What really is the best bedding?

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bca13

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Lets be real this question is probably asked around the world about 10 times a day ? but seriously what are everyones opinions! Have a very clean mare who poos and pees in the same place everyday, although she is quite wet shes still very clean. Has been on a yard with only shavings for a while and was fine on them however found they smelled and are so expensive and has moved yards so looking for the best thing out there! Sorry to offend anyone but i hate the look of a wood pellet bed! too thin for my liking and can turn dusty quick. Whats everyones opinions on straw as this will be the main bedding used at this new yard!
 
Pellets aren’t dusty: you need to damp it down when you lay it. I use Hunters with pellets underneath on top of rubber matting (currently can’t get Hunters ?) I’m appalled to see someone has done a pellet bed on concrete at the yard. That cannot be comfortable for the horse, it’s going to cap it’s hocks.
 
Cinnamontoast said:
Pellets aren’t dusty: you need to damp it down when you lay it. I use Hunters with pellets underneath on top of rubber matting (currently can’t get Hunters ?) I’m appalled to see someone has done a pellet bed on concrete at the yard. That cannot be comfortable for the horse, it’s going to cap it’s hocks.
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love love LOVE megaspread shavings (same brand as hunter)! They spread out to be lovely fluffy beds, but are SO hard to get hold of around here, otherwise i would be straight shavings all the way
 
I love a really good deep straw bed, I had the same conversation with my farrier the other day and he agrees, he dislikes the trend of a thin layer of something on top of rubber mats, I have never used pellets and like you do not really like the look of them which is of no interest to the horse who has to lie on it but if I have to muck out I like to have a nice big fluffy bed to deal with, I will try and find the photos of michens boys sleeping in their luxury straw beds as an example of how they should be.
 
I hate wood pellets too, they seemed very dark. I like a really thick bed of shavings on mats. But I like white shavings and hate when they turn into dark brown messes. Minto was on shavings and mats, but he was very tidy and so easy to remove anything dirty (ocd??). His bed stayed white. Current yard provides straw with no reduction in livery if not used. So very thick straw it is and I also like it, again with mats under and again mucked out fully each day.
 

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be positive said:
I love a really good deep straw bed, I had the same conversation with my farrier the other day and he agrees, he dislikes the trend of a thin layer of something on top of rubber mats, I have never used pellets and like you do not really like the look of them which is of no interest to the horse who has to lie on it but if I have to muck out I like to have a nice big fluffy bed to deal with, I will try and find the photos of michens boys sleeping in their luxury straw beds as an example of how they should be.
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Support this 100%! Yes rubber matting is softer than concrete, but those mats are still very, very hard too sleep on, and not exactly the coziest things ever!
 
I do like a properly laid straw bed but with a pellet base for the wet.
However I've converted to Aubiose and absolutely love it. I also put some pellets down in the wet areas and replace them every few weeks. In the depths of the winter with my very wet and messy boys, I use one bale of Aubiose a week, so so although it's expensive per bale, it works out to be very economical.
 
Nedz Pro for me.

A big straw bed is lovely but most stables aren't built with the drainage that "olden day" stables had. Straw isn't absorbent so all the urine goes to the floor and sits (if the floor isnt slightly sloped towards drainage channel). I've never managed, or met anyone who has, to bed on straw and not smell of urine after mucking out.

I find wood pellets go dusty too. They never look like a very appealing or comfortable bed given that they are damp prior to drying and going dusty.

I liked shavings and always had a big bed in top of mats. However even with dust extracted versions there was still dust. I also got fed up funding sharp bits in bales.

After much umming and ahhing I switched onto Nedz Pro (chopped straw) and love it. It makes a comfortable looking bed, smells amazing, no dust, very easy to muck out, no wastage and economical.

Someone else posted that they use Bliss bedding. It sounds along the same lines as Nedz but cheaper. Unfortunately no supplier anywhere near me or I'd have tried that. So if chopped straw appeals to you might be worth looking at that brand too.
 
I have been using Aubiose and love it but I haven’t been able to get any as it is in short supply here so I have just switched my two over to big straw beds with wood pellets underneath to help with absorption. B is fine but DP is rather partial to straw so he is being reintroduced to his new bed slowly.
 
