# Pine pelleted bedding...pros or cons



## JMS Miniatures (Dec 28, 2011)

Researching on bedding because I think there has to be a better way then shavings and was wondering if anyone has used pelleted bedding? I've even seen people using sand as bedding but not sure if thats a good idea, but they've had great success with using sand. Just looking for opinions for what you like to use as bedding.


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## Lindi-loo (Dec 28, 2011)

I will be watching this thread with great interest as Im also trying to find a better way to bedding..I use deep straw but Im sure there is an easier way with the same comfort..this time of the year the ponies come in muddy and wet most days so I have to renew it daily


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## Nathan Luszcz (Dec 28, 2011)

I used it at a QH show barn and it was WONDERFUL. What I did notice:

1) To make it last longest, you have to leave it in pellet form. Do not add more than a misting of water.

2) Follow the directions RELIGIOUSLY.

3) When the directions end (3-4 weeks? don't recall exactly), its time to strip the stall and start over. Do not try to milk it along.

4) Have a good place to dispose of the waste, cuz it STINKS and gets VERY hot. Composts FAST! Just a day or two and its heated up. Don't do what we did and make a pile in the barn, and scoop it onto a trailer weekly. It'll knock you flat.


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## albahurst (Dec 28, 2011)

Paper shavings here and LOVE them!

I used the pelleted at a show a few yrs back and they worked ok - just not soft.


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## mydaddysjag (Dec 28, 2011)

I use the pelleted bedding, and LOVE it. They do last much longer if you dont wet them first, BUT if you have a horse you think might try to eat them, they do need misted first. I stripped and re bedded stalls October 30, and I clean stalls once a day. I have not needed to strip the stalls since, and there is no odor. If I find a super wet spot, I pick it out, otherwise I just use my fine tines fork to pick the poop out. I do fluff the bedding once or twice a week, it sometimes gets packed down. I did try 1 horse on tractor supply shavings for a week before switching him to the pellets too. Its a colt that I thought might try to eat pellets, thats why I tried shavings at first. I will NEVER use the TSC shavings again. The shavings didnt absorb the pee, instead I had puddles on my matts under the shavings. The stall stunk, was about impossible to clean without just using a shovel to scoop bedding out, and anytime my horse layed down, he would end up stinking like pee, despite me cleaning stalls daily.


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## targetsmom (Dec 28, 2011)

I love the pelleted bedding too, but it looks like everyone has a different technique! First of all, I never buy the pellets used in woodstoves - only the ones sold by reputable livestock suppliers. A tiny bit of the wrong kind of "wood" (e.g. black walnut) could be deadly, and I won't take a risk.

I DON'T use them as straight pellets (too much like ball bearings to me) - I always wet them down first in a big muck bucket until they are like sawdust and just the right color and consistency for me. Also, I rarely if ever strip a stall. What I do is pick the poop out each day (with a fine tines fork), then remove the pee spots and completely stir up the rest of the bedding and fluff it up. I add some more hydrated bedding each day, spreading it on top where it acts as a deodorizer. If it gets a bit dusty, I might add more water to the stall or (don't tell) just leave a bit of pee spot. If I don't have any hydrated bedding, I will add some pellets.

Oh, the pee spots get spread in our sand ring or used to cover mud or icy spots. Only the manure gets spread.


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## eagles ring farm (Dec 28, 2011)

We have used pelleted bedding for about 5-6 years now having switched from shavings

I would never want to switch back.

We do not wet our pellets (except with a young foal to be sure they don't eat them)just mix some more in with what is there when we need more. They break down in a couple days. We also clean our stalls every day without fail.

It is more expensive to start but alot cheaper once your established we just take out really wet spots when they start to turn orange other wet areas just spread around mixed with dry.Pick out the poop and thats it. Maybe we add another bag on average every 3 weeks. Some more often some less often. We like our stalls bedded somewhat deep. We never strip our stalls

We started using Woody Pet but due to price increases our suppier stopped carrying it. The past few years we use Eagle Valley. Very happy with both. Never any odor problems either.

and they take up so much less room to store


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## ruffian (Dec 28, 2011)

I'm with Albahurst. If you can get paper shavings you will never use anything else again.

