Those on shavings- how many bales do you get through per week?

[Coffee_Bean]

As title

Does anyone have any magic ways to use less??! Lady is a filthy horse, she tramples all the **** in, and we end up getting through 3 bales a week, occasionally 4 At £6.50 a bale it ain't nice!! She is on rubber matting and already has a relatively small bed...

 

[charlie13]

i can mandage on 1 a week i use giffords at 3,25 a bag i know some one who buys it in bulk so am very luckey

 

[Moggy in Manolos]

When I have stabled Seren, it tends to be a bale a week on mats, she is not mucky or messy, I am lucky.
I am not sure there is a way round it if your horse is messy

 

[JackDaniels1]

At our yard, we have a couple of v dirty mares and we just put a 'sprinkle' of shavings down instead of a thicker bed. One always trashes the back bank so she has a much smaller bank at the back than at the sides.

 

[JoannaC]

On average I use one every 10 to 14 days over rubber mats. I turn out early before work though and really notice she is much dirtier at weekends when I tend to go up an hour or two later. She also comes in quite late and if I ride after work doesn't get put away until about 9pm so doesn't spend as long in her stable as a lot of others. I have found if I keep her bed quite thick it last longer than with a smaller bed.

 

[charmeroo]

There is no magic solution!!

I agree with the idea of a very small sprinkle of shavings but you will need good quality rubber matting tho! By doing it this way you should be able to make a bale last 2-3 days and just sweep out the floor every day. Not very nice as your horse ends up with stable stains and stinky rugs!!! Cheaper tho!!

 

[Coffee_Bean]

Yeh I was going to do the sprinkle thing, but the mats aren't that thick really, so I would rather there be some cushioning. I have to say I am a little tempted to try moving her bed so it isn't in the back half of the stable, but on one side if that makes sense?

Oh and before anyone suggest changing bedding- I can't, I'm on part livery and the entire yard is on shavings.

 

[JackDaniels1]

Yes I nearly suggested moving the bed, it has improved one of ours. Worth a try!

 

[Coffee_Bean]

Yes I nearly suggested moving the bed, it has improved one of ours. Worth a try!

Did you find that the horse lies down on the bed, or where the bed used to be?? That is my worry!!

 

[wilsha]

I use 1 bale a week, with rubber matting aswell
my pony is quite messy so i just take out llthe po and weeand then prinkle a bit more on each day
seems to work well

 

[chestnut cob]

Personally I would take the mats out and deep litter her on shavings. My horse is very wet and being big, he manages to walk a lot of the shavings around, pulls banks down etc. I deep litter so whilst it took a bit of time to get a good base, I now never dig the base out and get through 1 bale per week in winter, and 1 every 3-4 weeks in summer. If you are careful with deep litter it's a great way to bed a very wet horse because you don't need to keep taking the wet shavings out, just put clean on top.

IMO deep litter is vile to begin with because you want to take the wet out but stick with it. I take out all droppings every day and level the wet off once a week. If there is any loose wet in the bed I take that out too but don't fiddle around with the wet.

Probably not what you were expecting to hear but that's how I'd do it.

 

[brushingboots]

depends on ponies
little mucky pony - a bale or half a bale a week
biggg pony - two or three [but needs deep]
little but amazing - one or two
box rest pony - three or four


all on rubber matting.

 

[ThePony]

my wet / poo trampler mare does best on a deeper bed, fully mucked out each day. Find she actually is cleaner on this and uses less shavings than just using a sprinkle. It can take a little while to find all the poo she has spread around, but with the bed being a bit deeper the damp bits tend to stay put so doesn't waste too much. On just a sprinkle because she likes to lie down she was just totally disscusting each day (did I mention she is grey too!) and I had to take out all her base each day - used quite a bit of shavings! Giving her a good bed and fully mucking out each day I use 1 - 2 bales a week. Bringing her in even a little later, and turning out a little earlier make a huge difference to her bed too.

 

[Kub]

I use about 1 bale a week in the winter. My boy is very messy so he's on thick rubber mats with quite big banks but a sprinkling of shavings in the middle. Then I just poo pick and take out all the wet each morning, seems to work quite well. I'd love to give him a deeper bed but he just mixes it all up, although he has become better than he used to be, doesn't trample in the poo so much, which is a bonus lol.

 

[L&M]

Usually 1 per week - deep littered and top up with 1/2 a bale twice a week.

 

[MrsMozart]

Tried Dizz on deep littered shavings. She digs (pretty impressive 'snow' storms!), so have gone back to mats with a sprinkle. Wash the rugs once a week (lightweight goes in the mahcine, dries over a bannister no problem ). She's not a horse for lying down as she's too damn nosey lol. For two horses, we get through a bag of Bliss a week (can only use Bliss or straw - yard rule). Shavings I think we got through two a week on deep litter.

