Wood Pellets:how do you manage them?

[Sunflowers]

Wood Pellets!

I've been using Liverpool wood pellets for a year now and like them lots.

But! One of my boys is very wet and likes to stir it round a lot. (You know the type!)

I've tried chucking the pellets in dry as I think it has next to no absorbancy once they are fully expanded? It's just a big brown mess!

But the bed never seems to get properly dry all the way through.

Also I find I'm using about 4 bags (10 kilo) a week!!!!

Any tips guys? Should I try a brand specifically designed for horses - are they more readily absorbant?

 

[StaceyTanglewood]

all my REALLY dirty ones i have on deep litter !!! works much better but can seem like a brown mess i only put 2 in a week

 

[Theresa_F]

Farra - 16.2 clydesdale in a 12 x 12 stable that drinks up to 5 gallons of water and eats half a bale plus of hay a night - image the result after being in from 5 until 8.30

She is on thick mats which allow pee to go through - they are actually non bed types and on top I have about 3 - 4 " deep bed of LWP over half the stable to soak up the worst of the pee.

At the weekend I take out all the wet and put in two 15 k bags. Mid week, I take out the main wet spot and add another 15 k bag. When I skip out, I flick over a thin layer of clean bedding from the edges.

The result is a fairly dry though rather brownish bed but it does work. I have found that putting the pellets in slightly damp - ie just starting to crumble with a solid middle is the best solution for her. If they are dry, they just get kicked to the outside and if too wet don't soak up enough pee.

Though I do use 3 large bags a week, for me they are still the best solution as when on megazorb I was using at least two bags a week at £7.20 a bag and the bed was no cleaner.

 

[Bosworth]

I use 2x15kg bags per horse per week if they are in lots. I never wet them just put in the bag - dry and mix in well. You need to get the bed to a state where it has enough dry bed in it to stay dry - so perhaps put in 5 bags this week, then maintain it with 2 a week. I have seen liveries put in too little and it does end up with a brown mess.

 

[kerilli]

i'm still experimenting, but am wetting the pellets before adding them a tubtrug at a time (3 scoops full), or adding a full bag and sprinkling it with watering can. adding dried pellets doesn't seem to work. they stay hard and don't get wet enough to absorb the wee.
i muck out fully 3 times a day and skip out in between!
am using about 3 bags per stable per week (15kg bags) but my girls are all in 20 hours a day at the moment, and i was using more bedding before. the beds are nice, light and dry, not a brown mess.

 

[amandaco2]

i do a full muck out each day. seems to work better that way.
horses out all day

 

[Bugly]

My 17.3hh gelding makes a reet old mess on his wood pellets- but I find they are the best bedding for him as he's so wet.

What I do is deep litter with soaked and expanded pellets, I then put half a bag of shavings in, mainly in the banks. During the week, as the brown patch starts to get worse, I scrape the shavings in over the top.

This keeps the bed looking quite clean and nice, and allows the wee soaked pellets underneath to compact up.

When I do the full muck out on a Saturday the wee bits come up in great big clumps.

I find it works really well. For sure pellets don't make for the prettiest bed in the world but I think they are great for wet horses. I cant see how going to a more expensive 'horsey' pellet brand would help, you'd be better off using more of the liverpool pellets.

 

[Sunflowers]

Hi
Thanks for your help folks.

I researched how much more expensive the 'horsey' wood pellets are, and its a massive difference! Like hundreds! So think I'll stick with Liverpool and just use more.

Kerilli - the hot water on pellets thing really works doesn't it!

 

[embonaught]

I don't agree - although I've never used LWP, I've never had a problem with Aquamax (4.95 for 13kg bag) My mare is very wet and does a whole heap of sh*t every night.
I put two bags in a fortnight (half watering can per bag) and mix them up. Bed always stays dry for first week, then take out the wet during the second. Having tried Aquamax's cheaper version of pellets, I found them absolutely useless compared to the original stuff. Although LWP are far cheaper, I'd be interested to hear what someone who's used both has to say about how they compare...

 

[Sunflowers]

Embonaught, that's really interesting...

Has anyone used both LWP and a horsey brand and see a difference? Is it worth the money? LWP are only £2.30 inc delivery for a 10 kilo bag when you buy a ton.

I have to say the LWP are great for my mum's cob who is pretty clean; his bed always looks white and dry. It's just my warmblood who is a filthy bugger!!

 

[Bosworth]

I have used LWP, Aquamax, Natures Best and Woody Pet. I found no difference between LWP and Woody Pet and Aquamax. I prefer Natures Best as I find they are by far teh most absorbant - however the price is far in excess of LWP so that has to be taken into consideration. I have moved 16 horses across to LWP from Natures Best and have saved myself a fortune and have found the LWP to be perfectly acceptable

 

[whatawizard]

I've recently started using Thirsty bed and wouldn't go back to anything else now. My large, wet boy is in from 4pm till 8am and I started with 5 x 15kg bags and dampened them with watering can till fluffed up, straight away his bed was so much easier to muck out and happy to lie down too. I take out the main wet patch each morning along with all droppings and at night just skip out. I have experimented with adding dry and presoaked pellets and personally find I get the best results by splitting the bags and sprinkling in enough water to activate and leave them while I do other jobs before distributing into the bed. I also found it better to have a slightly deeper bed, prob about 4" works best for us.

 

[Equus Leather]

I've changed to wood pellets, am finding that I can't get a good enough solid deep base in the places where my mare tends to stand to eat her hay.....part of the bed is solid, but other bits allow her feet to go straight through to the concrete. Any ideas?

 

[spaniel]

Sounds like you need to put in more bed.

 

[whatawizard]

I second that I found it made a real difference to the bed and its stability when I added another couple of bags, activated with water first, if its moving about it probably needs the bags to be activated more first

 

[piebaldsparkle]

I add 2x dry pellets per week, but keep bed slightly deeper and add dry pellets to base when dig out wet then cover with damp bedding and then with dry. I also add a sack of flax per month as find that help keep the bed drier.deeper and lighter. My mare is a troll!!

 

[HazellB]

How many of you are paying VAT on your pellets at 17.5% (15% up to Jan 1st)?

I'm just wondering as they are available at only 5% VAT if you buy them as home fuel - it's the exact same product - and frankly I'd say it's crazy to pay extra when you don't need to.

 

[mardy-mare]

I tried everything and now use Ecomax Horse Bedding. Wood pellets definately the best for my wet messy mare and Ecomax the best of the wood pellets and believe me, I've tried everything and you won't believe the difference in all the pellets. Only costing £6.00 per week as I only use one bag a week. Shavings was costing £28 a week and Liverpool Wood Pellets the cheapest of the other pellets but no where near as absorbent, so ended up costing more at £10 per week. Very happy as Ecomax bed nice pale yellow and I know that there are no nasties in there as it's made from Virgin wood pulp with no chemicals and no recycled wood. I thought recycled = good, but not where bedding is concerned. It can include old pallets (plus whatever chemicals has spilled onto them) and hardwoods which can damage horses respiratory tracts.
BEWARE wood pellets that are intended as bio-fuel (including Liverpool) as these can have stuff in that's dangerous to horses.

 

[HazellB]

[ QUOTE ]
BEWARE wood pellets that are intended as bio-fuel (including Liverpool) as these can have stuff in that's dangerous to horses.

[/ QUOTE ]

That's very true.
I use a Manco pellet which is 100% new. It's a wood burner version (as in my post above) and £2.60 delivered (5% VAT) for 15kg. I can't fault them.