VERY wet horse...

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GoneWithTheWind

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Well to cut a long story short, my boy is very wet to the point his stable floor is forming very large puddles underneath his matting (and causing a very large stench - as you can imagine) - anybody have any suggestions to how I can control this?

His stable is fully matted - would it be better to just half mat the stable?
He is also on straw and has decent sized banks
He is also out from 10am to 5pm (approx) everyday through the dryer months.
His stable does get an entire flush out a few times throughout the year (re-painted and totally disinfected)

Any suggestions?
 
I'd take the matting out and get rid of the straw too - use something like wood pellets or snowflake softchip which is really absorbent. Straw and wet horses is a horrible combo!
 
If you lift the bed (and agree straw won't help) completely everyday you can hose/empty water bucket so that the water runs under the mats and does a semi clean. That relies on having a well draining floor though.
 
I've never understood the fact that some people have wee pool under their mats - doesn't this mean that your bedding is naff? I've always had mats and never had sludge or wet under them (nothing apart from minimal mess, anyway) because I use shavings or wood pellets. I've never noticed that I have great draining facilities either so it must be the bedding!

Straw is the worst bedding ever for a wet horse! Get him on to pellets and if you want something to 'look nice' then put shavings on top.
 
Thank you for the comments.
I don't think the drainage is brilliant but its not the worst
Ive only had him 6 months and he has always been a wet horse (no matter if he's on pellets or straw) in that time he's had 3 entire clean outs and everyday cleaning
He has previously been on wood pellets (with me and his previous owner) but isn't much better on them he also went through an extra 6-8 bags a month due to how wet he was
 
My mare is very wet - in her case due to Cushings - and I find that a very deep bed of shavings over her rubber mats works well. Her bed doesn't smell and she can lie down without getting wet patches so must be working. Wet horses and straw beds not a good combination. I deep litter during the week and take all the wet out at the weekend.
Ps in case anyone asks she is on prascend and tested regularly so I am doing my best to keep on top of the cushings.
 
You either need a big fluffy shavings bed (small flake shavings), or paper. Paper is fantastic for wet horses. It just clumps together and absorbs everything.
 
I had the same issue, coupled with horrendous drainage.. all the wee collected in a pool bang in the middle so I sealed my mats and use extra small flake shavings. My stable is 14x16 too so now I only put bedding over the back half and this has much improved things, was having to lift mats monthly and clean underneath which (especially with a back condition) was extremely tiresome.
 
IMHO Straw and rubber mats do not work unless you have good drainage under your mats.

I have good drainage in my stables as I had them built with a slight slope to a drain hole at the back. I use rubber mats and a wood pellet bed.
 
I use shavings on top of mats and then put the straw on top of that it works really well shavings collect the wet and the straw makes a nice fluffy bed!
 
My rubber mats are all sealed and use megasorb with straw on top which keeps horse cleaner. I guess wood pellets would do the same as the megasorb but I never have any puddles and the matting is dry pretty well as soon as I sweep the damp off it
 
Stop using straw, it's vile stuff!! Personally I would be tempted to semi deep litter (take wet out weekly but not daily, and droppings daily) on very good quality shavings. I like Bedmax, it's v absorbent. If the bed is managed properly, you could probably manage one one bale a week but you must start with a deep, big bed in the first place.

How big is your horse and your stable? If it's a big horse in a small stable, he'll be trampling & standing on the wet continually so it makes things worse. With a big stable, they stand on mats at the front & just stand on the bed to rest, poo / wee or lie down.

If he's truly disgusting, I might be inclined to look for a yard where he can be out more, even 24/7.
 
I use matts with straw and don't have a problem my matts are well installed and have decent drainage. Could you just mix some shavings in with the straw. In terms of turnout I think that's fairly average for full livery well it is around here so wouldn't be worried about that. Are you sure he is just really wet rather than having something medically wrong.
 
I would want to rule out any health issues such as Cushings first, but then I would try wood pellets or megazorb as these are the best for wet horses IME. However, messy horses are another thing entirely. I am just starting to trial miscanthus with my disgustingly filthy mare. She is only little but the dirtiest, messiest horse I have known bar one. She poos and wees everywhere and then digs up her bed and rolls. I have tried every bedding except miscanthus, hemp and paper. Nothing works.
 
The horse is a 10yo 16.3hh tb type (no known medical issues) in a relatively large stable (his bed comes 3/4 the way down and he just has a small area where the door entrance is.
I do not think shavings or any other type of bedding apart from straw and pellets are allowed on the yard (but not 100% sure)
He is a messy horse hides his poos and has multiple wees during the night (however as I think of it I haven't seen him urinate in the field - although I am not at the yard all day)
I am not worried about turn out and believe he's getting enough of it each day, he is the type who enjoys both the field and stable but would much prefer to stay in over night.
As I also said above that he has been on wood pellets previously and I didn't notice much of a difference between that and straw (he was equally as wet)
 
I know this doesn't help, but my boy wees for England too. I've tried paper, wood pellets and shavings (won't use straw as he's a heavily feathered cob) with mats. I find that the best solution for us is wood pellets but have never been able to use less than 8-10 bags a month! The deeper the bed the longer it seems to last, and I only stable at night when they are up to their knees in relentless mud. It does grate a bit though to be literally throwing your money away on bedding, especially when I can get straw or shredded paper for free!
 
Wagtail said:
I would want to rule out any health issues such as Cushings first, but then I would try wood pellets or megazorb as these are the best for wet horses IME. However, messy horses are another thing entirely. I am just starting to trial miscanthus with my disgustingly filthy mare. She is only little but the dirtiest, messiest horse I have known bar one. She poos and wees everywhere and then digs up her bed and rolls. I have tried every bedding except miscanthus, hemp and paper. Nothing works.
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Il be watching out to see how you get on wagtail as I must have her messy brother who does the exact same thing lol
 
googol said:
Il be watching out to see how you get on wagtail as I must have her messy brother who does the exact same thing lol
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Lol, it's awful, isn't it? I'll keep you posted. Once she's in at night again, and I've trialled the miscanthus for a few weeks I'll do a thread.
 
My horse is revolting, and I spent my day yesterday getting my mats out and washing down stable, luckily I have good drainage but he is so wet! I put a bag of shavings where he wees then I put straw on top. That works well

I keep him on straw as it's included in my livery, so changing was never really an option!
 
I love straw as a bedding but is is not designed for absorbency! For straw to work as a sole bedding you need excellent drainage and ideally managed with the bed lifted during the day and disinfectant down.

I have a minging horse and by far the best way I find to manage is front half matted.
Back half thick based of wood pellets. Full straw bed over the top. Skipped out daily then once a week the wet dug out.
 
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