How Deep Are You Horses Beds?

ShowJumperBeckii

ShowJumperBeckii

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A Mate told me cause i have no rubber mats [only at the front] i need to have a really thick straw bed but i dont see the point? its a waste and just gets dirty and i seem to waste to much. i just put 1/2bales in every week and it slowly gets thinner and it looks more nicer finer, just enough to lay on but wont hurt herself on contrect shes got little banks most people at the yard if the straws thinner than 8inchs think they need more, am i the only that doesnt see the need for really thick beds just cause its contrect underneath?

pointless but im just curious what others do :)
thanks

ps. ill just sit back and read your ideas :)
 
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I was taught that the bed is not thick enough if a two pronged fork dropped tines down from waist height hits the concrete. I'd think that's a reasonable estimation as you don't (well I don't) really want the horse moving the bed aside when it lies down and gets up. On rubber of course it is different!
 
With straw on concrete I would lay a thick bed, about a foot, because it's so easy for the horse to move the bed aside and skin its hocks, elbows etc. If a straw bed is laid properly (quite an art imho) it makes a lovely secure warm bed.
I have EVA matting so only lay about 6" or so of cardboard bedding, but that's because the bedding is only there to mop up the wet, not to protect the horse from the floor.
 
Well.... the beds here are stupidly thin and I've never seen a horse injure itself from lying down. Again, as with my post on the banks thread, I think these are things that we're used to doing and is more a tradition than anything else. There are no mats in our stables and there is no way they would pass the 'pitch fork test' mentioned above.

If your horse is fine on the bed you're making for it, I see no reason to change it because of what tradition and others say it should be.
 
*hic* said:
I was taught that the bed is not thick enough if a two pronged fork dropped tines down from waist height hits the concrete. I'd think that's a reasonable estimation as you don't (well I don't) really want the horse moving the bed aside when it lies down and gets up. On rubber of course it is different!
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I was always taught this too - So have always stuck by it as it.

I have rubber matting but still have a big deep bed, don't like thinking about them with not enough, rather they were snuggled :D
 
Horses don't live in nests :p
However, as we have no rubber matting I've always made pretty deep beds as I feel he's less likely to injure himself the fidget that he his (also floor underneath is not flat its old cobblestone ish as its a very old barn that's been converted into indoor stables).
 
When mine were on concrete (have mats now) the beds were always thick and secure enough that they couldn't shift the bed and get to the concrete.

My Connie seemed to be able to get down to the concrete even with massive beds (well over a foot of straw) - he just piled it up into a heap in the middle and lay down next to it.

I gave up and got mats for all the stables as he was scraping his hocks and I was showing him at the time.

I've seen quite a few lumps bumps and scrapes on hocks etc where horses have been constantly scraping them against the concrete floors. Equally I've had horses that have been fine on thinner concrete beds - maybe they were more deliberate and careful in how they stood up?? I guess it's just down to the individual horse.
 
*hic* said:
I was taught that the bed is not thick enough if a two pronged fork dropped tines down from waist height hits the concrete. I'd think that's a reasonable estimation as you don't (well I don't) really want the horse moving the bed aside when it lies down and gets up. On rubber of course it is different!
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That's exactly what I was going to say. It's pretty easy to bruise yourself dropping to the ground like a horse - and we weigh a lot less. So this is one case where more is the merrier.
 
I reckon mine is around 9 inches at tightly packed down shavings, her banks are about 1.5 to 2 foot tall and about a foot wide again and tightly packed down. This is in a stable with full rubber matting.

In my case its a bit OTT as with the matting she doesnt need such a thick bed, but well I just prefer it this way.

If my stable did not have rubber matting I would without doubt have a very thick bed, as a rule of thumb you should be able to drop a pitch fork from a height into the bed and not have it hit the concrete underneath.

Horses are very heavy animals with fragile bony legs/joints, these need protecting in a stable with a concrete base.

Sadiemay
 
LizzyandToddy said:
Horses don't live in nests :p
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this. we anthropomorphise too much i think. we are nesters (being primates), we tend to live with nesters (dogs, cats etc), but horses just aren't that kind of animal... suzi's example above of the Connie who made a big heap of bed and laid down on the concrete next to it, cracks me up... typical! and the opposite of what a dog, cat, hamster, etc would do!
whether you use more bedding with a deeper or shallower bed hugely depends on the bedding type i think... a drainage bed such as straw probably does get wetter over a bigger area if it's thin, whereas an absorbent bed will absorb the wet whether it is deep or shallow, unless it is very shallow... personally i can't stand seeing just a sprinkle of shavings on rubber, it must stink of ammonia and i know the horses' rugs get disgusting, my farrier moans about yards with stables like that, says the stinky rugs get him stinky too!
 
