How can I start using straw bedding?

[ben456]

I want to start using straw as i can give a better bed. I'm worried that my horse may eat it all overnight as she is very greedy. Will it make her colic if she eats most of it? I tried before just putting smaller and she ate some so I'm worried she may do it again. I have a small amount of eucalyptus rape straw left so would it deter her from eating it if I mix it ? What else could I do to prevent her eating it?

 

[tatty_v]

I've found the best way to stop them eating the straw is to provide plenty of hay as a tastier alternative (soaked if you're worried about weight gain) and then as you build up the bed, mix in the clean straw each day with the re-used straw so that it's less palatable. I do a full muck out each day so I lay the new straw down as the base and then top it with the re-used straw so it's completely hidden. My pony used to be a bed-eater but since doing this and feeding his hay from a large tub trug on the floor (secured to the wall to prevent it from being tugged everywhere!), he's completely stopped. I think feeding his hay from the floor has really helped as he seems to feel less "stressed" than when the hay was in a small-holed haynet, and therefore is happy to rummage through it and take more time eating it (and not eat his bed!).

 

[Shay]

Why do you feel straw makes a better bed?

I'm old fashioned and I will confess I absolutely love to put my horses to bed in the kind of old fashioned almost belly deep straw beds we used to have when there were no alternatives.

But there are alternatives now and straw is not going to be a better bed for every animal - and animals who eat it are a prime example. Much as I would love deep straw beds I haven't had one for which that was a better - or even an equal - alternative for some time. Its cheaper - certainly. But not necessarily better.

If your horse eats a lot of straw yes - they probably will colic. To avoid it you need to either feed something else ad lib - that is to say so so much that there is some left over in the morning - of something tastier. But if your mare is greedy she may well pig out on that so much she will at least put on weight - if not also colic.

You can spray nasty stuff on the straw to make it unpalatable - but your horse then has to sleep on it. Mixing dirty with clean does help a bit - but leaves ammonia in the stall which isn't great for the horse long term. The best solution for a greedy horse who eats their bed is to bed them on something they can't or don't want to eat.

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

I want to start using straw as i can give a better bed.

What bed is your horse on at the moment? What makes you believe straw will provide a better bed? IMO I've found that straw looks good & may be cheap but it isn't absorbent, you end up with a smelly bed & a smelly horse as well. Horse's will eat the bed even if there's hay available & some spray the bed with Jeyes fluid or similar to make the straw unpalatable but they still eat it & ingest Jeyes which isn't good. There's plenty of different bedding types available to use, all infinitely better than Straw.

 

[sport horse]

24 stables and only two on shavings. I use barley straw which is digestible so should not cause colic. After a bit they do not bother with eating it if they have plenty of good hay. Nice warm bed, easy to get rid of and above all, much cheaper than alternatives.

 

[Cortez]

What bed is your horse on at the moment? What makes you believe straw will provide a better bed? IMO I've found that straw looks good & may be cheap but it isn't absorbent, you end up with a smelly bed & a smelly horse as well. Horse's will eat the bed even if there's hay available & some spray the bed with Jeyes fluid or similar to make the straw unpalatable but they still eat it & ingest Jeyes which isn't good. There's plenty of different bedding types available to use, all infinitely better than Straw.

Straw isn't meant to be absorbant; it is a drainage bedding, so the stable floor should have a very slight "fall" towards the door, or other drainage. Straw is a great bedding, cheap(er), easy to muck out (I hate shavings with an abiding passion, but have one complete greed hog so have to keep him on it), and if they feel like a nibble it's there for them. If the bed is smelly it's because it isn't mucked out properly.

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

I deliberately bed the hungry one on straw so when it runs out of hay it has something to eat and I'm not greeted with a grumpy horse. There is no facility for soaking hay for 24hrs at my yard which would enable more to be fed, though TBH I've seen 24hr soaked hay and it stinks like it's rotten so I wouldn't really want to feed it to a horse anyway. Excessive amounts of the bed aren't eaten, about 2 slices of straw is added daily. The freshly mucked out bed doesn't smell, but the dirty bed does and it gets on your clothes/skin/hair whilst you muck out. It also gets on the horse/horse rug. It's cheaper, quick and easy to muck out, and the best thing for this horse who has never had colic from eating straw (and neither has any other I've looked after).

As for how to go about it, there's 2 choices I can see, either add it to your existing bedding so the bed becomes more and more straw over time, or remove the whole bed and lay a fresh bed entirely of straw. In the interests of economy I put the existing bed in the middle and the new bedding round the edge, then when the middle thins gradually with days of mucking out I put a layer of the new bedding on top. Depending on how wet your horse is, within a week or 2 the bed will have changed over to pure straw.

