People that deep litter...

[Tiarella]

How many times a year do you dig the whole bed out?

 

[Cliqmo]

I personally don't deep litter but the girls at the yard do (one on aubiose, one of straw and one on straw over shavings) and they all dig out once a week, so err... 52 times a year?

 

[carosel12]

Hi I have always deep littered, and i take the lot out twice a year (or if it looks a bit messy then i will take it out then as well) In the spring and begining of winter when its all out i scrub everything and re due the bed, i think it depends on what type of bedding you use and how long your pony spends in the stable also how often you take out the droppings, as long as the feet are picked out daily and the bed kept clean then it's a good way to save time and money (you might need help on the days you take the lot out, thats when you wonder why you bothered doing deep litter lol)

 

[Chico Mio]

Like Carousel, about twice a year. My FB is on pellets and shavings and is only in at night. I poo pick and remove wee patch daily, top up as needed and that's it. OK his bed is brown but he doesn't care and neither do I. It's warm, thick and comfy and doesn't smell except a sort of peaty whiff.

ali_m - Don't know about you, but IMO cleaning out once a week doesn't really constitute deep littering - just using a lot of bedding!!!

I am looking at mats though. Stupid twit that I am i have only just realised I live in the middle of dairy cattle land and loads of people are downsizing or going under and selling off their stuff - lots and lots of lovely rubber mats going cheap!!!

 

[muffinino]

Once a year at the end of the winter when the horses go out 24/7. I take the whole lot out then just put a bed down and muck out as normal if T comes in (competing etc). I do it over a number of weeks so as not to strain my back!

 

[pottamus]

Well my lad lives out 24/7 all year and has a field stable that is deep littered and he uses as he pleases throughout the year. He goes in there for a sleep most nights and when the flies are bad in summer...but not much in winter. So on the scheme of things it is not really used much, hence me deep littering and leaving it all year. So I tend to clear it all out once per year before the winter and this year I dont think I will put as much bedding in it as usual so I can keep on top of it better.

 

[T_K]

If it's 'properly' deep littered then you should only clean it out once or twice a year.

 

[SilverSkye]

I deep litter and always used to take it out at the end of winter, however through the summer Skye now comes in through the day to keep her weight down so this year have left the bedding in, so it has been since October last year. Will dig it all out before winter and start afresh or i reckon by next summer the step up would be about a metre!! So short answer once a year!

 

[pixiebee]

[ QUOTE ]
If it's 'properly' deep littered then you should only clean it out once or twice a year.

[/ QUOTE ]

How do you properly deep litter then

At the moment, I take all the poo and wee out and top up bedding as needed- very time consuming with two horses and one that needs three big haylage nets per night- any time saving tips greatfully received!

 

[pixiebee]

Also-I never empty the entire bed as i rotate it, I pull the banks down when I need topping up then use new bedding for the banks, so it all gets roated if you see what i mean? Plus its too messy to leave much in anyhow!

 

[T_K]

'Proper' deep littering is when you just take the poo out everyday and top up with more bedding - no wet is ever taken out until the whole lot is taken out. Although when you first start a deep litter bed it is a good idea to take out the 'protruding' wet stuff out with the poo, but leave the rest of the bed undisturbed. You should be able to lie down on your deep litter bed with your best clothes on and not get dirty or smelly - as apposed to the sh*tty beds that someone at my yard excuses as 'deep litter'!

You do need to bear in mind though that some horses are just too messy for proper deep littering.

 

[muffinino]

Just take the poo off the top, leave the wet there, it will start to compress down.

When I start the bed, I move the wet from the middle (I have a gelding so it tends to be in the same place) and spread it around as a base - such a pleasant task!

I make room under the banks and any other dry bits and put the wet there. Then, once it starts to settle, I just take the poo out and move any around wet that rises to the top - does that make sense? Occasionally you may have to skim some of the wet off the top and chuck it, but I went 6 months last winter without taking much out.

ETA then just put fresh straw on top when you've taken the poo out

 

[Jane_Lou]

I did deep litter a few years back, a layer of shavings under a deep straw bed. The straw was mucked out daily and the bed thrown up during the day, the compacted shavings were left down and you could actually sweep any stray poos off the top. I just took the poo out of the straw as the wee had all soaked into the shavings. If the wet patch stopped aboorbing I would did it out with a hand trowel and pack the hole with clean shavings. I used 1 bag of shavings all winter and a bale of straw every couple of weeks - not bad for a filthy mare! In the spring and Autumn I would dig up the shavings, remove any wet and relay mixing through a couple of bags of clean shavings.

