Talk me in to/out of changing to shavings!

[SillySausage]

My amazing, gorgeous, helpful horse is MEGA clean. I'm talking wee in one spot and poo in a pile on top of it in the back right hand corner of his bed. At most I only ever need to take one wheelbarrow out, and that includes left over hay and sweeping outside his stable too! I'm a lucky girl ...

So, I'm on DIY at the moment and I'm paying 45/week for unlimited hay and straw. Even as a student I'm not struggling too much ... but obviously I'm always looking for ways to save money

I was just wondering if it would be worth me moving him on to shavings? Would they really be economically worth it? I would also like to add in that I am totally backwards about lifting my bed up whenever possible, and I like everything as clean as possible... if that makes a difference I also worry that he wouldn't be as warm without a nice, deep straw bed!

So people ... Stick with straw or make the leap to shavings??

(p.s. thank you to whoever reported my signature... i've had it for the last 5 years without a problem and didn't know how to resize it - so I'm now without it!!! Ohhh dear...)

 

[mightymammoth]

Someone reported your sig?? How petty

As for the shavings and straw I prefer shavings as there more absorbant but if your getting an unlimited amount of straw in with your livery I would stay with that

 

[shadowboy]

I hate straw beds. They are smelly, heavy and make huge muck heaps. A well managed shavings bed is easy and quick to clean and doesn't smell at all. However I don't think it will be any cheaper than straw!

 

[Stacey6897]

So would you still be paying 45 a week?

If you'd be paying less for hay only then switch to shavings, I had a mare like this, one pyramid of poo at the back and the wee in the same spot every day, I loved having her on shavings, she was so clean it was like having a giant hamster

 

[SillySausage]

So would you still be paying 45 a week?

If you'd be paying less for hay only then switch to shavings, I had a mare like this, one pyramid of poo at the back and the wee in the same spot every day, I loved having her on shavings, she was so clean it was like having a giant hamster

No I would be 40/week for hay only

 

[Holly Hocks]

You will smell less on shavings! LOL!!

 

[Bennions Field]

if your horse is really clean have you considered wood pellets? they work out at a lot less cost than shavings and are extreamly quick to muck out I throw out approx two fork fulls of wet and the rest pure muck from my cleanest and i just put down a springling on to the rubber mats for the dirtyest then clear the lot out each morning, he really is filthy -more like a cow shed each and every morning !

best of luck with your choice, and lucky you to have a really clean horse

 

[madeleine1]

my relatively messy mare only gets through 1 bale of shaving a week at about £7 a bale. altho i dont mind leaving shavings in that arnt spotless, obviously i remove them if they are wet or its droppings but not prefectly clean.

i could possibly stretch to one every 8 or 9 days but i dont mind 1 a week as my diy livery is only £32 and she only eats about £6 of food a week.

personally shaving are easier. i dont have to use a barrow to muck out a bucket does it and i just tip it on the much heap.

also if u do turn it everyday like i do it last a lot longer then u think as it settles down over night and then u fluff it up to make a nice snuggly bed again.

 

[Goldenstar]

IMO if cost is a consideration shavings will cost more than £5 a week but do smell a lot less !!

 

[5horses2dogsandacat]

Cardboard I get it from a lady 3.50 per bag..1 bag per week per horse.

Personally stick to straw, it'll work out cheaper especially as your a student. Nothing wrong with straw horses have slept on it for years without a problem

 

[DosyMare]

I love a massive straw bed but I have woodchip due to a little Neddy that prefers to eat straw to hay!

Woodchip takes me forever to muck out - I lift my bed each day and forever picking up little pieces of poop - and his not even messy.

Hunters woodchip I use 1 a week at £9 a bale in Essex. My straw use to be 3 a week ish at £1.50 a bale. I personally find straw cheaper.

But I do have a full bed on my matting. Others use 1 a month or deep litter. I guess it's trial and error.

 

[Ladydragon]

With a clean horse I love shavings and prefer using them to straw... They look nice and fresh and make a lovely soft bed...

Unfortunately one of our geldings can trash every inch of a shavings bed in two days... There's disgusting, downright unbelievable, and then there's him...

