Straw or Shavings!! Opinions??!!

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Iggy16

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Hi All

Thinking of putting my youngster on shavings but is it worth it in the long run, I know straw is cheaper to have and keeps cost down but shavings is easier to clean but a little more expensive but can't decide :( what are you opinions?
 
I hate straw, I don't think it soaks up pee & the bed gets smelly when you deep litter. Shavings are better in my opinion however I actually prefer wood pellets. They absorb pee, poo is easy to get out of the bed & the muck heap stays smaller & rots down quicker.
 
Toby_Zaphod said:
I hate straw, I don't think it soaks up pee & the bed gets smelly when you deep litter. Shavings are better in my opinion however I actually prefer wood pellets. They absorb pee, poo is easy to get out of the bed & the muck heap stays smaller & rots down quicker.
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On the whole, I agree with TZ, it all quite depends on your horse though... I used to own a prolific box walker... whatever the bedding you had to do a full muck out, so straw was obviously both easier and cheaper - by a lot!! Im 1/2 and 1/2 for both shavings and pellets... when it comes to shavings I only go for small flake - better absorbency and less waste than larger flake. As for pellets, I did used to do a whole bed of pellets and still sometimes do, but I find that after the initial new bed, I am spending as much on pellets as I would on shavings. Pellets are useful to me in the winter... I can't abide a wet floor and with shavings alone - I find the floor can get damp, so I use a base of pellets covered with a bale of shavings... for the summer though... shavings... my boy is pretty clean - 2 wet spots max and 2 dropping spots... since he either stands still and eats or lies down... it is ideal for him. Straw is a no-no for him as he eats it :/
 
As above, it depends on horse.

On the whole, I like straw. However, I would never use it for deep littering - as mentioned above it tends to smell! I've found that a lot of horses prone to thrush go better on it, as it doesn't pack so tightly into the hoof - even if the bed is kept very clean!

So, if you want to deep litter, I would use shavings out of the two. If your horse has a tendency to eat their bed, or has breathing problems, I'd use them as well. Or, even if they are particularly messy! Box walkers tend to go better on straw, as it doesn't get ground up into the bedding as much, but if your horse is very wet and tends to get it everywhere, then shavings is a nicer option.
 
You could use both - base layer of shavings (or chopped rape straw, more biodegradable and easier to dispose of) and long straw on top. That way you can semi deep litter - remove droppings daily, bank the straw and remove wet patches every couple of days depending on how wet the horse is
 
Hate straw, pee runs underneath and doesn't soak in, poo bits fall through mahoosive gaps in straw fork, so I end up using shavings fork and get straw stuck in small gaps ARRRRRRRRGHHHH, I found Flax was the best, but lost contact for it after moving yards, so use dust extracted shavings now, poo dries in it and rolls out when thrown up and pee soaks into a block to lift out easier.
 
I used to always be on straw as it was included in my previous yards livery, then moved and my old mare went onto shavings, nice and clean and easy to muck out with a clean horse.
Then got my current mare who didn't need shavings, so I went back onto straw to save money, and she was so messy on it, I was taking out a whole wheelbarrow a day to remove the wet and mixed in poos, but persevered as I had bought 2 round bales of straw.
I then moved to my new yard which only allows flax bedding, and the difference is amazing! So quick and easy to muck out, easier to deep litter, so no wet to remove as it soaks down to the bottom, and I can use the same wheelbarrow for 3 days before it's full! :)
 
I use straw. It's just the most convenient and cheapest thing for me, I've never really had any issues with it. I did use shavings when my pony was on 6 months box rest with a broken leg, I wanted the place to be as hygienic as possible to reduce risk of infection, and to me shavings were far cleaner than straw(?).
My TB (ex racer) does a bit of everything, I think he must of seen the other horses vices, and he tries to get a bit of everything in butt fortunately he can't do either persistently!! He tries to crib, but fails, and sometimes he'll try and weave and sometimes he will box walk if he's stressed. I find that straw mixes in with all the poop and dirty straw very easily, and find myself taking it out a lot.
But at 1.50 - 2.50 £ a bale I'm not going to argue.
 
I found straw was great for my boy who suffers with mud fever as a nice big deep bed dried of his legs and he barely suffered with it the winter we were at a yard with straw, new yard only uses shavings so he is back on that but is messy unless he has a good deep bed despite being on matts!
 
It depends on the horse. It used to take me an hour and a half to muck my mare out on shavings, but only takes 20 minutes for a full muck out on straw. She's a lot cleaner and it's a lot cheaper. I wouldn't go back to shavings for her bed.
 
Thankyou everyone who has responded, looking at all your comments I think I'm going to put him on shavings and not straw.
 
I like the look of a deep proplerly laid straw bed but for ease of mucking out I can't beat wood pellets.
 
Pedantic said:
Hate straw, pee runs underneath and doesn't soak in, poo bits fall through mahoosive gaps in straw fork, so I end up using shavings fork and get straw stuck in small gaps ARRRRRRRRGHHHH, I found Flax was the best, but lost contact for it after moving yards, so use dust extracted shavings now, poo dries in it and rolls out when thrown up and pee soaks into a block to lift out easier.
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That's what I like about shavings. Fling it against the wall & the poo just rolls out!
 
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