ETA: Cortez is right about the drainage thing, which is probably why my bed smells. I've only ever had 1 stable with drainage on the many livery yards I've been on. The wet goes into the floor when there's no drainage, the straw soaks up a certain amount too (and the rug probably). In winter the floor never dries out.

 

[be positive]

Straw isn't meant to be absorbant; it is a drainage bedding, so the stable floor should have a very slight "fall" towards the door, or other drainage. Straw is a great bedding, cheap(er), easy to muck out (I hate shavings with an abiding passion, but have one complete greed hog so have to keep him on it), and if they feel like a nibble it's there for them. If the bed is smelly it's because it isn't mucked out properly.

This, all mine are on straw and they do nibble at it but I have never had one gorge or get colic due to eating their bedding, they all have plenty of hay, get out every day so have no need to eat a whole bed, I only use shavings if something has an allergy to straw or dust.

 

[Orangehorse]

If you put a horse on a new bed of straw it is quite likely that they will want to eat it. So start by mixing it with old bedding and gradually introduce more straw.

I don't worry too much about them eating it, but I have never had a complete guts who would hoover it up. Mine always have plenty of hay.

 

[Pinkvboots]

I have a horse that will eat an entire bed of straw even having as much hay as he will eat, I have tried countless times to switch as my other horse is on barley straw I won't use wheat straw, my muck heap is in part of my field and he is often standing eating the straw from it, and trust me he gets as much hay as he wants but he is the most greedy horse I have ever known. so for me the straw bedding for him does not work I hope you will have better luck than me.

 

[Greylegs]

I recently moved yards and the new place offers straw beds as part of the deal, but shavings as an extra. I own the greediest Highland in the world, hence i shared your concerns OP!! But the new place is more expensive, so I was determined to give it a go, whilst watching my pony like a hawk to make sure he didn't consume his bed.

What actually happened was that ponio walked into his new stable, onto a generous and spotless straw bed, took one bite out of it, decided he didn't like it, spat it out and has never touched it since. He is on excellent, ad lib forage which he prefers, and we're both happy ...

I acknowledge I've been lucky with him and that other horses will eat their straw, but definitely worth a try OP, but keep an eye on him and see how he goes. Having been on shavings for years before he's now been on straw for a few weeks and it's working well for him and cheaper for me. Win,win.

 

[RunToEarth]

IMO I've found that straw looks good & may be cheap but it isn't absorbent, you end up with a smelly bed & a smelly horse as well. Horse's will eat the bed even if there's hay available

You're not mucking out properly if you have a smelly bed or a smelly horse. Ours are belly deep, banked up every morning, wet taken out, swept, left to dry - straw has never been marketed as absorbent. None of ours eat their beds either. I'm old fashioned, I like big banks and a good straw bed, I cannot stand a sprinkling of shavings over some minging rubber mats that get lifted once a week if that. Why would I want to buy a bedding that absorbed all of the wet - that must cost an absolute fortune to maintain?

 

[pennyturner]

Numpty question: Why would a pony colic from eating straw? Isn't it just an alternative forage.

I had one in for several months last year, and he always ate the straw, coming to no harm... and at least it stopped him chewing the woodwork.

 

[Cortez]

Numpty question: Why would a pony colic from eating straw? Isn't it just an alternative forage.

I had one in for several months last year, and he always ate the straw, coming to no harm... and at least it stopped him chewing the woodwork.

It's a bit of an old wives tale, dire warnings that horses would get an impaction colic if they ate straw. I'm sure there probably are horses which have gorged themselves and suffered a colic as a result, but in all my years of keeping horses on straw (and feeding straw to very good doers) I've never had one do so, nor heard of same. I've had vets tut tutting over this, but none I've asked have ever actually been able to cite a case.

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

You're not mucking out properly if you have a smelly bed or a smelly horse. Ours are belly deep, banked up every morning, wet taken out, swept, left to dry - straw has never been marketed as absorbent. None of ours eat their beds either. I'm old fashioned, I like big banks and a good straw bed, I cannot stand a sprinkling of shavings over some minging rubber mats that get lifted once a week if that. Why would I want to buy a bedding that absorbed all of the wet - that must cost an absolute fortune to maintain?

I've been mucking out horses for over 40 years & know what I'm doing. Straw is not good bedding & I dislike it with a passion. My horses are on clean dry beds & they don't smell of 'P' like many on straw beds.

 

[millitiger]

You're not mucking out properly if you have a smelly bed or a smelly horse. Ours are belly deep, banked up every morning, wet taken out, swept, left to dry - straw has never been marketed as absorbent. None of ours eat their beds either. I'm old fashioned, I like big banks and a good straw bed, I cannot stand a sprinkling of shavings over some minging rubber mats that get lifted once a week if that. Why would I want to buy a bedding that absorbed all of the wet - that must cost an absolute fortune to maintain?

