Keeping a straw bed nice... Best ways?

metalmare

metalmare

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Hi,

My new pony is settling well on his yard. I'm naturally anxious to learn all the rules and make a good impression. One common sense rule is miminal wastage of straw.

I haven't bedded on rubber matting before, so I put quite a deep bed down. At first this was fine and the pony was very clean. But already the whole bed is becoming damp and of course I don't want to be throwing masses away!

I've chucked up the damp stuff onto the banks and put fresh down as a bed. But I don't think it's going to dry well or be nice enough to bring back down onto the bed...

Should I embrace the rubber matting and just use very little straw?

See, I have already started worrying about simple things :-)
 
I really think it depends horse to horse!

My older lad is very wet, my younger one not so much.

I guess straw is provided in the price of the livery where you are? I wouldn't worry about it soo much. It'll take time before you perfect your "system" ;)
 
Deep litter, proper deep litter, will save oodles of straw. The key is not to be tempted to chuck the wet out, just the poo, and put more straw on top of the wet. Once it's established, you'll use very little straw and have a good, springy surface for your horse to stand on. Personally I wouldn't bed on rubber matting with hardly any bed unless there was a medical reason.
 
I've recently started using a base of hemcore(or whatever I can get thats absorbent) under mine & it's made a huge difference.
 
Personally, I'm not a fan of rubber mats . . .

Kal is on straw and I keep the bed nice and deep - almost a foot deep - but I dig the wet out every single day (no rubber mats - concrete floor) and lift the bed for the floor to dry/air about two/three times a week - more often in the summer. No smells, no issues with capped hocks. There are some really effective deodorizers you can use on the stable floor or on the bed itself if it gets really smelly . . . but I've found that building a deep enough bed, staying on top of the wet and letting it air regularly (and not using rubber matting) is all I really need to do.

I defy anyone to walk into Kal's stable once I've mucked it out and relaid the bed and tell me that it smells of anything other than clean straw and hay.

P
 
There's three different options, lol :-)

I know that you're right in that it will take time to see what suits us... I think I'm bowing to peer pressure. I can't help peeping over other people's stable doors.

I never would have worried about putting slightly damp on banks and only removing the very wet, but they all seem to sweep their stables out daily.

I like the idea of deep litter... I'm just not sure if I'm brave enough yet at this yard. I think i've already been branded a bit weird for being a barefoot enthusiast.

Don't get me wrong, it's a friendly, well-run, lovely yard... I'm just not used to lots of time in stables and lots of rugs and cosseting.
 
Do you think there is an art to straw that I need to develop?

Obviously I take the wet out, but he'd trampled the bed today to the point that it was all sticky, so I was procrastinating over what the dampness borderline was. I know the old maxim, if you wouldn't sleep on it nor should your horse, but I'm trying to balance this with the required thriftiness. Hmmm.
 
First of all, I hope you are enjoying your new horse and don't sweat the small stuff (i.e. what other people think - as long as you and your pony are happy, what really matters is that you and your pony are happy :D )

I personally, don't like using rubber matting with straw as straw isn't very absorbent and I find it just gets wet and minging! But, that is just a personal opinion and this is what I do .... if it helps?

I like to have a deep straw bed - my 13.2hh pony grows to about 15hh :D

I do a full muck out every day and get the bed up and turn one bank every day. I toss the bed up and, I try to leave the bed to air in the day and I use a stable disinfectant on the floor. In reality, that happens on a Saturday and Sunday!

I then sweep the floor, as this also helps get ride of an excess lwee on the floor. I then put the most dirty of the clean bedding (if that makes sense?!) on the concrete and use the cleaner straw on top and for banks.

In the evening after work, I just take out the poo and any obvious wet (as he is out in the day and gets bought in by YM)

It is surprisingly cost effective once I've made up the bed, I just use a section (of a big bale) every few days to top it up.

It sounds more of a faff than it is - a full muck out including hays, waters and making up feeds takes me about 20-30 minutes on a week day morning.
 
metalmare said:
There's three different options, lol :-)

I know that you're right in that it will take time to see what suits us... I think I'm bowing to peer pressure. I can't help peeping over other people's stable doors.

I never would have worried about putting slightly damp on banks and only removing the very wet, but they all seem to sweep their stables out daily.

