Mucking out straw beds

[EllenJay]

After many yearscof using shavings or similar, I have just moved to a straw bed, so what are the best tools to use - any advance on a fork and broom?
Thanks

 

[Sail_away]

A plastic spade is very useful to skip out poo - you just hold the spade underneath the droppings and jiggle it around, poo falls onto the spade, no straw wasted! I love a nice big straw bed.

 

[Otherwise]

A plastic shavings fork, we have future forks at work but I'm sure most similar plastic forks work the same. So much easier to use than a heavy pitchfork, they're lighter and it's easier to sift the clean from the dirty so you don't take out too much.

 

[windand rain]

A good four prong muck fork a decent brush and shovel I love a big straw bed so much quicker to muck out than shavings

 

[criso]

Same as windandrain, a 4 prong traditional pitchfork with a long handle, I prefer wood for the handle as it doesn't get as cold as a metal one. Much quicker to use as you don't get the straw all caught in the prongs. Also with straw you sometimes find the top is clean but it's wet underneath as wee can drain down and a pitchfork makes it really easy to skim off the clean top. tTo skip out just one poo, get fork underneath and lift poo with a layer of straw underneath to stop it falling through, tip poo into bucket and drop straw cushion back onto bed.
Broom obviously to sweep up and a shovel to get those last small bits.

 

[Dave's Mam]

I use my Fynalite shavings fork. I thought straw would take me ages to muck out, it doesn't. I put a bit of shavings under the wee spot. Makes it even quicker.

 

[EllenJay]

Thanks everyone xx

 

[Michen]

Wood pellets underneath! No smell and takes me five min per bed

 

[sharni]

rubber gloves and a bucket, fork and brush and wheelbarrow

 

[TPO]

Overalls and hat because it stinks!

Straw is for drainage not absorption. "Back in the day" proper stables had sloping floors towards drainage so it was a good thing to have all the urine run to the bottom.

If you're DIY and mucking out before work overalls are a must along with some form of hat (ideally woolly rather than a cap with a ponytail hanging out) as the smell clings to you something awful.

If possible, and not deep littering, I'd lift the bed every morning and throw all the clean stuff up the bankings. Then fully sweep out the floor and leave the bed up for the floor to air/dry before relaying it at night.

It doesnt take long once you get the knack. Also depends how dirty your horse is and if they poo neatly or walk it through the bed. It takes longer mucking out random poo nuggets from straw than shavings as they dont roll to the ground the same way they do with shavings/chop straw when the bedding is thrown up.

Having said all that I don't think anything is more appealing than a huge fluffy golden straw bed.

 

[Goldenstar]

I would use a straw gripe .
but if I had to use straw I would give up horses .

 

[IcarusGirl]

I'm another who used wood pellets underneath straw, but only a scoop full sprinkled in the main "wee patch" - it seems to lock the wee together and stop it getting twirled around and spread in the straw.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I would use a straw gripe .
but if I had to use straw I would give up horses .

Me to I loath it although I always think a big proper bed looks nice, some straw beds I have seen recently look terrible people just tend to use hardly any at all and what is in there needs to go on the muck heap.

 

[Goldenstar]

I'm another who used wood pellets underneath straw, but only a scoop full sprinkled in the main "wee patch" - it seems to lock the wee together and stop it getting twirled around and spread in the straw.

this works well and it works under big flake shavings like Bed Max as well

 

[scats]

I always just used a fork to muck out a straw bed. I used to fully muck out, apart from banks. Pick up a fork load of straw under the droppings and then just tip the droppings into barrow and chuck the clean straw back in the clean pile/or onto banks. For wet areas, get fork right underneath and flip the straw so wet is on top, then get your fork under the wet and into wheelie, the clean is left and you can chuck that back into the bed.
Quick sweep of floor to finish and lay bed back down. I’ve never got to grips with trying to shovel poo out. Seems to take me for ever and I miss loads.

I hate straw for the smell, but I do occasionally miss mucking one out. All our ponies were kept on straw as kids as it was cheap.

 

[ihatework]

I love a straw bed, definitely my bedding of choice provided it’s good clean stuff (that’s usually the problem, getting good quality).

2 ways to manage it - full muck out every day, well swept floor and left up during the day. But you will stink with this option. Good 4 pronged fork, broom and shovel.

