SpringArising
Well-Known Member
Last night I bit the bullet and didn't remove any wet, just the poo on top. I wonder how long I will be able to keep this up for (and how much money I can save...)
Wood pellet users
- Thread starter chaps89
- Start date
KautoStar1
Well-Known Member
Chianti
Well-Known Member
Which make do you use? People write that their beds are white. When I soak the pellets they are a sand colour.
SpringArising
Well-Known Member
Mine are a sandy colour too. I just meant white in comparison to the shit!
Tonight I caved and removed half the bed adding one bag of dry and one bag of wet. Maybe this could be a support thread for pedantic mucker-outerers instead...
PapaverFollis
Well-Known Member
I do enjoy the optimism of the phrase "when the wet comes through to the top"... as if there is ever a day when that isn't the case...
😂
Having said that I'm apparently deep littering Granny horse this year. I didn't really mean to but the wet has yet to appear significantly. I've taken maybe 1 barrow load from 1 half of her bed so far... over 2 months in. But she's not on wood pellets, Easibed instead. Working amazingly well. Really clean and dry on top. Dreading digging it out. 😂
The Beast more than makes up for it.
😂
Having said that I'm apparently deep littering Granny horse this year. I didn't really mean to but the wet has yet to appear significantly. I've taken maybe 1 barrow load from 1 half of her bed so far... over 2 months in. But she's not on wood pellets, Easibed instead. Working amazingly well. Really clean and dry on top. Dreading digging it out. 😂
The Beast more than makes up for it.
KautoStar1
Well-Known Member
Yes indeed, morning and night its the same. i'm beginning to hate the wretched things
SEL
Well-Known Member
Can I swap? Want an Appaloosa in return for Granny horse? The 'wet' is non stop - her bed is disgusting! The bottom layer of Easibed is 10/10 on the disgusting level (digging it out requires a hazmat suit) whereas we get to about 3/10 on the top layer after I've mucked out. I'd feel better if her neighbour wasn't one of those horses who barely disturbs his bed overnight, poos in 1 spot, wouldn't dare mash it in and takes 3.5 seconds to muck out in the morning.
chaps89
Well-Known Member
One of those undisturbed beds like this one below? I am inherently grateful she is tidy in her stable.
Wood pellets are definitely the worst bedding in terms of looking clean if your horse is anything other than immaculate though I've found, it does seem to show every little grubby bit.
You can just see where the pee comes through under her droppings. I have to admit, each morning I can see the wet spot and think ok, so semi deep litter isn't working. Then I clear the muck and level the bed and you can't see it at all. So so far, so good.
Wood pellets are definitely the worst bedding in terms of looking clean if your horse is anything other than immaculate though I've found, it does seem to show every little grubby bit.
You can just see where the pee comes through under her droppings. I have to admit, each morning I can see the wet spot and think ok, so semi deep litter isn't working. Then I clear the muck and level the bed and you can't see it at all. So so far, so good.
Hormonal Filly
Well-Known Member
I love wood pellets, I had them 2 years ago horses were in 24/7 all winter (don't ask, reason i moved) and on 2 geldings for 7 months I used 2 pallets of wood pellets which isn't bad considering friends were going through 2 pallets of shavings for one horse! I put in approx 2 a week per horse, sometimes more or sometimes half a bag.
I use to take the wet out once a day and poo twice a day, I found if i left the wet in longer than a day it gradually soaked more and more wood pellets up - really they were to absorbent and thats the only moan.
White horse energy were fab, great customer service and quick delivery plus the nice 5% off or sometimes more.
I have mine on hunter shavings now as they're at a new yard and out all day, in at night but I have noticed how much more I take out the stable. I get through 1 bale of hunter a week between 2 geldings and they cost a whopping £12 a bale in my area. I do often think of getting wood pellets again.. maybe next winter..
I use to take the wet out once a day and poo twice a day, I found if i left the wet in longer than a day it gradually soaked more and more wood pellets up - really they were to absorbent and thats the only moan.
White horse energy were fab, great customer service and quick delivery plus the nice 5% off or sometimes more.
I have mine on hunter shavings now as they're at a new yard and out all day, in at night but I have noticed how much more I take out the stable. I get through 1 bale of hunter a week between 2 geldings and they cost a whopping £12 a bale in my area. I do often think of getting wood pellets again.. maybe next winter..
PapaverFollis
Well-Known Member
Oh lordy now... then I'd have two... The Beast more than makes up for the easy time Granny horse gives me. 😂😂😂
9tails
Well-Known Member
It's not optimism. As long as the bed is deep and stable, aka the base has formed to a solid mass, the wet doesn't come through if there is plenty of loose dry matter on top. Add more loose dry matter on top and that is deep litter, not taking the wet out every week.
