Silversons
Grand Prix Poster
Holgado II
Posts: 1,568
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Post by Silversons on Dec 17, 2009 21:52:03 GMT 1
I'm using wood pelets on rubber matting, have found the bed works best if you can keep a min of 4 inch bedding at all times. I scoop the pooh off daily and leave the wet, only take out when wet patch rises to surface. Litrally take just the really wet and don't disturbe the rest of the bed at all. one a month go through and muck the whole lot out, Use 10 10kilo bags @ £2.35 per bag a month sometimes top up with a bad of easybed as works better the deeper you can keep it.
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Post by jenniwren on Dec 18, 2009 19:42:14 GMT 1
The other thing you need to consider is the amount of ventilation you stabling has. Your bedding will dry out better if it's good.
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Post by honey on Dec 19, 2009 13:32:04 GMT 1
i found the best way is to give them a deep bed and basicaly deep itter as the pellets are designed to do. lift the droppings out everyday and fluff up the top of the bed but leave the bottom compacted and once a week i turn it over and lift the wee. so i get one barrow a day between three and at the weekend i would get about 2 wheel barrows a stable. i use 20kgs of pellets aweek per horse and there beds are getting bigger, and are clean on top and very dry.
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Post by lilaclomax on Jan 4, 2010 9:59:05 GMT 1
Took the plunge last night and have placed an order for 100 bags of Liverpool Wood Pellets Currently on cardboard and love it but it seems that we waste so much as if the poos are walked in it is impossible to seperate the cardboard from the mess.. I use 1.5 bags of cardboard a week in the back quarter of Shadow's stable and my friend a bale every other day.. it costs us £3.90 + VAT collected so is cheap but seems to work out more now. Hopefully once the initial bed is down I should be only putting in 1/2 bag - 1 bag a week and my friend 1-2 bags a week cutting the amount down by 66% and the same with the cost - fingers crossed! For a 12' by 12' stable I worked out.. Straw 4 bales a week @ £1.50 a bale = £6 Cardboard 3.5 bags a week @ £4.58 a 22kg bag = £16.03 Pellets 2 bags a week @ £2.16 a 10kg bag = £4.32 Shavings 1.5 bales a week @ £7.50 a 25kg bag = £11.25 Just going by my calculations last night this could work out cheaper than straw if they are not too messy on it, even using 3 bags of pellets is only £6.48 which compares to just over 4 bales of straw.
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Post by lilaclomax on Jan 4, 2010 21:01:08 GMT 1
The best explanation I have so far.. although may be a bit late to do more research now I have paid for them WHAT ARE WOOD PELLETS AND WHY ARE THEY USED AS EQUINE BEDDING? Wood pellets are a co-product of the wood industry and consist of mainly fine sawdust, compressed, heat treated and sterilised to remove tars, oils, hydro-carbons and other allergens. When water is added to the wood pellets they expand in size and can absorb up to 5 times more liquid than regular shavings and up to 9 times more liquid than straw. This in turn can reduce the amount of waste you are removing from your stables and ultimately lower the costs of stable bedding. Wood pellet bedding composts much quicker than shavings or straw which often do not fully compost. As wood pellets expand with use, the product that ends up in the compost system has a much smaller particle size that breaks down quickly and easily. Using pellet bedding is exceptionally easy and far less expensive as many who have changed to this system will testify. It does take a bit of practice to use wood pellets effectively and you really do need to give yourself some time to get used to them. If you have ever used wood pellets as cat litter you should have a good idea of how well they work at minimizing smells and reducing waste, leaving the litter tray dry and easy to clean out. USING THE PELLETS Completely clear the stable of all used and unused bedding then place 6-8 bags of pellets for a 12’x12’ stable, this should last over a week without having to add additional bedding depending on your horse and how much time they spend in their stable. DO NOT add too much bedding at the start as pellets will expand greatly as they absorb moisture. Too much bedding will make it more difficult to clean and will not allow the stable to ventilate properly, you are aiming for a depth of 4”. Before tipping the pellet bags into the stable, please read further.. Place the bags around the clean stable, cut a cross in the top side of each bag then pour 3 litres of water into each bag. Wetting the bedding prior to putting it down in your stables will help the pellets to expand more effectively, absorb more waste products and last much longer. Pre-wetting also stops the horse from crushing the pellets or slipping. Once the pellets have been sufficiently watered, leave them for at least fifteen minutes to allow the pellets to expand. If only a small amount of expansion has occurred add more water and wait a bit longer. Once the pellets look like they are expanding and are 'sandy' in appearance empty them into the stable, if you are unsure of the amount required start with 6 bags as you can always add more at a later date until you are happy with the thickness of the bedding. The bedding will still have some pellets which have not fully broken down (up to 20%) these will break down as the bedding is used. For cleaning just remove the solids with a manure fork or using gloves, for the wet spot(s) take out any lumps that have clumped together on the top, try not to dig too deep or disturb too much of the bed. You can gently