Least dusty bedding

wellsat

wellsat

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G is currently on box rest and has developed a bit of a nasty cough. He is currently bedded on good quality straw but his stable is getting a bit smelly with him being in the whole time so I'm looking to put him on wood pellets instead.

Any recommendations as to which are the least dusty?
 
Woodypet (if still available) is the least dusty and was used for my friends COPD horse. I find all the pellets that you dampen down are the least dusty.
 
I have found that Ecobed is the least dusty, having used straw, Aubiose, shavings and wood chips in the past. It forms a lovely, deep bed, is absorbent and odour-free.
 
Cardboard - ecobed?

Small cardboard squares. My welsh spent one night with me on straw, changed to shavings, stuck that out for a fortnight, then onto the cardboard. He coughs and snots like you wouldn't believe on anything else.

I put a nice big bed down, skipped out during the week and a full muck out at weekends and add more bedding. I found that if you took the wet out every day you ended up using loads of bedding, whereas the wet patch didn't treally get any bigger whether you left it for 3 days or 6.

Its very warm too.
 
The problem is the micro-dust which the respiritary system is unable to filter out.

You need to remove all the dust and cobwebs from the stables walls and roof rafters etc. This can be done with a broom or industrial vacuum cleaner. Also do it to adjoining stables. Do this once a week to avoid a build up of any more dust.

Only feed twenty minute soaked hay and feed it from the floor.

Ensure your horse is in a stable that faces outdoors and not an indoor barn type stable.
 
OWLIE185 said:
The problem is the micro-dust which the respiritary system is unable to filter out.

You need to remove all the dust and cobwebs from the stables walls and roof rafters etc. This can be done with a broom or industrial vacuum cleaner. Also do it to adjoining stables. Do this once a week to avoid a build up of any more dust.

Only feed twenty minute soaked hay and feed it from the floor.

Ensure your horse is in a stable that faces outdoors and not an indoor barn type stable.
Click to expand...

Thanks, he's in an outdoor stable with a nice big window high up on top of a hill. Most of the time there's a fairly strong wind up at the yard, just not at the moment. I already feed good quality hay from the floor, I'm going to try soaking it but he's incredibly picky and probably won't eat it then so I might have to swap him onto haylage but that makes him scour...
 
Ecobed cardboard's definitely the cleanest i've found. most other bedding types break down (and become more and more dusty) with use - i've tried premium shavings, aubiose, wood pellets (which are horribly dusty, by far the worst unfortunately), and paper. cardboard's definitely the cleanest.
 
I really like Rapport - it's chopped rape straw. Even my vet commented on how dust free it is! (not that I use it for that purpose but it is part of the reason I chose it!)

Re your hay - even giving it a quick sprinkle with the hose before serving can reduce the dust quite significantly ;)
 
I have a horse with copd and my vet told me not too deep litter as the ammonia produced can also set them off.

I use All bed which is totally dust free, but not very absorbant, so although cheap to buy, I have to use more.
 
Another vote for cardboard - have used it for some years now, first on an ordinary box floor and now on mats. Get mine from a company in Soham - Ecobale? Easy to muck out, doesnt break down and not palatable!!
 
I find bed wrap is really good its cheap and the least dusty bedding I have used. I normally use Hunters shavings which are fab but in comparison with Bedwrap they are dusty. One of my friends suggested using bed wrap because it is cheaper but i've tried it and still find Hunters last the longest so i'll stick to them but if my horse had problems with the dust I would definately put him on bed wrap. I have used Nedz Bedz, Aubiouse, various brands of shavings, wood pellets, straw, elephant grass and would say out of all of them Bed wrap is a clear winner I can leave a bucket of water in the stable when I put a new bale in and don't get any dust what so ever in the water. Yet with the shavings I always have to leave the water out of the stable until i've put a new bale in otherwise I end up with a thick film of dust on the top.
 
i would opt for bedmax or wood pellets on rubber matting. and also clean out stable of old dust, cob webs etc. proper mucking out every day, twice a day if on box rest, as most bedding breaks down at some point thus creating dust., and hay damped down by a couple of steaming kettles, (unless you need to soak to reduce calories). sounds like the amonia (as you say his stable is smelly) could be aggravating the airways.
 
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