I like the idea of deep litter... I'm just not sure if I'm brave enough yet at this yard. I think i've already been branded a bit weird for being a barefoot enthusiast.

Don't get me wrong, it's a friendly, well-run, lovely yard... I'm just not used to lots of time in stables and lots of rugs and cosseting.
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Here's the thing . . . you asked for opinions and you got them ;). You need to do what works for you and your horse/pony. Like you, I did a fair bit of observation to find out how others did it . . . I asked lots of questions too. I'm sure there are some old school mucker-outers who would cringe to see the way I muck out (with a shavings fork!) . . . but it works for me. And you will figure out over time what works for you . . . I promise :).

Oh, and don't worry about what people think . . . at least half the time they're probably not thinking what you think they are (if that makes sense) . . . the single best piece of advice/wisdom I ever received from anyone when I was a rank novice at horse ownership was "you know your horse better than anyone else" . . .

Good luck and try not to worry too much.

P
 
Thank you :-)

I don't think I'm going too far wrong... How I used to manage Humber was very similar to what you describe.

I think I cursed myself by showing off this morning as I emerged with just a trug full of poo and wet... I thought I had found the world's cleanest pony! I then left him in for the day and came back to utter destruction!
 
Thank you polarskye.

I am over the worst bit, which was riding for the first time. I had only hacked out when I viewed as there was no school, so this was new home, first attempt in school and all after being in for the day! I had visions of being ditched spectacularly in front of an audience.

As it happens, there was no real audience and the pony was headstrong but really very good. The owners had told me terrible stories of his behavious in the school and i tried him in a Waterford and martingale, but today he worked sweetly in a snaffle and no martingale.

Yay!
 
I'm not a big fan of rubber mats either TBH. I find that a small amount of bedding over rubber mats is more wasteful than a big bed as you have to throw out most of the bed every day. I would continue to use a big bed and muck out daily. If you are selective you shouldn't end up using too much bedding
 
Re: Keeping a straw bed nice... Best ways?
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Don't let the horse anywhere near it :p

I don't mind rubber mats but like a nice deep bed on top, is it wet patches or is your horse walking round in it making it worse?
 
I'm probably doing the right thing then... And I guess sooner or later the banks will dry and be reusable, even if they are the under-layer.

I think the thing to take from this is that the less than perfect stuff is okay underneath, provided there is nice fresh on top.

Wouldn't want a sticky pony, eh?

It's funny because I have kept a pony on straw before, but on private land where I couldn't make comparisons. See how quickly I doubt myself when I'm looking at what others do.
 
Hi rhino.

This morning it was obvious wet patches, which were easily found and removed.

Then he was in during the day and I returned to a completely sticky bed... Just damp everywhere. Then I surrepticusly crept to the straw barn.

But I didn't waste any... My banks simply grew taller :-)

When he's out every day it'll be better.
 
metalmare said:
Do you think there is an art to straw that I need to develop?

Obviously I take the wet out, but he'd trampled the bed today to the point that it was all sticky, so I was procrastinating over what the dampness borderline was. I know the old maxim, if you wouldn't sleep on it nor should your horse, but I'm trying to balance this with the required thriftiness. Hmmm.
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Yes, I do think there is a knack to straw . . . took me a while to get it . . . Kal was on flax and/or shavings before we went to straw . . . but I do think that suits you and your pony won't necessarily suit someone else. So much depends on your horse's habits . . . does your horse walk alot, is he/she tidy in his/her habits?

By way of example, Kal could be described as a box walker . . . although he is much more settled where we are now . . . if you were being kind you'd say he was restless. On shavings or flax or any other bedding that is fine and easily moved he effectively becomes a magimix and turns the bed into a brown soup . . . come the morning there are no actual piles of poo, just a primordial brownness. Straw doesn't behave like those other beddings . . . even though he still marches around his box, I can actually find whole piles of poo . . . yes, they are buried but I now know where to look for them . . . he is a creature of habit (like most horses). Ditto his wee spots. I know where he goes . . . so I know where to look for the wet.

Bottom line - straw works for Kal. Before we had him, though, we shared two mares. The owner kept them on shavings . . . one was ridiculously dirty, like Kal and so was a nightmare to muck out . . . the other was incredibly tidy . . . she never walked through her poos, nor did she bury them . . . mucking her out took two minutes max.

Try not to worry too much about what other people think or do . . . but by all means steal their good ideas ;).

