Why do some eat straw bed and others dont?

Paint Me Proud

Paint Me Proud

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Just thinking about bedding as I have ordered a half pallet of straw pellets to trial.

However it got me wondering...

Why do some horses eat a straw bed but other dont?

:confused:
 
I suppose its a matter of taste.

I have a very good doer who thinks with his stomach who will not touch his straw bed (even when on a diet). My daughter has a warmblood x that is a very fussy eater but will have a munch on his bed if he fancies it. Then again, my friend has a highland x that is also a good doer and when she decided to limit her pony's hay said pony devoured half of its straw bed overnight! Suffice to say said pony is now on shavings!
 
Well in my case (or should I say the mare not me lol) she’s just plain greedy, she’ll eat n eat n eat, once she’s dusted off her hay she’ll continue to eat her bedding, even you mixed up the fresh with the day befores, she’ll still eat it all. :rolleyes:
 
Can i just highlight a warning to those owners whose horses eat a straw bed. Not me personally but a friend at my livery had a shetland coalt who ate his straw bed and ended up at the dick vet with collic which he then recovered from but a few weeks later he was back at the dick vet for a similar problem despite since being changed to shavings as the first set of collic had weakened his intestine and unfortunatly had to be PTS. I suggest that any horses who eat their bedding are changed and monitored.
 
mturnbull said:
Can i just highlight a warning to those owners whose horses eat a straw bed. Not me personally but a friend at my livery had a shetland coalt who ate his straw bed and ended up at the dick vet with collic which he then recovered from but a few weeks later he was back at the dick vet for a similar problem despite since being changed to shavings as the first set of collic had weakened his intestine and unfortunatly had to be PTS. I suggest that any horses who eat their bedding are changed and monitored.
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I should think they would have to eat a large ammount to colic. My old share Horse eats her bedding but has never had a problem over 6 years. Most people on here will also feed straw to their fatties. My Horse also eats her straw without any health problems. She picks at her bedding before eating her hay :rolleyes:.
 
My little mare has incurred vet bills through impaction colic of a straw bed (on more than one occassion). I tried everything and come to the conclusion she is just greedy. I often call her Vax as she will eat every last morsel of hay / haylage that she is given. Wheat straw is supposed to be the least palatable but unfortunately the most likely to cause impaction. She is very fizzy so I wasnt going to try oat or barley straw anyway. She now lives on shavings - it was far too traumatic watching her being treated and she throws her self on the floor and it looks awful! My other two will have the odd nibble when the new bed is fresh but nothing major and life goes on :) At least I can have 2 on straw - would be far too expensive having 3 on shavings!
 
because some horses are greedy and some horses aren't. I think if i put my mare on a shavings bed she'd bloomin eat that as well. :D
 
mturnbull said:
Can i just highlight a warning to those owners whose horses eat a straw bed. Not me personally but a friend at my livery had a shetland coalt who ate his straw bed and ended up at the dick vet with collic which he then recovered from but a few weeks later he was back at the dick vet for a similar problem despite since being changed to shavings as the first set of collic had weakened his intestine and unfortunatly had to be PTS. I suggest that any horses who eat their bedding are changed and monitored.
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I don't, I spray it so it smells for exactly those reasons and the fact that I don't want her getting fat, if not she's much her way through it.

Although many yards feed good quality straw as opposed to hay when there in, can't say it's something I'd be comfortable with however.
 
even when i sprayed my entire straw bed liberally with disinfectant Chico still ate the WHOLE lot. I changed the shavings the day after as I didnt want him consuming the disinfectant.

Without spraying he eats the lot aswell - it's a lose lose situation!

Straw pellets will be arriving next week so fingers crossed that will work better (i dont like shavings, which he is currently on)
 
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