How much bedding do you use for 22 hrs inside?

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First pony G

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They use duo bed at our stables i must have been using at least 3 a week £6.50 each once my pony was in 22/24 hours for winter. I stopped using it and bought five star wood pellots. These are probably one of the most absorbent but cost £5.95 a bag 15kg. I'm finding I need to use 2 or probably 3 a week to cover half the stable. I do really like the pellots as they are so easy to clean out and probably save me an hour a day. I think they are also a much drier bed than the duo bed. Also I don't hurt my back as much mucking out.

I bought the pellots as they are supposed to be cheaper to use I was wondering if the less expensive brands of wood pellots may do the same job. if you use other pellots do you use the same amount or more and is your horse in for long periods as mine has to be? Thanks :)
 
I use Miscanthus (Elephant Grass) have about 8 bags to start, nice big deep bed with banks, my boy is very messy and very big and he stays in from 4.30pm until 8.30am, he has his poos removed every day, and his wee patch removed once a week, and has 2 bags a week of clean bedding ( the mares have 1 bag each (much cleaner) it costs £5.60 a bag x
 
If you start with a good bed say 5-6 bales of whatever you are using and only take out the poos daily and the wettest patch not all the wet, once a week you will have a semi deep littered bed and as long as you put a clean bale on once a week after taking the wettest patch out it is healthy and clean enough for any hose to live in, so it is economical and not back breaking.

The other parts of the bed that the horse has walked on and padded down them dont go digging them up, there will be a good form of absorbancy there for wee, a very clean bed does not absorb wee it just runs underneath and makes the whole bottom wet, let it become compact with a bit of wt and you will be laughing.
 
My mare is on box rest and is on shavings. I started her bed with 10 bales and just put one in a week. She gets skipped out am by yard and I do full muckout in evening. About once a month, I will put in an extra bale to bulk it up. She has a huge corner stable and a nice, clean bed. I can't bear deep litter. My daughter's mare is much dirtier and goes out 9am -4pm in winter. She is also on shavings but on rubber mats and I started her bed with 7 bales. She has one bale a week with full daily muckout and again has an extra bale if needed around once a month. Her bed is much smaller than my mare's bed. I have tried wood pellets, elephant grass and easibed but shavings work's better for her. We also prefer mucking out shavings. I get huge bales for £7.70.
 
Deep litter is dark dank and smelly, semi deep litter is only the very bottom of the bedding about 2 inches, infact it is better because it stops horses slipping when they get up from lying down, it is warmer and cost effective, it also dries in summer if you rake back the clean bedding on top and expose the under bed. Taking out wet clean bedding daily is just a waste and why some peeps find shavings expensive. Each to their own and how big the purse is.
 
First pony G said:
They use duo bed at our stables i must have been using at least 3 a week £6.50 each once my pony was in 22/24 hours for winter. I stopped using it and bought five star wood pellots. These are probably one of the most absorbent but cost £5.95 a bag 15kg. I'm finding I need to use 2 or probably 3 a week to cover half the stable. I do really like the pellots as they are so easy to clean out and probably save me an hour a day. I think they are also a much drier bed than the duo bed. Also I don't hurt my back as much mucking out.

I bought the pellots as they are supposed to be cheaper to use I was wondering if the less expensive brands of wood pellots may do the same job. if you use other pellots do you use the same amount or more and is your horse in for long periods as mine has to be? Thanks :)
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I use about 2 bags of pellets to top the bed up... Started by putting 10 bags down for the bed. I bought in bulk, my friend and I got a ton of pellets between us... Works out far cheaper.
 
I use wood pellets. My boxes are big foaling boxes, I started off with 7 bags in each and put one bag in each every fortnight.

If you use wood pellets properly they last forever. Pour one bag of pellets into a wheelbarrow and chuck a bucket of water in it, leave until the water is completely absorbed (10 mins) and add to the bed.

If you put dry pellets straight on to the bed it doesn't work as well. I only take poo out, never pee. Any clumps I shake out. Everyday the bed gets thrown up again the wall, sifted through and pulled back down. This fluffs it all up, the fluffier the bed, the more absorbent, and less likely to clump together.

