Pro's and Con's of a straw bed??

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fairyclare

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I wonder if you lovely lot could give me a few pro's and con's of a straw bed, so far all I can think of is -

Pro's-
Cheap
Available on the farm my horse is stabled on (hence no travelling to get bedding and no running out and not having time to do a trip to the feed shop)

Con's-
Smelly
Not as absorbant

At the moment she is on rubber mats with an un matted strip approx 3ft of concrete with Bed down excel (which is a mix shavings and chopped straw with a lemony scent) at the back, I use 1 bale a week in the summer, its £6.20 a bale.

Ta in advance
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My YO puts down a thin (1") layer of shavings in her mares 'wet corner' and then has a full straw bed on top. Consequently the straw stayes really dry (so lasts ages!) the bed is easy to clean and is nice and fluffy for the horse and it works out really cheap because she only goes through about one bale of shavings a fortnight!
 
Thats a good idea, I was thinking of putting a thin layer of her current bedding (until it runs out) to save chucking good bedding away.
I already use a sprinkle of wood pellets on her wet patch to help the soaking up process.
 
Pros: Cheap to use

Cons: Not very absorbent. Massive muck heap that needs taking away much more often than a muck heap with any other bedding. This obviously adds cost to ther yard so possibly straw isn't actually as cheap as it first appears.
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Don't know about the pros but one very definite con is that some (piggy) horses will eat a straw bed and it can cause impaction colic. Both my horses are piggies and for that reason I'd never risk it.
 
Pros: warm, cheap, composts down so you can sell/use it on your garden

Cons: bit smelly

I agree about horses eating it but if they want to eat I'd rather that than them being hungry. Muck heap removal with straw is far easier to arrange than shavings, farmers don't want to spread shavings as it takes longer to rot down and I believe doesn't have as much benefit (maybe wrong on that!).
Mine gets used in the garden.
 
i use straw.
6 to 8 bales to start the bed off,then 1 or 2 added a week.
i only find it stinky if you skint on it.
 
[ QUOTE ]
My YO puts down a thin (1") layer of shavings in her mares 'wet corner' and then has a full straw bed on top. Consequently the straw stayes really dry (so lasts ages!) the bed is easy to clean and is nice and fluffy for the horse and it works out really cheap because she only goes through about one bale of shavings a fortnight!

[/ QUOTE ]

I'll need to try that with Don, he pees in the same place and the middle of his bed is like a bog!
 
Thanks for the replies guys.

Muck heap removal isn'ta problem, as we are on a farm. The farmer piles it up to decompose then makes a seperate pile of 'ready to use' manure and people come and take it for their gardens.

My horse eats the chopped straw in the bed down, maybe I am wrong but I think normal straw would be better for her to eat than the chopped treated straw in the bed down
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I wish she didn't eat either tbh, she has plenty of very nice hay!!

Another question, how much do you pay for your bales? Farmer is currently charging £2.50 a bale for nice straw.
 
I've got one on straw and one on cardboard at the moment

The straw is much easier to muck out and way cheaper. I only use 1 bale per week, as I have earth floors so it doesn't smell and is relatively dry. You couldn't use as little on concrete.

The cardboard is much harder to muck out, takes long, smells more and also needs putting back in place where horse has been tramping around.
 
Pros:
bigger bed than on other bedding
cheaper
horse can nibble it (a pro in my opinion if they don't like the hay they have something to keep their tummies working but then my mare hasn't got a weight problem or anything)
my yard is a farm and farmer makes it so no need to bring it in from somewhere or wait for deliveries all the time

Cons:
dusty

Been contemplating changing mine onto something different than straw for the summer to improve things for her airways but hesitate as it is so convenient to get hold of and also cheaper...
 
Our yard changed to straw recently and it was great at first - cheap, lovely thick bed etc. Recently though he's developed a cough when ridden, despite having his hay soaked. If I wanted to keep him stabled long-term I'd go back to woodchips, but he's going on grass livery soon so I won't bother changing back.
 
We bale and sell straw and charge between £1.25 and £1.50 a bale including delivery so I think £2.50 is expensive particularly if it is already on site. A few people have told us we are selling too cheap but we would rather sell it all by the following harvest than have in the barn getting dusty.
 
Also, my dad's horse has always eaten her bed, dispite having plenty of lovely hay. Vet said that some horses just need more rough fibre. She has never shown any sign of colic, we've had her since birth and she's 14 next month so I do not worry about horses eating straw.
 
[ QUOTE ]
We bale and sell straw and charge between £1.25 and £1.50 a bale including delivery so I think £2.50 is expensive particularly if it is already on site. A few people have told us we are selling too cheap but we would rather sell it all by the following harvest than have in the barn getting dusty.

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Huh Bl+++y governments have killed of farming in fairyclares area £2.50 isnt expensive here.The thing nobody has mentioned is the type of straw.Wheat straw is by far the best,and dont accept moldy straw.(wheat straw is a much lighter colour than Barley straw,which is a deap golden colour)
 
I moved my TB gelding onto straw in January after multiple allergy issues including different types of wood.
I was also advised to keep all rugs off during the cold snap.

What was nice was how warm the straw was, he practically nested down into it when it was snowing and kept nice and toasty warm.

He also eats most of his bed but it so far has had no ill effects but it means it's not particularly cheap as you have to replace alot every day.
 
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