Agree completely.

Straw is the best bedding imo and my beds nor my horses ever smell!
They have beautiful big deep beds on matting and you simply couldn't have the depth of bed with any other bedding.
Everyone laughs at how much my pair lie down to sleep in their stables so they clearly agree.

 

[ozpoz]

I agree - there is nothing as nice as a deep, sweet straw bedding. Cleaner and more comfortable than anything else, and warm round their joints too.

 

[First Flame]

I'd had my mare many years before I tried her on straw, when she went on her straw bed at a new yard I though there was something wrong with her as every afternoon she was lying down, flat out. Nothing wrong with her, she just loves sleeping on straw, lol. What makes her happy makes me happy and I do love a big clean straw bed ;-) Straw does need to be mucked out properly and fresh added regularly to stop it being smelly. I'd much rather my horse on straw so that if they do ever run out food, they have something to nibble on, much better for the digestive system than standing around with nothing to eat. Mine will have the occasional munch on her bed if the straw is particularly nice but for the most part her ad lib hay is tastier! A few years ago I read a study on comparing horses behaviour when bedded on straw or shavings and remember the outcome was interestingly that horses were happier on straw. Shavings and other bedding definitely have their benefits but I wouldn't worry about being on straw .

 

[madlady]

All of mine are on straw, yes they eat it a bit but that's mainly if we're late getting there in the morning. This morning when the roads were awful I was extra glad of it as I knew they wouldn't be going hungry.

I put in plenty of clean each day, the beds don't smell. I also like the fact that in a cold snap I can deep litter which helps keep the stables and horses a bit warmer.

 

[Sparemare]

Deep straw beds here. I take out about two large barrows from each stable a day and put in about three quarters of a bale of new straw a day. Yes they eat some of their bed, but certainly don't eat it all. Never had a colic (touch wood). However, all the horses are turned out every day, perhaps this makes a difference?

 

[RunToEarth]

I've been mucking out horses for over 40 years & know what I'm doing. Straw is not good bedding & I dislike it with a passion. My horses are on clean dry beds & they don't smell of 'P' like many on straw beds.

I will stand by my original statement - if you are managing straw beds properly, they do not smell, fact. I can only assume you/your friends on straw are deep littering on not mucking out properly.

 

[Cortez]

I will stand by my original statement - if you are managing straw beds properly, they do not smell, fact. I can only assume you/your friends on straw are deep littering on not mucking out properly.

...or have poor drainage.

 

[KittenInTheTree]

I will stand by my original statement - if you are managing straw beds properly, they do not smell, fact. I can only assume you/your friends on straw are deep littering on not mucking out properly.

Hey! Don't assume that all deep litter straw beds smell; mine certainly don't! I use shavings underneath as a filter for all the wee.

 

[RunToEarth]

Hey! Don't assume that all deep litter straw beds smell; mine certainly don't! I use shavings underneath as a filter for all the wee.

Sorry, wasn't assuming all do - I know lots of people who have beautiful deep litter straw beds. I just get baffled that so many people complain straw as a bedding is smelly and rough, and yet they are happy to bed their horses on a rubber mat and a smattering of shavings.

 

[twiggy2]

I am another who has worked with horses for years and find that the straw beds do smell more than others types of bedding, It is ok combined with something to soak up the pee but on its own I don't like it

 

[KittenInTheTree]

Sorry, wasn't assuming all do - I know lots of people who have beautiful deep litter straw beds. I just get baffled that so many people complain straw as a bedding is smelly and rough, and yet they are happy to bed their horses on a rubber mat and a smattering of shavings.

Sorry, I shouldn't be so defensive I can't stand minimal beds either btw.

 

[mytwofriends]

I've used straw in the past, and liked it. I didn't deep litter and took the wet out every day - it didn't smell.

However, the YO at the time wanted some loose straw used up and (in one of her rare moment of generosity) said I could put it down in my stable. It ended up being a huge bed, really big.

The next morning, the bed wasn't so big and I had to call the vet to treat my horse for impaction colic. He'd eaten boatloads of the bed overnight. Fortunately he ended up being ok, but I certainly didn't use straw ever again.

 

[NooNoo59]

I am having this dilemma! Can't get the shavings I like atm so using straw but very worried about horse getting snotty and coughy. Also havd struggled to wet hay in this cold weather which isn't helping. Do we all worry too much? I look at some horses on the yard concrete floor hardly and bed half a bucket of dirty water and think actually my boy doesn't havd it too bad.