# Types of bedding?



## ~*~anebel~*~ (Aug 21, 2008)

Shavings and straw are the traditional ones. There are new sawdust pellets. That's all the bedding I have experience with.
Straw is not as clean looking as shavings, but it is healthier for the horse because there is less dust and minor consumption of it can actually help the digestive system. Foals should always be birthed on straw as it won't get into their eyes, etc... straw is about a couple dollars for a small square bale.
Shavings are my favorite for regular every day use because it is easy to clean, smells nice and looks clean. It's a couple hundred bucks for a semi truck "load" so storage can be an issue because of the bulk volume. It can also be bought in bags, which in bulk are about $4 a bag.
The new sawdust pellets are more environmentally friendly, however I do not like them at all. They do not provide enough cushioning for the horse to lie down and it is almost impossible to get rid of the urine and ammonia smell. Because you have to wet them down upon putting them in the stall, they also harbour bacterial infections, mold and mites (if they survive the low pH from all the ammonia ****). I think this stuff is crap and is so bad for horses. It's like $8 a bag but apparently you "use less" than shavings - but I guarantee your vet bills for sores, scratches and capped hocks will go up!

In general any bedding used in too small amounts or not cleaned regularly enough can cause health problems, but the pellets are the worst. Straw is probably healthiest, but shavings are the easiest imo.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## draftgrl (Jan 8, 2011)

Good thread, I keep forgetting to ask everyone about what their opinions of using sunflower seed huls for bedding. Where I board, they have been using these for 20 some odd years. They are really cheap, like 50 bucks a grain truck load. Just am curious as to if anyone has seen anything bad about these, other then the horses do tend to eat them if they have not been exposed to these before.


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## RitzieAnn (Dec 22, 2010)

I have used shavings (and sometimes still do) as well as the pellet bedding.

Hands down, I prefer pellets! I have no issue with smell, and they last a long time. The waste is very minimal, and since it breaks down into a "course" (but still much more fine than shavings) dust, it composts a lot faster.

I do not wet down the pellets before I put the horse in. My mare will wet all over her stall, so after 1 night, she has about a third of her stall "fluffed". I just pick the poop and mix the bedding around. I did notice in the very beginning when i started using them, if you don't mix it up, then you will get a smell spot. You don't always see it because the bedding absorbs so well, that it makes the surface look dry. So it's important to sift.

It's much easier to pick out the lose hay also!

And, I don't know where you find your pellets Anebel, but 40lbs of wood pellets at any of the feedstores in my area are always less than $6/bag. I usually use the stove ones, because those are usually under $4/40lb bag. The biggest difference is that the stove ones are darker, and packed tighter. But they still work great for me.

Shavings look nice and fluffy, but have a lot of waste, and if you don't have the storage space to buy in bulk (truck load) then it very quickly becomes more expensive than pellets.

I don't have mine in too often, but I can (and have actually tried this before) buy 5 bags to bed down one stall (about$25) and it lasts about 2 months. But the stall with the shavings (one bale) only lasts about a week, 2 if i'm lucky, and it costs $7/$8 per bag. Again, mine come in to eat dinner, and if the weather is really bad, then I'll keep them in, but usually they are only in for a few hours per day.


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## Fargosgirl (Jan 12, 2012)

I worked as a barn hand at a stable for 3 years, in that time the BO went through a variety of beddings. 
I like finely shaved saw dust that is purchased in bulk from a sawmill much better than bagged wood shavings. 
I absolutely HATE cleaning straw, its heavy and hard to get out all of the little bitty pieces of poo on a daily basis, especially if you have a horse that likes to "tap dance" in it's stall. 
We briefly used rice hulls, which I really liked, their cost was comparable to bagged wood shavings, when factored in that you waste less of the rice hulls because they fall through the fork easier than shavings. The rice hulls claim to be better cushioning for your horse and the horses did seem to like to lie down in them more than other beddings. The rice hulls can be cleaned more thoroughly than shavings and have a waxy coating that keeps the ammonia odor to a minimum. Rice hulls were definitely my favourite bedding to clean, but the barn went back to saw dust in bulk for cost reasons. 
Saw dust is my 2nd favourite bedding, it is also easy to clean and waste is minimal.


