Idiots guide

cbmcts

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Hi

I'm moving to DIY livery after 10 years on grass livery so I have a week
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to organise myself to get everything ready!!!

I've had a look through here for info on wood pellet bedding, very interesting but could anyone who uses please give me the idiots guide about how exactly to use it......can you just skip out daily and take the wet out at the weekend? How messy does it get? Does it smell? Taking into account a mucky gelding
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Also, I need a barrow and mucking out tools, anyone got any recommendations?

Thanks in advance
 

Baileyhoss

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I use shaving so have no experience of wood pellets,

but regarding tools - go for good quality, don't waste money on the plastic shavings forks. get a metal fork with narrow spaced prongs, looped prongs if you have mats. Like this: http://www.speedgate.co.uk/products/view.htm?id=10415#

lightweight plastic wheelbarrow you can get quite cheap - - preferrably a different colour from everyone else's
http://householdandgardenplastics.co.uk/productdetails.php?prod_id=261

Don't buy your brush or barrow from a 'horsy' shop, you'll probably pay twice the price, use a industrial or agricultural supplier.

And lastly - Magic Marker your name on EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE! and if you arrive to muck out and someone is using your stuff. Don't be afraid to ask for it back immediately.
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c2b

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This is the instructions from the place I got my pellets from
http://www.corleybiowood.co.uk/Bedding.htm
I have been using them for a couple of weeks now. First week I followed instructions to the letter.
This week I have been taking out droppings daily, leaving wet in. Seems to be working fine. I plan on taking out wet at the weekend.

I have changed over from straw. I miss the nice visual effect that a big straw bed gives.
I am really enjoying sifting out the droppings. Could spend hours doing that alone ...sad huh?
The bed is now changing colour to a dark sand colour which is not so appealing but it's still dry and clean with no odour at all apart from a slight woody smell.
So far I have used very little bedding only having had to top up once!!
I use a good quality fine tined shavings fork. CLEARLY MARKED!!
 

embonaught

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This is how I do it (I'm very anal, my house may be a sh*thole, but my stables are immaculate)...

I have rubber matting so my bed is about 4 or 5 inches deep and covers the back half of the stable. I don't have banks. I use Aquamax because of all the ones I've tried, it's the most suitable for my two - a very wet mare (quite tidy) and a rather messy yearling.

Assuming you've just put a whole new bed down... Remove poo with fork (same as one mentioned in the last post) - you won't have any obvious wet for about two weeks, use fine tine fork to remove little bits and bits of hay. Sweep back bed, level with fork. Job done. This takes about 6 minutes if I'm not in a hurry.

When the wet starts to rise to the surface, scrape off any dry, use blue fork to remove clump of wet in a oner, mix any other bits of wet back into bed. I add two bags every fortnight (half watering can per bag) and mix well into existing bedding. When I've just added two bags, I don't need to remove any wet for about a week.

On straw, I took out about 2 big wheelbarrows a day - now it's a medium sized trug of poo - maybe another half trug if they've been in longer than usual.

I can finish mucking both of mine out before they've even finished breakfast. The added bonus being that I don't stink of wee
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muddy_grey

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Don't know about wood pellet bedding, but I had a snow shovel for my shavings bed and it was excellent. Much cheaper than a normal shovel and bigger. It was perfect for scooping up the wet at the end of the week. And very light
 

kick_On

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It depends on how often you'll be able to skip out to how mucky your stable will get. If you can do it in am and in pm scoop up and dropping before going home i bet you rgg will be cleaner than you think

Rubber gloves and big bucket for skipping out, wheelbarrow B&Q , one wide brush, spade- all these as must- and shaving fork usefull but if short of dosh can surive without one.

Avoid buying stuff from horsey shops until you're checked prices out in the big DIY stores.
 

alsxx

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Homebase do a really good little broom for £4.99, its only small but its super for sweeping and getting all the bits.....everyone used to borrow mine as it was so good....i struggle to manage the long horsey brooms and find I have to keep going back because I've missed bits.
 

alsxx

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Yes it does!! Its not bad for £4.99 is it? And if the handle breaks (note to self... yanking at it when the broom bit is stuck is NOT a good idea) it only costs £4.99 to replace it!
 

kickandshout

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top tip for a brush especially if your on shavings.
try the witches broom type you can sweep loads in one go and its much easier on your back !!. they last ages too so good value for money i think i paid around £6 for mine.

diy stores for mucking out stuff and buckets either the black plastic type or the incredibly useful flexi /tubtrug type much cheaper than horse shops !!

try the pound shops for bargains too.
 

cbmcts

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Well, I'm getting there
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Ordered 25 bags of the White Horse pellets, they'll be delivered next week along with 20 bales of hay. Apparently the whole yard is waiting with bated breath to see what the bedding is like - various people have wanted to try it but were too chicken to order it (their words, not mine!)

Got the shavings fork,homebase broom, feed buckets, haynets and skipping out gear in the shed.....bought a couple of big flexi trugs from B&Q for £4.48 each, bargain. Been told not to buy a barrow as there are spares on the yard
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You've just reminded me - I used to have a snow shovel for sweeping up but broke it a few years ago - does anyone know where they're on sale? as there weren't any in B&Q earlier......off to have a look on ebay now.....
 

embonaught

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Well done, it won't be long before your shiny new stuff is covered in sh*t
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Ah, the B&Q trugs - should have said, false economy, the handles snap off if you overfill them...
 
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