Horses are at present on shavings and I have been considering wood pellets for bedding, but wonder if the degraded pellets disintegrate into a lot of dust as opposed to shavings ?
Wood pellets and coughing
- Thread starter Penny Less
- Start date
RobinHood
Well-Known Member
Yes the wood pellets are essentially dust. It's a shame because they produce a nice stable bed that's easy to muck out and great for dirty or very wet horses. All the stable ledges, rugs, water drinker etc. gather a layer of dust despite dampening the bedding.
Right ta, that's that idea kicked into the long grass !
Maesfen
Extremely Old Nag!
The only time I find mine dusty at all is in the summer when the horses are out again; I don't have any problem at all with dust during the winter when they are being used but I do lay my beds down and then leave them down, none of this lifting them every other day nonsense as that defeats the object of using them. They are ideal, if laid, then don't take any wet out (or disturb it), just lift your droppings and smooth over the bed. If you do get a wet patch then just lift the top of it and scrape other bedding into that place to keep the level. You'll only get dust if you keep moving the bed around and trying to fluff it up like shavings because you can't do that with pellets. I defy you to come and find a film of dust on the walls or shelves the way I do them when the boxes are being used. I'm on my fifth year of them now and wouldn't go back to anything else unless I managed to get down to just one horse and that would be Sundown Yellow.
FrostyFeet
Well-Known Member
Maesfen,would you mind me asking how often you lift your beds? And do you dampen the pellets? Seem to be getting differing opinions re leaving dry or watering & unsure which is best. Thankyou 😀
Maesfen
Extremely Old Nag!
No worries.
I clean my boxes out completely at the end of summer (they only come in for the farrier during the summer) and start again. I damp down the first lot, not so they're soaking but enough to break them up then leave the bed down completely until the next year. I take out all droppings daily but don't move the bed unless a very wet patch appears which I'll dig out, but rarely have to go down to the very floor, the damp hasn't gone down that far, then rake the bed over it. If you move the bed regularly you lose the solid base which doesn't move when the horses get up and down. When I add new pellets to the bed, I only rake them over the bed, I don't dampen them again. I reckon to use 2 - 3 new bags (10kg) a week per bed for horses that are only in at night during winter.
Funnily enough, when I was first using them, I used to turn the pellets over every week like I did with shavings until I realized how the bed was moving from under them when they got up or down which doesn't happen if you leave the base down. Even after a winter, if I turn the bed over, the bottom of the bed isn't damp at all which shows to me how absorbent they are.
It really is trial and error to see what suits you and your own stables; no one way is the absolute right way as far as I can make out, you just have to try them all to see what does or doesn't suit you.
I clean my boxes out completely at the end of summer (they only come in for the farrier during the summer) and start again. I damp down the first lot, not so they're soaking but enough to break them up then leave the bed down completely until the next year. I take out all droppings daily but don't move the bed unless a very wet patch appears which I'll dig out, but rarely have to go down to the very floor, the damp hasn't gone down that far, then rake the bed over it. If you move the bed regularly you lose the solid base which doesn't move when the horses get up and down. When I add new pellets to the bed, I only rake them over the bed, I don't dampen them again. I reckon to use 2 - 3 new bags (10kg) a week per bed for horses that are only in at night during winter.
Funnily enough, when I was first using them, I used to turn the pellets over every week like I did with shavings until I realized how the bed was moving from under them when they got up or down which doesn't happen if you leave the base down. Even after a winter, if I turn the bed over, the bottom of the bed isn't damp at all which shows to me how absorbent they are.
It really is trial and error to see what suits you and your own stables; no one way is the absolute right way as far as I can make out, you just have to try them all to see what does or doesn't suit you.
FrostyFeet
Well-Known Member
Maesfen,that's really helpful-thankyou for so much detail. Gives me some more food for thought 😃
katherine1975
Well-Known Member
I use pellets and haven't found them dusty at all. My horse has a dust/mould allergy and she has been fine on a wood pellet bed. I basically do the same as Maesfen but take the really wet bits out every other day.
LovesCobs
Well-Known Member
I use pellets for two COPD coughing horses. I do as Maesfen does 
saffytessa
Well-Known Member
I have a copd mare who can't have dry hay for even one night without coughing. She is fine on wood or straw pellets. I put a decent bed down on rubber mats. Wood pellets damped till crumbly unless it feels damp then dry pellets put in. I take wet out daily by scraping the dry away and removing the wet patch. Don't disturb the rest of the bed, just level to fill the hole. I prefer to remove wet as I worry about the ammonia further irritating her lungs.
mightymammoth
Well-Known Member
Which brands do you all use? I'm finding verdo dusty
soulfull
Well-Known Member
Interestingly I worried about the dust from them when my horse caught a viral respiratory infection from another horse. I can see dust on the floor and I usually sweep the worst out.
Horse was scoped and vet assured me that the results proved dust levels were well below average. His conclusion was the dust was heavier so didn't float into the air.
Insurance company were convinced too as there was NO exclusion for airways when renewal came a few months later
I thought it was a mistake so rang them. They said no need for exclusion as it was viral and not dust allergy
Hope that helps
Horse was scoped and vet assured me that the results proved dust levels were well below average. His conclusion was the dust was heavier so didn't float into the air.
Insurance company were convinced too as there was NO exclusion for airways when renewal came a few months later
I thought it was a mistake so rang them. They said no need for exclusion as it was viral and not dust allergy
Hope that helps