soak up the pee enough and I used half to one bale a week more than I did with the regular snowflake. Other liveries had the same view, not enough absorbancy apart from one with a very clean pony who preferred it as it was easier to muck out than regular snowflake.

Regular snowflake is fine, though I now use wood pellets as they are the only bedding that can cope with the piddly clydesdale and are more economical.
 
I currently use the Snowflake Supreme combined with a cheaper brand of shavings. Although I much prefer Snowflake in terms of bale size, coverage (and length of time between having to top the bed up) and absorbancy, the price increase over the last 12 months or so unfortunately up to/over £8.50 a bale means that I am unable to afford to bed the horses on Snowflake alone. Prior to this I had used Snowflake exclusively for 9 years and recommended it to others.

We had been lucky that a local farm supply shop has been doing a 3 for 2 offer for Snowflake taking the cost down to £5.95 a bale, back to a more reasonable price. The offer has now ended so I will be back to doing a mix of Snowflake and cheaper brand shavings (£5.41 delivered from manufacturer).

Would you consider direct orders of whole pallets to help bring the overall cost down?
 
I use Snowflake and absolutely love it, though its expensive at £8 per bale where I get if from. I do find in comparison to cheaper shavings it is value for money as the cheaper ones dont go so far. My horse has been on box rest for months, is on rubber mat and I use 2 per week. She is skipped out regularly through the day (1 main muck out a.m. then 2 skips out) Do wish it was £5.50 like it used to be some time ago then she would have more of a white bed than a multi-coloured bed as I do like her to be clean - shes grey!! Definitely dust free which is important.

Did used to use the soft chip but not as absorbent and just not as nice.
 
I used to love Snowflake, but I don't use it anymore as it's just too expensive, and also no longer stocked by my local feed merchant! With two horses to pay for, I now use a much cheaper brand.
 
Love the product its £7.70 at local feed place makes great bed and lasts ages however it is expensive when you can get another type of shavings for £5.50 a bale.
 
I haven't tried the softchip but I used the Supreme some years ago, for certain horses who were better on shavings, and for four big boxes (15x24) used mainly for 2 weanlings per box, in a semi-deep litter system.

They're nice when new - but my big stallion turned them to dust in 2-3 days! (He's on Bedmax now which works well and is cheaper too.) Same with the big boxes (which are not concreted and drain pretty well.) With the Snowflake I was having to chuck out a lot more bedding - and put more in whereas even with a couple of boisterous colts sharing a big box, I only need to use 2 bales of Bedmax a week to top up.

I have the rest of my stables on paper (about 25 of them) which I prefer for a number of reasons.

1. It's cheaper - I pay £4 a bale for paper.
2. It's more forgiving of the occasional quick muck-out when we're short staffed, whereas shavings (of any brand) have to be WELL mucked out every day or they are repulsive very quickly.
3. It's more absorbent (we're on rubber mats for all but the big weanling boxes.)
4. It's much more suitable for foaling down on.

The only drawback I find with paper is it makes the muckheap a bit 'heavier' to clear and needs a little more time to break down before it can be spread on the land - butI can live with that!

If paper availability becomes a problem again, I would probably transfer to either Bedmax for all boxes, or possibly try wood pellets - I'm afraid Snowflake wouldn't be on my list on price alone.
 
Used to use Snowflake a few years ago and agree with JanetGeorge - lovely when first put down but break down to dust very quickly.

Swapped to Bedmax which were much better for not breaking down and cheaper than Snowflake.

Have now swapped to a different shavings stocked by my supplier called Natural Flake and have to say it is the best shavings I have ever used - last well - we have 2 x 16.2hh's and 2 yearlings approx 14hh and use approx 1.5 - 2 bales a week on rubber matting (small bed across back of stable fully mucked uot daily) even with very messy 16.2 mare and gelding - all for £6 per bale
 
Would use Snowflake again, but you are expensive, and many local suppliers had trouble getting ANY shavings over the last 2 winters, so I didn;t have much brand choice anyway.
I now use Hunters or a straw/shavings mix my local supplier sells. Hunters last year were about £8.50/£9 a bale(Bucks/Beds borders), but the mix was £5.60. I also find on mats the mix is much more absorbent,and have switched to 90% using that, on a very messy horse., and probaly will swich over totally with all of them.
The Hunters are fine with the cleaner horses. The mix isn;t dust extracted but seems to be fairly low dust and mine don't eat it either.
 
we are working hard to reduce our prices with our stockists and would encourage everybody to be on the look out for our bedding, i want to change the mind set that snowflake are a brand everybody would love to try but they are either a) to expensive b) never in stock. we are working very hard to change this, we can now even offer pellets in 30ltr bags.
 
snowflak said:
we are working hard to reduce our prices with our stockists and would encourage everybody to be on the look out for our bedding, i want to change the mind set that snowflake are a brand everybody would love to try but they are either a) to expensive b) never in stock. we are working very hard to change this, we can now even offer pellets in 30ltr bags.
Click to expand...

Tell me anywhere in Mid-Kent that still stocks Snowflake? The four biggest places near me and that I use regularly (Lillico in Aylesford, Speedgate in Fawkham, Frogpool in Chislehurst, Nepicar Farm in Wrotham) now no longer stock your product, and the place I used to buy from which was over in Medway hasn't stocked Snowflake for ages. The last time I bought any, it was over £8 a bale. My current shavings cost me £5.50 a bale. Times are hard for all of us these days, and as much as I like your product, and have to say that I never found they broke down in to dust as others have mentioned, I just can't justify an extra £2.50 per bale (assuming I can actually FIND any SNowflake!) when I use four bales per week. £40 a month pays for one set of shoes from the farrier!!
 
As a uni student i can no longer afford them unfortunately. :( With two horses (and dirty horses at that) it was costing me at least £25-£30 a week. I did love them when i had them and if the price came back to a more reasonable level then i would be the first in line to buy them again.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top