mix the remaining top wet areas into the rest of the bedding. The purpose of this is to have the drier bedding absorb the moisture. If the bedding becomes too dry or dusty, just sprinkle water as needed and mix thoroughly. Once this bedding process is started, you can maintain a comfortable base with an even consistency by adding more pre-moistened pellets (Which you can pre-moistened in your wheel barrow process just as before, never add dry pellets into the stable). Cleaning the stable is going to be a little different from other methods and if you have used scoop-able cat litter before you will notice the similarities. The urine will clump into a puck-like shape, which you can easily scoop out with a fork or by hand. Keep in mind that sometimes the urine 'puck' will break apart so just take out any of the solid parts and leave the rest in the stable. The moisture from the excess urine will help the product to continue expanding. Odour should not be an issue as wood pellets are a natural deodorizer. You will need to add approximately 1-2 bags of pellets bedding to your stables each week using the process outlined above. Ensuring that you pre-wet the pellets as before using the wheel barrow process and ensure no completely dry pellets are allowed to enter the stable. It is helpful to get the new bedding started in a separate wheelbarrow while you clean the stables so that it is ready to add when you are finished cleaning. You will probably want to completely strip and restart each stable every 2-3 months, which will give the stables time to air out and you can disinfect them properly, thus creating a sterile enviroment. USING WOOD PELLETS WITH OTHER TYPES OF BEDDING If you are using wood pellets as a secondary bedding to soak up moisture then pre-moisten the pellets first using the wheelbarrow before adding to the stable. We have a few customers who like to use straw as their primary bedding for additional forage and use wood pellets under the area where their horse urinates to soak excess liquid and minimise any ammonia. The pellets are unpalatable to horses in either their pellet form or broken down.
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Post by zack&buffysmum on Jan 4, 2010 21:35:07 GMT 1
I've been using it for about 3 months now and I'm loving it! The stable has thick EVA matting on the concrete floor and I do a bed on about a quarter of it where he wee's mostly. I start with about 6 X 10 kilo bags. I take out the poo and the VERY wet patches daily and sieve it!! I use a garden sieve (vastly cheaper than the overpriced fork thingy's they sell for this type of bedding) some of the damper stuff gets mixed in with the drier bits and all but the tiniest bits of poo are removed. once a week I add a bag of dry pellets to top it up and do this for the next 3 weeks and then on the 4th week I clear it out and put a fresh bed down. By the end of the 2nd week it is looking noticeably browner but there is virtually no smell and it's perfectly dry. I use to use straw and the ammonia from that was awful but with the pellets it's virtually non existant. I've bought a pallet load of liverpool wood pellets which work out at £3.00 a bag and I'm using 9 a month.
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Post by happyhacker on Jan 4, 2010 22:30:51 GMT 1
Just finally got rid of my wood pellet bed. Back to shavings now. My friend and I decided to share the cost of a first load to see how we liked them. At first we loved them. No smell and seemed quick and light work. I had a deep bed and my friend had a slightly smaller one for our horses. We both felt the horses didn't lie down as much and as time passed it became heavy and the stable never felt clean. Not sure if other makes are better,We where on Liverpool woodpellets. Not a great fan I'm afraid.
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Post by chrissiew on Jan 5, 2010 14:35:17 GMT 1
Will be interesting to see how things progress, but I've just switched to 5 star wood pellet bedding and so far love it. Put 7 bags down initially a week ago and have been taking out bad wet patch and droppings daily, but mixing rest in. Added a bag today (didn't really need to I don't think though, so hoping neddy isn't touching the ceiling by tonight!!!).
Will see how things go, as have only invested in a smallish quantity to start with to see if I like it.
What I do like is the bed doesn't move around as much as other types of bedding - I actually like the fact its a bit heavier/denser and makes a nice cushiony bed - has stayed lovely and pale looking too, but not sure if that is because its the proper horse stuff rather than the fuel pellets, which I won't use as my mare is extremely prone to allergies.
Switched from paper and much prefer it so far.
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steve
Grand Prix Poster
Posts: 1,640
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Post by steve on Jan 5, 2010 19:33:45 GMT 1
Sorry I haven't logged on for ages! Yes I do have 4 big horses, 16.1; 16.2; 17 & 17.2!! I'm spending absolute fortunes on bedding at the moment! I ordered 100 bags of White Horse Bedding wood pellets, I had the beds already established with Liverpool wood pellets and I have used about 60 bags in just over 2 weeks!! I tried White Horse as I was assured it was a far more superior product, but although the pellets are slightly whiter in colour they are no more absorbant and not worth the extra cost in my opinion! I was dissapointed with the pellets as I really thought if I put water on them they would really go mad and fluff up but it only fluffed up a little! The instructions said 10x 10kg bags for a stable to start up with - I used 26 bags to get what I thought was a decent bed and I have rubber matting!!
