# Hog Fuel - have you heard of it, and what is your experience



## mydaddysjag (Nov 24, 2008)

I have been doing a lot of research as we're planning to build a small row barn or run in shed with stalls next spring, and I'm expecting to have some issues with mud in my paddock.

I know the obvious gravel, and Im also checking out the alternatives. I've come across this stuff called "hog fuel" It seems to be large chunks of bark and wood fiber, so it is easy on the feet, but drains well. It seems a lot of big horse people use this for mud control, and I was wondering if anyone here has tried it. It is biodegradable, but it is in larger chunks so it supposedly takes a while to break down. I guess I see this as a pro and con. The pro being that it will eventually break down, and when hubby and I move out again my parents yard wont have a lot of gravel in it. The con is that so far I haven't found anywhere that says how long it usually takes to break down, so Im not sure how often it needs replaced. A lot of big horse places use it for footing in arenas because it drains well, and isn't really hard on the legs. What Im thinking about doing is having 1 large pasture(which I know in winter after is thaws will be a mud hole) Then having a small paddock that I can put them in when the pasture is just too muddy. The small paddock is what Im considering the hog fuel for. I thought it might work kind of like a dry lot.

If you have used it, let me know your experiences, if not here is a link you can check out:

Lane forest products hog fuel


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## susanminiponygirl (Nov 24, 2008)

I have never heard of it before by that name, however, from looking at the ad, it looks like the recycled mulch that we get at our recycling centers here in Florida. The centers take all the plant and tree debris and grind it, give it away free for lawn mulch. Before I got any, I would want to be sure what type of plant material had passed thru the grinder that might be toxic to horses.


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## hobbyhorse23 (Nov 24, 2008)

The hog's fuel my first driving trainer used in her arena was INCREDIBLY deep stuff. Big horses didn't have much problem driving in it but my mini looked like you'd asked him to buckle down and pull a logging skid.




We've used gravel before at my house but the problem is it gets ground into the mud so quickly. Granted the mud is then much firmer, but it's still mud!





What we ended up doing was getting this liner stuff that road crews apparently put down underneath asphalt and using it in the worst high-traffic areas like in front of the gates. You shovel out the dirt/mud to below ground level, lay this stuff down, then put the dirt and some gravel back in and the liner keeps the gravel from getting mixed into the ground. It was very effective! You'd never know it's there once buried but the ground remains firm and useable.

Leia


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## Miniv (Nov 24, 2008)

Hog Fuel are pretty good sized chunks, so as Leia said, they wouldn't work in a round pen or arena setting for minis. BUT we did put some down in a boggy area outside of the barn that just never seemed to dry up and it did work for us...... I think it took about 3 years before we had to add more.......


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## gvpalominominis (Nov 24, 2008)

Ah ha... good ole hog fuel. Coming from the mud capital of the world... surrounding Seattle area... like Leia, mud can be a big problem due to our surface water issues... mild rains ...ha ha ha and heavy traffic path areas. I would be interested to find out more about the material you used Leia to lay underneath though.

You're right, hog fuel its not good at for use in a round pen or arena footing for the smaller sort of equine. The secret to using hog fuel effectively is to lay it BEFORE there is a problem.. It works best if the muddy mush areas are scraped away (if not done before the rain saturates the ground) and the hog fuel layed down rather deeply. If its too late, and the mud is already present, the rule of thumb for thickness is twice the height... in other words... if there is 5" of mud... you lay 10"s of hog fuel... other wise you'll just have deeper mud.

It is biodegradable... it just takes longer because its heavy chips and chunks of bark sometimes called shag. Make sure that no toxic type shrubs or bushes have be chipped in with it (Boxwood etc.) How long it lasts will be determined on the traffic through the area, how thick you lay it and how much water is needed to be warded off.

If your paddock usually is a catch basin for run-off or rain water... you may still have trouble... or just end up diverting the trouble somewhere else. That water has to go some where. You may need a better drainage plan. Water flows to the lowest point of ground.

Sometimes hog fuel can be pretty dirty too.... depends on what time of year it was chipped up and stored.

Hope that helps : )


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## susanne (Nov 24, 2008)

Before ordering anything, be sure they can guarantee the contents -- often hog fuel is a hodgepodge of wood sources, some of which are not safe.

A friend of mine who owns horses and a small tree nursery uses hog fuel for all of her roads throughout her farm. I've stepped off of the road, and bellieve me, the hog fuel does its job! (The road was very walkable, but I was in deep, horrid mud when I miss-stepped.)

It is too chunky for an arena or round pen...I've considered it in non-work areas that turn into bogs...I also need to find what is the northwest equivalent of chat.

Unlike Leia, I'm far too lazy to dig out the entire corral! (Give me mud instead!)


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## Equuisize (Nov 24, 2008)

Another Pacific NW person here........I don't think we could live without hog fuel.....

We get it from a great source that sells it almost entirely to horse people. It's a nice

size and in the winter horses and people alike would be walking in muck without it.

We use it in all the pathways the horses use to travel to and from.......if they poop in it

it's a bit hard to clean out and you tend to throw a bit away before it gets packed into

the mud....... We brought it into the barn we boarded at for 9 years and had such a

great build up of it we never saw standing water or mud after that many years.

We cleaned the runways daily and sometimes would put down two loads a year.

It does decompose after awhile but by continuing to layer it you'll eventually have

a very solid base.

I detest mud and it makes me feel better knowing they are not standing in it.

This is our 2nd winter here and I'll be happy when we get our base built up.....


