To deep litter or not to deep litter.....

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jumpthemoon

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I can't decide! I've had my mare on deep litter for the last week as I thought it might be quicker and it has saved me loads of time!
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I'm considering putting both horses on it over the winter to try and make things a bit easier (I work full time plus weekends and have 2 horses to do).

However....I kind of feel as though it's a bit of a cop out
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I also know that YO will turn her nose up at DL stables
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even though they will most likely be cleaner than her fully mucked out ones lol!

Help me decide!
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I deep litter every winter. Saves me time, hassle and money!! It is a bit soul destroying at first as Bob is a right sod but I persevere and the bed does get established. It's also warmer for them in the winter.

I do wash his feet throughly every night and give them a good scrub with Hibi a couple of times a week - just to keep them ultra clean.

It's personal choice but I spend more time with my horse than I do mucking out!!
 
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Oooh sorry! That would help, wouldn't it! Concrete floor, no rubber matting. They are on straw.

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Deep litter then - always.
 
I deep litter our lot.

I never used to when I had smaller horses but when I got my current horse, he's nearly 17hh and a bit like a beached whale when he rolls, flailing legs everywhere... so I decided it would be safer for him to have a nice thick bed with a solid base, so he couldn't hurt himself.. at least on the floor anyway!!
Since then I have found it a much nicer bed as it definitely is thicker and warmer, so they all are now. Maybe if I had a horse that dug the bed then I would do a full muck out but I'm going to keep going with the depp litter for now!

Oh we are on straw! Have deep littered one horse who was a messy twat on shavings but he still managed to make a mess, but I don't think he would be clean on anything!
 
I'd deep litter if I were you. On the odd day when you have a bit of extra time you can take the clean layer up and take the worst off the top so that it doesn't get too deep.
Warm, comfy bed for the winter for them, less time taken up with mucking out for you - everyone's a winner!
 
I hate deep litter with a passion, when its not done correctly. I am on Nedzbedz and concrete with a full muck out and the majority of my yard is on concrete with a full muck out, its never caused a problem.
Our YM has disgusting deep litter beds, when she does the part liveries. Never takes any of the squelchy wet out, never leaves the dry bedding up to dry the base out, so it all just rises to the top and on occasion (I muck out her stables when I work at the weekend) I have gone in to black beds
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When I muck out the beds you wouldn't know they had a base..
If you are going to deep litter properly, with a layer of dry on top and take out the squelchy wet out then I don't see the problem..
Phew deep littering rant is over
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!
 
When I do deep litter, the stables are like normal beds with a thin layer of dirty bed underneath - you wouldn't know they are deep litter to look at them. I can't stand dirty beds
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Someone I know used to keep his pointers on DL - except he never took anything out at all - just added a bit of straw every day. The beds were about 3ft deep! Disgusting!
 
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When I do deep litter, the stables are like normal beds with a thin layer of dirty bed underneath - you wouldn't know they are deep litter to look at them. I can't stand dirty beds
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Someone I know used to keep his pointers on DL - except he never took anything out at all - just added a bit of straw every day. The beds were about 3ft deep! Disgusting!

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The YM just takes the poo out and re does the banks with a sprinkle of clean shavings on top. It is disgusting. the horse is effectively sleeping in their own pee. That is what I cannot stand..
And it sounds like you have deep littering sorted, go for it
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Edited for my terrible spelling
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I would definitely deep litter on concrete, but not with straw, it's really rank
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I would recommend something like Aubiose which will capture the wet in the bottom layer. I'm deep littering with Aubiose this winter and the bed is lovely and dry.
 
yep I deep litter and my boy is filthy!!! It is the only way I have managed to keep a sparkling looking bed!!! he mashes all his poo to tiny bits so if i try to doa full mouckout it ends up brown as all the poo falls through the fork.
I hand pick all the poo out (even the tint bits) and add about 3bales of shavings a week.Takes me 30mins for him so it is certainly not down to time that I have him on deeplitter! The bed is much warmer the top 5inches are clean and underneath is solid so that it doesn't move about so he is much safer aswell as he likes to Party in his stable aswell. Looking at my beds you would think he was on a full muckout! : )
My pony is also on deep litter but he is mega clean so takes 5mins to take the poo out : )
 
I've deep littered one of my horses for the last two weeks - mainly cos she's on restricted turnout and her box walking was moving the really loose straw around. The other 3 are semi deep littered on shavings. I take the poo out of all the beds every day, lift the shavings beds once a week and have taken the wetter stuff out of the straw bed but that's it. I've got the flu this week so it's been a godsend not to have to do full muck outs!!
 
