What kind of bedding do you think is best?

Question

I just wondered what most people used and why

Thank you

Answer 1

Wood shavings.

It's easy to clean and is comfy for the horse!

And it's not to expensive!

Answer 2

I Think It Depends On Your Horse. If I Could Afford Rubber Matting I Would Use That XD

But My Horse Is On Straw Because Its The Cheapest And He Isnt Botherd By What He Gets.

My Little Mare Pony Is On Wood Shavings Because She Is Athsmatic And Eats Her Bed Which Makes It Worse :P

x x

Answer 3

shredded newspaper

I know a lot of people dont like this, because a lot of horses are allergic to the ink, but if they aren't, I think its good.

It's cheap, lasts a long time and easy to clean. The bad thing is it doesnt soak up liquid very well

I also like chopped straw, its warm and comfortable for the horse.

I dont particularily like shavings, the ones we used to get were really dusty, and really hard to clean out.

Answer 4

at the barn i ride at, we use shavings. they are much more comfortable than straw, and MUCH easier to clean.

and we have rubber matting under those

in the long run, they are cheaper because its hard to pick out all the c**p outta straw without taking the straw with it. and w/ shavings, you save more b/c its easy to pick out the stuff

Answer 5

I prefer saw dust.  I like the stuff we get from the sawmill best compared to the bagged shavings one buys at TSC and the like - it's harder to come by though.

Rubber mats on dirt flooring helps with the cleaning too.  Uses less dust/shavings.

The floor condition of the stall affects horse comfort and health, the bedding affects coat, respiratory conditions.  dusty bedding hurts the horses' respiratory system.

What do you use?

Answer 6

shaving on rubber mats easy to muck out straw atinks.

Answer 7

rubber matting and shavings- easiest to muck out!! and also safe and clean for the horse

xxxxxxxx

Answer 8

i use wood shavings but if your horse is really wet and develops thrush easily throw half a bag of pelitized bedding, the pellets soak up the pee, and leaves the stall nice and dry.

hope that helps

Answer 9

At my riding stables we use rubber matting then a inch of shavings on top then we use LOADs of really good quality straw. But it's a pain as my horse is kept 20 miles in the opposite direction so I don't use that. I use rubber matting and straw at the livery yard but the school it can take up to 30 minutes to muck out one stable! It's because we have to pick out the dirty, and keep clean straw in a corner, then get all of the shavings out then sweep then put the shavings down and put the straw back, walk half a mile to get a new bale of straw then take it back lol then put clean in then sweep the rest of the stables that hasn't got bedding, and the area around the stable.

I personally like shavings becase it's more absorbant but my livery yard doesn't off shavings so I make do with straw.

Charlotte x

Answer 10

We, like many others it seems, use wood shavings over rubber mats for a nice, comfy bed :)

Answer 11

I have always used shavings, except for foaling stalls (which get straw).  Shavings on a rubber mat is best, and definetely the easiest to clean too.  I have also used shavings on a dirt floor.  That works OK too, but you need to keep it free of urine and sprinkle lime to keep it fresh.

EDIT:  Ponyjack - peanut shells!  Interesting, I never thought of that.  I would think they would be kind of sharp, though.  Are they salted or unsalted?  :D

Answer 12

We use wood shavings (small curls), a nice thick layer, like 8-12 inches, on top of rubber mats. Easy to clean and comfy for the horses :)

Answer 13

Fine Shaved Wood Shavings. :)

Answer 14

We use sawdust.  It is alot more inexpensive than wood shavings, and you don't waste as much.  I find it easier to sift through and clean better than shavings also.  

Answer 15

shavings they are far easier and better for your horses breathing BUT they are more expensive :S

its totally up to you :)

Answer 16

Wood pellets. Not the kind used for wood stoves but those that are made for equine bedding.

Your initial outlay of cash is a bit more but your bedding lasts a long time - you simply sift through it with a special rake and the clean, dry bedding falls through and dirty bedding is disposed of.