Or semi deep litter with a base of wood pellets. You get the nice straw bed without the stink. Just skip out every day and, depending on the horse, dig out the wet at routine intervals. Tools same as above but I find a speed skip handy too.

 

[Julia0803]

I’ve started using wood pellets under straw after picking up the tip here.

I put a 3ft x 4ft square at the front of the stable where the wee pooled ? earlier this week, and it’s worked really well. I’m going to extend it to the wee patch too.

I wanted to ask those who use the same method, how often to you dig it it out?

 

[windand rain]

I would use a straw gripe .
but if I had to use straw I would give up horses .

Strangely if I had to use shavings I would give up horses I hate that they always look mucky they smell far worse than straw and are really really cold. I am not certain the chopped up bedding would be much better. A few pellets underneath will make sure straw beds dont smell. Luckily I dont have stables they live out 24/7 poo picked daily even in snow much to OHs amusement but it would be a boring world if we all liked the same things

 

[Shilasdair]

I would use a straw gripe .
but if I had to use straw I would give up horses .

I was about to say 'a graip' but then thought no one would know what that was....I guess 'gripe' is the Yorkshire version.
And I too hate straw - the smell of ammonia lingers for ever and a day.

 

[Cortez]

I have always bedded on straw, I use a 3-prong fork, broom and a rubber mat fork. Takes me 10 minutes max per box, and I know it's clean, unlike shavings which quickly become a paté of poo in most places I've seen. Hate shavings with a passion and will only use if forced to.

 

[Tagman]

After many yearscof using shavings or similar, I have just moved to a straw bed, so what are the best tools to use - any advance on a fork and broom?
Thanks

I've always just used a fork but recently discovered that now the straw seems to be short chop, that a shavings fork results in less waste

 

[Pedantic]

I use comfy bed plus, cant get on with straw, but if I muck out friends horse, on straw, I use shavings fork for that as well.

 

[Goldenstar]

You can keep shaving immaculate with the will and the budget .

 

[Cortez]

You can keep shaving immaculate with the will and the budget .

Yes you can. But most people don't. Being quite finickity about what my horses lay down on, it takes me forever and a day to pick through all the teeny, tiny little bits. I don't have the will, or the time, nor the budget, so I'll keep on with the tried and trusted.

 

[Goldenstar]

on big flake shavings its as easy as straw to muck out .

 

[NinjaPony]

I would say that the big flake shavings are much easier to keep clean than small flake. I’ve noticed a big difference in how much bedding I use, how easy it is to muck out and also the amount of dust that has been reduced.

 

[milliepops]

I love a straw bed, definitely my bedding of choice provided it’s good clean stuff (that’s usually the problem, getting good quality).

2 ways to manage it - full muck out every day, well swept floor and left up during the day. But you will stink with this option. Good 4 pronged fork, broom and shovel.

Or semi deep litter with a base of wood pellets. You get the nice straw bed without the stink. Just skip out every day and, depending on the horse, dig out the wet at routine intervals. Tools same as above but I find a speed skip handy too.

Was going to say a speedskip makes very swift work of skipping out, I use them on all types of bedding.

I only have straw in the foaling box which is now a run-in shelter. Now my foal is older I have wood pellets under the straw and so most days just need a quick whizz round with the skip to remove droppings, and then address any dirty straw and soggy pellets as and when necessary - straw fork + skip make easy work of it.

 

[Lammy]

I wanted to ask those who use the same method, how often to you dig it it out?

I just put a few handfuls of pellets down where my boy wee’s of a night and he’s not very wet at all in the stable as he prefers to wee in the field. My routine generally is that I do a full muck out and straw top up on Sunday and replace the pellets again on Wednesday. So they last 3-4 days. I don’t mind if the bed gets a little wetter on a Saturday night as I’m taking most of the middle out on my full muck out on Sunday anyway.

 

[Melody Grey]

Another straw fan here (although them all living out would be my preference, but that’s another story!!)

I used to use Large flake shavings Underneath but have just switched to wood pellets- odd question, but where is best to order from in bulk? Are wood
Pellets for cat litter the same thing?

 

[Wheresthehoofpick]

When you put the wood pellet down underneath straw do you still moisten them?