PapaverFollis
Well-Known Member
More of a jest than a serious comment 9tails. I do appreciate that it is possible to deep litter properly but with a very wet, heavy footed IDx who like a good walk around her stable through the night it's a very rare day that there isn't a wet patch visible although it doesn't always need taking out.
Changing tack slightly... does anyone use Vet to pellets? What are they like? Any good?
Changing tack slightly... does anyone use Vet to pellets? What are they like? Any good?
Chuckieee
Well-Known Member
I haven't used Vet to but what I would say is that over the summer, my damp wood pellet bed dried out completely.
Over winter, despite taking out all the wet, it still seemed damp. However it dried over summer. Now we are in December, it is feeling slightly damp again.
But it is much easier to use than straw or shavings. It looks AWFUL but if you can get over that then it is worth a try.
Over winter, despite taking out all the wet, it still seemed damp. However it dried over summer. Now we are in December, it is feeling slightly damp again.
But it is much easier to use than straw or shavings. It looks AWFUL but if you can get over that then it is worth a try.
PapaverFollis
Well-Known Member
Vet to... obviously means Verdo... I looked at past threads, that verdict on Verdo is not good?
Ambers Echo
Still wittering on
Yes please!!
9tails
Well-Known Member
They're the absolute worst pellets IMO. Dark and unabsorbent.
Hormonal Filly
Well-Known Member
Agree, bought Verdo before and they’re awful! Never again
KautoStar1
Well-Known Member
Yes please
Thank you
Sandstone1
Well-Known Member
Code is Macchr21736
Ambers Echo
Still wittering on
Thanks!
Chianti
Well-Known Member
I try very hard not too look too closely at my bed as I really want it to be white and fluffy and very deep. I had my first horse before someone invented rubber mats and she thought there were shavings all the way to Australia. I've been using pellets for a few months and still look at the wet patches when I'm mucking out and deliberate whether it should come out or not. I don't have mine that deep - after I've mucked out it settles back to only a few inches deep but he can lie on it and doesn't get through to the concrete so I suppose that's ok. I put a bag of dry in on the concrete after I mucked out properly today and stopped myself from adding a bag of wet pellets to top it up.
chaps89
Well-Known Member
Hmm.
So at 8am yesterday I was cursing anyone who had suggested semi deep littering. The wet was through to the top so I managed a week.
Oh my goodness, mucking out was the most miserable thing. I took 2 barrows and what felt like half her bed out. I noticed it all seemed a lot damper and dirtier too than usual.
I left it up to air whilst I rode and faffed about.
I put half a bag of dry pellets on the floor and a bag and a half of soaked pellets on the top of the bed when I put it back down.
And was super surprised that it seemed to be enough.
She did have a bag of soaked pellets in mid-week. So that's 3 bags last week. 3 bags is manageable.
So I'm going to try another week of not taking the wee out daily and see how we get on.
Thankyou for the discount code, as I appear to be getting through pellets at a rate of knots it might be quite useful!
So at 8am yesterday I was cursing anyone who had suggested semi deep littering. The wet was through to the top so I managed a week.
Oh my goodness, mucking out was the most miserable thing. I took 2 barrows and what felt like half her bed out. I noticed it all seemed a lot damper and dirtier too than usual.
I left it up to air whilst I rode and faffed about.
I put half a bag of dry pellets on the floor and a bag and a half of soaked pellets on the top of the bed when I put it back down.
And was super surprised that it seemed to be enough.
She did have a bag of soaked pellets in mid-week. So that's 3 bags last week. 3 bags is manageable.
So I'm going to try another week of not taking the wee out daily and see how we get on.
Thankyou for the discount code, as I appear to be getting through pellets at a rate of knots it might be quite useful!
9tails
Well-Known Member
How deep is your bed, Chaps89, and did you have the horrendous weather on Saturday? Wood pellets have a habit of drawing in damp from the atmosphere so when it's wet you will use more. What type of pellets are you using? They are definitely not all the same quality.
chaps89
Well-Known Member
Bed is above fetlock deep so pretty deep.
She's very wet so 3 bags of pellets would still be less than 2 bags of shavings/hemp etc, which she would definitely more than get through so it's still going to be out cheapest option.
Yep, in summer I have a watering can to water the bed especially else it gets so dry and dusty!
So the soaked pellets I put on top of the bed I didn't soak as much as usual so that there was still quite a few unosaked ones mixed through the top of the bed to help with general damp absorption. We did indeed have that delightful weather on Saturday!
