Where Have All Of The Banks Gone?

[Orca]

A lot has changed since I was last involved with horses.

There are so many feed mixes any types common use! We used to feed basic straights. There are so many supplements! We used to feed Epsom Salts and CLO when necessary. There was also a version of pink powder, iirc. Barefoot is a 'thing' (unshod horses were turned away or retired horses before. Anything in work was shod) and there are myriad other changes. NH? I mean, we knew of and were intrigued by Monty later on and that was about it. The humane twitch had just become readily available. Liberty training? Bitless bridles in common use? Treeless saddles?! �� Hoof oiling is no longer a necessary part of daily grooming! Advances in vet care and the availability of facilities. Wonderful! I could go on.

Most of the changes I've encountered are definite progressions and I'm really enjoying the direction we are taking and learning about it too but the one thing I can't get my head around, is the lack of banked beds. Why? What is the reason? I'm the odd one out at my livery yard. I don't have rubber matting (?!) my mares bed seems ludicrously large and deep in comparison (just a good 'old fashioned' straw bed) and is the only banked bed. I realise that straw and (later) shavings aren't now our only options but I'm completely at a loss over the popularity of or reason for bankless beds. Can someone please enlighten me?

 

[Dollysox]

I still do banks on my straw beds as do most of the others at our yard who are on straw, but we are nearly all from the older generation of horse ownership.

 

[Micropony]

I have been told that banks are useless as an anti-cast measure unless they are about 3' tall and solid, I.e. dirty.
Luckily I have never had a horse get cast, if I did I think I would be more tempted to put up strips of rubber matting on the stable wall rather than have huge dirty banks with goodness knows what fungi and mould and spores in them.
My boy has a shavings bed on rubber matting with smallish clean banks. I regard his banks as mainly a device for the storage of clean shavings, with little functional value beyond that. However I think they look nice and cosy, and I like him to have them.
Interested in others' views though!

 

[Goldenstar]

I have small banks on my shaving beds my boxes are all matted I love mats no matter what a horse does you know they are never going to get to the concrete .
Banks are fine as long as they'd are moved and brushed out every day if not they are a breeding ground for spores .
In rubber matted rubber walled stables they are unecessary.

 

[Archangel]

I have banks in my field shelter - my chickens have part of their run down to straw and they have banks. I have however embraced changes such as feeding Thunderbrook Base Mix and lovely lightweight breathable turnouts *waves fond farewell to heavy New Zealands*

 

[fatpiggy]

I kept banks of about 2 feet high all round my stable and one a bit higher on wall. The two smaller ones served to keep horse's bottom away from the cold concrete wall, the third higher one she chose to use as a pillow - she had very bad arthritis towards the end and could only lie down flat on her side because of her knees. Keeping her head up off the floor made it easier for her to get herself back up - she showed me that and I heeded it.

I have chickens now and I make a straw bank against the outside wall of their coop perching area - blocks the drafts but still allows fresh air in.

 

[Goldenstar]

I have banks in my field shelter - my chickens have part of their run down to straw and they have banks. I have however embraced changes such as feeding Thunderbrook Base Mix and lovely lightweight breathable turnouts *waves fond farewell to heavy New Zealands*

Modern rugs are defiantly so much better there's nothing about old fashioned rugs I miss.
I still feed straights btw just like people there's no need to feed horses on ready meals

 

[monkeymad]

I have found massive banks don't unfortunately stop a horse getting cast. Anti cast strips do!

 

[Equi]

Change is good sometimes. The police horses in America are barefoot when possible. Why shoe if you don't NEED to? As for mixes...well I prefer pellets myself if I have to feed which I prefer not to lol

As for banks, they look cosey but are useless really.

 

[Orca]

I have banks in my field shelter - my chickens have part of their run down to straw and they have banks. I have however embraced changes such as feeding Thunderbrook Base Mix and lovely lightweight breathable turnouts *waves fond farewell to heavy New Zealands*

Ahh, New Zealands! Jutes too ��

Modern rugs are defiantly so much better there's nothing about old fashioned rugs I miss.
I still feed straights btw just like people there's no need to feed horses on ready meals

Agreed and agreed!

I have found massive banks don't unfortunately stop a horse getting cast. Anti cast strips do!

I might look into these. I would imagine they would also be more economical in the long run than banks big enough to help, coupled with a mare who manages to mess her banks every night ��

Change is good sometimes. The police horses in America are barefoot when possible. Why shoe if you don't NEED to? As for mixes...well I prefer pellets myself if I have to feed which I prefer not to lol

As for banks, they look cosey but are useless really.

