Smelliness of bedding.

Flibble

Flibble

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I know you will all laugh but what the heck.

Does a straw bed make for smellier stables than a shaving bed?

I have just put down rubber mats in the gorgeous creatures hotel room and am putting bedding on top but would you say shavings
is better than straw stink wise and what about pee absorption rates?
 
Flibble said:
I know you will all laugh but what the heck.

Does a straw bed make for smellier stables than a shaving bed?

I have just put down rubber mats in the gorgeous creatures hotel room and am putting bedding on top but would you say shavings
is better than straw stink wise and what about pee absorption rates?
Click to expand...

Not laughing at all.

In my (somewhat limited) experience, unless you build a decently deep straw bed on rubber matting (by which I mean a foot deep) it is smellier than shavings. I'm currently using a combination of Bedmax and straw and it works beautifully. The Bedmax is absorbent enough and the straw provides the requisite fluffiness. Combined with StableZone (love that stuff) we have a stink-free bed.

P
 
i use a sprinkle of shavings on my matting and sweep out everything every morning so nice and clean, no smells at all ! horses arnt nesting animals they dont need a huge fluffy bed as long as the matting is thick enough:)
 
There are people opposite with straw on mats, and there stables do smell a lot more than mine. I use a 4" deep bed over half the stable of wood pellets. I don't get wet rugs, I don't have to wash out the stable regularly and my stables do not smell. I do get a bit of smell when taking out the wet at weekends but this is because I have moved the base of the bed. My mats do allow the pee to soak through, but the bed on top soaks up most of it so I don't get a stream of pee coming out the front of the stable.
 
If the matting and stable floor allow the urine to drain away rather than pool underneath the mats the stable will be easier to keep smelling fresh.
I use either straw or shavings, depending on the horse. Both are fine if mucked out well.
I use a stable disinfectant in a pump spray on the floor where urine has soaked through and let it dry during the day. Periodically I pop the hose and lift the corner of the mats at the back of the stable to flush water underneath. Only takes a couple of minutes. This keeps the stable smelling fresh, as do a few drops of eucalyptus or olbas oil on the bedding, especially for horses with respiratory issues.
 
I think straw smells if you don't lift the bed daily, sweep floor clean and let it dry.

I usually use straw (huge deep bed on mats) and I always sweep the floor dry and leave it up when I muck out. It doesn't smell when I do this - if the bed is left down then I find it does.

Pony on box rest atm and on huge deep litter shavings bed - it doesn't smell either although finding it harder work in some ways (although it is fulfilling its purpose while she can't leave the stable). I can't wait to get back to straw though, she is much cleaner on that than shavings.

I've not found shavings that much quicker, and I am spending £13.90 a week on shavings instead of £6 a week on straw. But straw wouldn't have worked on box rest for us as can't leave the bed up.
 
Thank you guys I must admit I am a great believer in leaving bed up to let stable air.
We get good straw and the occasional free sawdust so I will try combination.
My horse does spend a lot of time curled up like a huge cat.
 
After 10 years with rubber matting
Shaving our yard has at last said we can use straw .
But im wondering about the soaking up.
So considering using a layer of shaving or wood pellets underneath.
I love a huge bed and use a powder disinfectant and leave bed up to dry a few times a week.
 
I could never go back to straw now.... My shavings dont smell :)

Everyone else at my yard is on straw and if I walk into their stable, coorrrr that smell!!! It hits you like a lead weight! Ill use anything but straw now
 
I used to hate straw because i felt that the smell clung to me after I had mucked out. Think i smelt like an old peoples home, so i went on to shavings. Then shavings price went thro the roof and she was really messy on it so i went back to straw. I found stable mate and it is brilliant stuff. i can now go to shop on way home and not get funny looks. I also throw up my bed, sweep floor thoroughly and let air.
 
you dilute it with water and use a spray, like a plant sprayer to spray it around after you have thrown your bed up. on the floor and on the straw you have thrown up, then when your bed is down, a couple of skooshes over the top. It lasts for ages as it it is like 1:50 or something like that. It's good stuff.
 
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