Rubber Matting .... Best bedding ?

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IrishTwinkle

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So I have invested in rubber matting about a month ago , I'm currently using shavings they have chopped straw and euocoliptus mixed in the bale . I'm not really finding that I'm saving on bedding. She's not really that messy but I'm finding I still need 2 bales a week . I started the bed off with 4 bales , I have banks and only bed half the stable . What's everyone else's experience of rubber matting and different types of bedding ?
 
I put a bed for my boy at the back of the mats about 3ft, then literally just a sprinkle a bit of bedding over the rest of it - I only put the deeper bed at the back as that is where tends not to wee/poo. If your mare is wetter on the left than the right then put less bedding on the left than the right.

You don't have to be too generous with the bedding when you have mats, just enough to absorb the wet enough so there aren't puddles!
 
Milkmaid how many bags do you use a week of the wood pellets ? I have been looking in to those actually ...

Bubbilygum I will try that tommorow , I don't have a massive bed with her I try and keep the fresher stuff up the banks and pull some fresh down each day after mucking out . Shavings are so expensive these days !!!!!
 
Wood pellets for me too, I use two bags every 10 days for a half bed on mats. Bed has been down for 4 years and may not be white but is dry and clean. I deep litter, proper as in no wet out unless it goes lumpy and then I only skim off the top. It's so economical.
 
IrishTwinkle said:
Bubbilygum I will try that tommorow , I don't have a massive bed with her I try and keep the fresher stuff up the banks and pull some fresh down each day after mucking out . Shavings are so expensive these days !!!!!
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My horse is absolutely disgusting - wet AND poos for England - but I've found this works! He goes out every day for about 11/12hrs but I use about 2 bales of bedmax a month now. Also I find bedmax MUCH more cost effective than regular shavings - bales are more expensive but last much longer.
 
Another vote for wood pellets!!Love them and once you have the initial bed down you just top up per week!!It works out cheaper as well!!
amber4ever x
 
I agree with wood pellets too.
I have tried most beddings with mats, straw, shavings, chopped rape straw and so on.
The best I have found both economically and for ease in mucking out is wood pellets.
It breaks down much easier too, so is better for the muck heaps.
You will find that your barrow loads should be smaller that you take out.
The poo is much easier to lift if you get one of the decent shavings/pellet forks.
The muck stays on the fork and the pellets either when fresh or when moistened slip through the tines easily.
It is only when you get the real sodden wet patches out that you will have more in the barrow to remove. This depends on how wet your horse is though, how thick your bed is and if your horse box walks or has to move around a lot for fodder and water.
Shop around for the best deals on the pellets too.
Companies like Liverpool Wood Pellets are good if you can buy in bulk and have the money and storage to store pallet loads.
Otherwise if you can convince someone else on your yard to use them then you can split the pallets which will help reduce costs and storage.
Check on the web and in the press though as there are quite a few suppliers of the pellets and I have found one that is really good and the pellets work out very reasonable too.
 
IrishTwinkle said:
Milkmaid how many bags do you use a week of the wood pellets ? I have been looking in to those actually ...
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I use about a bag a week per horse. Very economical, time saving and best of all for me, absolutely NO smell!

You don`t have to take the old bed out to swap over to wood pellets either as they work well in conjunction with other bedding, which is a major bonus.
 
straw pellets - even better absorbancy than wood pellets and easier to use as don't need to water them - muck heap rots faster also. only drawback is they are slightly darker in colour than wood pellets
we use between 1 and 2 bags per week
 
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