shavings ?

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hannah28

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hey guys :)

i no this is really random but here goes...

i am getting equimats (mix of rubber and eva) for my horses stable this winter, he is currently on straw without mats but i would rather use shavings as there more absorbant

so my question is.. how many bales of shavings do you think i would need a week to maintain a medium sized bed ?

i would say he is quite a clean horse, i no i will have mats but i still like a desent bed, i want to no as shavings are expensive and i need to no if i will be able to afford, with the rising hay prices and the calmers i will be investing in (if you have seen my previous posts :rolleyes:)

thankyou :)
 
When I was on shavings with mats I used roughly 2 bags a week.
I payed £6.50 a bag for them.

I do pick every little bit out of my beds though, I could of probably used 1 - 1 1/2 a week.

Hope thats helps :)
 
If your horse is fairly clean then i'd say you could get away with a bale per week. I suppose it will depend on how long they're in for through winter too though. When my horse was on normal shavings i put between 1-1.5 bales in per week but she wasn't the cleanest mare & i deep littered mine. Both of mine are on a cushionbed/shavings mix now. I use cushionbed for the base as i find it really absorbant & gives a good, firm base then regular shavings on top to fluff it up :) Have been putting in 1 bale every 2 weeks through summer but they're only in for 4/5 hours per day so don't really make much mess in there. I'm thinking i'll get away with 1 bale per week through winter as they're still out for a good few hours. My friend had her horse on easibed through last winter and that was really good stuff, cheaper than regular shavings and i thought it was much more absorbant, stayed cleaner and seemed to go further than shavings. Rapport is good too, quite similar to easibed.
 
Hi,

When my horse was on shavings (about 3 years ago) I used 3 large bags to start the bed, and then a bag a week to maintain it and replaced the lot once a week.
Shavings are expensive, I couldn't afford to keep buying them (at 13€ a bag) so changed to straw (3€ a standard square bale). Maybe you could possibly do the same? :)
 
It really depends on how you like the bed too. With rubber mats you don't actually need too much bed, as the floor is insulated and cushioned, but it does get smelly that way, and your rugs etc stink! We had a livery who used less than one bag a week for a big TB - with a very thin bed that she took out every day. We prefered deeper, cleaner beds, so used a third/quarter of a bale daily. Eventually we changed to straw - with the rubber mats still, which works really well, and costs SO much less..
 
I used to use Bedmax and we still do at work- I like it- There is loads in a bale which i hate at work as its so compacted it takes ages to smash it up! but for your own horse is great.
Personally i prefer paper when my horse is out in the day i can use half to a bale a week, he is quite dry but this is a decent bed.
I found even with mats it seems more econimical to give a deeper bed- not sure why but if my horse has a deep bed (i just cover the back part of the stable) i end up taking out less wet.
When i was on bedmax i used 1-1.5 bales a week.
 
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