P
 
Same as others, I do a full muck out & leave floor to dry, generally do a bank a week. Mine are out all day though so easy to give floor chance to dry. Sometimes re-arranging the stable can help a bit to keep the muck altogether. So if he's in during the day, & trying to look over the door & eat hay from the back corner just moving the hay to the front can help. And unless its got perfect drainage, find out which way it does drain. So if liquid runs to left & front, putting hay & water on the opposite side means his quarters are more likely to end up over where it drains towards anyway which reduces how much straw gets wet. Hope that makes sense!
 
True.

I think there is a geographical link with bedding as well. When I lived in Derbyshire nearly everyone I knew bedded on shavings. Here in Lincolnshire straw is almost universal, because it is such a cheap by-product of the massive agricultural sector here, I guess.

Btw, please forgive all the spelling errors; I'm rushing through three jobs at once.
 
Love your analytical way of thinking about it littlelegs. I'll watch his stable and see if any patterns emerge :-)
 
littlelegs said:
Same as others, I do a full muck out & leave floor to dry, generally do a bank a week. Mine are out all day though so easy to give floor chance to dry. Sometimes re-arranging the stable can help a bit to keep the muck altogether. So if he's in during the day, & trying to look over the door & eat hay from the back corner just moving the hay to the front can help. And unless its got perfect drainage, find out which way it does drain. So if liquid runs to left & front, putting hay & water on the opposite side means his quarters are more likely to end up over where it drains towards anyway which reduces how much straw gets wet. Hope that makes sense!
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Makes perfect sense . . . very sensible . . . wish someone had offered this wisdom up when I first put Kal on straw. Thanks.

P
 
Straw, wee and rubber matting dont mix well, my pony pees for England and im always finding puddles of wee that the straw hasnt soaked up, so at the moment I use a layer of shavings then lots of deep straw on top, then I fork the droppings out, luckily he is tidy and keeps it in piles, then I remove the straw and add to the banks on the sides or remove any really wet stuff, then sweep the wet pile of shavings and remove / add more if nececcary, then put the straw back on top.
 
I find the best way is to have a deep bed and do full mick out and add a few sections of straw each day to keep it fresh, rather than adding a bale every 3 days or so.

Let it dry out fully once twice a week. As simple as that :)

Best way to save straw is to poo pick with rubber gloves on rather than mucking out with a fork :)
 
Horses24-7 said:
I find the best way is to have a deep bed and do full mick out and add a few sections of straw each day to keep it fresh, rather than adding a bale every 3 days or so.

Let it dry out fully once twice a week. As simple as that :)

Best way to save straw is to poo pick with rubber gloves on rather than mucking out with a fork :)
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This. Except I pay a flat fee for straw per month, not dependant on usage, so I don't have to worry too much about saving straw . . . although I do muck out carefully and don't take the pee.

Deep beds and regular dig outs are (to me) the way to maintaining a clean straw ged.

P
 
I'm on a flat fee for the straw, however the YO has to pay to have muck removed so have to be frugal.

Defo rubber gloves, much easier.

Think some shavings beneath might not hurt, either.
 
I was a groom at a yard with lots of large straw beds & not much time, hence getting very inventive about reducing work rather than the cost!
 
I have rubber mats and straw - really deep bed and I muck it out in full daily - sweep out the floor and leave it to dry all day (or night now as she is in by day, out at night).

I take the poo out with rubber gloves- that saves wasting hardly any straw and then I fork out the very wet, leave any slightly damp up to dry.

I use max 2 bales per week - and my stable is 18ftx10ft and the actual bed is 12x10ft

It is lovely and clean smelling most of the time - only issue I have with smell is when she is in season and wees for England! But even then I only take out 1 barrow daily (usually about 1/2 to 3/4).
 
Brill, thank you.

I think when he's out in the day more often and the weather picks up this will almost cease to be a problem... I hope!
 
I muck mine out properly every day putting the older straw on the bottom and then using parts of my banks to layer over the top. At the beginning of the week my banks are huge and probably normal size by the end of the week then at the weekend I just alternate which bank I get rid of completely and use fresh straw to make a new bank - it probably sounds a bit odd :rolleyes: but it seems to work and I always have a nice clean bed and don't actually use that much straw. Mucking out with gloves I also find saves loads of straw!
 
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