Shavings VS Straw

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Rado

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Pretty much as title says.......
Hi. Im currently on straw but considering changing to shavings. Been on straw since was kid with ponies. Have 2 eventers & one companion pony. All stabled at night. Finding at moment im mucking out forever!! Putting new bale in every other day. I do like a full inviting bed. Just trying to weigh pros & cons up. Anything to save time & make it all bit easier if poss
 
I find that shavings are easier for me, for both mucking out and for a bed that works well for me. In your position I would try one of yours on a shavings bed and see how it works for you.
I think that if yours are messy straw takes forever to muck out but if horse is clean a straw bed can work fab. Really it's trial and error as to what works.
 
shavings all the way. depending on your how you like your beds I find it easier to make them bigger around 6 bales to start of and depending on cleanness between one to two bales a week to maintain


it is more expensive at first but in the long run I think it works out cheap I would also recommend the rakes from equine speedskip which makes mucking out so much quicker :)


hope this helps :)
 
Shavings are easier to muck, and generally have less dust. I had my horses on shavings since I remember, but I had to change to straw with my current mare since she is so ulcer prone. No matter how much hay I tell the grooms to give her, it never seems to be enough and I don't ever want her to be with nothing to eat. So I changed her to a very nice straw which she can eat as a last resource.

I guess once you are aware of how dangerous and common ulcers are, you start seeing things differently. Yes, its a PITA to much a straw bed, but I much rather spend some "gym" time at the yard and knowing my horse always has something to eat than always be worried the horses don't have enough hay for the night.
 
I have one on straw and one on shavings. The shavings horse eats his straw bed and then colics so he has to be on something he can't eat. My other horse can be very messy and I actually find him easier on straw as I can just throw it out and start again!
 
I don't use shavings because I have the muck spread, and they are acid. Having spent a fortune on lime I don't want more acid products on the ground. Good alternatives are chopped straw, rape straw or hemp.
I like long baled straw on cost grounds but I don't have rubber mats, so I make an absorbent base of hemp. It only needs small wet patches taking out now and again, the straw on top provides warmth and comfort and being long strands keeps the poo off the base layer. Muck out the straw layer and leave the base as a semi deep litter, works well for us.
 
Kal is cleaner on straw and it works out cheaper for me because I can build a really big bed - YO charges £20/month - all you can use (and it's made on the farm and is lurvely) . . . however, shavings are much easier to muck out (one wheelbarrow a day, as opposed to two with straw), I don't smell as bad but very expensive to keep a clean bed.

Right now Kal is on shavings . . . he was out 24/7 for a while so not much point paying for straw I wasn't using, plus YO has run out and the straw he has bought in is a) more expensive; and b) horrible quality . . . but as soon as we get the new straw in, he's going back on it.

If I had a clean horse, I'd probably prefer shavings . . . but as I have a restless pig (who also happens to be grey), I prefer straw ;).

P
 
Rado said:
Pretty much as title says.......
Hi. Im currently on straw but considering changing to shavings. Been on straw since was kid with ponies. Have 2 eventers & one companion pony. All stabled at night. Finding at moment im mucking out forever!! Putting new bale in every other day. I do like a full inviting bed. Just trying to weigh pros & cons up. Anything to save time & make it all bit easier if poss
Click to expand...

I have used both straw and shavings.


My opinion from my experience.

Shavings:


Easy muck_out
economical (depending how wet your horse is)
better for a laminitic
better for COPD
can be harder to get rid of some muck collectors do not like shavings
can be expensive depending on make

Straw:


some types will be eaten by horses
attracts vermin (and before someone says not) our experiences we found nests in ours over the years before we switched)
harder to muck_out if you have a horse doing many small pellets
cheap to use
not good for horses on special diets or diets as they eat it.
can be wasteful due to messy horses

and just to throw it in

Paper: [confetti type]


cheap to use you make it yourself
quiet absorbent
messy on yard gets everywhere
some horses/ponies eat it
good for COPD
 
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I had mine on straw for years, but he tended to eat it, box walk on it and legs swelled up on it. I changed him to shavings, he's cleaner, doesn't box walk as lays down instead and he's legs stopped swelling up. He also stopped coughing as he wasn't eating his bed... Shavings are a lot cheaper for me - 1 bale a week, 2 if he's in 24:7 because of really horible weather as oppossed to 4/5 bales a week of straw (he ate a LOT of it and left his hay). However, I HATE mucking out shavings and much prefer straw. But it's cheaper and tidier and better for him. Rather than completely restarting a bed, I'd a mix of the 2 so eventually all the straw dissappers and you're left with shavings. I found it worked quite well, using shavings for my banks instead of straw if that makes sense?
 
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