Trying straw!

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nikkianddave

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after 4 months of hell and it only getting worse as the winter draws in, the 6 different type of shavings I have tried definitely just isn't working for my pony.

he is the filthiest pony on the yard, the filthiest anyone on my yard has ever seen

6 full barrows and an hour later, after falling face first in the muck heap I give up and I think I'm going to try straw.

there is a huge shire in the stable next to me on straw, they seem to do very well and his bed is always clean

can anyone give me pros and cons for shavings and straw?

tia x
 
I hate shavings with a passion, I only use them in the lorry so no pros for them except they are more absorbant. straw is cheap, if you are able to do a full muck out and air the floor daily, it wont smell as bad as it can do. the other thing I had my muckiest horse on was auboise and failing that, chopped rape straw.
 
I prefer shavings but like your horse my lot are really dirty . I have rubber matting and put a nice thick bed down for about half of the stable . I find it much easier to Clean out plus they have a nice fluffy warm bed
 
I use shavings for the horsebox and miscanthus for bedding. Works well for mine :)
The 2 x small ones cannot go on straw, due to monster consumption of it....

Used straw at camp this year for 4 nights and worried that NF would eat it etc. Haven't used straw for bedding since early 80s.
It wasn't a problem in the end as I had the time to leave bed up and sweep properly, both of which would cost me time at home on work days.
The biggest drawback? The stench of urine-wet straw.
 
My pony is reasonably dirty and we do well on straw - I empty one barrow a day, maybe one and a half in the Spring and Autumn when he's a bit wetter. Ive found that it's best if you use plenty so that there is a thick mattress of straw. The poo then falls through and the wee sinks down and is absorbed by the bottom layer, leaving the top layer clean so you can scrape if off and re-use. If your horse is particularly wet, a layer of shavings/wood pellets at the bottom can help absorb the wee. I do a full muck-out every day before work and it looks like this (there's a running joke on the yard that my pony has to 'climb' into bed!):

ruZPjjqb.jpg


It takes about 20 - 30 minutes in total (I'm a neat freak so I like to do plenty of sweeping!) but it works to keep him and his bed pretty clean :)
 
I love making a big straw bed, it feels like nesting I think and looks so much cosier than shavings.

However I find shavings easier to use with mine :(
 
I haven't ever used shavings but I use straw for my lad and he can be quite wet. I make a really big bed for him (just yesterday one of the liveries came and said that's a massive amount of straw!!!) and find that most of the muck sinks to the bottom - it also helps with stable stains as he's a grey.

I make a thick bed and probably take out 1 - 2 barrows a day, he has a hay bar and does spread his hay a bit so half a barrow is normally just dirty hay! I try and do it in the morning and leave it up for the floor to dry and then put it back down, not always possible with time and work. I don't find it gets smelly really at all. He does have a massive stable too so I think taking out 1-2 a day and reusing the rest isn't bad!
 
Combinations work best - the straw makes a layer (and lovely banks) the poo doesn't drop through (and can be lifted easily at mucking out) and the absorbent layer underneath stops the straw stinking, which it can do if it gets soaked
 
I've tried all sorts of shavings and have found straw (with side banks) to be the best bedding. My messiest horse is cleanest on straw and I find it easier to muck out and top up. I take the poo out every day and then take the wet out once a week, usually on Sunday or Monday. It is definitely the cheapest option, too. I spend no more than £10 a month on straw.
 
Not straw or shavings for me... done all types of bedding over the years and THE BEST thing is deep litter chopped rape straw - like bedrap or bliss.

It takes me minutes to muck out daily. I leave the wet as a base. This comes up a few times a year. Just don't use it with rubber mats :D
 
I'm a straw convert. I always used to bed my messy mare on shavings, but it was costing me a small fortune. Swapped to straw which is so much easier, quicker to muck out and a nice straw bed always looks so nice! The only thing, like others have said is the smell - I'm a groom so i go from my horse to the yard so I never really worry but I can imagine that going into a office might not be so easy!
 
had to move away from straw sadly as my horse got mites from it. So if pony is feathered then its something to think about.
 
Anyone who tells you shavings dont smell is either used to it or lying. I look after my friends horses while she is on holiday, she is allergic to straw so all are on shavings I have never smelt as bad in my entire life, it was awful the smell of pee and ammonia was as bad if not worse than the straw I used to use for my ponies. Now they live out 24/7 I really notice the smell of pee, and rubber matting with a small bed is even worse it is vile as the horses rugs stink too so it ends up all over your clothes
 
What's your drainage like? If your stable drains well, straw is brilliant, if not, and most of them don't seem to these days, then you'd probably need a combo, maybe wood pellets under straw, or something else absorbent.
 
I hate straw and shavings. Wood pellets seemed amazing at first, but the dust is unbelievable once the bed gets older and they can look brown very fast unless you use a lot more bags than is economical. For a messy horse, by far the beest bedding I have found is chopped miscanthus. It always looks nice, doesn't smell and is never dusty, even in the summer. It is cheaper than you might think as a bale goes a long way.
 
I'm going the other way and looking for an alternative to straw. I'm fed up of my boy eating it and the smell.
Because he eats so much he smells awful too.
It's the quickest to muck out and is cheap.
 
Sounds like the best choice for you; lay a bed, take out wet and dirty weekly until you get into a routine and know his toilet spots and then you can choose whether you want to skip out and take the wet out weekly or stay with daily. Best part about straw is it's so cheap so if he really does churn it up you can just take the whole lot out every few days and he will always have a dry bed instead of cringing when you throw a lot of shavings or worse try and save some and end up with a sopping brown bed. The downside is a larger muckheap and the smell but I shower after the yard including hair so not an issue for me
 
My mare is another "messiest ever" one. Hahaha. I have tried a lot if different bedding but the best for me has been a combo of chopped rape stew mixed with sawdust... And it isn't as dusty as it sounds it all sits quite well. Seems to keep smells down too but who knows? People still look at me funny in Sainsbury's. Lol
 
windand rain said:
Anyone who tells you shavings dont smell is either used to it or lying. I look after my friends horses while she is on holiday, she is allergic to straw so all are on shavings I have never smelt as bad in my entire life, it was awful the smell of pee and ammonia was as bad if not worse than the straw I used to use for my ponies. Now they live out 24/7 I really notice the smell of pee, and rubber matting with a small bed is even worse it is vile as the horses rugs stink too so it ends up all over your clothes
Click to expand...

Never had a smelly shavings bed but I only have really thick beds, even on rubber mats
 
I much prefer shavings, just accept that they won't stay pearly white but brown doesn't mean dirty! Much easier to muck out imo, unless it's a deep large straw bed but even then I find it moves quite a lot unless allowed to kind of deep bed one. I rarely lift wet from the shavings bed and it's great, just lift droppings and maybe do a wet clear out twice a year. Have you tried comfybed shavings? I think they are great! And not too expensive especially if you buy in bulk. I've a 17h horse in a 12x12 and use deep litering with shavings and only need to put a bale in once a week if he's in all the time. Luckily he lives out with access to the stable so I think I've put a bale in once over the past 2 months lol.

Straw also stinks, especially if you have a very wet horse!! There are 2 horses on yard on straw. One absolutely stinks and I hate mucking them out, and they have wet lifted everyday with good drainage. The other is deep bedded with straw and there is no smell, and has equally good drainage!
 
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