We're on liverpool pellets at the moment. I won't use verdo again (made that mistake once before a long time ago) The other brand I've used before were white horse and I got on well with those so I might try them next time and see if there's any difference.
To a certain extent if she was the type to drag her bed about I'd be inclined to just give her a token gesture amount of bedding each day.
But she's so neat and tidy and likes to lie down so I prefer her to have a bigger bed. I think that's partly why doing the full muck out yesterday was so grim - she only goes in the same 2 places and doesn't disturb it so it gets well and truly compacted.
She's very wet so 3 bags of pellets would still be less than 2 bags of shavings/hemp etc, which she would definitely more than get through so it's still going to be out cheapest option.
Yep, in summer I have a watering can to water the bed especially else it gets so dry and dusty!
So the soaked pellets I put on top of the bed I didn't soak as much as usual so that there was still quite a few unosaked ones mixed through the top of the bed to help with general damp absorption. We did indeed have that delightful weather on Saturday!
We're on liverpool pellets at the moment. I won't use verdo again (made that mistake once before a long time ago) The other brand I've used before were white horse and I got on well with those so I might try them next time and see if there's any difference.
To a certain extent if she was the type to drag her bed about I'd be inclined to just give her a token gesture amount of bedding each day.
But she's so neat and tidy and likes to lie down so I prefer her to have a bigger bed. I think that's partly why doing the full muck out yesterday was so grim - she only goes in the same 2 places and doesn't disturb it so it gets well and truly compacted.
SEL
Well-Known Member
I think on Saturday the wind blew water into my mare's stable (or it came up through floor) because the bottom of her bed was sodden. I deep litter on pellets and easibed and she's a box walker so her bedding always looks grim - but this was beyond her normal state of grimness!
3 barrows of very, very wet and smelly bedding removed to muck heap. Lovely white new stuff on top and by this morning - back to green and grim again.
3 barrows of very, very wet and smelly bedding removed to muck heap. Lovely white new stuff on top and by this morning - back to green and grim again.
Loopieandme
New User
I use Aquamax and add two bags every two weeks or so. I take out all the poo each day but leave the pee unless there's a lot at the surface. When i add fresh bedding i take out all the pee and mix the bedding together before pushing it away from the corner where my mare doesnt pee. Over the next week or so i constantly drag more fresh bedding across and it seems to work fine. I think you just have to accept the fact it ever looks particularly clean. My method takes me about 10-15 minutes a day, more if its adding bedding day!
Ambers Echo
Still wittering on
I am a total convert to pellets. It works brilliantly for the cleanish ponies. Amber is the muckiest horse ever but even her bed is looking ok now. They key for her is to have it quite deep. I do have to dig out wet every so often though. It is not white and fluffy but it is dry and looks fine I think.
bubsqueaks
Well-Known Member
Me too I love wood pellets - we have 2 stables & put Platinum Plus in one & Pure in the other to trial & have found the plat plus although darker are much more absorbent & easier. I put in 8 bags for 12 x 12 stable & only lift the wet once a week & replace with one bag - the bed is more stable & cushioned, so much cleaner, so much less waste, saves time, saves money, outside stable area less messy, the list is endless of the pros & having used all the other bedding materials out there I would never go back
gina2201
Well-Known Member
I'm a big advocate of pellets. It means i can do my two horses of an evening super quick including mucking out hay feed bringing in all under 30 mins which is great when i get home late. I tend to pick out poo only during week and spread the bed to look fresh again. I then dig the wet out of a weekend and top up the hole with dry pellets and/or top up with wetted ones.
Mine are in 14x12 stables but bed isn't whole stable i tend to use 8 to 10 bags for brand new bed and then top up one or at most two bags a week. I like them too because a pallet lasts me nearly all winter meaning I buy in summer when cheaper and they dont take up much space to store compared to equivalent amount of bales of shavings etc. Also my muck heap is very small!
Mine are in 14x12 stables but bed isn't whole stable i tend to use 8 to 10 bags for brand new bed and then top up one or at most two bags a week. I like them too because a pallet lasts me nearly all winter meaning I buy in summer when cheaper and they dont take up much space to store compared to equivalent amount of bales of shavings etc. Also my muck heap is very small!
tankgirl1
Well-Known Member
Not read the whole thread, I deep litter with straw. You have to leave the wet alone to let the base build, then it becomes solid but comfy, and you just take some wet out every few days. I have 2 sharing a stable and only use one bale a week. If I tried to muck out completely every day, I would use 3 or 4 times that