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Post by 2 bays & a grey:D on Dec 7, 2011 13:05:18 GMT 1
I have relented & buying some matting for my stables. What are your experiences? Do you really make a saving. At present I am spending approx £30-£40 a week on bedding (shavings). McGyver is filthy so he is getting the most. I am obssessed with big beds but I can't afford to bed all three on big beds (to have a bed that I really want I would be looking to spend about £50 a week on bedding which is just ridiculous!) Where in your experiences is the best value to buy from. I know it seems a useless thread but I need to get my head around them not having mashoosive beds and just want thoughts.
Thanks
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Post by antares on Dec 7, 2011 13:17:20 GMT 1
I got mine from my local farm shop, around 30 each depending on thickness maybe a little more. If you continue to use a thick bed then you'll never save any money!!
I only put bedding in half of the stable, one bale per stable per week usually does the trick. I spread only a thin layer over the mats and bank the rest up pulling part of the banks down every day to re-cover the bits I've taken out. I use the most absorbant bedding I can find, the cheap shavings just don't work as well. At the end of the week all shavings are removed, floor cleaned and then a fresh bale put down
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2011 13:58:18 GMT 1
I got second hand ones but am not convinced they saved me anything I'm afraid. I made his bed smaller so it was the same depth but only came half way forward, but he still wee'd the same amount so still dirtied the same amount of bedding. It took less time to muck out and stopped him scraping his hocks when lying down, but I can't bear horses smelling of wee where they've laid down on thin beds so actually didn't save any bedding at all.
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Post by donnalex on Dec 7, 2011 14:07:37 GMT 1
It does cut down on injuries but they end up very wet with matting and a smaller bed. My beds are the driest they have ever been this year as I am giving them sodium and magnesium which has stopped them driking loads. Im totally kicking myself I didnt have it done sooner as Alexs stable was always swimming even on wood pellets and shavings. The money I have spent on the mag and salt I would have spent more by now on shavings! This winter I am deep littering on straw and I just cant believe how much Im saving both in time and money!
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Post by antares on Dec 7, 2011 14:29:11 GMT 1
Pony nut can you tell me more about the sodium magnesium supplements? One of mine does seem to drink an awful lot! Where do you get the stuff from and how do you know how much to give?
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Post by 2 bays & a grey:D on Dec 7, 2011 14:39:11 GMT 1
Thats my bug bear with rubber matting & why I have never invested in it sooner- the lying in wet bit. However, McGyver is lying in wet anyway as he exposes all his bedding moving around so is lying on concrete and wet. I have a problem too as I can't fit 4 shavings per week in my car, can just about get 3 in so my mum is going for me- she announced today she wasn't doing it anymore as the lane is ruining her car (she always goes through the pot holes), I won't buy off the yard as they are rubbish and I end up using about 10 a week to sustain decent beds. I so wish I could be on straw- i hate shavings always have
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Bella
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Post by Bella on Dec 7, 2011 15:00:15 GMT 1
I bought second hand mats for my stable a couple of years ago. My stable is about 12ft long x 15ft wide and at first I matted the whole stable but as it has a small slope at the front I foud the wee was running down so I took the front mats out. I bed with shavings, at first I was putting a bale down (£7.50 a bale) every other day as I was mucking out properly. Now I just take out the poos and a little wet and on the put a bale down every 4th or 5th day, so I suppose I semi deep litter Modified to say she has a lovely bed about 10" thick with big banks.
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Post by donnalex on Dec 7, 2011 15:50:27 GMT 1
Pony nut can you tell me more about the sodium magnesium supplements? One of mine does seem to drink an awful lot! Where do you get the stuff from and how do you know how much to give? For a 13.1hh pony I give 20g of magnesium a day and 5g of Saxa salt. My neighbour is doing the same thing and cant believe her Highland is now very clean and dry in his stable. Poor Alex was known as 'The swamp donkey' if oly Id known! Logic tells me that they should wee and therefore drink more when given salt but they are only obviously drinking because their body salts are unbalanced. It would be safe enough to give salt and magnesium at these levels and see how you go as both are excreted if fed too much. Magnesium - easiest place to get it is Magnitude from tack shops made be Equine America and Sax table salt is recommended
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Post by antares on Dec 7, 2011 16:20:37 GMT 1
That's great, will defo give it a go. Are you seeing any other effects from using this either good or bad?
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Post by donnalex on Dec 7, 2011 17:07:04 GMT 1
Well Im supplementing quite a few minerals such as copper, zinc, biotin and loads of thers but I did start them on salt and magnesium on advice from Forageplus whilst Sarah worked out what I needed. Straightaway and before the minerals were delivered my stables dried up Ive gone all happy clappy mineral balancinng mad ha ha tell me to shut up! When I move the first thing I will do is get the grass analysed, save me guessing. The money I have spent of supplements ad guessing would have paid for it three times over not to mention the bedding I am saving
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sazjayp
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Post by sazjayp on Dec 7, 2011 17:12:22 GMT 1
I don't really save money through using rubber matting - it just gives me peace of mind regarding minimising possible scraping injuries etc.
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Post by donnalex on Dec 7, 2011 17:29:31 GMT 1
I don't really save money through using rubber matting - it just gives me peace of mind regarding minimising possible scraping injuries etc. Same here
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Post by specialized on Dec 7, 2011 19:02:51 GMT 1
We use rubber matting and just put a small area of flax bedding to pee on and the surplus wet drains away as the floors slope, the stables are dry and all the horses are happy to lie on the mats. Just sweep everything out every day. Saves a fortune on bedding as one bale at £8 will do 6 stables for 2 days - so much less than a bale per horse per week.
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Post by Beth&Rosie on Dec 7, 2011 19:11:06 GMT 1
I am giving them sodium and magnesium which has stopped them driking loads Can I also say that peeing loads can be a sign of hormonal imbalance in mares? Rosie was soooo wet and now she is on oestress and a salt lick and on a slightly deeper bed, she is sooooo much better because she pees less and she isn't lying in mushed together brown muck made of shavings poop and pee! NOT a good combo for a mainly white coloured!
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Post by taklishim on Dec 7, 2011 19:25:01 GMT 1
we matted 6 stables with fieldguard mats 15 years ago. The design of the mats allows water to go through them off the bed and they need to be laid on floors with a slope and suitable drains. Previously we were using 12 bales per week on 6 stables. Now we use 2 bales per week over 6 beds in winter and we struggle to even get through 1 bale a week between the 6 beds in summer despite the fact they are inside for long periods in summer. I budget for 6 bales a month on average over a year for the 6 boxes.
The savings have been thousands and thousands of pounds. Fieldguard are not the cheapest make and they have to be well laid to be success but once that is done the savings are great, the beds dry and the rugs just as clean as if the beds were shavings etc etc
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