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## Northernstar (Jul 23, 2011)

Wood shavings for me, hands down!


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## Delfina (Feb 12, 2010)

Just the thought of pellets and the horse standing on/in it's own pee for weeks, makes me cringe. They absorb the pee but the pee doesn't magically fly away, it's still there and the poor horse ends up standing on/lying in pee, it's just "dry" pee basically.

I clean the stalls where I board, my favorite is matted stalls with shavings. I use a plastic snow shovel to scoop out the entirety of the pee spot, pick out the manure and replace shavings as needed. The "neat" horses are bedded deeper since I can easily clean their stalls even with deep bedding, the PIGS are bedded thinner since I replace most of their bedding daily.


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## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

~*~anebel~*~ said:


> The new sawdust pellets are more environmentally friendly, however I do not like them at all. They do not provide enough cushioning for the horse to lie down and it is almost impossible to get rid of the urine and ammonia smell. Because you have to wet them down upon putting them in the stall, they also harbour bacterial infections, mold and mites (if they survive the low pH from all the ammonia ****).
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


anabel, I've been using these pellets for 2 years, now, so I thought I'd share _how_ I use them. First _I do NOT wet them down._ I believe the manufacturer has either not tested them or is trying to get you to buy more by doing this. Secondly I do not put down 6 bags/stall. I lay them down in the spot where my horse(s) prefer to urinate, 1 bag each for my average sized horses and 2 bags for my 1,350 lb gelding bc he urinates more volume. He's in a 12 x 12 stall, btw. (I use rubber mats.) Then I open a bag of pine shavings on top of this. MY horses spread them out, so I don't bother.
The dry pellets, (I use Equine Fresh) soak up the urine and turn it into moist powder, *then I leave them to soak it up a 2nd time.* The difference in ammonia is REMARKABLE, plus I use fewer shavings than I used to--one package/stall/(normal) week, instead of 2 packages/stall/week. They also help to deodorize their poo. Horses don't want to lay where it's wet, so discomfort is not an issue. I normally stall my horses 1/2 a day, then turnout during the daytime. If they're turned out daily it takes about a week of spot cleaning before I have to totally strip the stall, more new bedding and pellets if they're inside full time, like ice storm weather. 
Just thought I'd share. =D


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## Maple (Jan 10, 2012)

What types of bedding are out there? 

I've used straw, shavings, newspaper and peat. I much prefer shavings to the rest. 

How much they cost? Shavings are running about €10 a bale - straw is about €25 for a roundbale, newspaper €5.50 and peat is cheapest of all, it's approx €20 for a trailerfull which lasts between 4 - 6 months depending on the horse. 

What you use? 
As I mentioned, I now use shavings. 

Why you use it? 
I really dislike straw, too much waste. Peat is dirty looking and i'm not convinced it wont be harmful to a horse's breathing since it is a bit dusty. Shavings not only look well, is easy to muck but also provides a good bed for my horse. 

What you prefer to use? 
See above. 

Thank-you inadvance xx 

Your very welcome.


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## newhorsemom (Jun 20, 2008)

We used to keep our horse where shavings were used and then moved her to a place where pine pellets are used, so I have used both. I did not like the pellets at first, but now I prefer them. Every now and then we will go to a show where shavings are used (if we require a stall) and I am reminded of how much I prefer the pellets. This is my list of pros and cons of each: 

Pros of shavings - nice and fluffy when they are fresh. 

Cons of shavings - more difficult to clean, doesn't absorb urine well so the smell was stronger and the floor wet, more hay waste (I guess it is more difficult for our horse to pick thru) 

Pros of pellets - better absorption (drier stall), better smelling (in our experience), less hay waste, nice when the pellets open up (but not as fluffy as the shavings), much easier to clean, breaks down better for those who compost. 