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## nicmac74 (Nov 24, 2008)

CEDAREST!!!I just love, love this stuff. I have it in my paddocks and there is zero mud, it smells great, super low maintenance and the horse love it plus it helps keep flies away in Summer and it is easy to pick through. After it rains, it dries in one day and is fluffy and clean again. Amazing product. It comes in bags that are approx. $8 but once you have it down..you only need to add a couple of bags every few months. It is not like shavings and it has great draining properties. Perfect for small paddocks. Only thing is- some horse are allergic to Cedar so you might want to test that out first.







mydaddysjag said:


> I have been doing a lot of research as we're planning to build a small row barn or run in shed with stalls next spring, and I'm expecting to have some issues with mud in my paddock.I know the obvious gravel, and Im also checking out the alternatives. I've come across this stuff called "hog fuel" It seems to be large chunks of bark and wood fiber, so it is easy on the feet, but drains well. It seems a lot of big horse people use this for mud control, and I was wondering if anyone here has tried it. It is biodegradable, but it is in larger chunks so it supposedly takes a while to break down. I guess I see this as a pro and con. The pro being that it will eventually break down, and when hubby and I move out again my parents yard wont have a lot of gravel in it. The con is that so far I haven't found anywhere that says how long it usually takes to break down, so Im not sure how often it needs replaced. A lot of big horse places use it for footing in arenas because it drains well, and isn't really hard on the legs. What Im thinking about doing is having 1 large pasture(which I know in winter after is thaws will be a mud hole) Then having a small paddock that I can put them in when the pasture is just too muddy. The small paddock is what Im considering the hog fuel for. I thought it might work kind of like a dry lot.
> 
> If you have used it, let me know your experiences, if not here is a link you can check out:
> 
> Lane forest products hog fuel


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## gorgeous (Nov 24, 2008)

We live in the southeast and even though we have been in the midst of a draught for several years, we still have mud in winter. We have bought hog fuel in bulk and had it delivered by the truck load. We spread it over high traffic areas and it works very well to keep mud under control. We try to spread it about 8 to 10 inches thick to begin and then add throoughout the winter as it gets packed down into the mud. One dump truck load will last all winter with plenty left over for spring mud. By late spring we have just dust until about January. We have 5 big horses and 22 minis in 8 pastures.


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## funnybunny (Nov 25, 2008)

Can you tell me why it is called "hog fuel?" I'd never heard it called that before.


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## jayne (Nov 25, 2008)

Until someone more knowledgeable of the industry pipes in, I'll give you what I know. The term Hog Fuel comes from the logging industry. When the logs get to the mill they are debarked. When they are cut into lumber there are extra pieces that can't be used. All this is chopped up and turned into 'hog fuel' that is burned to provide heat for the drying rooms. I don't know all the technical terms, but you get the idea. This explains why those of us in the Northwest are maybe more familiar with this product in that we have a fairly large amount of lumber mills.

Hog fuel works fine if you can lay it down thickly and continue to add more as it breaks down. I actually prefer a type of sand that is fairly coarse and also has small round rocks in it (I think our gravel pit sells it for making concrete). It packs fairly well and it's much easier to clean up poops and unwanted hay off of it than if hog fuel was the base.

Lastly, sometimes you can find a tree trimming crew in your neighborhood that is chipping trees. If you stop and ask, they are often happy to dump the load in a pile at your place. Now this has more green stuff and smaller branches chopped up in it, but if it is mostly pine like it is here, it works just as well if you put it deeply. Just make sure they're not chipping anything that can be dangerous to the animals.

Jayne


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## funnybunny (Nov 25, 2008)

Thanks, Jayne, for the explanation of the term "hog fuel." Interesting.

Never heard it called that before, so I didn't know what it was. I think it is just called "bark mulch" here.


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## Shari (Nov 25, 2008)

I have been using Shedded Cedar Mulch for a number of years and it works great.

For the round pen... I put in those wood burning pellets..with the wax coating in the round pen... they fluff up, with the rain we have and keep the horses off the clay soil. It is easy for the horses to work in and gives them good footing. Mine last for about a year.

I can't use sand because Maggie gets Gravel/White line issues when her wee hooves have to stand around in sand.


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## susanne (Nov 25, 2008)

Shari, They also call the shredded cedar bark mulch "gorilla mulch," since it resembles coarse hair (I'm sure any gorilla would be insulted.)

Before we first got Mingus, I bought a vanful of gorilla mulch when Home Depot had it at a ridiculously low price -- I had them stuff in every bag they could possibly fit. I thought I was creating new garden beds and laid the stuff thick over sheets of cardboard. Before I could plant, however, we were offered the chance to adopt Mingus (then known as Squirt), and this area became part of the corral. Come mud season (October through June in the NW), that was the only part of the corral that wasn't boot-sucking mud.

What is your source for the shredded cedar bark? If I could find it again at a similar price, I'd do it (watching for allergies, of course).

Funny thing, while I haven't done a thorough search, none of the fuel/bark/gravel companies I've called carry hog fuel or anything resembling it...and that's in a logging community! Oh well, I know I just haven't called the right places.

As for street tree crews, I stopped to talk with the workers once when we still lived in Portland. When I told them it was for our horses, they were extremely knowledgeable about what trees to avoid -- they told me before I could get it out. They said that they have crews that specialize in firs and other conifers, and that I could specifically ask for them. Unfortunately, our back alley was too tight of a fit for their huge trucksw, so we never got any...


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