What bedding do you all use?

[EquestrianFairy]

Not for me as it happens but interested anyway.

What bedding do you use?

We are on shavings at my yard but the beds are already deep littered and my horse is very clean so I only need one bag a week top up.
I was always a straw convert until I moved yards and had to use shavings.

What do you use?

I'm quite interested in easy bed- is it as good as they say? Is hemp cleaner/cheaper? Is straw always the firm favourite?

 

[lachlanandmarcus]

Easibed is a lot easier than shavings - and it doesnt stick to everything!

However altho more expensive, hemp is even better - more absorbant.

I use a mix of hemp and wood pellets - 1 hemp to 4 pellets.

 

[Jools1234]

soft bed or bed soft which ever way round you say it

 

[AngieandBen]

Eco Bed...........so easy to muck out, mine are in during the day and after the initial 6 bags I put down, I only use two bags a month Nice dry feet too

Downside........... they blow around a bit if its really windy!

 

[Beckie65]

Shavings, used to use straw but my horse kept eating his bed much cleaner on shavings and we still have a full bed by the morning lol

 

[Montyforever]

Bed-down excel
It's a mix of shavings and straw

 

[TelH]

I have 5 on straw and 2 on shavings

 

[PolarSkye]

Straw. Love it.

P

 

[Batgirl]

Mine is on straw, he is really messy on anything else. We have bedmax as well, it is chopped oil seed rape and very easy.

 

[Liostro]

Wood pellets!!! Love them they are super absorbent and so easy to muck out.....and Cheap!!!

 

[sychnant]

Wood pellets!!! Love them they are super absorbent and so easy to muck out.....and Cheap!!!

This Have tried pretty much every bedding on the market in the last 20 odd years. Wood pellets are the winner for me

 

[Suzie G]

Shavings, love them.
My old pony used to eat straw so moved onto small shavings and never used anything else since.
Take out all poo (every little bit-im a bit ocd about it) and wet every day and bank up the sides, sweep middle then put bed back down leaving small banks. On concrete so bed depth ranges from 6" - 10". Takes 10 mins if he's been out during the day or 20 mins if he's been in all day and kicked it about a bit.
I use 1 new bag every 2-2 1/2 weeks which is just mixed in with original bedding once mucked out.

 

[Spit That Out]

Shavings until the price went through the roof, the cheapest bag I can buy is £8 and I use x2 a week!

On straw now, took a while to get used to it but it's cheaper and now I've got the hang of it just as quick to muck out.

 

[emma.is]

straw, haven't ever needed to use anything else. I love my horse coming into a huge fluffy bed in winter

 

[charliehands]

Another fan of wood pellets! I have wood pellets and used 1 bale of shavings to make banks

 

[Littlelegs]

Straw. Have tried most in the past, & will use others if a horse required it, but straw is always my first choice.

 

[Miss L Toe]

^this

 

[Queenbee]

Last winter I was on pellets, this year I am on shavings, I prefer larger shavings over anything else, they are more absorbent than easibed and less dusty than normal shavings. Although my supplier was out of these so am currently on normal shavings but will swap back next time I buy some.

I have rubber matting where I am and keep a nice bed about 4 inches deep. After skipping out and removing the wet (1 med-large tub trug a day) He is all done, takes me about 10 mins to do the whole stable, water and hay too. This means I only need 2 bales of shavings a month which works out better financially than anything else I have used including pellets. However, ben is a clean boy, one patch of wet, about 3/4 stools and no box walking.

 

[kat2290]

Where do most people get their shavings from out of interest? I'm wondering what to put down for my shelties when they arrive and we have a small saw mill just down the road who I buy shavings off for my poultry, would they be acceptable for the ponies too? Obviously need to be cautious looking for sharp bits etc

 

[Natz88]

We have 2 on shavings & 1 on straw

 

[Queenbee]

Where do most people get their shavings from out of interest? I'm wondering what to put down for my shelties when they arrive and we have a small saw mill just down the road who I buy shavings off for my poultry, would they be acceptable for the ponies too? Obviously need to be cautious looking for sharp bits etc

I wouldn't use that to be honest. Some wood is poisonous to horses, and they need proper dust extraction otherwise you are just inviting respiratory problems. I get mine from my local farm supplies

 

[Mince Pie]

I use pellets with shavings on top, bed is deep littered.

 

[EquestrianFairy]

I remember a time when I used shavings and found it very wet and smelly. Maybe I was using the bigger flakes? Hmmm!

 

[Chestnut mare]

Shavings too. My horse is only in overnight Nov/Dec till about March. I deep litter so only use a bale about every 3 weeks. I then muck the lot out when they are turned back out.