# Stall bedding



## newhorsemom (Jun 20, 2008)

Just out of curiosity how much bedding do most of you use in your stalls? My MIL uses baled shavings and will only allow one bale to be used at a time and even then in all needs to be pushed up against one wall so only about a quarter of the stall will have any shavings after cleaning. MIL it trying to save $$ and says it's just enough to give the horses somewhere to pee. Our horse is a slob so she will spread it around, but it seems silly. 

Now, keep in mind I pay no board fee (we do pay for our share of shavings) so I don't argue with her - I just vent here at the forum!


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## G and K's Mom (Jan 11, 2008)

If there are good rubber mats under the bedding it doesn't really need to be very deep. If however, you have an injured, foundered or arthritic horse, bedding them a little deeper may help them lay down.

Everyone seems to have their preferences when it comes to bedding. We have never bedded our's very deep and they lay down every night, but I have friends that put about a foot of bedding in.


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## stacieandtheboys (Jan 6, 2009)

We have rubber mats and only use 1-1 1/2 bales per stall.


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## luvs2ride1979 (Nov 9, 2007)

No stalls here! lol Putting the horses up in a barn makes for too much work IMO. We have a nice shelter for them that I clean out about twice a week and I have waterproof turnout blankets shoult it get really cold and wet (I only put them on in freezing rain or windy conditions below freezing). 

When I did board at a barn, they only brought the horses in to eat their grain and then they went right back outside. Only sick, injured, or clipped show horses stayed in for any length of time. Leaving the horses out 22 hours a day made stall cleaning much easier and kept board prices down. The horses seemed healthier and happier too ;-). They used bulk shavings (MUCH cheaper) and had the stalls about 4-5" deep in shavings.


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## minihorse927 (Aug 11, 2008)

I keep my stalls about 2-3 inches in shavings I buy bulk. The only one who is kept deeper is my 18 y.o mustang mare, about 6 inches. Mainly because she pees like 8 million gallons a night and just because she is a old lady and deserves more shavings than the young ones. Yea, I am definitely not playing into the old lady sympathy there. I am such a sucker!

BTW, most of my horse stalls have rubber matting for cushioning. If I did not have those mats, they would all be at least 6 inches deep. The two small stalls I have that have no mat or are only partially matted are 6 inches deep or more. The one that is partially matted is thin on the stall mat, but thick where there is no mat. Micah prefers to kick all the shavings off the mat and sleep on it bare.


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## Got2Gallop (Oct 22, 2007)

There are rubber mats in my horse's stall but I like to bed a little heavier anyway. Shavings are included in my board, they buy in bulk so they like us to keep it to three wheelbarrow's full per week. If thats not enough I'll suppliment with baled shavings so I don't take more than they ask. If you pay for more shavings can you put more down? Or does she just say nope your not allowed? I can understand her wanting to save money but if you pay extra for more why not?


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## Appyt (Oct 14, 2007)

I use the wood pellets and don't stall horses so my opinion may not be of much use. But, here tis anyway. lol 

Where do horses lay outside? On the ground, right? The ground is basically hard with grass if you're lucky. Why do we think horses need a soft bed? Cuz we like it, right? I think basically the bedding should be for soaking up urine and maybe to lessen a really hard base. Cheno's stall has prolly an inch, maybe 2" tops of pellet dust. He is confined to his stall and a nice turnout/corral area, as he is blind, for winter.


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## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

I do about 2 to 3 wheelbarrels for my stalls. they are 12X12's. I have one stall that is rubber matted (someday I will have them all..sigh...when i'm rich) anyway, that one I can do 1 or even 2 barrels. If i do the bagged shavings, then 3 bags to a stall except the matted one. Then I can do just one bag and be happy but I usually put 2 in there....