I agree about barefoot hoof care. When I first heard of it, I researched why we started to shoe at all and I was quite surprised by what I found. My mare is barefoot (it still feels odd but I do feel it's right!).

 

[Orca]

I still do banks on my straw beds as do most of the others at our yard who are on straw, but we are nearly all from the older generation of horse ownership.

It's nice to hear that some of us still use them.

I have been told that banks are useless as an anti-cast measure unless they are about 3' tall and solid, I.e. dirty.
Luckily I have never had a horse get cast, if I did I think I would be more tempted to put up strips of rubber matting on the stable wall rather than have huge dirty banks with goodness knows what fungi and mould and spores in them.
My boy has a shavings bed on rubber matting with smallish clean banks. I regard his banks as mainly a device for the storage of clean shavings, with little functional value beyond that. However I think they look nice and cosy, and I like him to have them.
Interested in others' views though!

The way we do/ did banks meant banking up, then repeatedly slamming the fork against them to pack them. They don't have to be dirty to be solid �� ... But I'm starting to understand the value of other options!

 

[anuvb]

As the owner of a horse prone to getting cast I have large banks around my stable. And no they are not dirty, but they are compacted down and of the proper old fashioned sort. But I also have strips too. I cannot see how they alone can prevent a horse getting cast so am going the belts and braces route!

However, I must confess to rubber matting and not much bed (shavings) in the middle - much easier to muck out.

We also used to use old duvet's and a surcingle to keep rugs layered...

 

[Merrymoles]

I still bank but we are on wood pellets and our banks are shavings. As someone said earlier in the thread, I use them mainly as a repository for clean bedding to be pulled in when necessary. The friend's horse that I muck out had a "swamp monster" morning this morning so I have just mixed some bank in to boost the bed as we only add more pellets once a week. Same horse also tends to dung on the banks which means it doesn't get trodden in and is easier to muck out so I will continue to use them.

The banks also give me a clean area to throw up any dry bedding when taking out a lot of wet, on those swamp monster days.

 

[Starzaan]

I insist on proper banks. Anything lower than 2' is useless so mine are all that height, shavings or straw. I loathe wood pellets - just cannot understand them.

I'm with you. Nothing smarter than a proper old fashioned bed with big cosy banks.

 

[Starzaan]

I insist on proper banks. Anything lower than 2' is useless so mine are all that height, shavings or straw. I loathe wood pellets - just cannot understand them.

I'm with you. Nothing smarter than a proper old fashioned bed with big cosy banks.

 

[conniegirl]

I once read a study that showed banks were pretty much useless at preventing horses getting cast, they are a repository for mould and dust and in some cases were shown to cause a horse getting cast (small stables with big banks)

I dont bank in my stable, I used to but since reading that research I havnt bothered for anything other than storage of shavings. My current lad I dont bother at all as he takes great delight in digging out his banks

 

[TGM]

The only time I've had a horse get cast was when at a livery stable where they always had massive banks in the stables! So I have never been convinced of their value in that department. I understand that some people use them to keep out draughts, but my stables aren't draughty so I don't need them for that purpose either! I'm no spring chicken and I remember the age of jute rugs and canvas new zealands well, but I don't stick to traditions blindly, I am always assessing what works in specific circumstances.

 

[smja]

I bank depending on the horse's habits, i.e. where they like to stand/lie. Proper banks, made solid with a fork like Orca describes, and they also hold the extra bedding ready for later in the week.

One horse only has a back bank because he likes to put his head on it when he lies down, one has a back and a side, and one has a back and two sides!

 

[MotherOfChickens]

I bank still-I use chopped straw and like a big bed. Banks have only ever been of use to store clean bedding in over the week, not for cast horses, but old habits die hard and I don't think a bed is finished until it has banks. I also dislike pellet beds (and I've tried most types) but really like the chopped straw more so than normal straw.

 

[Deltaflyer]

My boy's on shavings and I have banks. I've always had banks whether on straw or shavings. I know they don't do much to stop horses getting cast unless they are unfeasibly massive but I just don't like the look of a bankless bed. My boy does use his banks as pillows when he lies down

 

[Orca]

I once read a study that showed banks were pretty much useless at preventing horses getting cast, they are a repository for mould and dust and in some cases were shown to cause a horse getting cast (small stables with big banks)

I dont bank in my stable, I used to but since reading that research I havnt bothered for anything other than storage of shavings. My current lad I dont bother at all as he takes great delight in digging out his banks

Conniegirl, do you happen to recall where I might find the study you read please? I'd love to read it. It's not that I entirely disbelieve that horses can get cast with proper banks but in my lifetime I've never seen it happen, so I'm experiencing a little cognitive dissonance at the thought of giving them up! I can't help but think that while they won't prevent every casting, they might prevent some?

