Question for those with wet/messy horses.

[stargirl88]

Been looking at previous threads about what people have their horses on and I THINK I'm going to try megazorb on my next order! Have rubber matting under Bedsoft Bio stuff atm but there's a large pool of wee every day under the matting.

Just wondering how you all manage your messy horses? Do you deep litter, or air out the stable daily? Do you bother with rubber matting?

Or maybe does anyone have different bedding where your horse wees most?? (mine always pees down one side of the stable, so considering this!)

 

[_Rach_]

Hi


This is really good.
http://www.verdohorsebedding.co.uk/
Twizzys stable isnt flat, it tilts down to the left, but since being on this bedding it is not wet anymore and the wee doesnt get under my matts and my stable no longer smells so bad its fab, very much worth the money IMHO. the only downside is you have to buy by the pallet load. But if you ring/email michele she might be able to do you a trail on it

Good Luck.

 

[chestnut cob]

My big horse is VERY wet, If I did a full muck out every day I'd fill a couple of barrows and need a new bale of shavings every couple of days. I have rubber mats across the front half of my stable and the a deep litter shavings bed on the other half. It works well for him. It takes a while for the deep litter to bed down and needs plenty of shavings to begin with but now I only need to put a fresh bale on every 1-2 weeks. He's clean with poo, only does that in one corner, and doesn't do anything like box walk so he doesn't dig up the deep litter. It's rare that any wet comes to the surface (but I have to keep a decent amount of dry shavings on top of the base) and his bed is one of the cleanest shavings beds on the yard!

I just use whatever shavings my YO buys in for us.

 

[ihatework]

I'm not a fan of the wood pellets as a complete bed, but they are incredibly absorbant and cheap.

In your situation I'd consider putting unsoaked wood pellets down in the place where your horse wee's, with regular bed over the top.

Hopefully then you can just scrape back the top bit of bed and shovel out the compacted wet clumps off wood pellet

 

[stargirl88]

Thanks _Rach_ but as I get paid every 2 weeks buying by the pallet isn't feasible atm!

I did look at wood pellets - but they're most effective if you water them (?) which is just another thing for me to faff around doing, so not sure!

 

[Vanha12]

Thanks _Rach_ but as I get paid every 2 weeks buying by the pallet isn't feasible atm!

I did look at wood pellets - but they're most effective if you water them (?) which is just another thing for me to faff around doing, so not sure!

You only need to water them if you are putting down for the first time with nothing else. After than you just mix into the older bedding and the slight moisture in it will do the rest for you. I like pellets and found them as absorbant as sawdust but without the dust.

 

[Fruitcake]

Wood pellets are absolutely fab. I;d really advise giving them a go. Honestly, the watering bit really isn't that faffy- you can split a bag between a couple of tub trugs and just put two or three feed scoops of water on each. Leave for a couple of hours and they fluff up. I've found them fantastic for my wet pony. I have rubber matting down half of the stable and put the pellets down the other part where he tends to wee. I used to have a nightmare with shavings- tried loads of brands- some were better than others but all seemed to leave a pool underneath and run under the matting. The pellets are so absorbent and work out SO much cheaper too. You only need to take out the wet bits and then top up daily. I do pull the entire bed back everyday but I know others don't bother with this.

 

[Wagtail]

If you can afford it, then megazorb really is the very best bedding on the market, and I have tried virtually everyone of them! The only one that compares, is wood pellet, but they are not nearly as good as megazorb.

 

[StormyMoments]

just out of interest in the winter does the bed freeze solid as the bedding is damp?

wood pellets that is not just a random bed

 

[charmeroo]

No the wood pellets don't freeze in winter! Horse's bodyheat sees to that!

The other way to dampen wood pettets before putting them in the stable is to empty the bag into a wheelbarrow, dampen them with hose, or bucket of water. Leave for 1/2 hour and then empty wheelbarrow into stable. Easy!!!

 

[PolarSkye]

Been looking at previous threads about what people have their horses on and I THINK I'm going to try megazorb on my next order! Have rubber matting under Bedsoft Bio stuff atm but there's a large pool of wee every day under the matting.

Just wondering how you all manage your messy horses? Do you deep litter, or air out the stable daily? Do you bother with rubber matting?

