Snowflake SoftChip vs Other Bedding

[Dyllymoo]

I have a smaller stable than 12 x 12 (I think its 10 x 10). My mare was a bit messy so I basically made the bed the whole of the stable. Stopped her dragging it around too much etc.

My new gelding seems messier (even though he is smaller). I use snowflake softchip and I know from previously you have to really keep it topped up as if it goes thin it gets very messy but its more his poo that is really the bug bear, he seems to smush it in with the bedding and even spending a long time hand picking (with glove!) the little bits out it looks gross within 2 days of putting new bedding on.

I keep the wet in all week, take out poos each day, and then take wet out once a week when I then put between 1 or 2 bags on (usually 2 - 2.5 a week) (£6.25 each bag), but I'm wondering if there is anything else I can do, or if I just need to grin and bear it.

We cant use straw and I don't like wood pellets and I have rubber matting throughout.

Any recommendations or just get on with it?!

 

[Dyllymoo]

Anyone?

 

[Abi90]

I don’t like the snowflake shavings I don’t think they go very far. I much preferred the “small flake” branded stuff if that helps

 

[JennBags]

I've always been a fan of Snowflake Softchip but recently changed to Aubiose and oh my god I love it! I put a bag of straw pellets where they wee, then Aubiose for the rest of the bed, and the bed stays dry and fluffy all week long.

 

[JennBags]

I don’t like the snowflake shavings I don’t think they go very far. I much preferred the “small flake” branded stuff if that helps

Softchip isn't the same as shavings, it's much better.

 

[Leo Walker]

I'm using straw pellets on mats for my dirty pony. Shes very wet and likes to hide poo. The bed doesnt look very inviting to me, but the poo stays in place and seems very dry, and the bed doesnt seem to shift about. Its really easy to sift the bits of hay and poo out as well. So far it seems ok! I'd rather a big white fluffy bed, but thats never happening and this seems a good compromise

 

[Louby]

Ive been using Thoroughbred shavings, they are bigger than 20kg and Im really liking them compared to the Smarthorse that is 20kg and seems to go nowhere. I did buy Snowflake and that compared with the Smarthorse tbh.
We can get 'dust' its much cheaper, comes in a 20kg bag and I often put a bag of this under the shavings, it makes a massive difference, soaks all the pee up and I just poo pick during the week, then do a proper muck out at weekend. Its not like dust btw, its like sawdust without the dust if that makes sense

 

[Sussexbythesea]

Tried soft chip for my messy old guy and it was useless. It’s not that absorbent either. Wood pellets are the only bed that’s really manageable and not too expensive for him. I don’t think my beds look any worse than shavings beds either, especially given it’s actually a bit easier to pick out the chunks. The only other tip I have is just to relax and not worry too much about a few chunks. They’ll only be pooping and peeing on it again the next night anyway and life’s too short. It’s a bit small at the moment as boys have just started coming in but the stables are rubber matted anyway.

 

[Myloubylou]

I like flax, bit like aubiose but less ££. Needs to be semi deep litter & not for horses that box walk

 

[Queenbee]

beast was on shavings all last year but used to be on shavings in the summer and straw in the winter... he was about 1/2 a barrow a night on shavings with a barrow on straw, I did have him on soft chip at one point and thought it amazing then it was out of stock and I bought small flake shavings and realised how much better they were... soft chip is just not as absorbent, nowhere near.

He is now on Straw at his new yard. I know you don't do straw but be patient with me! I found I was throwing out a huge barrow a night and it really was a) smelly and b) not as absorbent as I would have liked after his time in there... (he is in for a good few hrs longer than he used to be). I ended up putting pellets down with straw on top. I use a bag of pellets a week... half on day 1 then cleaned out and half on day 4 in the wet patches with a nice straw bed on top... this works so well. there is no smell, no wet and I am on 1/2 a barrow a day for about 17 hrs stable time.

Personally I loathe large flake shavings but I would consider them because they don't soak up as much, with a small amount of pellets on the base. Your horse would have a nice well draining top bed with a good base to soak up the wet.

 

[Carlosmum]

I've been using soft chip plus ( mix of shavings & chip) but this week's delivery seems to be plain soft chip, so as i cant be bothered to return 10 bags I'l give it a go. Might buy a few straight shavings in if necessary.

 

[BlackRider]

I used easibed - found it really absorbent and worked out cheaper than shavings.

(I did take the wet out every day)

 

[milliepops]

softchip looks a lot like laysoft which I used to use.
I found that works really well with pellets where the horse pees, then you get absorbency where you need it but keep the fluffiness that pellets can't provide.

agree that Aubiose is a fantastic bed though. I can't justify the cost any more but I did love it (and it's absolute perfection on a dirt floor, something I hope to have again one day!).

 

[ihatework]

For bagged bedding my preference is the chopped rape or miscanthus, generally more economical than premium brand shavings (and economy shavings usually too dusty).

Wood pellets are great to use in a wet patch but I won’t use them for a full bed as they are far to dusty (or bed is damp to stop them being dusty)

 

[eggs]

softchip looks a lot like laysoft which I used to use.
I found that works really well with pellets where the horse pees, then you get absorbency where you need it but keep the fluffiness that pellets can't provide.

agree that Aubiose is a fantastic bed though. I can't justify the cost any more but I did love it (and it's absolute perfection on a dirt floor, something I hope to have again one day!).

I have recently started to use flax bedding (Equisorb and Pure Green) and find them very similar to Aubiose but quite a bit cheaper.

 

[Hormonal Filly]

If hes really wet highly recommend wood pellets.. shavings wise my favourite are Hunters. They cost £12 a bale here, but are excellent! I can go through 1 a week between 2 horses.

