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Beds!!
Sept 17, 2014 19:39:43 GMT 1
Post by antares on Sept 17, 2014 19:39:43 GMT 1
Crazycolt I would say you might use more than 3 bales a week on concrete as you have to ensure it is always deep enough for them not to bang themselves. On a concrete floor I really rather prefer a nice thick straw bed
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Post by clipclop on Sept 17, 2014 19:53:04 GMT 1
I use shavings. I have few horses but my choice is based on the fact I have a mare with copd and also lami prone so can't use anything she will eat. I tried the rape seed straw products and I found they made me cough so stopped using them. I also sold my rubber matting as with wet horses, unless you seal it, urine will always get underneath and most stables aren't built to drain like they used to. With wood pellets, I also found them dusty. Plus, I have never been able to get my head around their absorbancy claims - once you put the directed amount of water on them to 'fluff them up', you have somewhat reduced the absorbency left for urine! I use 1 bale of shavings per horse most weeks (2 for one who lies down and dreams, kicking her bed around) but occasionally add an extra one in. I use a combination of smaller flake shavings for absorbency and large flake ones to bulk the bed up. The pic below is the stable of the mare mentioned above. She is far from a clean and very wet. As she wees in the banks, I take the wet out every other day (otherwise I find too many dry shavings get mixed in with it) and skip out as frequently as possible. I don't take forever to muck out but am careful not to waste clean shavings. Depending on the size of the stable, so long as the bed is big enough, don't worry about there being concrete showing - if they've got a concrete yard to wander onto, a bit in the stable makes no difference imo. Sent from my GT-I9195 using proboards
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Beds!!
Sept 17, 2014 22:30:30 GMT 1
Post by jen1 on Sept 17, 2014 22:30:30 GMT 1
Shall I let you into a secret! Wood pellets are made out of saw dust, sawdust is about the third of the price , I use sawdust as a base and damp down and deep litter, and use shavings on top, think I used about a bag a month , horses stabled about 6 hour a day though, I moved all rubber mats to the front. Put sawdust at the back damped down , put shavings on the top,left till padded down , to about 3 to 4 inch deep, any patches that are looking yellow , rotate this into your banks. Any brown stuff got binned. 1 bag of shavings if thrown down. At once should last a fornight. Beds get yucky when there isnt enough put down at one time, if you have porus mats id put sawdust down dry under them and sweep it out when its damp, even dust extracted shavings break down over time causing dust , I usually start off with 1 ton bags filled over half full , for saw dust and 2 shavings on top,
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Beds!!
Sept 17, 2014 22:32:22 GMT 1
Post by jen1 on Sept 17, 2014 22:32:22 GMT 1
Mta , that sawdust makes the best dry deep litter pad ever, its solid , and doesn't kick up like shavings, just leave it be till it does it,
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Post by clipclop on Sept 17, 2014 22:41:52 GMT 1
That reminded me Jen, I once took on a very poor youngster that needed isolation for the first couple of weeks so went in a temporary stable. She needed a good enough bed to be in 24/7 but I also didn't want to spend a fortune as it would be completely thrown in a few weeks.
I got free sawdust from the local sawmill as a base and put a full straw bed on top. It was lovely - all the wet drained through the straw and the sawdust turned into a lovely base. I didn't add any bedding at all and it held up really well as the straw stayed nice and dry.
Sent from my GT-I9195 using proboards
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Beds!!
Sept 18, 2014 8:11:34 GMT 1
Post by crazycolt on Sept 18, 2014 8:11:34 GMT 1
The mats are the old-fashioned porous kind, and they act like a wick, so draw all the wet back up again. So if I put bedding on top the bedding gets soaked, hence the need to get rid! Thought about removing half of them, but wouldn't work 'cause they'd stand on the wrong bit, which still wouldn't help their feet! I'll keep thinking though!! Thanks all. x
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Beds!!
Sept 18, 2014 8:45:48 GMT 1
Post by marychick on Sept 18, 2014 8:45:48 GMT 1
might be worth buying some different mats? You can usually get decent 2nd hand ones quite cheap and it really would save you a lot on bedding in the long run
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Beds!!
Sept 18, 2014 9:18:03 GMT 1
Post by crazycolt on Sept 18, 2014 9:18:03 GMT 1
Thanks you for all the replies, got plenty to think about. Clipclop, that bed looks great! x
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Beds!!
Sept 18, 2014 9:39:04 GMT 1
Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2014 9:39:04 GMT 1
Must admit I'm not convinced my rubber mats ever saved me any money because I always wanted my horse to have a deep bed regardless Given a choice, my favourite bedding is bedmax shavings but woodchip were quicker to muck out and produced less waste. As others have said, putting a bit of woodchip under another bedding can also work really well.
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Beds!!
Sept 18, 2014 10:21:46 GMT 1
Post by marychick on Sept 18, 2014 10:21:46 GMT 1
haha Michelle I did exactly the same thing for years! But finances and time constraints mean now my horses have a thin(ish) layer of wood pellets on thick Eva matting which is nice and comfy. Enough bedding so they're not standing in wet but that is all so if I didn't have mats I couldn't do that. I admit I don't really dampen them down so they have more absorbency and that means it's not really dusty either. Most of the pellets are usually opened within a couple of days if you mix it all in. I admit the bed I like the most is bedmax too but I cant really afford it and I would also like someone to muck it out for me too!
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Post by jen1 on Sept 18, 2014 15:36:02 GMT 1
i dont use any bedding on top of rubber mats, trust me bog standard sawdust bought in ton bags, is just the best ,and saves a lot of dosh too,
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Beds!!
Sept 18, 2014 15:57:08 GMT 1
Post by crazycolt on Sept 18, 2014 15:57:08 GMT 1
I have to say that I think! if I had 'normal' non-porous rubber matting I would be happy doing what I do now, which is just a wee patch when they're in. It's my nasty mats that are the problem! x
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Beds!!
Sept 18, 2014 19:02:37 GMT 1
Post by portiabuzz on Sept 18, 2014 19:02:37 GMT 1
Hope you get it sorted, caspers always been so good and clean
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Beds!!
Sept 18, 2014 19:39:00 GMT 1
Post by jen1 on Sept 18, 2014 19:39:00 GMT 1
arnt those mats supposed to be on a grid on a sloped floor,?
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Post by mollichop on Sept 19, 2014 7:40:41 GMT 1
I have sealed rubber matting I. The stables and use Hemcore for 'wee patch' in their favoured areas for when they come in. If they have to be in overnight at all then they get a full bed put down still of hemp. I ordered a pallet full which was the cheapest way to get it direct and it's lasted me about 18 months? That was 20 odd bags. I chose the hemp route as research suggested it broke down quickly, more so than shavings, pellets, straw etc I'm happy with it
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