Most Economical Bedding Now?

I’ve tried loads of different beddings and for economy (and personal preference really) I prefer straw. I can have a massive thick bed for a fraction of the price any other bedding costs.

Takes me fifteen minutes to fully lift and muck out Farans bed (20 if it’s really thick) where as I was twice that doing a shavings/woodpellet/swish bed. He also ate the straw and even the wood pellets 😓 so those went rather quickly 😅
 
PurBee said:
If youre in the uk you might have luck sourcing miscanthus pellets. Theyre just as effecive if not a bit more at absorbing than wood pellets.

In ireland, shavings are currently the cheapest, weight-wise. Will have to check if wood pellet prices have dropped here as i preferred them as a base layer, because shavings are pathetic for absorbing pee in comparison, weight for weight.
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Hi there! Im in Ireland and ive just got one bale of miscnathus shavings to try out. Currently using normal shavings but my mate is quite wet (but keeps poop and pee in one spot). Im debating between miscnathus and wood pellets, any guidance would be appreciated!! She's out 24/7 and will be turned out during winter during the day too.
 
magquiqui said:
Hi there! Im in Ireland and ive just got one bale of miscnathus shavings to try out. Currently using normal shavings but my mate is quite wet (but keeps poop and pee in one spot). Im debating between miscnathus and wood pellets, any guidance would be appreciated!! She's out 24/7 and will be turned out during winter during the day too.
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I loved miscanthus when I could get it because it’s a heavier bed, and my 2 share an open barn with big bed in it which they love to roll and sleep on. Shavings being more light weight than miscanthus moves around a lot more due to rolling etc . Miscanthus is a heavier bed when around 6 inches thick so tended to stay put, easier to also lift poops off the top, than dig into the bed fishing out poops from shavings!

But compared to shaving miscanthus doesn’t absorb as well - unless you are able to get very fine chip/flake miscanthus? The stuff I was getting was like chopped bamboo canes, but not sharp shards! It’s softer than bamboo.
There was a video showing miscanthus pellets (ground up to sawdust then pelleted) compared to wood pellets, and miscanthus absorbed better. If you’re able to get it pelleted and put in the wet spot, you’ll find that great for absorbing and not spreading far under the bed.

Miscanthus chips are quite ‘woody’ compared to shavings, that’s why they don’t absorb well in that form. The miscanthus bed smelt of pee a lot sooner as a ‘deep bed’ - shavings deep bed doesn’t due to absorbing better than miscanthus chips and having pine oil in the shavings naturally is a deodoriser of urine.
But if you want a heavy sturdy topping you will likely like the miscanthus - and then as your horse is kind to you and pee/poops in 1 spot!…(the dream!!)…you could put wood pellets under that pee place and just have to dig that out.
With miscanthus chips, the pee is likely to spread more underneath the bed than shavings, without having pellets underneath.

I tried wood pellets on their own, but as it turns into fine sawdust I found the horses were snorting more and runny eyed due to sleeping in it fully flat out and then getting the fine sawdust in their nostrils/eyes. But as a base layer pellets are fabulous, with a non-dusty topping.

My ultimate favourite bed set up would be miscanthus pellets base layer (for ultra absorbancy) 3 inch deep, with miscanthus chip topping 6inch. I do a semi-deep bed due to them both peeing in random places. I was removing/adding a bag of shavings per day taking all pee out daily, compared to 2 bags per week.
So my base layer needs to be very absorbent and non smelly. I haven’t used miscanthus pellets though to test if they’re non-smelly. Wood pellets are not smelly for a deep-bed base layer.
 
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