 

[Dyllymoo]

Thank you so much everyone for your comments.

I did a complete bed turn around at the weekend, so I took up the mats and one was ripped which I think must have happened recently, and replaced that, put down the bed again and added one bale of clean and 3 days later it still looks good. I think the matting rucking up and eventually ripping caused the bed to move lots, and then I ran it down a bit and it got even worse. Moral of story is to make sure mats are secure and bedding is thick.

I have around 10 bales of softchip left to use so really cant justify changing at the minute, but might look in to the flax at some point.

Unfortunately its not that I don't like straw but we aren't allowed it at the yard (due to the muck removal).

 

[Dyllymoo]

Ugh.....its that time of year again ?

He is on shavings at the minute. But with the cost and fact Hunters become like unicorn poop in winter I need to change.

Tossing up between snowflake softchip and easibed again!

The annual stress about bedding begins....

 

[Tiddlypom]

Not sure what you pay for Hunters shavings, but SCA (thoroughbred) shavings cost £7.80p/bale here, they’re pretty decent.

 

[Dyllymoo]

Not sure what you pay for Hunters shavings, but SCA (thoroughbred) shavings cost £7.80p/bale here, they’re pretty decent.

Nearly £11 a bale i think

I'm not sure im good at mucking out shavings

 

[BSL2]

I use wood pellets as financially more do able. Best bedding ever...i love megazorb.

 

[Lu_equi27]

So I have had my two for 20 plus years... One disgusting wet mare and a gelding!!

Only this year I have found the answer.

Good wood pellet base underneath a full bed not just wet patch . Then a deep softchip bed on top . 4/5 inch . I have never ever saved so much money on bedding the top bed doesn't get wet at all , the poos just come out with gloves . The bed has stayed so clean for over a month I just rake some over from the sides each time I can put a bale in a month now .

You have to start the bottom base thick and like a full bed and a good deep layer of softchip ontop all over

I deep litter for a week or whenever abit comes to the top it comes out.

 

[TPO]

Nedz Pro

The least amount of dust having used wood pellets and dust extracts shavings prior to that.

Nedz Pro is supposed to be deep littered with wet only taken out weekly. At most I top up with a bale a week but it's usually closer to two weeks.

Having said that I've just taken a bulk delivery of Burley Bed which is miscanthus bedding.

First impression is that its dustier than Nedz Pro but much less so than bedmax or pellets.

It's just as easy to muck out and appears to be as, if not more, absorbent.

Being as dust free as possible is the highest prerogative for me so I'm still on the fence. So far only one horse out of three bedded on it and they are only in overnight when it's bad weather for now. Time will tell when they are in nightly.

I bought a bulk delivery from efeed.co.uk and it worked out £1.10 a bale cheaper than Nedz Pro so that's why I tried it. All the info is that it's very low dust/dust extracted.

 

[Dyllymoo]

So I have had my two for 20 plus years... One disgusting wet mare and a gelding!!

Only this year I have found the answer.

Good wood pellet base underneath a full bed not just wet patch . Then a deep softchip bed on top . 4/5 inch . I have never ever saved so much money on bedding the top bed doesn't get wet at all , the poos just come out with gloves . The bed has stayed so clean for over a month I just rake some over from the sides each time I can put a bale in a month now .

You have to start the bottom base thick and like a full bed and a good deep layer of softchip ontop all over

I deep litter for a week or whenever abit comes to the top it comes out.

Ooooo this is really interesting. When you say deep bed of pellets do you leave them dry or wet them? I'm tempted to do my whole stable pretty much so that he stops dragging it around!

I'm going to order a pallet of softchip next payday and store in my garage (if it ever stops flooding!) so at least it will work out much cheaper than previous years (hopefully!).

 

[chaps89]

I use Nedz Pro after @TPO recommended them.
Skip out droppings daily and full muck out every 6 days (she's just a bit too wet to go a week) I alternate between adding a full bale one week and half a bale the next so it works out fairly cost effective, even though it's £9.50 a bag. I had to put 2 bags of pellets in a week when she was on pellets, so it's about the same sort of price, and I didn't have to buy a load up front in bulk either which is another plus.
I can't use miscanthus with mine as she seemed to be allergic to it, I also found it horrifically dusty but I know a few other people use it happily.

 

[Dyllymoo]

Unfortunately I cant get Nedz Pro in my area, I looked last year

 

[chaps89]

Oh bother. If you have storage you can probably buy a pallet load in from online?
When I asked my feed lady about nedz, she suggested bed soft as an equivalent so maybe have a look at that? (I'd asked if she had anyone on nedz and she said only 1 lady, other people used bedsoft which was a cheaper version)

I have to say I've used softchip in the past but I didn't find it particularly absorbent- but I do have a very wet mare.

Wood pellets would be my next go to, but again usually cheaper to buy a pallet load in, I also find them quite dry and dusty in summer, especially if the horse is mostly out.
I've also used aubiouse in the past and loved it, it's just expensive sadly.

 

[Dyllymoo]

Ah ok, bed soft I think my local one does that. Its all so confusing! I can get a pallet of softchip for £5.95 a bale including delivery so that's pretty good, but I do tend to put 2 in a week so maybe not! Just hate bedding if I'm honest!

 

[Hocus Pocus]

Ugh.....its that time of year again ?

He is on shavings at the minute. But with the cost and fact Hunters become like unicorn poop in winter I need to change.

Tossing up between snowflake softchip and easibed again!

The annual stress about bedding begins....

how much softchip do you put in a week? Just for advice on my beds sorry!

 

[Dyllymoo]

how much softchip do you put in a week? Just for advice on my beds sorry!

In winter I used between 2 and 3 a week, with 1 bag of pellets under where the wet was.