My horses are out during daylight hours and in whilst it's dark - I do this as there is little grass to eat (just snow!) and even if I hay the field they want to come in come dusk.
The 100 bags cost me £365.00 and I just dont think I'd have used that much woodchip!! They are great to start with but once the bed has absorbed all the wee, then you have to take a hell of a lot of bedding out and put a hell of a lot back in!! I tried mixing the damp patches and putting some bags in completely dry to be more absorbant but I still find I take 3 wheel barrows out of Max every day. I now find the bed is full of poo, and I am one of those people who spend hours on my hands and knees picking out every last bit!!
I'm not going to be buying any more wood pellets, I think it's fine if you have a clean horse but I'm going back to good old expensive shavings!!
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Amanda Seater
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Listen to your horse you may be surprised what he may tell you about yourself
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Post by Amanda Seater on Jan 5, 2010 19:49:18 GMT 1
well so far i find that they work with the horses that aren't rehersing for strictly come dancing in the night! All that polka, tango and quick step just render the beds a complete nightmare.
So I now use it under straw to take up moisture
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Leanne
Olympic Poster
Where you lie, my heart lies also.
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Post by Leanne on Jan 5, 2010 19:51:43 GMT 1
Thank you for all the replies it has helped a lot. I am still getting used to it, but it seems to be working ok. I've had it for about 6 weeks n ow, and so far have only put down 13 10kg bags, 10 to start and 3 as top up. His bed is still thick, I haver found it a lot better than hemcore.
It rarely smell and I've only found it a bit red once or twice.
Steve, my horse wees a lot, i'm suprised you are using that much, I've found it to be a lot better, I only take out the very wet bedding and if it is smelling. I'm not used to this but I'm finding it rarely smells and I've only found it a bit red once or twice. Saying that mine is only 14.2 lol
Does anyone else find that the clean bedding tends to clump into tiny little balls to?
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Post by donnalex on Jan 6, 2010 10:38:57 GMT 1
I have found that if you top up the pellet bed with a bag of shavings maybe once a week the bed is easier to work, more fluffy yet still soaks up lots of wet. The best of both worlds. The pellet bedding actually is damp, dont care what anyone says. When you rake it out and walk on it you leave depressions all over it as it sticks together with the wet and if you pick it up it feels colder than a shavings bed and damper. I think it could be a life saver for a laminitic with funer to provide support as it sticks underneath your feet arches and in the horses feet. I wonder if it could be bad for a pony with arthritis as it is damp all the time and damp is not great for any animal with arthritis. It is definitely damp, thats why they are not dusty.
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Post by lilaclomax on Jan 6, 2010 11:11:38 GMT 1
I hope I have not hi-jacked the thread on my mission for the perfect bedding! Doesn't the damp mimic the wild enviroment though? I would love Shadow to live out 24/7 with access to good shelter but the ground he would lie on would be damp.. and harder than a comfy straw bed! I think the more bedding made available to us the more confused people get.. same with feeds I should really add that I use rubber matting in 3/4 of the stable, the back 1/4 has no hay, feed or water in it and no mat so the bedding will be against the floor. I find that with bedding on top of mats the wet drains through too quickly for the bedding to soak it up and you end up with wet underneath the mats. With the mat removed Shadow wees onto the bedding and through to the concrete underneath but the bedding then soaks the wet back up before it runs under the mats. All I am looking for is a quick and easy bed to muck out which doesn't cause allergies and also absorbs the smell and urine. I understand that you cannot get a 100% dust free bed but by keeping the pellets damp I hope to try my best. (The stables have great ventilation)
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steve
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Posts: 1,640
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Post by steve on Jan 6, 2010 13:59:13 GMT 1
It's worked well for 2 of our horses as they are pretty clean in their stables and have a wee and poo area but Max and Austin just wee and poo everywhere! Max then lies in it, stands in it, tramples it in and mixes it in!! He's very calm and quiet in his stable and it's a nice big 15x15ft box so plenty of room!!
I found it great for the first few weeks but once the bed had absorbed a lot of wee, the wet patches went really hard, so I took as much of the wet out as I could, which was about half the stable!! then topped it back up, I know for Casper who doesn't wee as much or trample it in I'm only using 3-4 bags a week but I still think shavings would be about the same cost and I prefer the look and feel of shavings - unfortunately we aren't allowed to bed down on straw as it's only a pound a bale here!!
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Leanne
Olympic Poster
Where you lie, my heart lies also.
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Post by Leanne on Jan 6, 2010 19:34:24 GMT 1
Donnalex -I find I have a lot of clean that I cover the damp bedding with, I'm going to use up as much as I can and then start a new bed, he is relatively clean, just wet. But I might do that though thank you lol np lilomax. I find the bedding isn't perfect but the best i've found so far. I hate hemcore. Sounds like he likes to have party Steve What about rubber matting?
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