The bigger bed the better wood pellets work, so although initially you will use a lot to get the bed started, in the long run you are saving a lot of money - ie one 15kg bag per fortnight! There are also some fortnights I don't have to put any bedding in, so the boxes might be able to go four weeks with no bedding.
 
I have just changed to straw. Been on shavings for the last 10 years as thats all we were allowed to use. Moved yards and decided at £8 a bale and using 2 a week and still having an awful bed to change. I cant believe how much easier it is and how much better it looks. I reckon I will struggle to get through 2 nales a week and its only £2.60 a bale! Horses have been in 24/7 too due to the awful weather and wet fields.
 
peony said:
I use wood pellets. My boxes are big foaling boxes, I started off with 7 bags in each and put one bag in each every fortnight.

If you use wood pellets properly they last forever. Pour one bag of pellets into a wheelbarrow and chuck a bucket of water in it, leave until the water is completely absorbed (10 mins) and add to the bed.

If you put dry pellets straight on to the bed it doesn't work as well. I only take poo out, never pee. Any clumps I shake out. Everyday the bed gets thrown up again the wall, sifted through and pulled back down. This fluffs it all up, the fluffier the bed, the more absorbent, and less likely to clump together.

The bigger bed the better wood pellets work, so although initially you will use a lot to get the bed started, in the long run you are saving a lot of money - ie one 15kg bag per fortnight! There are also some fortnights I don't have to put any bedding in, so the boxes might be able to go four weeks with no bedding.
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On this soaking thing, I've been experimenting a bit lately and found that with this really wet weather putting pellets down straight is the best way to go... There is more than enough moisture in the atmosphere:rolleyes: and the break down well and last longer, but if its drier weather, then putting straight pellets in... They just don't break down so well, then need a soak, as you say a bucket of water with the pellets in a barrow.
 
peony said:
I use wood pellets. My boxes are big foaling boxes, I started off with 7 bags in each and put one bag in each every fortnight.

If you use wood pellets properly they last forever. Pour one bag of pellets into a wheelbarrow and chuck a bucket of water in it, leave until the water is completely absorbed (10 mins) and add to the bed.

If you put dry pellets straight on to the bed it doesn't work as well. I only take poo out, never pee. Any clumps I shake out. Everyday the bed gets thrown up again the wall, sifted through and pulled back down. This fluffs it all up, the fluffier the bed, the more absorbent, and less likely to clump together.

The bigger bed the better wood pellets work, so although initially you will use a lot to get the bed started, in the long run you are saving a lot of money - ie one 15kg bag per fortnight! There are also some fortnights I don't have to put any bedding in, so the boxes might be able to go four weeks with no bedding.
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Hi thanks for all your replies.......
So when you are taking up the bed and throwing it against the wall is that just the top bedding after you take the poo out or is it the whole bed cause the wee clumps at the bottom. I was told to leave the wee at the bottom and only clean out when it gets really full.
I take the poo out and rake over every day. When the bed was first down I put about 8 15kg bags in and it was great for nearly 2 weeks. I started 7 weeks ago and have used 35 bags :eek::eek: I did do it wrong at the start mixing too much went in and the stable leaked so that accounts for a few extra bags but still way to much is used. I also add dry as instructed. At the end of the week when I do the full clean out I do like the way it looks, nice and thick though it only lasts a day then it's flat and horrible again.
 
MMMmm - does anyone deep litter on straw, i have rubber mats and muck out fully each day taking at least two barrows straw is £3 per week however much you use at our yard so i can chuck fresh in each day but wondered is a semi deep litter would be better, will be going back to shaving when the grass comes through cos the blighter eats the bed!
 
Mine is in 24/7 at the month as fields are flooded, his is a 10x10 stable half rubber matted. I use a bale a week of nedz beds (its cheapest at £6 a bale at the minute)
I take the poos and wet out daily but luckily my little man has ocd like me and only poo's on the mat so I hardly take anything out :o
 
