# What kind of bedding to use in trailer?



## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

Does your trailer have rubber mats? If not, BUY some. I lay them down 4' x 6' longwise in my trailer, E-W, if you like. If you put any kind of bedding on a wooden trailer floor, you horse will slip when it becomes wet. I know that I have an older type trailer and yours may already have a matted floor, but you didn't say.
Any kind of bedding that doesn't have small tiny, dusty pieces that can fly up are fine. I prefer pine shavings, for instance, to sawdust.
Also, I never keep my mats in my trailer. I always strip it after use. I store my mats on the aisle of my barn when not in the trailer. Hope this helps!


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## ARTEMISBLOSSOM (Apr 3, 2011)

I bought my trailer brand new a year ago and it came with mats installed. I don't think I can take them out though. The mats are not textured so when they are wet with urine they are slippery. On short trips I don't put bedding down but on this long a trip I want to have something down to help absorb the urine


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## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

ARTEMISBLOSSOM said:


> I bought my trailer brand new a year ago and it came with mats installed.


Excellent! If you prefer flaxseed bedding use it. But I would recommend the pine shavings bc they keep the odor down. You could also use dried, extruded pine pellets. The stuff I buy is called "Equine Fresh."
Just remember...what you put down, you have to clean up later! LOL


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## Chevaux (Jun 27, 2012)

I've had good success with shavings in my trailer (its also a slant load). Note that I've not hauled for your length of time, mind you, but I've found that if I concentrate the shavings at the back end of the stalls that works well for catching and holding what comes out.


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## PaintHorseMares (Apr 19, 2008)

We always use pine shavings.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## ChitChatChet (Sep 9, 2013)

I have rubber mats in mine and that all we used for 1,600 miles


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## PrivatePilot (Dec 7, 2009)

Assuming you have mats...If the flooring and mats are configured in such a way that urine is allowed to drain away (as it should), you don't need bedding. As much as some like to think that it helps, my experience is that it just makes things worse - the material gets wet, the horses step on it, and now you have a wet slippery material between them and the secure flooring.

And yes, with shavings or other bedding materials you risk it flying wildly around the trailer while underway on hot days when you have all the windows, vents, and hatches open...something that most people don't even know is happening since they're not back there. Your horse certainly knows.

I've trailered countless thousands of kilometers with absolutely nothing except my rubber mats and have never had a problem.


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## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

Chevaux said:


> ...I've found that if I concentrate the shavings at the back end of the stalls that works well for catching and holding what comes out.


yeah...what Chevaux said...
I used to log tons of miles without the shavings, but I know that my horses like it better when their back feet aren't standing in their dung at arrival. When you notice how your horse has his own pee and poo spots in his stall and avoids laying in it, you can appeciate that they like to stay clean.


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## natisha (Jan 11, 2011)

ARTEMISBLOSSOM said:


> I bought my trailer brand new a year ago and it came with mats installed. I don't think I can take them out though. The mats are not textured so when they are wet with urine they are slippery. On short trips I don't put bedding down but on this long a trip I want to have something down to help absorb the urine


Check closely. I've never heard of a trailer with non removable mats.
You could buy a couple of textured 4X6 foot mats & put them down directly on the existing mats.


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## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

We use shavings in the big trailer that has smooth rubber mats.


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## ARTEMISBLOSSOM (Apr 3, 2011)

I had a vet check done on my horse today in preparation for our trip and he told me that in my province (Ontario Canada) it is illegal to haul horses in a trailer without bedding. Who knew? I guess that ends the debate over bedding or no bedding.


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## PrivatePilot (Dec 7, 2009)

ARTEMISBLOSSOM said:


> I had a vet check done on my horse today in preparation for our trip and he told me that in my province (Ontario Canada) it is illegal to haul horses in a trailer without bedding. Who knew? I guess that ends the debate over bedding or no bedding.


Huh? Kindly ask him to show where it states that in the Highway Traffic Act. 

He won't find it. *Because no such law exists.* I live in Ontario, I assure you, that's hogwash.

The vet in question is another person who likes to state "facts" that are anything but. :icon_rolleyes:


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## ARTEMISBLOSSOM (Apr 3, 2011)

I don't know Private that's what he told me. Is there anyplace I can look to check this out?


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## ARTEMISBLOSSOM (Apr 3, 2011)

ok I found this under the National Farm Animal Care Council Code of Practice 
and since my mats are slippery when wet I think I need to use bedding 

3.1.23
Suitable bedding such as straw or wood shavings or appropriate mats should be added to vehicles to assist in absorbing urine and feces, provide better footing for the animals and protect them from the hard flooring.


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## mslady254 (May 21, 2013)

I use cedar shavings.


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## PrivatePilot (Dec 7, 2009)

ARTEMISBLOSSOM said:


> ok I found this under the National Farm Animal Care Council Code of Practice
> and since my mats are slippery when wet I think I need to use bedding
> 
> 3.1.23
> Suitable bedding such as straw or wood shavings or appropriate mats should be added to vehicles to assist in absorbing urine and feces, provide better footing for the animals and protect them from the hard flooring.


Those are all suggestions - far from legally binding laws, in the preface actually it clearly states "theses codes are voluntary". Many of them are great ideas and are for the betterment of the animals which I have no issue with, but they are most certainly not "laws". It sounds like your vet may be confusing voluntary with legally required, but making a far reaching statement that its "illegall" to haul without shavings is just factually incorrect. Please take a moment next time you see her to tactfully inform her she's wrong so she doesn't continue to spread misinformation. 

As mentioned, I don't like shavings as I place ventilation far ahead from a priority standpoint, and shavings in a trailer with vents, windows, hatches and top-doors open have been know to blow wildly about...and now your horse is breathing it in and can also end up with it in their eyes.


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## beau159 (Oct 4, 2010)

I like to haul with shavings in order to catch the pee. Both my geldings will pee in the trailer. However, I wet them down before traveling to minimize how much they are flying around in the air. I also always haul with fly masks that have both ears covered and the nose extention, to help protect their faces and airways from floating debris. 

If you can find the larger style shavings, I feel they have less dust than the smaller version.


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## Dustbunny (Oct 22, 2012)

Pine shavings and face masks.


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## GracielaGata (Jan 14, 2012)

I will add- don't use straw, pine, wheat or otherwise. It it slippery on the rubber mats, wetted or not. 
We used to use it and only ever go on short trips. But I switched to pine shavings, and it is so much easier on the horses. No one is slipping as they go in and out of the trailer. I also do the piling up of the pine shavings at the butt spots of our 3h slant. 
I don't clean any of it out, and only plan to do so in the winter, as that seems to be the way to do it around here.
I obviously don't pull my mats between uses either. 
After every trailer use, I do go in the trailer and kick around all the shavings and be sure that the poop gets moved off the mats, and that plenty of dry shavings are put against the wall-floor joints on the butt side, and also at the gaps between mats.


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

I noticed the word "should" which leaves it open ended. Bedding encourages the animals to urinate as they don't like getting splashed. It also helps reduce road vibration.


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