5 Issues to Think about When Selecting Stall Bedding

1. What are you going to make use of it for? The most typical use of bedding for stalls is to soak up urine and make cleansing manure simpler in your horse’s stalls. On this case, shavings or wooden pellets and even newspaper are your greatest wager. Most will soak up the urine and a few will even assist with odor management. Nonetheless, watch out when you choose your shavings – black walnut shavings might be harmful to your horse. Nonetheless, if you happen to plan to make use of bedding to assist shield your horse’s legs and provides him a delicate spot to face, you’ll in all probability wish to use shavings. But in addition contemplate placing stall mats (like these provided by Basic Equine Gear) down first. This will help cut back the quantity of shavings you employ and provides your horse one other layer of cushioning. 2. What’s out there in your space and in your funds? Not all merchandise can be found all over the place. For instance, I noticed a number of ads in nationwide magazines for a pelleted product referred to as “Woody Pet.” It sounded excellent, however it was not out there in my space. For those who stay close to a woodworker or lumber mill, you would possibly be capable of get a deal on shavings or sawdust – should ensure you ask what sort they’re. Three. The place are you going to retailer it? Bedding created from shavings or sawdust requires a big, coated space to maintain them from flying round and/or getting moist. In case you have a big horse operation, shopping for bulk shavings could also be economical. However when you’ve got a smaller farm with four or so horses, it’s possible you’ll discover that wooden pellets that are available in baggage are the best to retailer and use. four. How lengthy will it final? You need a bedding that does the job of cushioning your horse and absorbing urine, however doesn’t turn into so saturated that it’s onerous to take away or causes irritation to your horse. It is higher to scrub extra usually than to attend till bedding turns into completely saturated. Damp or moist bedding softens the horse’s hooves and gives a bacterial breeding floor. Bedding that doesn’t soak up properly additionally permits extra ammonia to be launched and might irritate your horse’s respiratory system. Dusty or moldy bedding may also be a respiratory irritant. It is necessary to develop a great mucking routine when cleansing the stalls. By instructing employees to solely decide up manure and dirty bedding, you may make all merchandise last more. As well as, contemplate the place you place your shavings. For those who unfold them all around the stall, even underneath the water and feed buckets, you’re in all probability losing your bedding. Some horses have favourite spots the place they urinate – mattress extra closely there and skip areas the place your horse would not go. 5. What are you going to do with it after it has been used? As soon as the bedding has been dirty, you’ll, in fact, need to do away with it. Composting is a method, however sure beddings do not break down as shortly as others. Straw and wooden pellets break down fairly shortly within the compost pile. Wooden shavings and sawdust don’t. I’ve a small farm with four horses and have discovered that wooden pellets made particularly for horse bedding work greatest for me. They’re simple to retailer, simple to scrub and straightforward to eliminate. I sometimes mattress a brand new stall with 6-7 baggage of pellets. I clear stalls 1-2 occasions/day, eradicating any solids. I attempt to scrape the moist areas all the way down to the ground, and let the air get into it to dry. Some pelleted bedding comes with an anti-ammonia additive, or I will add a bit stall freshener like PDZ. Bedding sometimes lasts Three-5 weeks and I simply add extra when wanted.