If you deep litter on straw I think you need to use quite a lot of fresh straw daily. I would def deep litter but only on something like wonderful Aubiose which is about a zillion times more absorbent.

I do something in between, I dig out the wet bottom layer every 10 days or so. Thats using Aubiose.
 
I HATE deep litter with a passion! But it very much depends on your horse. Henry is a 17HH HW and just walking about the box he drags the straw about - so deep littering for him is a no no, as the dirty stuff never stays where it's meant to! I am quick at mucking out anyway, so on the odd times he is in overnight, the mucking out never takes me long. I always find I faff more with DL as I spend longer picking through it, whereas with regular straw I can clearly see the poos and the wet patches and they just get taken out!

As far as a nice warm bed is concerned, I don't stint on straw for him, he has a thick bed which then gets patted into place with the fork - I always feel better too knowing that he is lying on something soft and clean, rather than smelly, cold and wet!!
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I deep litter my straw and it is MUCH better than pulling the wet out every day. I just take out visible wet and poos and then he gets a barrow of fresh straw each day. I did dig out his bed yesterday after 7 weeks of deep litter, which took me 90 minutes and 6 huge wheelbarrow fulls (not the little barrows). His bed stays cleaner and more substantial. He does have mats down but I have found he is too messy for anything but deep litter straw, unless I shell out on Aquamax like I do for my other boy!

Deep litter!

ETA that when he gets a barrow of straw, the barrow is the size of 4 normal barrows and the straw is scattered across the top of the bed. The stable is not 12x12, it's huge, so his deep litter is never more than 2 or 3 inches deep and does not extend the whole stable. The top few inches of straw are always thick, dry and clean stuff. He is 17.3hh and this meant he was pulling loose stuff round the box. Like I said, I take out any visible or very wet wet and about once every 10 days I take a barrow or 2 of wet out, but leave the rest in. Then after 7 or 8 weeks I'll lift the bed and take the whole load of wet out. When I did this yesterday, I couldn't believe how clean the mats were underneath!!
 
I deep littered my old lad as he was box rested for the last 2yrs of his life. He could go out if he wanted, and would pootle out whilst I mucked out. He was on Eucalyptus infused shavings from the local market and his bed was amazingly soft and springy! It supported his knackered legs, and was never damp to touch, I slept in there with him after arguements with ex sometimes! Im semi littering Melly on a mix of cushion bed and shavings, I said that I would never do it as the YM at the yard I used to work on DL on CB and it was/is foul, the beds squelch!! With the odd bag of shavings mixed in and the really wet base taken out every 7/10 days Im using far less shavings and CB than friends and the bed is nice and stable too. Id love to have her on straw but shes such a pig there wouldnt be a scrap of bedding left in the mornings!! x
 
Deep litter everytime! I personally wouldn't do anything else now.
I have also converted two or three people on my yard to DL, they joke I am their DL advisor!
I DL on shavings, my horse never hits concrete and always has a warm, dry bed. I just take poos out everyday and add clean from the banks if needed. I use a bale a week in her bed. My friend who has just converted to deep litter is on straw and is amazed at how much less straw she is using a week!
 
We deep litter the ponies all winter on straw.

The deep litter layer itself is only about 6" deep, we take the poo and the worst of the wet out everyday and put a good layer of clean straw back on top. When the deep litter is established you can muck it out much like a regular bed, throwing the clean up the sides, taking out the poo and wet until you get down to the 'deep litter' base.

The great thing about the deep litter is that it provides a thick, comfortable mattress under the clean straw and as it rots down it also produces heat so the beds are nice and warm.

It is a b@stard to muck out in spring tho
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