Sawdust as bedding

[ben456]

A friend has been using sawdust from a saw mill for the past year- it is very clean they take no betting atall from the stable for just over 2 weeks only droppings and then take all wet out after around 2 weeks. He puts down 2 half black bags of saw dust to start and about a quarter of a bag of shavings. He dampens the bedding first and packs it down by standing on a shovel. Is this type of bedding safe?

 

[Mike007]

Yes if properly cared for. The big dangers are dust and heating of the bed which is bad for the hooves. Compared with horses on mats and little else ,this horse is in heaven.

 

[catroo]

I think sawdust can be ok if used in the right way but I personally wouldn't use it like this person is. Every time the horse moves dust will be disturbed, imagine how much dust the horse is inhaling if they lie down.

I have used dust but only under a thick layer of another type of bedding so there is minimal chance of it being disturbed

 

[Mike007]

It is vital that the sawdust is not red hardwood sawdust ,this stuff is toxic in a big way! Sawdust must be whitewood/pine /fir sawdust. Trust me ,I own a sawmill!

 

[PorkChop]

I know someone who uses it, straight from the sawmill, because it is freshly milled it is not dusty.

 

[Sussexbythesea]

It's common in the USA. My sister used it for all her horses. It was delivered by the lorry load into a bay. Made a good absorbent bedding that was easy to muck out but very dusty. Sometimes had to spray with water to dampen it down.

 

[Procrastination]

We use it at our yard, comes in bales the same as shavings so I'm pretty confident it's dust extracted. We just put a thin layer down and take out all wet/poo each day - makes for very quick and easy mucking out. This is on top of rubber matting though

 

[Goldenstar]

Cheap easy to work with ,small muck heap .
But ,there's always a but not great for the horses feet and if it's just waste from a sawmill it's dusty .

 

[Exploding Chestnuts]

I know someone who uses it, straight from the sawmill, because it is freshly milled it is not dusty.

lol, I don't think so ......... it must be the type of wood and the state of the wood, I have used sawdust but, its terrible stuff, better to use wood pellets.

 

[Exploding Chestnuts]

We use it at our yard, comes in bales the same as shavings so I'm pretty confident it's dust extracted. We just put a thin layer down and take out all wet/poo each day - makes for very quick and easy mucking out. This is on top of rubber matting though

Agree, but you are managing it carefully, and, I kinda assume it is really used to soak up urine rather than provide bedding.

 

[Procrastination]

Agree, but you are managing it carefully, and, I kinda assume it is really used to soak up urine rather than provide bedding.

We use enough to provide a decent base for lying down on, maybe 3" or so

 

[Clodagh]

I used to live next door to a cricket bat manufacturers and used the willow sawdust. Lovely stuff. Poo picked religeously and then did the wet weekly, then pulled the banks in and fresh round the side. It was a tiny bit dusty, but no more so than straw.

 

[ApolloStorm]

I've just this past month moved onto a sawdust/ shavings bed. I was on Raviera, but mare was horrifically stinky and wet on this. Started a bed of about 3-4" of sawdust ( from a sawmill) and shavings ontop, and I love it! she's cleaner, and the bed doesn't move at all. I pick off the poop, chuck all the shavings up to get all the tiny poop bits, then leave the sawdust under alone, until it starts to leak into the shavings then i dig out wet and put more sawdust in, usually about a week sometimes a bit more. I don't find it dusty, The raviera was "dust extracted" and that was dustier! My mare is loving lying down on it.

 

[conniegirl]

We get sawdust straight from the saw mill in huge dumpy bags. 1 bag is enough to lay a good 8" thick bed.
We poo pick during the week and take out the wer base every Saturday.
1 huge dumpy bag is used for 6 horses each week with approx 2 or 3 wheelbarrows of fresh stuff going in each week.
We never have dust problems and evenhave one horse withCOPD on sawdust and she is the best she has ever been!

We do not use any other bedding with it