 

[Orca]

I insist on proper banks. Anything lower than 2' is useless so mine are all that height, shavings or straw. I loathe wood pellets - just cannot understand them.

I'm with you. Nothing smarter than a proper old fashioned bed with big cosy banks.

I don't think Orca had ever seen one until she came to me. As soon as she entered her stable she dived in, rolled and rolled then fell asleep soon after, apparently in horsey bliss! It was like seeing a cat in a bed of catnip.

 

[lrw0250]

I was always taught to have big banks but currently don't as have an 11.2 pony in a 12x12' stable which is inside a barn so the chances of her getting cast are minimal and they are not needed to keep draughts out from an outside wall. If I had a bigger horse in the same size stable or if the stable was external I would have them.

 

[Orca]

On balance (given Orca is actually too broad currently to be able to roll over!), I've let my banks go - and moved to Equinola (chopped rape straw).

I have to admit, given she is incredibly messy on straw (and eats it), it was a pleasant surprise today, to arrive to find she still had a soft, warm, dry, odour free bed in her stable! It's meant to be littered, so ' mucking out' took no time at all. A skip full instead of two daily runs with a wheelbarrow and half a bale or so in replacement straw (she needed no replacement Equinola). I'm looking into matting. I'm a convert ��

 

[milliepops]

change is good, sometimes I love my EVA mats. I am another ex-banker Used to have gigantic shavings beds with enormous banks - now a little pellet bed on mats. Bed is easier to keep clean, horse still snoozes happily and it works for us.
It only takes a week or 2 for your eye to adjust. Horse doesn't care

 

[Orca]

change is good, sometimes I love my EVA mats. I am another ex-banker Used to have gigantic shavings beds with enormous banks - now a little pellet bed on mats. Bed is easier to keep clean, horse still snoozes happily and it works for us.
It only takes a week or 2 for your eye to adjust. Horse doesn't care

The eye adjustment is one thing. The nasal adjustment was immediate! I don't smell of ammonia = I've adjusted ��. I also had reports of her snoozing soundly (she definitely doesn't care about the lack of banks!), yet there were no urine stains to prove it ��.

 

[FlyingCircus]

I love the look of big beds with huge banks...especially straw beds! They look so cosy...but I can't stand the smell or mucking it out, which seems to take me ages.
So I reluctantly converted to wood pellets to see what they were all about and after having them 4 months now...I'm converted, despite the fact I can't really bank them!

 

[milliepops]

The eye adjustment is one thing. The nasal adjustment was immediate! I don't smell of ammonia = I've adjusted ��. I also had reports of her snoozing soundly (she definitely doesn't care about the lack of banks!), yet there were no urine stains to prove it ��.

cool I also love the look of straw but despite all best efforts I couldn't stand the stink. I would get completely changed & washed at work and then be standing in the office, still aware of a feint whiff of horse piss. Never, never again. Pellets all the way!
My little horse digs banks up anyway so she's not getting any either

 

[Annagain]

I don't bother with banks and haven't for many years. Having put a wildlife camera in my stable I know my boy doesn't roll - he lies down to sleep (at about 10.30pm), but always in the same spot and once he's down he doesn't move until he gets up again (at about 4am). So much for the whole little and often sleep /eat thing! He has a huge stable and to put banks in it would cost me a fortune - the bedding & matting is enough!

My share horse's stable is smaller and while it's big enough for him, we wouldn't want it any smaller. He used to have my horse's big stable but as that's in the corner of an L shape and he's an anti-social Victor Meldrew he hated being hemmed in by other horses. He's on the end now and is much happier for it. When he had banks, he trashed his bed every night simply because he'd lost about a foot on each side so his 12'x12' stable had become a 10'x10'. Removing the banks means he can move about a lot better in his stable. I actually think the lack of space they cause was more of a problem than the risk of getting cast particularly give the evidence that they don't really help prevent it. He has rubber on the walls anyway as part of anti-socialness means he kicks the walls if horses walk past him, look at him funnily, whinny at the wrong pitch, chew noisily, snort at 1/4 past the hour or take him by surprise with particularly loud trump.

 

[ester]

we have hard rubber matting. I have banks just for storage of clean bedding throughout the week when I am only skipping out.
The yard has 2 horses which are down to a sprinkle just to soak up the wet but I am yet to see them lie down, a few somewhere in the middle and a couple at the other end of the scale.