It's clean, absorbent, economical and it's as comfortable for the horse as shavings.

For our stalls, which are 10x10, we use about 5 bags initially and then about one bag a week after that.  

Answer 17

Sometimes it's allergy, environment, etc.  Or colors!

Greys-use torn newspaper (from a shedder) to help the coat from becoming dirty

Other colors can use mostly anything.

Don't laugh, I use peanut shells.  They are surprisingly absorbant and easy to get.

Answer 18

We use rubber matting with straw on top - nice & warm and cushioning. We used to use shavings, and then wood chip, but I didn't like either; woodchip isn't absorbent at all. Shavings are good on top of rubber if they're laid down thick & tamped down until as solid as possible; on concrete they move about too much, and if you use a thin bed on rubber it gets wet and damages their feet, also sticks to EVERYTHING, and no less dusty than straw in my experience. I find straw no more difficult to muck out than shavings; in straw droppings stick together & are easier to remove, in shavings they fall apart & scatter more; you just alter your method slightly (there's a knack to both), but it's also down to how the bed is laid. My tb has a particular liking for straw (we think he grew up on it!), and he gets quietly stressed if he's on any other bedding. Wet goes straight to the base with straw and then gets absorbed there, so it keeps the top clean until you next muck out.

Good straw shouldn't be dusty, so it's good for their airways too; if they have a serious resp. problem, a flax-based bedding like aubiose is best - guaranteed dust-free & super-absorbent, its also good as a layer under straw for extremely wet horses (had a mare who's pee would just run out the door in a stream, but aubiose fixed that!), but on it's own lies very flat & so is not v. warm.

If it weren't for my horses' preferance, I'd probably like shavings & straw fairly equally, I love the smell of both; shavings are easier to move, but harder to clean up (& off things!). But maybe I lean towards straw, because it make such a welcoming, fluffy, insulating bed and it's easier to make banks with it (& it's also cheaper!).

Answer 19

We actually use straw.  I would prefer to use pine shavings because its a little more absorbent.  We produce our own straw so therefore it's much cheaper to bed with straw.  It is comfortable for the horses, it just would be better if slightly more absorbent.

Answer 20

I prefer shaving over sawdust. I bed over mats and if I have a mare ready to foal, I use clean straw over mats.

Answer 21

We use the wood pellets.  They last longer. easier to handle and break down better.  There isn't as much waste.  The bags are easier to store and take up less room then the bales of shavings.  Also they are less dusty.

Answer 22

Easibed is the best by far.

I've used lots of different types, straw, shavings, different brands of shavings etc and easibed is the best one I've ever found. It's wood chips rather than shavings so doesn't soak and clump. It's really easy to skip out the droppings and if used with rubber mating lets the pee go through and drain away and without will absorb it enough and then once a week you chuck the bed up and it is almost always completely dry even without removing wet stuff cause it just doesn't stay wet. I use a bale every 2-3 weeks and that keeps a really nice clean, dry bed.

One of our cob's is very prone to thrush despite rigorous foot hygiene - he has very deep clefts that are always getting black and smelly and his feet do better on this bedding than any other even though it would be termed a deep litter bed cause you just skip out the droppings.

This is in the uk, it costs about £50-60 to set up a bed (13'sq box) but only about £5 every 2-3 weeks.  

Answer 23

i use wood shavings!

Answer 24

We use straw... we used use shavings up to recent, but one of the horses developed a dust allergy, so changed to straw now - whilst its a bummer to clean out I still think it provides the snuggest warmest bed for a horse and is very natural.

another thing I disliked about shavings is that often I would find little pieces of it sticking into my horses eyes when they had been lying down..

xx

Answer 25

I use wood shavings with rubber mats underneath. The shavings soak up any wet and the rubber mats keep my horse from slipping and having to sleep on cold flooring. I like a big bed on top of my rubber mats, the mats are just there as an extra