Your thoughts on bedding, please.

Black_Horse_White

Black_Horse_White

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My horse has been diagnosed with Uveitis recently and I need to change his bedding from shavings to something more dust free. I would like your opinions and suggestions on which bedding I should use.

Thank you.
Also, I have posted this in the Stable Yard.
 
I use Aubiose, its expensive here at £9.50 but dust free and really absorbent. Also makes a nice comfortable bed. Hope this helps
 
Two of my horses have lost the sight in one eye, one thanks to a hefty kick from a friend and one was due to Uveitis and a **** vet who didn't know what it was!
Just a thought, but, my big lad (who had Uveitis) has to be on straw because he box walks like a crazy thing, and shavings and paper just get mushed down into a pooey, wet mess! SO, to help protect his eye from the light after the vet FINALLY realised what was going on and put Atropine in it, and also to protect it from the dust, I made him an eye patch! I got an old fly mask (a Roma mesh one with ears so it stayed in place) and sewed on some very sexy black velvet. This was a MASSIVE help, especially after the Atropine went in, because the swelling makes the pupil get stuck when it's constricted, and Atropine forces it to dilate and keeps it dilated for a few days, so he would be blinded by sunlight if he didn't have an eye patch on.
As it happened with Roy boy, the Atropine was put in too late after too long faffing about with Fucithalmic, which did no good to anyone, and so his puil got stuck while it was constricted. He copes amazingly well now - the only things he struggles with are bumping into people in his box if they stop talking to him, and we have to jump the left hand side of cross poles! Also, his eye is actually rather beautiful now - the pupil has gone ice blue... very handsome!
Good luck with it!
 
you could try pellets. I used them last winter for the first time as my sisters horse had developed an allergy (now think it was pollen allergy, aggravated by dust) so we had to change from straw. Tom's bed was alway sopping wet on straw and wee ran out the door and drain all the time so we had thought shavings would be too expensive when he trashed a bed each night.

the pellets were brilliant, once we got the hang of them and allowed them enough time to fluff up before putting them into the bed. A bag a week over the winter was plenty, with about a barrow full of wet coming out each week (plus the poo each day) and we're still trying to empty the stables now that the horses are only in for a couple of hours a day to save them from their teeth!

Tom's bed stayed dry, he failed to trash it except on one night when they'd been in longer than normal because of the snow. No dust. Tom's cough has gone (lets hope the pollen allergy doesn't come back). And the pallet of 67 bags we bought lasted 2 horses all winter for £250... can't go wrong IMO.
 
I have had the same thing with my horse, the vet has been out lots of times. He kept saying it was conjunctivitis. He has just been diagnosed with Uevitis last night. He has had antibiotic eye drops and is on bute. It is better this morning, the vet said the pupil was reacting to light so he wouldn't be in much pain. He has a Guardian mask on in the field which filters out 95% of the suns rays. It seems to be dust that causes it to flare up. so ive now brought one i can ride in, so thats the sun sorted. But i'd like to give him a break at night from wearing the mask. Hence the bedding question, i'm just at a loss which one to use. He is a reasonable clean horse and is on matting. I would like whatever to be similar to shavings without the dust. Thanks for your replies
 
Bliss bedding is great HOWEVER if left in the stable for a while (i.e. in banks) it does go dusty - so you would have to really keep on top of it, turning the bed etc etc. I have used bliss for the last few years, however had to get aubiose as local supplier had run out of bliss, and I now think I will bed with than in future, even though it is a little pricier.
 
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