 

[Chico Mio]

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You do need to bear in mind though that some horses are just too messy for proper deep littering.

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Not kidding, my old mare is the most foul of old baggages. She drinks about 20 litres of water a night and then returns them to the floor before morning. Sometimes it's like a swamp in there. And she trashes her bed every night.

 

[CrazyMare]

I 'semi' deep litter. I have a youngster who enjoys digging, so I muck out in normal deep litter style - just taking the poo out, relevelling & adding straw until she has a digging session, then I either clear it out, or clear the worst bit, then rebed down.

I'm probably going to get her mats too, as my mare is on mats.

 

[letrec_fan]

I could never deep litter...I like to know my horse is going into a properly clean stable. Also, he digs all the bed up every time he rolls and he rolls several times a night so that wouldn't really work anyway.

 

[chestnut cob]

Two or three times a year, depending on how wet it gets or how much he's in over summer. It isn't dug out in winter at all, then I get the whole lot out and disinfect when he goes out in spring. I might then either dig it out once again over summer or, more likely, I will leave it down until winter, when the whole lot comes out again ready to put new down for winter.

I like deep litter as it provides a better base. My horse never digs through it as shavings compact down well and it's so much quicker to muck out. He has a lovely clean bed on top so no worries there.

 

[T_K]

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...I like to know my horse is going into a properly clean stable.

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As I said above, a proper deep litter bed should be very clean - unfortunately the phrase 'deep litter' can become an excuse for lazy people and their disgusting beds.

 

[only_me]

I sort of deep litter, i take out all the wet about once/twice a month depending on how much hes been in the stable.

Deep littering properly would be impossible for my horse, he drinks a massive amount and consequently pees a huge amount

He will easily drink a large tub trug dry in one night - app. 38 litres

so imagine that being pee'd on to his bed...

 

[My_chestnut_mare]

[ QUOTE ]
Also-I never empty the entire bed as i rotate it, I pull the banks down when I need topping up then use new bedding for the banks, so it all gets roated if you see what i mean? Plus its too messy to leave much in anyhow!

[/ QUOTE ]

i do the same

 

[Chico Mio]

[ QUOTE ]
I could never deep litter...I like to know my horse is going into a properly clean stable. Also, he digs all the bed up every time he rolls and he rolls several times a night so that wouldn't really work anyway.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hmm, properly clean? It is clean, just nice and thick. My lad box walks, let alone rolls, and he's never even hit concrete through his bed. You have to put a lot in to start though. TBH for me it is economic, easy to manage and the best thing since sliced bread. I quite understand it doesn't suit everybody's horse or idea of good stable hygiene but each to their own. I don't have the space to keep a monster muck heap if I mucked out like I was taught with straw beds. Also my two view a straw bed as an all night buffet and would eat the lot, hence pellets and shavings.

 

[Box_Of_Frogs]

Hmmm. I must be doing something wrong! I deep litter the back 2/3rds of Sunny's stable. Front 1/3rd is rubber matting. Sunny's an easy horse to deep litter as he doesn't churn it all up even though he does love his naps. I deep litter with just basic shavings. New bales are banked up at the back and whatever I need to replace the poo/wet is pulled forward daily from the bank. In the winter Sunny is in at night, out in the day and I get through a bale in about 5 days - and that's a really generous, fragrant spotless bed. In the summer, he comes in for a few hours every day and 1 bale lasts weeks. Sunny's bed is just about the best, the deepest, the most luxurious and the most fragrant on the whole yard. But here's the thing, I started it 2.5 years ago (as a deep litter virgin!) and I have NEVER taken it up!

 

[Enfys]

Used to do it once a year, 4 hours worth of shovelling.

Seen the light now, I don't stable my horses at all.

 

[SouthWestWhippet]

[ QUOTE ]
I could never deep litter...I like to know my horse is going into a properly clean stable.

[/ QUOTE ]

How do you cope turning him out into a 'dirty, muddy field'? There is plenty of compacted dirt and poo under his feet then at one layer or another