LizzyandToddy said:
Horses don't live in nests :p
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Agreed but it's interesting to watch what different horses do. My old Welsh, who is a very wise boy in lots of ways, would normally lie on the grass in his field, however if the ground is frozen and cold in the winter he will choose to go and lie on the muck heap - softer and warmer! I've noticed in the past few years that if his enclosure in the summer includes the muck heap and the ground is very hard he will again choose to go and lie on ithe muck heap. So horses don't nest but some of them, given the opportunity, will choose a soft nesty bed for themselves.

Incidentally other horses in with him have also learnt the "warm muck heap in winter" trick.
 
The fork trick as described is a great rule of thumb.
If the bed gets moved around and concrete exposed by the horse getting up for example, then it is not thick enough.
If the top of the bed is wet in the morning, then it's not thick enough.
Different straw makes different beds, so a fluffy thick bed might not actually be as protective as a choppier straw bed.
Also consider a semi deep litter if your stables are well drained. Take the really wet out and the poo, but don't be too picky! Fresh straw doesn't get dragged around as much if you mix it with the damp.
Use the fork trick and some common sense :)
 
I find I use less bedding if I have a deeper bed too :) I'm on a mixture of shavings (normal and really large shavings) rubber mats and about 9" bedding with big, thick banks. Len's fairly tidy so it's no problem.
 
suzi said:
My Connie seemed to be able to get down to the concrete even with massive beds (well over a foot of straw) - he just piled it up into a heap in the middle and lay down next to it.
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My friends connie cross has a lovely bed of straw, but the amount of times she has been seen laid on the concrete away from her bed is amazing. She has a nice deep bed there to lay on, however, the mare choses to lay on the concrete instead! :rolleyes: Admittedly this was in the summer months - I wondered if she did this as the concrete was cooler for her? :confused:

I only give my horses a small bed in 'size' - no banks - and I do not cover the entire stable - possibly two thirds bed, a third of concrete showing near the hay. I use straw, no matting, and the ground is concrete. They are not overly deep, perhaps several inches, but I pack the straw tight so it is fairly compact (if that makes sense), do the fork test, and in the morning there is no concrete showing within the bed, ever.

In my personal experience, the deeper the bed, the more the horses move it about, as they have to 'wade' through it to get around their stable. A more compact shallower bed does not do this.

I guess though, each to their own. People and horses have their own ways, and what is right for one, might not be so good for another. xx :)
 
i like deep beds..even the ponies at the yard have nice deep beds..ok they are deep littered

you waste much little if a horse in a deep bed(every horse is different and some are messier than others)..thats just my opinion,plus it keep them warmer esp in this bad weather we,ve been having and also if ponies that suffer with lami etc this also helps

one of the horses at the yard is always laying down in her thick bed..
 
The old boy as a rule has a full bed with no concrete showing unless its under his hay or water bucket. Its usually to around my knees and banks up to my armpits (waist at least if being mean). I have to keep it this deep as he is a big old boy and I find that the bed moves too much if any shallower. He has also develooped the habit over the years of launching himself into his bed for a roll when he comes in. If I am not happy to let myself drop into his bed it gets more straw!

I do a full muck out every 2-3 days and take poos out the rest of the time.

Would prefer him to be on shavings but simply can't get the depth and springyness that I can with the straw. If he were a bit gentler with his rolling he would be on shavings for his airways!

The shetties get a bit each day to prevent wee splashes and knocks as they get up and down. They are mucky beggars and insist on going in the same stable so the get the whole lot taken out each day and replaced with new.
 
depends if you mean in the morning or at night ;) when he goes in it is nice and thick and the fork wont touch the concrete but in the morning about half of it has been eaten as the strange pony will walk in and munch his bed before eating his hay :rolleyes: (just to say he has very good quality hay but he prefers his bed that is also good quality straw) he is also a connie seems to be a thing with them
 
My stable has full rubber mats and about 10" deep bed with huge banks (he does get cast) I use Dixons Dustless its about £5.00 round here. I do believe its all about the management of your bed, you can still have a nice deep bed and not spend a fortune on bedding all the time by just keeping on top of it. I skip out during the week and then once a week take the wet up let the floor dry and then stick another 2 bags of Dixons in so it cost me a tenner a week for bedding. I don't think thats too bad considering they are in more than out at the moment....Mine DOES have a nest and he loves it....
 
on shavings and at least a foot deep. Get full muck out every day and all the horses make their nests and tuck up sleeping in them after work. Would never consider anything else

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