How Deep Are You Horses Beds?

[fizzer]

Mine are on rubber matting, i put in a bale of straw every other day. They all have big beds with banks.

My mate has full rubber matting and only puts a handfull of shavings in the corner!!! I hate to see this, each to their own though.

 

[xmonax]

absolutely HATE not giving them atleast a foot deep beds, would never think of anything else! I do think it is cruel to leave a horse having to urinate on matting with it splashing up! its cruel! you have to ask yourself - why do all these top riders use big beds?....because they do not want to damage their horses joints, bones, ligaments etc. our horses are happy little things and LOVE their thick beds and we love putting them back into them! people are lazy doing no bed or even a 'square' of shavings in the corner --- how is this even a bed?! sorry rant over! it does annoy me

 

[Honey08]

You have to find the right depth for each horse. It doesn't need to be as deep for a smaller pony. I like it to be over the fetlocks and below the hocks. If you put too much in, they drag it around when they walk and create holes. As someone said, different types of straw make different types of beds, some are fluffier and deeper naturally. I tend to pat the beds down, so the straw is more firmly in place, so it doesn't look as deep, but is well covered...

We have rubber mats purely because some of ours are mega-rollers - they scrape before rolling, so used to uncover the concrete when they rolled, which freaked me out!

I don't do banks so much anymore, as our stables are huge. When the horses are in massive boxes I leave the bed the same size as for a 12x12 , so half the stable may be just rubber mats. I always put the hay and water in the side without bedding, but they always go onto the other side (with bedding) to wee, poop, or sleep. I've never seen them lying on the mats alone.

 

[fizzer]

Xmonax - I agree, my mates horse never seems to lie down, uses its hay to pee on!!! Its disgusting, I have to bite my tongue!!!

 

[LadyRascasse]

deep enough so the bedding doesn't move when he lies down. when i had my mare on straw i used the folk trick mentioned

 

[xmonax]

Xmonax - I agree, my mates horse never seems to lie down, uses its hay to pee on!!! Its disgusting, I have to bite my tongue!!!

horrible isnt it, its not fair on the poor horse!

People always go on about mats and concrete being the same as the wild, unless you own a horse who has lived in a desert somewhere then they know no different!!!!

sorry it just upsets me

 

[LeneHorse]

I'm another with rubber matting and a big shavings bed on top. It's very easy to manage as I skip out during the week and lift the wet at the weekend and top up with fresh shavings. The bed is always dry on top. She loves to lie down and never smells of pee!
I know rubber matting is designed to be used with only a sprinkling of shavings but imho there is no way you can prevent their rugs stinking of pee using this system. I also prefer shaving to straw for pee related reasons!

 

[NicoleS_007]

I use the fork trick, but with a shavings fork!! If i didnt make Speedys bed thick enough i would find him in the morning with no banks The git would pull them down to make himself comfy lol

 

[Honey08]

Xmonax - I agree, my mates horse never seems to lie down, uses its hay to pee on!!! Its disgusting, I have to bite my tongue!!!

We had a DIY who used half a bale of shavings per week. Her bed stunk. The rugs were dripping. I never saw the horse lying down in the stable, yet it slept in the mud in the winter fields. She used to quote the line about horses not being nesting animals, but it was really because the girl was totally lazy - never left rugs off it even in the hottest weather so she didn't have to groom it, and rode it home when "a bit" lame because she couldn't be bothered walking!

 

[TGM]

People always go on about mats and concrete being the same as the wild, unless you own a horse who has lived in a desert somewhere then they know no different!!!!

There is a world of difference between rubber mats and concrete! Concrete is much harder than the earth a horse would lie on in the wild, whereas the type of rubber mats designed to be used with minimal bedding should be soft and springy and softer than the ground outside. I use Fieldguard M2 mats which have rubber studs underneath which make them springy and I am quite happy to lie on them myself, as are my horses, who are very happy and healthy and are certainly not cruelly treated, thank you very much!

I would not use minimal bedding on concrete, though, or on the very thin mats that you sometimes see. It is also important that drainage is correct so that beds aren't 'dripping'.

Just because seeing horses on great big nests makes you happy doesn't mean that everyone should do that!

 

[xmonax]

my horses, who are very happy and healthy and are certainly not cruelly treated, thank you very much!

Just because seeing horses on great big nests makes you happy doesn't mean that everyone should do that!

But this is when I think a horse is happy! not on bare mats - sorry

Not cruely treated - I think it is cruel for a horse to have to pee on mats and have it actually splash up; worse though is for them to LIE in it

 

[Cobbysmum]

That. It's cheaper as well as comfier for the horse. You could always get a couple of mats for under the bed?

Agree with this, my husband and I had a competition, he did not believe me but when we compared wheelbarrows mine held far less dirty straw than his, of course I'm also much better at mucking out than him........ I like my stables to look inviting, I often think they look comfortable enough to sleep on myself!

