How are your bed's doing this winter?

[Dr_Horse]

I moved yards on 1st Jan and went from wood pellet/shavings mix to just shavings and im loving it!

Started this bed with 5 bales (banks dont photo graph very well!)


First night not too messy!!

Then made bed wider and banks shorter




And we had a lovely bed like this 2 days on the trot yay!!!!

And tomorrow im going to knock the bank nearest his door on the head and he only walks over it and gets hay all over it!

My shift pattern fall that i do 2 on 2 off 3 on 2 off 2 on 3 off so i only take the wet out every 3-4 days and i havent yet (10 days on) put any fresh shavings in!

Tomorrow is wet out day and ill turn the bed and see if it needs any shavings but i reckon it wont!

How are your beds doing?

 

[JulesRules]

I have a lovely big fluffy straw bed, but with this weather Madam is only going out for between 5 to 6 hours a day.

I seem to be getting through a lot of straw...mostly as she has been scoffing it the greedy so and so.

 

[LeannePip]

mine is getting replaced every 3 weeks at the moment. My horse is horribly dirty what ever we do to it, so we try and manage it then on night she'll completely trash the lots then we put a whole new one down and start again!\

 

[Dr_Horse]

I only use shavings as find every other bedding too heavy for my back (broken it twice) shavings are always light even when they are wet they are no where near as heavy as straw that is sodden. Ive always loved a straw bed! As does my purse but needs must.

 

[ShadowHunter]

Mines on deep litter and is currently so tall that she looks more like a 17.2hh than 14.2hh when your stood on the other side of the door! Her being in longer means more wet thats building up underneath. Cant wait to get her out 24/7 and remove it all, however, i may regret doing deep litter at that point. May have to re-think for next winter.

 

[Nativelover]

Oh I love pics of people's beds!!! Yes I am a saddo but I've terrible ocd with my beds!!!
I really hate it when other people do it!
I use 2 x bales a week in winter due to only 2 x a week turnout.

 

[saddlesore]

My horse has gone from 24/7 turnout to only being out for about 6 hours a day due to the soggy fields affecting his feet. The mucking out is heartbreaking- he definitely doesn't keep his clean!

 

[MissMistletoe]

I also have an 18hh monster on deep litter straw!!!!- I have to add new straw in every day. Our stabled horses only get 6.5 hours turnout.

I do ( and horse) love the warmth and soft bed that it has created using this method.

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

I'm really pleased with my beds this year. I've managed to find a solution such that I'm only putting in a bale per week and taking the wet out when I have time. I'm loving my clean, tidy beds.

 

[thatsmygirl]

I'm really OCD with my beds, fresh bedding added every day and all beds much be same level, patted down nicely and banks all size height, all pieces of poo are picked up, won't have little bits left at all and all banks are fully turned and swept daily. Won't do deep litter think its disgusting

 

[crystalclear]

Can I ask a really stupid question...those using little shavings, when you're all mucking out are you taking out droppings and wet daily or leaving it and if so how long?

 

[Nativelover]

Can I ask a really stupid question...those using little shavings, when you're all mucking out are you taking out droppings and wet daily or leaving it and if so how long?

I pick up all dropping by hand and do a full muck out 2 x weekly

 

[crystalclear]

I pick up all dropping by hand and do a full muck out 2 x weekly

And are they in every eve?

 

[Nativelover]

And are they in every eve?

Oh yes, in 24/5 and out during the day 2 x a week

 

[Holzdweaver]

My bed is looking fab, i have a big deep straw bed. I first had him on shavings but was going through 2-3 bales a week as it had to be perfect and totally clean. Moved onto pellets and although it did great at not moving and made a compact bed, i couldn't cope with how grubby looking it got. Much happier with straw as i get it in big bales and it lasts me ages! Banks are solid and about three and a half foot high and the bed itself about a foot of very compacted straw before fresh is added and whacked down. I can stab it hard with the fork anywhere and not hit the floor. It covers his whole stable apart from a square at his door. I skip out by hand and leave the wet in and take the wet out when needed. I put fresh in every day if in or every other day if hes out. I get loads of comments about his bed, even the vet said she wanted a nap in it after doing his teeth! im a bit obsessive about it to be honest haha! xD

Only picture i can find is when i was drying his ears off while he was eating his tea! He doesnt like wet ears haha

 

[Fiona]

Ohh I love the look of that straw bed. Its 25 years since I had a straw bed.

