what can i do to stop horses eating straw[bedding]

[ShowJumperBeckii]

Just wondered if ebs tries to eat her new bed next week [straw] can you buy something like a spray, that you can spray on to make it taste/smell bad to her?

just an idea, sorry if its totally stupid

 

[Christmas Crumpet]

I used to use diluted Jeyes fluid - put in a watering can with one of those spraying nozzle things on and spray all over bedding. Does make it slightly damp but does completely stop them eating it.

 

[Joyous70]

erm don't like to disagree, but i did this many many moons ago with my boy, and he still ate the whole bed and gave himself tummy ache not sure if it was the jeyes fluid or eating almost 2 bales of straw that did it!

 

[only_me]

I use jeyes fluid on straw beds to stop them eating it.

Works very well, and only need to use it for a few weeks until they get the idea

I used it a lot when we stayed over night somewhere to compete; usually the beds where straw!

 

[ShowJumperBeckii]

Oh.. erm do they not make some sort of nasty tasting stuff at feed shops?
ill try it but erm if it makes the bed damp,, and its -teens will her bed freeze?

 

[only_me]

You don't wash the bed with it

A spray of the fluid is enough, wont make the bed wet Then it wont freeze either

 

[ShowJumperBeckii]

Oh haa i knew that
thanks

 

[Pipkin]

What straw are you using?
My yard was using oat straw....all the horses more or less ate half of their bed... We`ve changed to wheat now and they dont touch it.... Jeyes, dettol or anything you spray wont work, my friend tried everything and her mare devoured the lot You could try Naf No bite but cant see it working....

 

[Ginger Bear]

I used to muck out, put fresh straw at the bottom & the semi clean straw that was left over from his bed on top so it wasn't really clean.. worked a treat & he doesn't eat it anymore at all..

 

[ShowJumperBeckii]

Erm for the 2 years iv had her i havent touched straw, so erm have no idea at the differences its a good yellow colour?
its worth a try, if not she can have mats and a corner of shavings...

 

[ShowJumperBeckii]

I used to muck out, put fresh straw at the bottom & the semi clean straw that was left over from his bed on top so it wasn't really clean.. worked a treat & he doesn't eat it anymore at all..

thats not a bad idea
her old owner said onces shes been to poo on it she wont eat it.. but how long is that guna be?

 

[Pipkin]

Erm for the 2 years iv had her i havent touched straw, so erm have no idea at the differences its a good yellow colour?
its worth a try, if not she can have mats and a corner of shavings...

Oat straw is the more yellow/golden colour and the most palatable, Oat straw is the softest out of all straw its what they use in chaff and horses love it people mix it with hay at times as a filler. Wheat straw is the least palatable of straw and is quite a dull colour, but they very rarely eat it.

 

[Ginger Bear]

it worked with mine..just spread a bit of semi clean stuff over the top..they won't eat what smells of their own wee/poo

 

[ShowJumperBeckii]

we have two straws and the BIG ones for full/part liverys that a dull colour yellow
and the small ones for te DIYers that a good yellow
all im worried about is putting a bale in everyday cause shes keeps stuffing her face with it

 

[ThePony]

Def don't use jeyes fluid - if you read on the bottle it says to wait for 24hrs before re-introducing an animal to an area it has been washed in. A horse would be in straight away, and would prob eat it anyway!!
One of our mares is a huge pig and would eat her bed no matter what! Like one of the posters above - the only thing that worked was taking out the poo and the very wettest bits, but then shaking the rest of the wet through the bed. It was the only thing that cut down how much she ate. My mare is far too much of a pig and ate her bed (ALL of it!!!) despite doing this and trying to put her off as much as possible. She is now on shavings as nothing else worked. She even ate chopped rape straw - smells like loo cleaner, urgh!! (they aren't starved by any stretch of the imagination, just total dustbins!)

 

[ShowJumperBeckii]

should work, cause her old owner said she wont eat it when shes messed in it so if its always a bit smelly she wont eat it thanks x

 

[monkeybum13]

Erm for the 2 years iv had her i havent touched straw, so erm have no idea at the differences its a good yellow colour?
its worth a try, if not she can have mats and a corner of shavings...

If it's a bright yellow colour it sounds like it could be barley straw - which some horses do find very tasty!
Is there any way you can find some wheat straw?

In the meantime it's worth trying what someone has already suggested - putting the cleaner straw at the bottom.

 

[ShowJumperBeckii]

Yeah maybe ill try this idea and if she still eats it, ask YO if i can move onto there other straw?
x

 

[Cheiro1]

You can get something called "yukkabed" which you dilute and spray on to the bed.
It worked with my mare, she ate it for a couple of days and now she is fine, I still spray all new straw though

 

[dizzyblonde*]

Hello,

My horse always used to eat her bedding I tried Yukka bed and everything else and that didn't work then I tried Lincoln Carbolic Disinfectant Powder which also said excellent for preventing them from eating their bedding so I tried it and sprinkled over her bedding and it stopped her from eating it. So this might help yours.

Hope this helps!

 

[Biscuit]

If the horse eats their bedding, maybe consider feeding them ad lib hay and instead reduce the hard feed they get.

If it is good quality straw, is it necessarily a problem?