Cons - needs to be dampened when fresh so the pellets will begin to open up (otherwise they can be like little ball bearings - NOT good when your horse spooks!), needs to be stripped every 4-7 days depending or it will turn into a fine dust which I don't want my horse living in. I probably strip more often then most because of it but that's just me. 

Overall I probably save a little money with the pellets but nothing that would influence a change. We use pine pellets but I do believe that there are different kinds of pellets and I would guess that the results would be a bit different with each.


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## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

*Goin' crazy with my new camera, lol!*

Sorry, just got THE pocket camera I wanted for Christmas--THANKS Lizzy and Tori (DD's)!!!...a Nikon COOLPIX S6200, so I pull it out all of the time now to take pictures. ANYWAY, I took some shots after I stripped my gelding's 12 x 12 stall, and I'll caption them:
#1, stripped the stall, left the older, still usable shavings, and opened two 40 lb packages of EquineFresh where "Sweet Cup & Cakes" likes to pee~
















#2 This is what the pellets look like right out of the plastic packaging~








#3 I do NOT wet them. We in IL have enough winter humidity. You add humitidy from animal respiration and a few days of this, and the pellets look like this.~








#4 Piled on pine shavings--this was only about 2/3 of a bag--and I let my horse walk around and spread it out.








I spot clean the poo and strip out the twice-used pellets when they look like wet sawdust, and pour new in it's place.
The BIGGEST differences in using the pellets is you don't get hit by a wall of ammonia and I use 1/2 the bags of shavings that I used to buy. 
Equine Fresh 40 lb pellets--$5.49/bag
Pine Shavings--$3.99-5.50/bag
Hard to say if it's cost effective, BUT the whole barn smells cleaner, now.


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## Zada2011 (Mar 16, 2010)

My favorite bedding hands down is fine sawdust purchased in bulk from a sawmill near our house. I think we spend about $30 for a giant scoop that fills our truck bed. It is much finer than shavings or anything else really, and can make a really nice bed for them. If you have dirt floors like us most of the pee will only soak the sawdust in one area then just absorb into the ground. You can also use products like PDZ to add to sawdust. PDZ absorbs ammonia very well, and gives your sawdust the same basic effect as the products that are supposed to absorb the pee. 

My friends kept telling me to try equine pine because it was supposed to absorb urine, however for the price it was, and the tiny amount of bedding they had in the stall I didn't think it sounded all that great.

Straw is a royal pain to muck out, and unless you have a mare and foal. (Foals can get an infection from sawdust and other beddings in their umbilical cord soon after being born.) So for mares that are going to foal soon or have a foal, until the foal's umbilical is dried up, always use straw or a similar bedding. 

I hear paper is cost effective, but will get everywhere and it's not exactly nice looking. 

So yeah my recommendation is to use sawmill sawdust if you can find any near you, and can store it. If not wood shavings work quite well. I recommend a urine absorbing product as well, especially if you have concrete or other non absorbent floors. 

Also fun hint: For those who can legally burn in their area, and are not too close to any neighbors, if you put your manure a decent distance from buildings and such, you can burn it. We live on a hill and our manure pile is a decent distance from any of our neighbors so smoke is never blowing into their yards and such. It won't burn like a roaring fire mind you, it just sorta smolders away as time passes. Just make sure the pile is dry and spread the ashes to new unlit areas. This is just a tip to anyone who may have issues getting rid of their manure since I know it can be a problem with some people.


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

I learned to bed the way it is done at the race tracks with wheat straw. Horses do not eat it nor is it dusty. It's a bit of an art cleaning and bedding a straw bedded stall. The manure is removed, then the worst of the urine soaked straw. The remaining straw is fluffed up against the stall walls so that any remaining pee'd on straw get a chance to dry. It is usually confined to one area along the wall. Before the horses are bedded for the night, the pee'd on straw is pulled in and fluffed up when the horse usually dumps. The remaining straw is fluffed and spread around the stall, about two feet in from the walls. Fresh straw is then fluffed on top. By bedding this way waste is kept to a minimum. I've seen people throw out almost all the bedding and this is what drives the costs up.


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