Wood Pellet Bedding - Confused?

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Maiziemouse

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I expect this is really daft question but I am a bit confused so thought I would try posting here.

This winter I have moved from shavings to wood pellet bedding and can't seem to get the hang of looking after it.

Do you just remove the droppings each day?

If not do you remove all the wet each day or just top up with clean?

Do you run the bed down then replace it all?

When topping up do you re-soak or just mix in?

I think I am moving too much out each day as I have not found it as ecconomical as I was expecting.

Today I got rid of all the remaining old stuff and started fresh beds again so wanted to get it right this time.

I am using in conjunction ith rubber mats.

Many thanks
 
I take out poos every day and once a week I take out what is so sopping it has turned red. The rest of the semi wet I shake up and spread in the hole then cover over with the dry that's left. I use maybe 1-2 bags per horse per week. Hope that helps :)
 
I moved from shavings to pellets for my daughter's mucky mare and never looked back.

I take out the droppings daily and leave the wet. Fluff up any wet to dry it out (if thats possible in the damp weather). I only take the wet out when its turning that horrible orangey colour !

To top up I use one bag and mix it through but if the bed is running down I tend to put 4 or 5 'fluffed up' bags in and mix it through and then add a dry bag and again give it a mix. This has mainly been due to the mare being in for the last 2 weeks due to snow and ice :-(

Im not sure of brand (plain white bag) I use as my friend's father buys a pallet and I purchase off him for £3 per 10kg bag but it works out cheaper than using a 20kg bag of Aquamax at £7.25 where I live.

The stable I have is in a barn and fully matted but bedding is only over the back half.

Persevere and I think you will be just fine. Just resist taking out the wet daily :-)
 
Yes, your problem is that you are removing too much of the wet and then the new stuff you put in isn't absorbent. This is what I do:
- new bed is wetted to get it started
- remove all poo everyday, mix the rest of the bed
- allow the bed to soak up the urine until patches become clumpy and orange. Remove the clumpy bits only, add new and mix thoroughly
- I only need to remove the clumpy stuff and add new every 3 days.
 
I think it takes a while to get used to, there are 3 of us at our yard using it and I think we all approach it differently.

Personally, I remove poo everyday and the wet when its clumpy. I'm not wetting the new I put in as I find my boy is wet enough and theres enough moisture in the air, but the other 2 girls are still wetting their new stuff, I use 1 bag a week sometimes 2.

I don't think theres a right or wrong answer you just have to try different methods until you figure out which works best for your horse.
 
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