straw vs shavings

[charlottemary]

I'm moving my boy to a new yard in the next week and need to buy him some bedding for the new stable. he's currently on shavings as he had mites before but just wondering if it would be ok to try and put him back on straw? I'd rather have him on straw as I always think that they look super cosy and are cheaper! anyone had any experience of this
tia x

 

[eventer and proud]

I find straw easier to muck out. It lasts longers and tou can fluff it up to make it cosy

 

[Dave's Mam]

Shavings everyday for me. Easier to muck out.

 

[windand rain]

Straw for me, hate shavings, much quicker to muck out and looks cleaner.

 

[paddi22]

it's funny, its such a like it or loath it issue. I love shavings! I find them easier to store, muck out and keep clean.

 

[charlottemary]

does anyone know if the mite problem will have been with the particular straw or just straw in general? never had a horse with a similar problem

 

[claret09]

I love shavings and always use them. straw however is much cheaper but does smell more. very much personal choice

 

[windand rain]

I dont find shavings smell less in fact I think they smell worse because they are more expensive they often get deep littered or partially so so stink beyond comprehension when you do turn them over or take the wet out. They certainly make hands and clothes smell more

 

[Dave's Mam]

I take the poo & wet out of my shavings bed & tip it to the walls while I ride. Floor is dry when I go back, rebed it, job done.

I remove poo with rubber gloves & the wet with shovel. Generally use one bale a week & I've never had a smelly bed except the first week he ever stayed in & boxwalked the whole week.

 

[Dubsie]

The deeper the straw, IMO, the less you have to take out. If the straw looks to be good, then worth trying I'd say.

 

[yhanni]

I like straw because I think if he's hungry he can always eat it if he's scoffed all his hay. However, I use Alto underneath, on his rubber mats, to soak up some of the wet.

 

[Seville]

Over the last forty years I have used paper, chopped cardboard,wood pellets and shavings, and the cost is huge! Shavings by the bale is £8-9 locally, buying by pallet prohibitive. Wood pellets by the pallet is still a big wack of cash in one hit. In April I started using straw again. Massive saving immediately. The beds are very deep, I muck out every day and put the beds up to dry the floors. It doesn't smell, neither do my clothes which so many said would happen. I agree with the poster who says the beds must be really deep as they are easier to muck out, and more pee is absorbed before it reaches the floor. The beds look great and it means in winter they can have deep fluffy beds. The down side is there is more on the muck heap than with wood pellets. However the huge saving in money makes it worth it.

 

[Mrs G]

I use both shavings and straw together and I LOVE it! I was a die-hard straw bed person for years; big bed, massive solid banks, but then I looked after a friends horse who was v wet and had a mix of shavings and straw and it was a revelation! So, my horses bed still looks just how I like it but the layer of shavings underneath mean the wet is confined to just little wee patches that I can just scrape out. I use a bag of shavings a week and top up the straw every other day or so.

 

[SpottyMare]

I have a decent straw bed over a layer of miscanthus pellets where she pees, so there's just a small area of wet. If the straw bed is deep enough there's no smell - I muck out before work (in an office, in the clothes I wear) and nothing smells, because nothing has got completely saturated.

I tried shavings once for a fortnight and hated them with a passion

 

[Bertolie]

does anyone know if the mite problem will have been with the particular straw or just straw in general? never had a horse with a similar problem

My mare suffered with feather mites on my last yard and needed Dectomax injections twice yearly to keep it under control. I moved yards last September, had the Dectomax injections soon after and she has been clear ever since. The wheat straw at my last yard was not a good quality but she is currently bedded on good quality barley straw, so yes I would say it could be due to a particular type of hay or suppplier.

 

[Shay]

Straw itch mites are a risk whenever straw is used - but some horses (and indeed humans) are more sensitive than others. There are things you can do to reduce the mite population, such as diatomaceous earth. Or to control the symptoms such as dectomax. Using shavings reduces the risk - but the mites can live in hay too.

As an earlier poster said this is a "marmite" question - people love straw or hate it, love shavings or hate it. If you want to go back to straw OP then give it a try. If you get a mite infestation back then you can swap back or try other means to control it.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

does anyone know if the mite problem will have been with the particular straw or just straw in general? never had a horse with a similar problem

Horses often get mites from straw but horses kept on shavings can also pick up mites. You could try spraying the feather with pig oil.