A proper straw bed! But finding good clean straw is becoming more difficult.

I always semi-deep litter straw and use a wood pellet base, to avoid the manky urine smell 6 days out of 7!

If I have to use a bagged bedding for some reason then chopped rape straw generally works out the most efficient. Loads of different brands out there, they are much of a muchness
 
TPO said:
Nedz Pro for me.

A big straw bed is lovely but most stables aren't built with the drainage that "olden day" stables had. Straw isn't absorbent so all the urine goes to the floor and sits (if the floor isnt slightly sloped towards drainage channel). I've never managed, or met anyone who has, to bed on straw and not smell of urine after mucking out.

I find wood pellets go dusty too. They never look like a very appealing or comfortable bed given that they are damp prior to drying and going dusty.

I liked shavings and always had a big bed in top of mats. However even with dust extracted versions there was still dust. I also got fed up funding sharp bits in bales.

After much umming and ahhing I switched onto Nedz Pro (chopped straw) and love it. It makes a comfortable looking bed, smells amazing, no dust, very easy to muck out, no wastage and economical.

Someone else posted that they use Bliss bedding. It sounds along the same lines as Nedz but cheaper. Unfortunately no supplier anywhere near me or I'd have tried that. So if chopped straw appeals to you might be worth looking at that brand too.
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What area are you TPO?
we use chopped straw at work it’s unbranded but if you buy by the pallet pretty cheap.
 
I have used shredded paper, wood pellets, shavings, straw and chopped straw. I hated paper. I did really like the wood pellets but think the softest bed was chopped straw. I had a really messy horse on it and it worked well for her.
I expect you will get mases of pro and con opinions for every bedding.
 
With my old mare, who was incredibly wet and also did her poo in one place, I used megazorb under shavings. The megzorb would absorb the wet so I didnt use as many shavings. It’s not cheap, but it saved me alot of money in wasted wet shavings.
 
I love a deep straw bed firstly but not economical as piggy thinks it’s a tasty top up during the night, half a bale gone by morning plus it stinks, makes me stink too ( no I’m not rolling around in it!) so change to pellets, didn’t like at all, so changed to rape bedding, half of it gone by morning, piggy decided it was tasty (again) .. so onto normal smarthorse (small flake) shavings, and still on them, nice reasonable depth of bed on top of mats..I’m not changing back anytime soon!
 
Studies have shown that if you ask the horses, most of them will choose long straw, and lie down more if they are bedded with it.

The horse I've just lost wouldn't lie down in my barn unless he was given long fibre like old haylage or straw.

As a choice for me, when I used beds I ended up with wood pellets, I found them convenient to store and use, cheapest because bought in bulk, and they deep bed well without smelling.

.
 
Personally, my preference is wood pellets and my least would be straw when stabled.

However, I'd use semi/deep littered straw in a barn or field shelter.
 
A proper deep, straw bed for mine, with a layer of Bedsoft Bio underneath where he pees. Stops the smell when mucking out, and judging by the amount of time my pony spends snoozing, I would say he approves!
 
I use a fairly thick bed of straw pellets on top of rubber matting. I've got big stables so the bed covers just over half the stable. I prefer straw to wood pellets because they are equally absorbent but are more environmentally friendly as everything ends up on the garden (eventually) and wood pellets make the soil acidic. TBH I don't care what colour the bed is as long as it's clean and doesn't stink.
 
I like a well kept straw bed but I hate the smell on my boots when I’ve mucked out puts me off. I also prefer less trips to the dung heap so either use wood pellets for shavings, depending on the time of year and how many I have to muck out.
 
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bca13 said:
love love LOVE megaspread shavings (same brand as hunter)! They spread out to be lovely fluffy beds, but are SO hard to get hold of around here, otherwise i would be straight shavings all the way
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Yes, actually more expensive than Hunters, neither are currently available round here.

I don’t do a thin line of shavings, the boy has a proper bed. I can’t understand pure straw beds, he stank (as did I!) on only straw.
 
I am on straw with current horse and happy with it. It is true about the smell but I leave the bed up to dry during the day. With a full muck out daily and the floor swept it dries ok. I go home and get changed after so I only smell for a short while on the journey home and I can live with that.
 
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