# Outside shelter bedding and cleaning advice, please.



## PaintHorseMares (Apr 19, 2008)

Serendepity said:


> I am somewhat worried about wet hooves, however the stall area is firm and dry.
> I am curious what I can use to spread under the stall area to absorb some of the urine and poop. Also what can I uses where the arena gets the muddiest?


If the stall/shelter area stays firm and dry, I wouldn't put anything down. Just pick up the manure and let the urine soak into the ground.

As for the arena, in the winter when it's very wet and muddy, there is probably nothing to do. Getting/keeping the water out with good drainage is the solution, but even with good drainage, arenas will get muddy when there is enough rain in the winter.


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## clwhizy (Aug 20, 2014)

My horses have a 3 sided shelter. We raised it above the surrounding ground with gravel, which was compacted. On top of that we put a few inches of sand. I clean manure out of it daily and the horses seem quite comfy! It stays relatively dry in there.


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## Serendepity (May 16, 2014)

Do you think putting sand on top of the mud by the fence would help combat the slop that gets churned up?


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## Horseychick87 (Feb 5, 2014)

Most likely not honestly. Sand is a decent filter for liquids like water and urine, but I doubt it would do much good if the ground is going to continually get soaked and churned up.

I'd see if I could install some kind of drainage system probably using gravel. But I'd have to see the area to figure out what would work best.


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## PaintHorseMares (Apr 19, 2008)

The ONLY way to keep an area dry, especially in the winter, is to make sure that water doesn't get there in the first place. Improving drainage can *help* to prevent pooling and standing water, but once the ground is wet and saturated, you will have mud, and it will get churned up by foot traffic. You just don't have the temperature, sun intensity, and hours of sunlight in the winter to promote enough drying of the ground.
I'm not sure where your muddy area is in relation to your shelter, but here is a picture of our horses' shelter area. Even though the shelter is on top of a hill, we graded the area in front A LOT to flow the water away and down the hill. The shelter has gutters and is filled with 6"-8" of packed stone screenings (which is like extremely coarse sand) over dirt. Manure is easy to pick up and any urine or clover slobbers (a summer time problem) will dry and/or drain without getting muddy.


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## clwhizy (Aug 20, 2014)

Serendepity said:


> Do you think putting sand on top of the mud by the fence would help combat the slop that gets churned up?


Honestly, no. Adding sand to mud will just create more mud. You really need to build the area up first.


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## clwhizy (Aug 20, 2014)

I dont have a great pic of my shelter, but in this one you can see that its built up which allows the sand on top to stay dry when it rains


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## RBuchele10 (Aug 19, 2014)

I concur with everyone on building it up if you want keep water out. And even though it's cheap, sand will make you crazy. Not to mention, you have to be careful that they don't ingest it if you're feeding them in that area (feeding hay off the ground).

As for wet hooves - mud isn't horrible for the hooves. It keeps their hooves from drying out and cracking. Yes, you can have too much moisture at times, but normal grooming and hoof picking will make you aware if there is too much water. Disclaimer: If they have shoes, that's different. Here in Ohio with our wonderful clay based mud -- it sucks their shoes right off. So, many take of the shoes in the winter to avoid replacing shoes all the time.

What is NOT good for hooves is standing in manure/urine soaked bedding that doesn't get removed. This invites thrush and other bacteria to take up residence in your horses hooves. By putting down bedding of any kind in a somewhat outdoor setting, you may be making it harder for you to keep clean. If you build up with some finer gravel, you can promote good drainage and not spend outrageous amounts of money on bedding. Gravel may cost more now but it will pay for itself in the long run if done right. And it is SO MUCH easier to clean. I've had lots/small turnout paddocks with fine gravel as the footing and through all the seasons we have in Ohio (most of them are winter!!), it was never an issue to remove manure or have the urine drain away.


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## clwhizy (Aug 20, 2014)

RBuchele10 said:


> I concur with everyone on building it up if you want keep water out. And even though it's cheap, sand will make you crazy. Not to mention, you have to be careful that they don't ingest it if you're feeding them in that area (feeding hay off the ground).


Agree about not feeding on sand. I put hay in my shelter for the first few days to convince them to spend time in there. My handy hubby also built a round bale feeder with a roof a short distance away from the shelter. 

I have to disagree with you on the sand though...I love it  I have just a small amount (1 - 2") on top of compacted gravel. I find it drains great and its very easy to clean the manure.


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## RBuchele10 (Aug 19, 2014)

I'm glad you've had a good experience with sand! It's just so SWAMPY in Ohio, that it takes on the same properties as mud! It's a great additive to the arena footing, but becomes soup when it's mixed into the clay with hooves. This is usually when it's JUST sand, not a combination of materials.

Love the round bale feeder - I would love one! Where do I find one of these handy hubbys that you speak of? Do you export them from Canada?? ;-)


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## clwhizy (Aug 20, 2014)

RBuchele10 said:


> I'm glad you've had a good experience with sand! It's just so SWAMPY in Ohio, that it takes on the same properties as mud! It's a great additive to the arena footing, but becomes soup when it's mixed into the clay with hooves. This is usually when it's JUST sand, not a combination of materials.
> 
> Love the round bale feeder - I would love one! Where do I find one of these handy hubbys that you speak of? Do you export them from Canada?? ;-)


Agreed, if there isn't a really solid base under the sand and it gets wet you end up with mud! The sand we're using in our shelter came from an old riding ring...and I absolutely HATED it as footing! It was slippery and always muddy!

I wish there was a surplus of handy hubbies to export! Sounds like a great business venture! LOL


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## onlyahorsegirl (Sep 10, 2014)

In our run in shed we put a layer of crushed stone down...then put stall mats on top. We can feed/water at one end and put some shavings at the other...it is a pretty big run in...about 40 feet wide.

It works really well as we can keep the hay dry and not trampled in the mud...and they have dry shavings to lay down in if they want. They hang out there when it is very hot also.

The shavings get a little wet around the edges in a horrible storm but nothing too bad...

It has worked really well for us and there is no mud, or dirt for them to eat along with their hay. We just scoop the shavings and sweep the hay periodically.


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## equineenthusiasm (Jan 28, 2015)

Everyone has such excellent ideas! I have had good luck with sand helping the moisture problem in my arena (it always just got super sloppy and swamp like) but I compacted the ground first with a roller I have for my skid steer. I have also used wood chips...not shavings, actual wood chips that came from a local tree trimmer in town that ran them through his chipping machine. I always go through and pick out anything the chipper missed so as not to create a safety hazard before I put the horses in, but these have worked so well for me that I have gone on to lay them around my barn and down alley ways between outdoor pens. One thing that I dislike about them is that they are hard to pick manure out of....but its doable. Anyways these worked well for me and where free and accessible! Good luck!


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