Shavings bed - help please

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Gorgeous George

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Hi could you please give me some help working out how many standard bales of shavings I would use a week and how many bales I would need to start off a bed?
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The stable is 12 by 12 and is rubber matted, if I used shavings (instead of straw) I would plan to deep litter during the week and muck out properly at the weekend.

Thanks
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i dont have rubber matting but i semi-deep litter in the week (just pick out the poo) and do totally muck out one day at weekend. I use 1 whole hunters on the day of muck out and can use half a bale to top up in the week depending how flat it gets.
 
I deep litter for 6months of a year, then change, then deep litter again.
Winter-out during day, in at night- I use a bale a week.
summer-about a bale a month when they're out 24/7 and in for being ridden etc.
I use bluefrog
 
to start the bed off you could use anything from 3-5 bales of good quality shavings depending if you have banks.
 
I guess I will be semi-deep littering like you CJ1, poo and wee picking during the week and mucking out at weekends. Does everyone use the same amount even if on mats?
 
i have just set up a new quite large bed (big stable!) i used 4 Auboise and 4 cheaper normal shavings. i usually deep litter in week and do big muck out on sat and put in a full bale of shavings in sat and again on wed.
 
Just a thought-have you tried flax? Clyde was box bound for 10+ weeks and could wee and poo for England! I go to Jenny Loriston-Clarkes with RDA and she uses flax-so I gave it a go. Fantastic! It's like grass seed so sticks to poo, all you have to do on a daily basis is (using gloves of course!) is just pick up individual poo-so easy! Then, once a week. dig out the wee. You know which bits to discard because it goes orange.I swear by it now, there is no smell, it's instantly bio-degradable and horses love it. Same price as shavings. You do need to use something for the banks though, can't build up sides with flax.
 
Im on rubber matting but my stables are huge 8 rubber mats! I had to use 9 hunters to get a bed and use 2 a week. I deep litter and yard picks up mon and thurs. I put new shavings on sat and wed. I reckon if I was in a smaller stable Id only have to do one a week, but you needs at least one bale for each bank.....lovely stables but a nightmare!!
 
I'm reading this thread with interest as I am planning on switching Mcfly's bedding to shavings or similar next winter. Have just installed some mats in both stables. Not the horse ones but very, very similar. I had a quote last year from a company but that was before I switched the stables they were in ( as the big lad is in a bigger one now) and they were quoting me in excess of £250 to deliver etc and I think that was for just one stable. The sort I have bought now seem thicker than most I have seen and are the sort you find in playgrounds. Not too spongy though and are around 3 and a bit foot square so are smaller than the horse mats. I managed to get just over 30 mats for £100 so was well impressed. If anyone can find people that sell them and they can do you a deal they are well worth trying as they will work out a lot cheaper than conventional horse mats.
I'm changing the young one's bedding though as he is very messy on straw. He pees a lot and can kick poo around as well.
At the mo not a problem as both are out. But I must say I am very interested to read about the flax ( think I may have before). Is it expensive to buy at all?
I was thinking about using shavings for the banks and then flax for the rest.
I do like deep litter myself even though I have the mats.
I know some people say they don't need as much bedding etc but I don't like to see a horse just lying virtually on mats with hardly any matter on top. Also a deep bed is more economic imo as you can skep out and then do a thorough muck out once or twice a week. Also with matting the pee can be a problem ( so I have read) and I don't want a stained horse or wet rugs by using virtually no bedding. I like the idea that flax changes colour too as that would be a great help.
Does anyone else use the same combination? and how do you find it works?
Cazx
 
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