We moved to wood pellets which is coping far better with his manic dirt spreading habits and costing a hell of a lot less... The beds don't look as 'pretty' though...

 

[Ali27]

My mare is very clean too and is on shavings! I start her bed with 8-10 bales so fairly big start up cost but then only have to add 1/2 bale one week and then one bale the next. I always put her bed up first thing in the morning and leave it up all day to air. I tried wood pellets with my daughter's dirty mare but hated them so she is back on shavings too with wood chip mixed in too!

 

[M_G]

I have 2 very clean horses that were on shavings & I have recently changed them on to Liverpool Wood Pellets & I wish I had done it years ago, smells so clean and woody all the time, its even easier to muck out and its shockingly cheap per bag (tiny bags but only need 1 a week as they puff right up)

 

[Cupcakes and Horses]

Another vote for wood pellets.....I have used straw, shavings and now on pellets and I wouldn't go back and I can get straw for free. Pellets are a lot cheaper than shavings, cleaner and take up less storage space. I have four in, two horses two ponies and am spending about £13 a week.

 

[PolarSkye]

Unfortunately one of our geldings can trash every inch of a shavings bed in two days... There's disgusting, downright unbelievable, and then there's him...

We moved to wood pellets which is coping far better with his manic dirt spreading habits and costing a hell of a lot less... The beds don't look as 'pretty' though...

I've got one of those . . . and he's grey too . . . he can demolish a bed overnight . . . I think he must attach Magimix's to his hooves. We've tried him on just about everything and unless I can afford to spend a fortune on establishing a flax bed (which I can't) then he stays on straw. It might be smellier and not as "pretty" but keeping him clean is like painting the Forth Railway Bridge.

P

 

[wispa]

i always bang on about the same product in these threads, but really do believe Eco Comfybed is the way forward.

Its zero dust, I get through a bale about once every 10 days and it takes me about 5 minutes to muck out one fully as nothing gets mulched in.

And it only costs me £6 a bale !!

So for your particular situation OP, (setup costs aside) you'll be saving about 1.50 a week against the straw, plus all the time and for a better bed.

Makes perfect sense to me

 

[be positive]

If your main reason for moving onto shavings is saving money, you will need to consider the initial cost of starting the bed, at roughly £7 a bale to put down a new bed will be at least £49 , 7 bales that is 10 weeks worth of straw without the topping up you will need, so in my opinion the figures are not in favour of shavings for you at all, however clean he is you will need probably 1/2 bale a week so maybe saving £1.50 it will take a long while to be cost effective.
Would the YO do you a deal £40 livery and sell you a small bale of straw when you need it or can you buy it in yourself.

 

[Ladylina83]

you are not going to save money but it is really clean and a lot less smelly !

I recently moved both of mine on to shaving this winter - yearling had never been on them before and was an absolute minger on straw - he's a poo monster and would just stomp it all about so I was dubious as to how much it was going to cost.

I'm using a bale a week for the little one and half a bale a week for my mare

For the first month he was still pretty gross I have to say but over that time he has go alot better. I also chuck my beds up every day and take wet out as I find it stays cleaner that way and I take about 2/3rds of a small barrow out each muck out including everything sometimes I fit both in one barrow, with straw it was 2 barrows each horse.

 

[NOISYGIRL]

I'm really struggling with shavings at the moment, they are £8 a bag my horse is clean and the ones we have at the moment seem to be rubbish, I put 3 down over the week last week, I just can't afford £24 a week for bedding, if you are getting unlimited for £5 I'd stick with that as long as it doesn't affect your horse, I couldn't use straw if I wanted as my horse has copd

 

[wispa]

I'm really struggling with shavings at the moment, they are £8 a bag my horse is clean and the ones we have at the moment seem to be rubbish, I put 3 down over the week last week, I just can't afford £24 a week for bedding, if you are getting unlimited for £5 I'd stick with that as long as it doesn't affect your horse, I couldn't use straw if I wanted as my horse has copd

Look at my post a couple above

 

[Ladylina83]

I'm really struggling with shavings at the moment, they are £8 a bag my horse is clean and the ones we have at the moment seem to be rubbish, I put 3 down over the week last week, I just can't afford £24 a week for bedding, if you are getting unlimited for £5 I'd stick with that as long as it doesn't affect your horse, I couldn't use straw if I wanted as my horse has copd

Oh my life ! you need to get you some rubber matting and wood pellets !!