Or maybe does anyone have different bedding where your horse wees most?? (mine always pees down one side of the stable, so considering this!)

Kali is a really dirty wee beastie . . . and if you've been reading up you've probably read that I use straw.

But in answer to your question about how do I manage his bed . . . I don't use rubber matting (can't stand the thought of all that wee underneath and they are heavy/unwieldy to keep taking up), I make a really deep bed, dig out the poo and wee daily (I know where he goes) and lift the entire bed to air as often as I think it needs it - anything from once a week to several times a week. When we have lots of rain and the grass is wet, he obviously takes in more liquid so his bed is wetter . . .

I have tried Megazorb . . . didn't work for us b/c at the time Kal was box walking so just trashed it every night no matter what I did. I did find it absorbent though.

P

 

[stargirl88]

Thanks for your responses, I didn't realise wood pellets only needed to be done the first time. Doh! Think maybe I'll chuck megazorb down where she wees to
start with though, mostly because I'm a bit lazy

Just thinking about the matting now as you say PolarSkye it all builds up underneath! She's only been there a month and it's already pretty manky, having to air it out daily this week it's probably causing more hassle than its worth I just saw it as a luxury when we arrived

 

[Wagtail]

Thanks for your responses, I didn't realise wood pellets only needed to be done the first time. Doh! Think maybe I'll chuck megazorb down where she wees to
start with though, mostly because I'm a bit lazy

Just thinking about the matting now as you say PolarSkye it all builds up underneath! She's only been there a month and it's already pretty manky, having to air it out daily this week it's probably causing more hassle than its worth I just saw it as a luxury when we arrived

Although I like megazorb best, I mainly use wood pellets. I do dampen them all before putting them in as they are crunchy and hard when dry. They also don't look very nice and the bed looks really dirty unless you use more than they recommend. I get through around 3 sacks per horse per week in order to keep the beds looking really nice. I put two sacks in a wheelbarrow and use the spray hose to fluff them up first. I know others put them in dry but it doesn't work for me. I have also known them to freeze when the winter has been exceptionally cold.

 

[Toffee44]

I know this is a old thread but have similar question to OP.

Does anyone mix shavings with megazorb? I have a wet mare but shes not overly messy but straw just isnt working on the mats.

 

[Armas]

We use wood pellets for our heating system. We have 20 tons at a time delivered so its cheep.
I use the pellets as a base and straw on top. I then just scoop up the poop and dig out the wet bits and re top with pellets as needed. I prefer my base of pellets to be dryer as they then absorb more we. The top layer of straw then makes it soft for him ! I also pull back the straw once a week to let things air.

 

[JennBags]

Toffee, I have just changed from shavings to Eco Comfy Bed, and started deep-littering - at the moment, the shavings and comfy bed are mixed in as I only changed a week or so ago. Don't know about Megazorb though.

Got to say, that so far I am loving the Comfy Bed - it tends to stay in place much more than shavings, even though my 2 both tend to kick it around.

I tried wood pellets and really hated them.

 

[spotty_pony]

My boy is very wet. In the Winter the yard I am at provides bedding (wood pellets) which are quiet absorbent but I add some shavings myself to bulk the bed out a bit more. My stable has rubber matting but the drainage isn't very good and the wet tends to run under the back bank. At the moment he is living out but is in for a couple of hours per day so he just has a small bed of shavings down in one half of the stable which I clean out as and when necessary and then leave the bed up to let the floor air.

 

[canteron]

The best choice for a wet/messy horse is to have them live out 24/7 - or at least overnight!!!

My mare is very messy and it is the only way I can survive - physically and financially!!

 

[Toffee44]

JBs how much do ecobed work out at per a bag??

I have been looking at thirstybed for a while but not many reviews on here.

Scarterfields (local stockists) have just put shavings up to 7.80 a bale!!

 

[xRobyn]

I'm currently using eco comfy bed with my revolting gelding. Very wet and a box walker, but the comfy bed is so heavy it stays in place! It's not very absorbent (when you remove it, it gets quite 'drippy') but I just remove the wet twice a week and leave to air. In between that the wet doesn't come to the surface/doesn't smell/no puddles of wee! On straw I would have an inch of wee to shovel out daily

ETA mine is £6.50 for a 25kg bag (I think!)