Wet/messy mare - pellets not working - what next ?

[zandp]

I have 2 mares and have been using LWP on rubber mats since April this year. They work really well for 1 mare but I seem to be using a bag every 3 days for the wet/messy mare. Part of the bed is always soaked through in the morning, I have tried a deep base to soak the wet up but it just means more bedding thrown away.

I've used miscanthus, shavings - various grades/types and straw with her previously, miscanthus was probably the best of those but tbh she's just messy and her bed is always chaos/wet and stinking in the morning.

What can I try next if pellets aren't working ? I was wondering about mixing pellets with miscanthus or some sawdust type shavings I've used in the past which are quite absorbent. I really hoped pellets would work

 

[lachlanandmarcus]

I use Aubiose with wood pellets (1 A to 3 or 4 wood pellets) and it works very well for my messy mare).Im assuming you are dampening the pellets so they are powdery before spreading them?

 

[zandp]

I dampen so they spread out when I'm replacing a lot of the bed, so at the weekend, during the week I add the bags dry and then mix them into the old bed so they should in theory soak up the wet better.

Thanks for the tip, I'll put a bag in at the weekend and see how it works.

 

[Theresa_F]

I have tried just about everything for our very wet and large clydesdale and have to say LWP are the best. I do use 3 - 4 15 k bags a week in winter as they are in 24 x 7 3 days, and out 7 - 1 on four days. I find having the bed at least 4" deep helps and also during the week, I take the wet out twice and then pull some dry bedding over the wet area daily and it sets into a solid base.

The next best thing is megazorb but I found it more expensive than the pellets.

I have accepted that I use twice the bedding for her than my cob.

 

[hobgoblin]

Have you tried megazorb? I can't comment on wood pellets as havnt ever used them but happened on the megazorb a few years ago will never use another bedding ( I have used everything else over past 30yrs)

 

[Mitchyden]

I use 2 bags a week and I don't think that excessive!

 

[MillionDollar]

Try straw pellets under shavings. One of the part liveries I have is the most disgusting mare, and wet too, and this bed is amazing!!! At one time the owner was paying for 2 extra bales of bedding per week she was so bad. Now she's on half a bale of shavings and half a bag of straw pellets per week, and she's in 18 hours per day! The straw pellets are far more absorbant than the wood ones, so make sure you use them rather than wood.

Have heard Megazorb is amazing, but it's quite expensive?

 

[zandp]

We have 10 stabled horses on our yard, and my messy mare goes through more bedding than almost all the rest, my cleaner mare has a bag of LWP put in every other week for example.

Theresa F - I do the same as you, only I'm having to take wet out every day.

Maybe I just expected too much.

She's pretty awful with every bedding, I guess that's my lot in life to deal with !

 

[lachlanandmarcus]

The other thing I found is I use waaay less bedding now my horses are at home and the big one has a bigger stable, and also it is a lot quieter and less buzzy. Neither may be an option but a less messy mare saves an awful lot of cost so it is worth considering if paying extra for a bigger space or quieter location if you are on a yard is possible.

 

[dollymix]

I would try some straw pellets instead of wood pellets too. I have put my welshie on them and they've been great (this is a horse I previously considered to be quite messy!!)

The good thing is, you could probably just start putting straw pellets down on top of your existing wood pellet bed?

I use nedz bedz and was told if I wanted an even more support bed to the straw pellets, I could mix with the other nedz products, which I believe are finely chopped straw. Thb though... I am happy with the straw pellets!

 

[JennBags]

I started using ComfyBed a while ago, and absolutely love it - 2 big, wet, dirty horses who kicked their bed around, now I'm deep-littering on this and it's great.

Tried woodpellets, and didn't get on, I found I was having to put 2-3 bales in a week, and even then it wasn't really ever right.

Also tried shavings and aubiose, but this ComfyBed is the best

 

[mycocorocks]

Also using straw pellets, we find them much more absorbent than the wood pellets we used to use

 

[mystiandsunny]

Deep litter shavings. Works a treat, mucking out takes five min too!

 

[Liath]

I couldn't get on with wood pellets either- was using 3-4 bags of Aquamax a week for my wet/messy/kick it all about gelding... have resorted to semi-deep littering on a deep bed of fine shavings- taking obvious wet out daily and all the wet out once a week. Now I have it established I'm using a bale of shavings at £6 a bale every 8-10 days... bit different to 4 bags of Aquamax at £7 a bag each week!

 

[Oberon]

Have you tried just having a smaller bed?

I have rubber mats and I put the LWP on a quarter of my Tank's stable so he can go over there to pee on it.

For my old, Cushing's boy who pees a huge amount - he has a deep strip of bedding in the middle of the stable to pee on and a thin smattering at the front and back.

I find doing that - and moving hay to the back of the stable has meant my bedding goes further for both of them.

Over the years I have tried:

Straw
Shavings
Chopped straw
Easibed
Straw pellets

and both horses were unmanageable due to mess and cost .

I've been using LWP for four years now and although I still manage to use up two tonnes of bedding over the winter (a tonne delivered in August and another in Jan), I find the pellets are the most cost effective and easy to work with option for us.