Those on DIY who do not use Straw bedding...

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spotty_pony

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What do you use? Is it cost effective? Does it make a nice bed?

Having recently moved my horses to a DIY yard, I am now having to buy my own bedding. The stables have rubber matting and I am currently using Shavings. I like a fairly deep bed with banks and also like to keep it clean (I'm not a fan of deep litter). However, there has been a bit of a Shortage of shavings this winter in my area and we are currently having to pay £7.80 a bale! One of my horses is very wet and I am finding that I am having to add 3-4 bales per week! :eek: So I am looking around for cheaper options if possible. I don't want to use straw as one of my horses tends to eat it and it tends to take a lot longer to muck out. I am looking for something which is absorbent, comfortable, good quality and cost effective. What do you all use?
 
Snowflake shavings on rubber mat. Usually use 1 a week to top up a good thick bed already in place. This is for a 16hh horse and he doesnt go out every day. £7.50 a bale here.
 
Im using long shredded paper that I get from a local office :) I get it for free :D

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I pick u about 15 to 20 bags a week and Im taking out about half a barrow to a barrow a day and popping in two bags (large binbag sized not like a shavings bag :)) daily and is halfway up his cannons ontop of thick rubber mats. I did have bankings etc but dont bother now :)
 
I've just switched my disgusting mare onto miscanthus (burley bed) its the best thing for her, I deep litter and take wet out weekly. Put 1or2 bales in per week.
Prob not the best for mucking out daily though...
Can you buy bedding in bulk to save a bit of cash?

DD :) x
 
use shavings and have rubber matting use roughly 1 a week/every 5 days.
with rubber matting you dont need a deep bed so pone gets big banks and a smaller bed
 
I use shavings, having moved on from straw a year ago when I moved to a new yard. I also have rubber matting. I don't like deep litter for my horse as she gets really messy on it so each day I just take out the wet and poo, turn the banks and put the bed back down once swept. I find I use 1 bale per week.
26kg bales are £8.30 in my area so it works out more expensive than straw for me but I find it much easier for me and also my horse also used to eat her straw bed which led to her gaining a lot of unwanted weight!
The only helpful suggestion I can make is to try and stick to the smaller chips of shavings, some come in quite large clippings and I find it means taking a lot more out especially with a wet horse as it does clump together.
 
I have thick rubber matts but still like a big bed with huge banks.
We get shavings for £7 a bales.
Once the bed is established its not that expensive to maintain.
I'm very particular when mucking out!
 
My three year old is a hideous bed wetter, I dread to think what he gets up to in there at night - but it is all completely destroyed by morning. I did have him on shavings but it was hideously expensive. He did do much better on paper bedding, but that too is expensive. However, if I only had the one, I would have kept him on that. As it is, the cheapest method for me is straw at the moment.
 
See if your buying it then paper will be just as costly as shavings/straw. Businesses pay to have their shredding uplifted even just for normal recycling, I just got asked if i wanted it and I go three times a week and its sitting for me :) they arent having to pay for it to be uplifted anymore. And as it gets all mixed together with different bags etc they dont have to worry about anyone getting a hold of it, especially after my two have had a manky field day with it overnight lol :D

I would be asking local businesses or even councils if you can have it, no less secure than it being shoved in an outside bin for joe blo to have a rummage through ;)
 
On a seperate note, have EVA matting gone into liquidation??? I saw some EVA matting for sale on ebay earlier under the title liquidated stock?
 
We use flax for our lot. I pay the equivalant of £8.35 a bale for a pallett delivered but I'm in the North and flax is a lot more expensive up here than further south.
My mare uses 3-4 bales of shavings a week as she's very wet and we're using 1 bales a week of the flax. It makes a really nice soft bed and is super absorbant. The only thing I've found that is more absorbant is hemcore but it's £12 a bale up here :eek:
 
Wood pellets on rubber mats, really cost effective and worked for my boy(stable was disgusting on just about anything else!) Initial lay like any other bedding then I use 1 to 2 bags per week, just take the poo out everyday normally 5-10 mins of a job and any obvious wet patches. Has worked wonders for my boy and would recommend to anyone and although they don't look it very good at keeping the heat in the winter months.
 
I use shavings with rubber mats, I also like big banking rather than put bed down, my horses stable door is always left open as she has a small paddock built round it so she can go in/out as she pleases.
She still likes to do her poos in her stable rather than in paddock, also when out hacking she will put her rear end into the hedge line to poo ( clever little mare ) dont know if someone taught her or its natural.
 
Another vote for wood pellets... my gelding is VERY wet, and likes to play 'football' with the solids, so his bed is disgusting every morning no matter what bedding he's on BUT where shavings or miscanthus cost me a fortune and took forever to muck out and straw was too disgusting to contemplate, on pellets he's MUCH cleaner and mucking out takes less than half the time.

With regard to cost- I was using 3-4 bales of shavings at £6 a bale (direct from the manufacturer who happens to be just up the road ;) ) now I'm using 2-3 bags of pellets (five star professional) at £3.72 a bag so I'm saving loads.

However, if you like a bed that looks so fluffy and cosy you could be tempted to lie down on it yourself, then pellets won't work for you- it's a 'utilitarian' looking bed to say the least, not that it stops my lad lying down full stretch every night!
 
Spotty_Pony just looked at that ad on preloved and they havent put their number on it, only way to contact them is emailing via the webste unfortunately :(
 
Rubber matting and wood pellets, did month on box rest and still only used 3 bags a week. Im using 2 now and hes wet and messy :rolleyes:
 
Wood pellets all the way :D quick to muck out & smells fresh. I have just gone back to aquamax from cheaper ones but aquamax will be cheaper that shavings and even a messy bed will only use 1-2 bags a week :D

Come look at mine if you like :)
 
i use micanthus 1 bale a week... 8 bales to start a bed in a 16x18 stable, 6.40 a bale and its ok to deeplitter although it isnt brilliant but it does the job and it doesnt move around too much either :) i also have rubber matting but only at the front not under the bed
 
I use whatever we have at work that is ripped, forks through bag from forklift, or has a bit of water damage!!! So far I have found mixing different beddings gives the ultimate bed.

I deep litter and the base is nearly 2 years old, it is solid and provides a really good cushion, and no, it doesn't smell! :) The top 6 inches is dry and I take out any spongey bits that come to the surface of the base, the base it's self gets scraped and leveled as needed. I put 1 bale of something in each week and currently have a mix of Bliss, shavings and Bedmax on the go!

So if your local merchant has a "bargain pallet" of damaged bedding rake out the best bales and mix - saves me a fortune!!
 
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