Ages ago I remember some friends abroad giving their horse part hay and part straw, to reduce the calorie content of the feed yet give their horse (a very good doer!) plenty of fibre and a big bulk of food. I am not sure what type of straw that was though very possibly oats or barley. I have no idea which types of straws are suitable.

However, I think many horses would be happier with a larger BULK of food so that they can keep eating for hours and hours (more natural for them) rather than concentrate feeds. For a horse that needs to be stabled for long periods, having some straw to nip at isn't necessarily a bad idea?

If you really want to stop them, spraying diluted vinegar could possibly work as well - some people use that on their stables to prevent gnawing...

 

[CBFan]

I would be very very wary about using anything as potent as Jeys fluid to spray her bed!! it rots rubber for gods sake so goodness knows what it will do to their skin and stomach if they do ingest it...

Until you establish to what extent she is a bed eater I really wouldn't worry. As others have said, one of the best ways to put them off is to be not quite as thorough with your mucking out - take all the droppings out but only the very worst of the wet and mix the rest in well...

Make sure you feed plenty of hay - even mix a bit of straw (I use about 2 sections with half a bale of hay) in with that to increase the bulk and then you shouldn't have any problems...

 

[tallyho!]

If the horse eats their bedding, maybe consider feeding them ad lib hay and instead reduce the hard feed they get.

If it is good quality straw, is it necessarily a problem?

Ages ago I remember some friends abroad giving their horse part hay and part straw, to reduce the calorie content of the feed yet give their horse (a very good doer!) plenty of fibre and a big bulk of food. I am not sure what type of straw that was though very possibly oats or barley. I have no idea which types of straws are suitable.

However, I think many horses would be happier with a larger BULK of food so that they can keep eating for hours and hours (more natural for them) rather than concentrate feeds. For a horse that needs to be stabled for long periods, having some straw to nip at isn't necessarily a bad idea?

If you really want to stop them, spraying diluted vinegar could possibly work as well - some people use that on their stables to prevent gnawing...

Would agree... BSJA123 - why are you worried? Is it that it costs to put more in or is it that you're worried it's harmful?

It's not harmful. I let mine eat the bed, stops the boredom, varies fibre type, perfectly high in fibre and low in sugar and sometimes he eats his bed in between haynet munchings. There's lots of straw in chaff so what's the difference.

As for jeyes fluid... I don't believe some of you are actually using that on animal bedding!

 

[Pearlsasinger]

The best way to stop a horse eating its bed is to give it a variety of forage, and plenty of it. Horses like variety, so even if they have ad-lib hay/lage, they may well have a nibble at a straw bed. However many people supplement hay/lage with straw, so that the horse gets enough fibre without unwanted calories. There is absolutely no problem with most horses eating some straw, so long as they are also getting enough hay/lage. You can also offer alfala or dried grass to add interest to the diet.

 

[Izzwizz]

I seem to think (Correct me if Im wrong I may be mixing you up with someone else) but didnt you post the other day that your horse needed more hay but you werent allowed to give her more due to the yard rules? It does sound like shes hungry and is topping herself up with her bedding. Perhaps you will have to buy her in some Horsehage haylage or something similar to supplement her hay. A horse on our yard a year or so ago had colic through eating her bed, sadly she didnt survive. It is extremely cold at the moment and they do need more forage to keep themselves warm.

 

[only_me]

I use Jeyes fluid. Diluted of couse!! something like 1 part jeyes fluid 8 parts water etc.

Have had excellent results with it. Horse never ate bedding. Have been using it for years!

 

[sykokat]

If she has gpod quality ad lib hay (which I think especially during this cold weather ) then she is mch less likely to pig out on her bed. It will also help to cut down on the amount of hard feed she needs and may also help her be less 'fizzy'.

 

[starbar]

Hi, I am inclined to agree with a couple of other posters on here. You did post about her rather limited hay rations the other day. Its cold at the moment and she'll need to eat more to keep warm. Sounds to me like she's hungry! Up the hay and you may well find that the problem disappears

 

[TicTac]

If you don't mind me asking how old are you BSJASHOWJUMPER123 and how long have you owned your horse?

 

[3DE]

If the horse eats their bedding, maybe consider feeding them ad lib hay and instead reduce the hard feed they get.

If it is good quality straw, is it necessarily a problem?

Ages ago I remember some friends abroad giving their horse part hay and part straw, to reduce the calorie content of the feed yet give their horse (a very good doer!) plenty of fibre and a big bulk of food. I am not sure what type of straw that was though very possibly oats or barley. I have no idea which types of straws are suitable.

Agreed!

Last year when my horses were on straw they used to eat their beds if they had finished their hay (I could put 2 big nets in at 7pm and they would be finished by 11pm!). I didn't see it as a problem - it kept their guts moving instead of them standing with an empty belly. I feel this is much better than them getting ulcers or colic through not having continuous forage...

I feed them a mix of straw and hay as they are good doers

TBH I find if I mix the straw and hay together it lasts longer as it is takes longer to chew - surely a good thing.

If you horse is eating his bed - don't fret about it. If you are on limited hay just use it as free food If your YO sees the bedding going down quickly they might change their stance on limiting the hay. There is a bigger shortage of straw this year than there is hay