Straw

Kelly1982

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Well as some of you know i was brave and decided to make the change to straw from a shavings bed
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She has been on it since Saturday and so far i think its great
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I used to deep litter her on shavings and mucking out and laying her straw bed takes about the same amount coz she is so much cleaner on it.

I really thought we would have wee galour as her shavings bed was always so wet but she only does 2 tiny patches.

Only 2 things i have noticed is that she started coughing yesterday so i have soaked her hay (but that could be the hay coz i ordered new stuff in and its rubbish so may have to ring up and complain as she wont eat it either) and i had to wash my hair twice last night to get the smell out. Funny enough though the rest of me didn't smell
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So so far so good but i will let you know how i feel in a couple of weeks LOL
 
I'm with you on this - I changed my mucky mare from shavings to straw and she's so much cleaner and happier in her box. I think it just suits some horses! Have to say that I've not had any probs with coughing on the straw bed, maybe its your hay?
 
I think it is the hay to be honest as it is not great quaility and i was quite disappointed when it turned up.

She even walked in her stable and turned her nose up at it which she never does as she loves her hay. She has been leaving about a wedge a night as well which she also never does and i dont think she has been eating her bed to blaot her out either.

Soaked it last night and she started to munch on it again. Gonna give it a week and if its still the same then i am going to ask them to come back and change it.
 
Hi Amymay

I went to go and see the yard on Saturday but as i was half way there she rung me to say that she was ill and going home so could i come up another day. I cant do week days coz of work and i am away this weekend so i wont be able to look til the following weekend now.

I also found out about the trailer hire and she charges £80
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Dont mind paying that for a special show but dont really wanna pay that every week.

Still want to go and look though as there might be other people on the yard i can go with until i get my own transport next year.
 
Wear a hat to muck out
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does not smell so bad then!

Mine are quite clean on straw but mind you i do give them a lot of the stuff! The bed is about a foot deep with banks at 2 foot deep! But i only take out a small barrow and a bit and only put in half a bale of straw a day
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works for me although my muck trailer is full so i almost fell through the ramp (which is metal) this morning would have really caused large amounts of pain had i not managed to regain balance
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not so good! Always found shavings really fiddly and seemed to take me ages to do.
 
Yep i was thinking of getting a hat, espcially now the winter in setting in and i will need to keep warm anyway
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My horse has got a big bed too, coz its a lot cheaper than shavings i can afford to put more in which i think helps a lot.
 
I would love to put Marey on straw but she eats it, and when I say eats it - I mean will clear the stable out!! I've tried everything, she even eats it if I spray Jeys fluid on it, nothing stops her!! I could cry considering use uses 3 bales of shavings a week on mats!!!
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OMG that is loads
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Do you deep litter her?? Think i would if you use 3 bales a week, you save so much more bed that way although some people dont like doing it.

My horse had a little nibble on the straw the first night but i haven't seen her touch it since, phew!!
 
I know, it costs soooo much
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Before the mats went down we deep littered her which seemed to work well (we have chalk floors so i couldn't use straw at that time) but since the mats have gone down we just can't seem to build up a base and she seems so wet, if I don't take out the wet then she ends up with puddles!
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She doesn't wee in the field, she saves it all up until she comes in then it's honestly like a river!
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I have tried catching this mass wee in a bucket but she soon caught on, she either refuses to go until I'm round the corner or, when I was giving her treats after doing it, she'd wee a little collect her treat then once I'd bolted the door I'd hear her going again!
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Little madam! She's not called 'Mare' for nothing you know!
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PMSL!!! Well at least you cant say she is stupid
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Is that the one that is in foal?? If it is then lets hope she doesn't pass that trait onto the foal otherwise i think you may go bankrupt LOL
 
ha ha!!! and there was you laughing when i use straw!!!

it's so cheap too, and our stuff is amazing.. I did like shavings as Ludo was very clean anyway - but new yard wouldn't allow them!

I have a very very deep bed as you know and with Ludo it was only one new bale / week, but Bonnie - being a girl and all that - it's more like 1.5 / week.

sorry your hay's rubbish.. also are you wetting your feeds? Bonnie inhales her food so if i don't wet that down she coughs on the chaff...

Bx
 
She is hopefully having a foal in 2008
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I'm going to have to bed her down on Straw for the foaling so I'm already worrying about that!

She is definitely too smart for her own good but it does make me giggle! She's always playing these little games with me, I guess as she can't annoy me in her ridden work anymore she has to think of something to keep me on my toes!

She does have her good points, honest!
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