 

[TGM]

But this is when I think a horse is happy! not on bare mats - sorry

So all wild horses are unhappy because they haven't been able to build themselves nests?! Horses that live out 24/7 are unhappy too, because they don't have a big bed to lie on?

Not cruely treated - I think it is cruel for a horse to have to pee on mats and have it actually splash up; worse though is for them to LIE in it

That why you use a 'pee-patch' and ensure the mats drain properly so the above scenario doesn't happen.

 

[xmonax]

So all wild horses are unhappy because they haven't been able to build themselves nests?! Horses that live out 24/7 are unhappy too, because they don't have a big bed to lie on?

MY opinion! nests?!?!

That why you use a 'pee-patch' and ensure the mats drain properly so the above scenario doesn't happen.

and the whole thing I am saying is that many people do not provide this so-called 'pee-patch' therefore the pee DOES splash upwards and it is NOT NICE! again..its an opinion

 

[chessy]

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.

This is definitely true with my horse! She'd wade through a deeper bed and it'd be in a right state the next morning. She seems to do much better with a bit less straw, and I never see concrete where it's been moved about.

I don't actually pay for my straw (it's included in the livery price, can use as much as I want), and I still don't like using too much of it. But, to each their own.

 

[TGM]

and the whole thing I am saying is that many people do not provide this so-called 'pee-patch' therefore the pee DOES splash upwards and it is NOT NICE! again..its an opinion

Well you were complaining earlier about people who leave a 'square of shavings in the corner', which obviously stops the splashing! It is great to have opinions, but sometimes it helps to think them through properly before berating other systems of management different from your own.

 

[Farma]

Horses that live out have a larger than 12 x 12 square to choose where to lay down, plus they will lay on grass generally which im sure is alot softer than an inch of rubber on top of concrete.

 

[RachelFerd]

I personally get irritated by the massive beds people choose to give their horses - could never work on a livery yard as a result! We would all moan if we had to ride our horses in a foot deep arena surface, but are more than happy to have them continually wading around in 2 feet of dank shavings.

I would put more emphasis on keeping a clean bed than on a deep one - once beds get too big I find them unmanageable, because I like to clear out underneath the banks every day, if the bed is big (shavings only) it is impossible to do properly. I cannot bear solid, stinky ammonia filled banks.

Beds should be thick enough to give a good cushion for the horse lying down, without revealing concrete. Any thicker than this I think is a bit pointless, but each to their own!

 

[Cuppatea]

if the bed is big (shavings only) it is impossible to do properly. I cannot bear solid, stinky ammonia filled banks.

see my earlier post with photo. Is this not 'done properly' ?

 

[TGM]

Horses that live out have a larger than 12 x 12 square to choose where to lay down, plus they will lay on grass generally which im sure is alot softer than an inch of rubber on top of concrete.

Our mats are definitely softer than the grass outside - I've tried both. As said above, some mats are specifically designed to be used without much bedding and therefore are more than just 'an inch of rubber' on top of concrete. For example, the type referred in my post above has little rubber legs underneath that makes it springy.

I think this photo shows the concept well:

 

[only_me]

Straw beds should be pretty thick; they tend to move more.

My boys bed is kept pretty thick, he is on allbed - it is about 8" thick at least! But his bed never moves, is excellent - and the price aint too bad either (4.50 a bale!)

 

[Holly Hocks]

My two are on concrete floors with just a mat at the front of their boxes where they look over the doors. I use easibed. I was taking out all the wet once a week, but I've recently found out that if I leave it in and just take the poo out, and just top it up and make it a proper deep litter, the bed is more secure on the concrete and doesn't slide about. When I first put my mare in on her brand new bed, she dug it all up and lay down on the concrete, even though the bed was really deep.....so by leaving the wet in at the bottom, she can't dig it up and has a secure base all the time and it stays dry on top. It still looks lovely, and even though she tries her best to dig it up, she can't get all the way to the bottom anymore. I used to be totally against deep litter, but I've found that it's best for my horses. And it doesn't smell either - that's the one thing I hated about straw - I always found it stunk!

 

[zoelouisem]

Ive got a 11.2 and his bed is about 7-10 inches with probaly 2ft banks, it doesnt cost anymore once the bed is set up, i use between 1-2 bags per 10 days am just carefull when i muck out hes not on deep litter and his bed is spotless. He lays down alot. And i cant bare to see concrete when hes laying down. He doesnt have rubber aprt from in front of the door as he scrapes for his b'fast and dinner
I do agree horses didnt live in nests but the also wernt confined to a 12 by 14 ft concrete room so think thats got to be taken into account!!

 

[Starbucks]

Badger's bed is pretty thick (straw). I find it gets quite rancid if I don't have a big deap bed and he has fresh straw in every day.. so it looks nice! I like it to be nice and cosy, especially in this weather!

 

[Shearer]

My pony doesn't have mats so he has a thicker straw bed, with thick banks, i'd say around a foot deep when i put the straw in, banks around 2ft. I use about 2 bales of straw a week.