How do you maintain your shavings bed?

[Green Bean]

I have been on a yard where all wet and poo is removed and bed turned over every day with 2 shavings allowance per week), to my current yard where it appears that only poo and minimal effort on wee is removed with one shavings allowance a week (horses are stabled for 20 hours a day). Bed looks dark and damp for the latter. Is it just me or am I expecting too much? [I am moving yards soon]

 

[webble]

That sounds grim. I remove all muck and wet daily and use 4-6 shavings a month. Horse is out 730- 5 though and I wouldn't go somewhere that had that little turnout

 

[Tiddlypom]

For horses in 20 hours a day I'd defo prefer the first version with a full muck out every day.

Stable will get stinky on version 2.

 

[Goldenstar]

What you describe as the second is depressingly normal it’s yuk .
I muck out fully every day and unless it’s chaos I will leave the beds up for a while to air the floors .
I can’t stand dark coloured shavings beds mine are always light and dry .

 

[catkin]

Full muckout everyday as at the first yard for me (plus poo skip out at evening stables).
The extra time and cost of more shavings is more than compensated by having a dry clean bed which apart from being comfortable for the horse helps with hooves and breathing and cleaner rugs (which all cost to sort out)

 

[SaddlePsych'D]

No not expecting too much. The second one sounds grim. Bad for hoof and respiratory health. Especially if the horse is stood in most of the day. It's also not really saving bedding as the fresh stuff will just start absorbing the wet that hasn't been taken out properly.

 

[meleeka]

A friend does option 2. Given we have mats, I’m not sure what she thinks the point of it is. If you aren’t going to provide a dry bed, I think it’s better to just put a sprinkle down and sweep out every day. I muck out fully each day when mine are in.

 

[RHM]

My beds are my pride and joy my horses go out all day and in at night in winter. Just poo taken out during the work week, all wet dug out at weekends unless it comes to the surface then out it comes. The trick is to have a deep bed. Mine was started with 6 bales of large flake and I add two bales per week. This way they are spotless, completely dry on top and my horses like to lie down on it. Should say I don’t have rubber mats, this is on concrete so deep beds definitely needed!

 

[ponynutz]

We often have dark coloured shavings but do a full muck out everyday and leave it to dry. Top up with a bucket everyday (one bag a week per horse). As long as bedding is dry and there's enough of it I'm happy.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

Sounds gross can't imagine 1 bale of shavings is going to be enough when the horse is in for 20 hours a day, it's no wonder it dark wet and disgusting I would want it mucked out daily and shavings added everyday.

 

[Michen]

At my american barn all the shavings are removed once a week, with a totally new bed put in.

Feels like such a waste but keeps the dust down apparently.

 

[Sealine]

I'm OCD about my horse's bed. Full muck out daily. Horse is in overnight from 4.30pm to 7am and I use one bale of Hunters every two weeks.

 

[Red-1]

I only bottom the bed once a week. However, this works as I have really deep beds. My beds are always white. But then, I do use 3 or 4 bales a week. I do a rotation, so the middle is taken out and the banks totally cleared to the middle, one or two banks a week.

The droppings are removed 3 times a day and any wet that appears is "patch removed" but the bed not excavated.

I also hate brown or smelly beds.

This is his bed at 4am, when really beds are about at their worst. Most of the poos will be along the back wall, out of sight of the camera.



So I think once a week clean can be clean and fresh, but the beds need to be thick and it does take more shavings.

It is labour saving during the working week, but not cost effective. I am mostly time-poor though, so it suits me.

 

[Sossigpoker]

I have been on a yard where all wet and poo is removed and bed turned over every day with 2 shavings allowance per week), to my current yard where it appears that only poo and minimal effort on wee is removed with one shavings allowance a week (horses are stabled for 20 hours a day). Bed looks dark and damp for the latter. Is it just me or am I expecting too much? [I am moving yards soon]

The first yard is doing it correctly. The second yard is disgusting.

 

[scats]

Fully mucked out (apart from bank at the back) and 2 bags a week each.

 

[OrangeAndLemon]

Mix some wood pellets in as a temporary solution.

I deep litter, pellets underneath a dry non absorbant shavings layer. I remove the worst of the wet every few weeks and put down fresh pellets. It helps that I have a very tidy horse who doesn't move the bed around too much.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I just put some wood pellets where mine wee and then I muck out every 3 days or so depending on how much they are in, it does save the shavings as you mainly just chuck out the wet pellets but my beds are really thick with 1 mat at the door and the bed is right up to where the mat is.

 

[Love]

Full muck out every day (no banks) with the floor fully swept back and whenever I get chance I leave the bed up to air the floor for the day whilst they are out. I reckon I use 1 bale every 10 days or so (sometimes more sometimes less). My stable can get quite damp when the weather is wet but still manage to keep it pretty much completely dry this way even then

 

[welshcobabe]

I have shavings on rubber matting and I muck out every day taking out muck and wet and throw the shavings up into banks, leave the floor to dry while he is out goes out at 7.15 and back in for 16.00. I use two bags of shavings per week and the bed is clean i put one down on Thursdays and Sundays the depth of the bed on top of the mats is around 6" with good banks takes about 30 mins each day before work.

 

[Bluewaves]

Muck out droppings evey day. I keep dirtier shavings on the bottom mixed with sawdust so it's quite deep and then cover with clean shavings. The dirtier stuff seems to clump together better so he doesn't kick the whole bed apart and the base can bsorb the wee so he doesn't sleep on it.

I take the base out every week. I'm not 100 percent happy with it because the other person who mucks out doesn't take out all the droppings and i keep finding buried poo.

I am changing my system in the next few weeks and see what it's like to use flax.

I don't know what to about banks, I've heard mixed messages about their usefulness but he seems to like to sleep towards the side of the stable and there is a bank there so I'm not sure if he likes being propped up??? I would prefer not to have them at all, but I always seem to let them grow back.

I find it quite stressful to be honest. I don't know what the healthiest thing to do is. He is on springy rubber matting so the shavings are really there to absorb the wee in my mind.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

This is what amazes me, people are so OTT about their beds, yet they leave the fields in a mess poo everywhere.


I don't touch banks generally take all pellets out then rake the clean around till i find the wee, then move clean out the way with shovel then fill in the bedding with cleaner, I like the bed to be undisturbed if it is dry and clean so does not move easily when horses is lying down. My beds are dry not too worried about the colour as I use Aubiose as cannot stand shavings.