 

[Louby]

I use 1 to 2 per week, my horse is very wet but poos in one area. Ive tried a small thin bed but that didnt work as so much wet and I used more so I have half the stable covered in about 3 ins of shavings with bankings. It is a massive stable. I remove most of the wee daily otherwise end up with a smelly mess that he spreads arround. Ive tried leaving it but couldnt cope!! I also put 2 bales down at the same time, one all over and the other as a banking which I pull a bit down daily and sprinkle it arround.

 

[SecretSquirrell379]

in the winter I use one a week, at the moment I am using one every 10 days or so. Thats a lot of shavings your using!!

 

[Coffee_Bean]

I know, it makes me want to cry how much we get through She is fully mucked out every day, turned out at 8am, and usually left for the night with a clean stable between 5 and 7pm.... she has ad lib hay, and doesn't box walk when I'm there, so I have no idea why her bed looks like she's had a party every night. She wees as soon as she goes in her stable, so I get that in a bucket

I don't think deep litter would work with her- she mixes all the poo and wee up, so you'd be putting poo back in the bed, and it would just be disgusting. Plus, as she's on part livery, I only muck out on saturdays when I'm working on the yard. I know the girls are particularly wasteful with shavings, as when I muck out I probably take out 1-2 barrows, and thats being careful!!

Might ask the YO if she minds me moving the bed to see if it makes any difference... she doesn't even get through the most shavings on the yard-there is another one that gets through 4 most weeks, he is very wet and messy though!!

 

[Coffee_Bean]

Bump...............

 

[mole]

As title

Does anyone have any magic ways to use less??! Lady is a filthy horse, she tramples all the **** in, and we end up getting through 3 bales a week, occasionally 4 At £6.50 a bale it ain't nice!! She is on rubber matting and already has a relatively small bed...

i must have your mares twin as this is just what mine does. i tried rubber mats and minimal bed, a small corner bed and big deep litter.

the best i found was a big deep litter bed i now use about 5 bales a month. and the bed is lovely and clean. i use rubber gloves and a bucket to muck out and have a lovely firm base now which i am drying out to use next winter.

 

[Jingleballs]

1 smaller bale or 3/4 of a larger bale - this is on rubber matts. He's very messy and the more I give him the more of a mess he makes!

 

[Prince33Sp4rkle]

Star-3/4 bale, as he is pretty tidy and quite a *dry*horse

Mums boy-1 1/2 as he is messier and a very *wet* horse to boot

Toby shetland-1/4 bale bless him as he is tidy little chap and has a full size 12 x 14 stable so plenty of room to keep it neat.

these are 3/4 thickness beds over approx half the stable,on mats. except star who has a 3/4 thickness bed over the entire stable or else he gets cast.

 

[SmartieBean09]

My mare came off shavings because she was so filthy and I couldnt afford it. I put her on straw and although she was still a filthy cow, she cost me less. She would weave and box walk til she came out so I bought a stable mirror which I collected so I only paid £24!!!! Bingo!! Happy horse and clean bed. She has been back on shavings for over a year and I skip out and do a full muck out and completely lift her bed Wed and Sat. I put in 2 new shavings a month. Her stable is larger than average and I like a nice deep bed.

 

[wispagold]

Have you tried putting her on a thicker bed rather and a thin one? My horse is pretty messy but is far worse with less shavings in her stable because she is quite wet and then there aren't enough shavings to soak it up and I end up having to take the whole bed out and replace it each time! Plus she like to lie down a lot and ends up filthy. With a fairly thick bed it does take me quite a long time to muck out because she walks all the poo in but she is a lot drier and so is her bed. I only use 1 bale every 2 weeks.

 

[Coffee_Bean]

Have put a thicker bed down tonight, but it's difficult as obviously I don't see it in the morning (well only once a week). Our stables aren't particularly big... but my god even the really clean horse have 1 a week, can't believe some of you are on 1/2 a bale a week- jelous much?!

 

[Shutterbug]

1 bale a week in the winter and nothing in summer cause he is out 24/7 He is on rubber matting though so that makes a difference

 

[dibbin]

I bale a week, no rubber matting, he's just very clean usually put in one extra bag a month (roughly).

 

[SarahX]

Lady is a filthy horse, she tramples all the **** in, and we end up getting through 3 bales a week, occasionally 4 At £6.50 a bale it ain't nice!! She is on rubber matting and already has a relatively small bed...

Oh i know what you mean! I was getting through 4 a week when i had Sydney, and this was in summer! And at £7.50 a bale. He like Lady trod it all in! Not nice.
And always had to make at least 2 trips to the muck heap!!