First pony G said:
Hi thanks for all your replies.......
So when you are taking up the bed and throwing it against the wall is that just the top bedding after you take the poo out or is it the whole bed cause the wee clumps at the bottom. I was told to leave the wee at the bottom and only clean out when it gets really full.
I take the poo out and rake over every day. When the bed was first down I put about 8 15kg bags in and it was great for nearly 2 weeks. I started 7 weeks ago and have used 35 bags :eek::eek: I did do it wrong at the start mixing too much went in and the stable leaked so that accounts for a few extra bags but still way to much is used. I also add dry as instructed. At the end of the week when I do the full clean out I do like the way it looks, nice and thick though it only lasts a day then it's flat and horrible again.
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Leaving the wet in for too long is counter productive in my opinion, it a) makes the adjacent bits of dry bedding wet, and b) turns the bedding a yucky colour. I find that the longer you leave it in the bed ends up becoming just slightly damp. My boy wets the same place everyday, I sift out the poo daily, them every 2 - 3 days I scrape back the area where he wets and lift it out, fluff the bed up, fill in the gap and rake over, I also fluff the top layer and rake daily. Another tip is ensure you take out any hay from the bed... Don't be tempted to just sweep into the bed, it makes it damper... Hay attracts moisture... Look at the spot under your haynet... It will be damp... Not good for the bed :( if you look at the bed and think that you need to add pellets tomorrow, add them today, you will regret it if you leave it tomorrow... It can turn wetter than you expect. Make sure when you take out the wet you really take out the wet... You may be tempted to leave some of the wet in and mix it up... Don't, taking a little bit extra out today saves taking three times as much out tomorrow. And check out someone like Liverpool wood pellets, the prices reduce drastically when you buy in bulk :)
 
A flat thick bed, dry bed is more than comfortable, it doesnt have to be fluffy to be comfortable and when you are digging up against the sides you are breaking up what the horse has compacted underneath from walking onit, this is what stops it from moving when getting up and soaking up the wee, only dig out the wettest patch and then fill in with the old bedding raked from the bed and then put new over the top.
 
I used liverpool wood pellets for my old mare, she was filthy wet and a stirrer! with normal shavings the top layer was a mushy soup when stabled overnight :rolleyes::rolleyes:

But with pellets there wasnt a lot of 'movement' so it worked so much better. I added ten bags to start. and i only removed droppings daily and left the wet for a sunday when i was off work. i added a bucket of water per bag (one a week in nightly, two bags if in full time) into a huge spare water bucket before i started taking the wet out and stirred it half way through, i left it as long as i could before adding to the bed to make sure it was well and truly fluffified. When taking the wet out, id scape the top layer off and the clean away from the wet, just leaving the wet and take that out, then id dig the whole bed up and shake it out up the walls and add the new bale into the bed while i was doing, id then lay the whole thing back out again after sweeping the floor.

Must say liverpool wood pellets were brilliant when i ordered my pallet full, cheap, good communication, very fast delivery and the driver was great.

Id still be with them if i had proper stables, but as they are out 24/7 with an earth floor field shelter, straw better suits my needs :)
 
First pony G said:
Hi thanks for all your replies.......
So when you are taking up the bed and throwing it against the wall is that just the top bedding after you take the poo out or is it the whole bed cause the wee clumps at the bottom. I was told to leave the wee at the bottom and only clean out when it gets really full.
I take the poo out and rake over every day. When the bed was first down I put about 8 15kg bags in and it was great for nearly 2 weeks. I started 7 weeks ago and have used 35 bags :eek::eek: I did do it wrong at the start mixing too much went in and the stable leaked so that accounts for a few extra bags but still way to much is used. I also add dry as instructed. At the end of the week when I do the full clean out I do like the way it looks, nice and thick though it only lasts a day then it's flat and horrible again.
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All I take out is poo - or if there is a big wee patch that is orange I'll take it out, but that rarely happens because the beds are big enough that it absorbs well enough to not become an orange patch! If you have too little bedding that's when the big orange wet patches occur, because there is not enough bedding to absorb the wet, meaning the wet will lie at the bottom on the rubber matting creating a wet patch.

I literally take 1/4 wheelbarrow full of poo out a day. I can get four horses' worth in ONE barrow. My muck heap is tiny! Someone else mentioned the bed turning a horrible colour if you don't take wet out, I've never had this happen?

Literally just take poo out, chuck the whole bed against the wall, sift, take out any more poo that falls down while sifting, sweep ENTIRE bed back to get what the fork cant pick up then pull it back down. Mix any wet through with dry bedding and the wet will pretty much disappear!
 
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