Using pellets and chopped straw on top of mats here and have a lovely clean mare, a box walker and a gelding who seems to be getting wetter.. Used to lift his bed every fortnight now its once a week...

Fiona

 

[MochaDun]

Love the towel turban . I've been trying out wood pellets for the first time this winter and while pleased with the ease of skipping out each day I've not cracked it yet in terms of keeping it dry on top or when to take out the wet and how many bags to replace with and so he's had a bit of a damp bed. Also I find if I take the big amount of wet out just once a week it's so heavily compacted on the floor of the stable (mats) it's hard to get it shifted - backbreaking in fact! As the weather is currently so wet and need something that will dry his lower legs off and help absorb the mud he comes in with I have returned to shavings just this weekend. His soles/frogs have been so soft from the amount of mud we've got I also wanted bedding that wouldn't get impacted into his feet at night when wet itself and had found the wood pellet stuff was doing that. I think the managing of wood pellets bed is a bit of a dark art and takes some playing with depending on which pellets you use and how your horse in in their bed.

 

[Fiona]

Mocha - we find an aluminium shovel is best for lifting pellet deep litter. .. So much easier on the back than a fork.

Why don't u try a combo. Pellets on the bottom, shavings on the top.

Fiona

 

[crystalclear]

That's great to know, pony has just been on biz rest and think I've been mucking out too much!

 

[muckypony]

Mine are doing well. Big pony has a huge stable and just poos in one place, has a lovely big fluffy white bed. The two Shetlands share a stable so sometimes play football but rare and even then its not mushed in. They also have a nice big fluffy bed but no banks as they like to dig!

They all used to be foul at my old yard but now they're out for 11/12 hours a day which has made a huge difference.

 

[muckypony]

Can I ask a really stupid question...those using little shavings, when you're all mucking out are you taking out droppings and wet daily or leaving it and if so how long?

I take it all out every day.

 

[tankgirl1]

I also have an 18hh monster on deep litter straw!!!!- I have to add new straw in every day. Our stabled horses only get 6.5 hours turnout.

I do ( and horse) love the warmth and soft bed that it has created using this method.

I'm on deep littered straw too, in an earth floor stable, with a layer of unibed under the straw, its brilliant, warm, clean unless you accidentally disturb the base, and about 6 inches smaller than last years deep litter bed on badly drained concrete

 

[Feival]

My mare is disgusting, straw is a no no, shavings just gross. I might try auboise.

 

[C1airey]

Why don't u try a combo. Pellets on the bottom, shavings on the top.

Fiona

This is what we've been using and so far, so good. Takes just over two weeks for the wet to come to the top, so he's skipped out daily and dug out every fortnight. Happily he's a creature of habit so always wees in the exact same spot. I spread two bags of Verdo in the wee patch - an area about 4' x 4') and then lay a normal shavings bed on top. We get through half a bale of shavings per week.

He has suffered in the past with grotty feet and his field is a bog. His feet are currently rock-hard.

 

[dibbin]

Mine's on wood pellets, if he gets out daily (which he usually does) then I need to put in a fresh bag every 4 days. If he has to stay in because of the weather it's more frequent than that.

I do a full muck out every day, and it's done twice a day if he stays in. I can't deep litter, he's too wet so you just end up with a big squishy layer unless you put MASSES down, which I think defeats the purpose of having rubber matting.

He used to have a shavings bed, which I adored, but it doesn't work in his current stable because it's smaller than his old one. I'm hoping when we move them to the house we'll be able to do shavings beds again because we'll have bigger stables!

 

[Dr_Horse]

So this morning as i said I have been and turned my bed. Mucked out the wet. Why dear lord can my horse not pee in one spot!!!!! Knocked down one of my banks as its not needed and this is the end result.
Got just shy of a level barrow out of it which included taking out as much of the bits of poo as is possible ( he does like to bury his poo)
11 days in and still no fresh shavings!

Think i might be putting a bale in by sat/sun but we'll see!

 

[Kezzabell2]

Mine looks nice like yours for 2 days maybe 3 but then it starts to look blo ody disgusting!! goes all brown and horrible and looks like wet sand!

He is in for about 20 hours a day at the moment though and I make out twice a day!!