I only put 3 bales of shavings down for a new bed for mine ! I get TB ones though at £7.80 they are the best, I find anything else false economy !

 

[Sarah1]

I personally prefer shavings but I do think it would work out much cheaper to stay on straw.

My super, super dirty boy is on shavings because the smell is just too bad on straw & I can't keep his bed clean enough - I get through 3 bales per week usually! He is in a mare & foal box though...

 

[kerilli]

cardboard's the cleanest bedding i've ever found. even dust-extracted shavings go dusty (they break down into smaller, dustier fragments with use) which I dislike. I can't stand straw, I have it in the field shelters (which are free-draining under the EVA mats) but never in the stables, ugh, straw is a stinky horrible drainage bedding, I much prefer absorbent bedding.
If it's purely about cost, I doubt you'll save much, since most horses use 2 bales of bedding a week (shavings, cardboard, whatever) ime if they're in every night and perhaps part of the day. if you can get other bedding at £2.50 a bale you're doing really well!

 

[SillySausage]

If your main reason for moving onto shavings is saving money, you will need to consider the initial cost of starting the bed, at roughly £7 a bale to put down a new bed will be at least £49 , 7 bales that is 10 weeks worth of straw without the topping up you will need, so in my opinion the figures are not in favour of shavings for you at all, however clean he is you will need probably 1/2 bale a week so maybe saving £1.50 it will take a long while to be cost effective.
Would the YO do you a deal £40 livery and sell you a small bale of straw when you need it or can you buy it in yourself.

Thank you!!!! I only have until the end of May here left at uni, so that's what approximately 20 weeks... Sounds like if I'd done this from the word go in September it would have been worth it, but not so sure if it's viable now!

No deals from the YO ... I'm at an agricultural college for my degree and it's their own livery yard with a huge waiting list. They wont entertain suggestions of any type

 

[SillySausage]

i always bang on about the same product in these threads, but really do believe Eco Comfybed is the way forward.

Its zero dust, I get through a bale about once every 10 days and it takes me about 5 minutes to muck out one fully as nothing gets mulched in.

And it only costs me £6 a bale !!

So for your particular situation OP, (setup costs aside) you'll be saving about 1.50 a week against the straw, plus all the time and for a better bed.

Makes perfect sense to me

Thanks wispa ... going to do a little research for when I leave here!!

 

[NooNoo59]

I am on straw, £3 for unlimited on top of livery, i muck out every day and put fresh down and he has a big bed, still doing one and half barrows though!, will swap to shavings in the spring when the grass comes through (the grass at the yard is exceptional) as I know that he eats some of his bed, and once we have fresh grass I will nedd to monitor every mouthful to stop him getting overweight!. Might swap to straw again in the winter, not sure yet, will keep you posted. If your horse is clean and straw is cheap, why worry?

 

[SillySausage]

I personally prefer shavings but I do think it would work out much cheaper to stay on straw.

My super, super dirty boy is on shavings because the smell is just too bad on straw & I can't keep his bed clean enough - I get through 3 bales per week usually! He is in a mare & foal box though...

I'm very, very lucky with my boy being so clean. His bed doesn't smell until I pick up the circle above his wet patch which is about 50cmx50cm in a perfect circumference!!

He's a bit of a strange one, he HATES lying in dirt in his stable and I can see where he curls up at the other end to his mess. However, put him in a field and he WILL find mud somewhere ... turn his white legs brown, dye his skin under his rug, accumulate half a tree in his table, squish it in his eye and ram it down his ears and up his nose!

 

[SillySausage]

If your horse is clean and straw is cheap, why worry?

Not so much a worry, just looking at option. Always had my horses on straw so just wanted some opinions on whether it's worth swapping this horse over

 

[Maggie2009]

I would stick to straw as it is cheap,warm and makes a lovely bed.All mine are on straw which costs me about £6 each week compared to the £27 it would cost for 3 bales of shavings a week.One of mine is messy on shavings,but so much cleaner on straw.Incidently,my straw beds are not smelly,and the muck rots down much faster than shavings.