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## Angel_Leaguer (Jun 13, 2008)

All of the stalls are rubber matted, When the stall is stripped clean I will put in 2 bags and then just continue to pick the stalls. After about a week the shavings are pretty well used so I will totally clean out and start with 2 bags. If the shavings are getting low but the remaining ones are still good I will just throw in a bag or bag and a half. The BO really doesnt seem to care how much I use but I like to keep it conservative. With winter I like to keep a little more in the stalls so that the urine doesnt soak down to the mats. Otherwise it freezes and makes it fun to get out of the stalls...lol


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## starlinestables (Nov 24, 2008)

I have rubber mats and I bed a bit heavier for most of my guys because I think they are easier to clean and look cleaner. I have a stall pig who I don't bed as deep because he pees so much that it would just be throwing bedding away. 

I strip stalls every two weeks or so and add a bag per week. 10 bags a month per stall. They are not ordinary shavings though, they are really fine, almost like saw dust.


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## BeauReba (Jul 2, 2008)

If you beed a bit deeper and clean twice a day you actually save on bedding because you don't get as much waste.


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## Midwest Paint (Oct 21, 2008)

I use the wood pellets, and clean daily. A complete strip out usually every other day. unfortunately my monsters like to do their business in the barn, so its a daunting task! LOL


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## zanytactics (Sep 8, 2007)

I use a very fine shaving and keep bout 6-8" only when it's raining. In the summer or when it's decent weather I kick them all out! I hate sifting through shavings.


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## kershkova (Jun 25, 2008)

I have no clue i don`t do my stalls my self its inclueded in my board lol.


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## newhorsemom (Jun 20, 2008)

Well, after reading the replies I guess it really doesn't matter too much as there are good mats in the stalls. It just seems so funny after cleaning a stall that you have some shavings in there and they are all pushed up against the wall! I suppose I just haven't gotten used to it yet!


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## minihorse927 (Aug 11, 2008)

I spread all mine out, I don't shove them against the wall as I do not think my horses would walk to the back to pee in them, they would just pee and then lay in it knowing my luck!


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## MrsB (Dec 2, 2008)

I only have one horse stabled and he's an absolute pig!
My stable has a dirt floor so it usually always looks a little messy, but that along with my boy who likes to pee, poo then dig it all up makes for one messy stall!

SO ceaning is a pain. I usually use 3-4 bags of shavings a week. Two to refil after Ive cleaned it and 1 or 2 to top up through out the week. 

When it comes to pushing the shavings up to the edge, I do so to form an anti casting barrier (because Im a paranoid horsey owner lol!).

I dont know if its the same in the states as it is here, but it's cheaper to buy shavings in bulk. I buy mine in bags becasue I dont have anywhere to store it in bulk.


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## hillbillyin (Jul 26, 2008)

My two horses are kept outdoors---they have a 20'x20' shed. I tried first using wood shavings---it took at least 4 bales to even be very deep at all. Then I tried straw---it's cheaper, and only took 2 bales at a time. But finally, I decided to not use bedding at all. It seemed like having bedding in there caused them to go to the bathroom in there more. Plus, the straw seemed to keep the urine from draining down into the dirt floor. It was also causing so much work for me, that I was struggling to get my chores done in time to get ready for work in the mornings---and I was already getting up at 3:00 a.m.! So, now I don't use bedding, and my horses seem just fine. I clean their shed out twice a day.


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## toosexy4myspotz (Oct 7, 2007)

I keep at least 6-7 inches of shavings in Pocos stall at all times because he likes to lay down and is extremely messy. We use the shavings in the plastic or brown bags and to completely strip his stall and redo it I use 7-8 of them.


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## Strange (Jan 11, 2009)

I like shavings. Where I board they use about 2 bags per stall in 16 x 16 stalls, and all the stalls have rubber mats. The boarders can buy more shavings to use as they will, but the standard is 2 bags per stall, with rebedding about once a week, depending on the condition of the stall. I know my gelding got his stall rebedded less than the others because he usually went to the bathroom out in his run, then would come back into his stall.


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