I tried it all -

Sawdust - Labor intensive, hard to store, not very absorbent. Dusty. Least expensive. Hard to use at shows. Doesn't control odor much. Not sure on pricing

Shavings - look nice, easier to put handle, but pretty much useless in the way of absorption or odor control. Does smell good to me when I put it down, nice piney scent. Easy to use at shows but very ineffective. Expensive - 2 bags per stall at shows and not much coverage. $6-8 bag

Corn Pellets - somewhat effective but dusty. Not much odor control. Horses like to nibble. Expensive needed to use 4-6 bags per stall and directions state to strip stalls after about a month (I think). $5 - 7/bag

Wood pellets - Less effective than corn pellets. VERY VERY DUSTY. Always had scum on top of the water pails. Somewhat effective. I also left them whole and found them to absorb more that way. Never understood why you would need to WET something that you wanted to be absorbent????? Expensive - 6-8 bags per stall and strip stalls in 4-6 weeks. Doesn't absorb odor much. It and corn pellets break down into something resembling sawdust, so very labor intensive to strip out. ($5-7 per bag)

Straw - fairly inexpensive but very labor intensive to clean out. Somewhat absorbent, but once wet stays wet.

Paper Shavings - LOVE THEM ! ONE bag per stall at shows. My stalls are 8 x 8. I use 1/4 to 1/2 bag per stall. My stalls are either attached to runs or the horse is only in at night. Basically Im' lazy and don't pick stalls every day. I strip the stalls about every 10 - 14 days or so and there is NO odor, and NO lingering wetness or soaked spots. no ammonia smell in the barn. Usually about a wheelbarrow load per stall when stripping out. What impressed me the most was ZERO DUST! No dust on the water pails, no scummy water, no water on the stall walls, no dust on the horses!!!!!



:yeah



:yeah I hated emptying pails every day because they were dirty from the bedding, scummy, and just nasty.

I used one bag in my trailer the entire show season. I did pick out the manure and bigger wet spots (hauling 4-6 horses at a time) and fluffed up the balance. Even after being closed up after nationals and I finally remembered that I hadn't cleaned the trailer, I opened it and it didn't smell at all. The shavings and the mats were dry.

$6-8 a bag.

I was a dealer, but just didnt' have time to do it properly so gave up the distributorship, but I certainly still use it and love it.


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## Nathan Luszcz (Dec 28, 2011)

I didn't note any of the negatives you did regarding pellets... they absorbed oder so well we used them for pee spots even when bedding with shavings. They weren't dusty at all, even when dry. Stripping was easy with a flat shovel, much easier than straw or shavings. Yes, 6 bags for a 12x12 stall, but you only added another 4 bags total. So 4-6 weeks, for 10 bags of shavings = a STEAL for bedding price-wise. Compare that to adding a bag a day for bagged shavings.

Never used paper here... they aren't available.


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## disneyhorse (Dec 28, 2011)

I like to use pellets under shavings, with the pellets in the spots they tend to urinate. Otherwise they are just too dusty.

Our feed store now carries very fine shavings which are extremely popular now... Basically the pellets broken down... But again, they are just too dusty for my taste.


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## Maple Hollow Farm (Dec 28, 2011)

I am one that LOVES using just good ol shavings



, I like them to be fairly fine but not rediculously as then they can get dusty if too fine. When using the finer shavings I have never had problems with absorbing the wet spots. Since the shavings are finer it is easy enough to pick stalls everyday. The stalls smell great and it is fluffy and soft for my horses, I know that they prefer it over pellets as well by the way they act when bedded. I used the pellets at first and will never go back!


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## anoki (Dec 28, 2011)

I use softwood pellets for one of my big guys (who is an absolute PIG in his stall). I am able to buy them in a large tote (like farmers buy seed in). I bed very deep, about 4-6 inches. And I mist the pellets to break most of them and dump in the stall. I muck out once a day, and my big guys spend more time in than out (their choice). I also flip the entire stall EVERY DAY, to ensure I am getting all the wet spots, and that the bedding doesn't start packing (and heating).

I like that I can bed deep with it....

BUT, it is very, VERY dusty....and I cannot put my horse with laminitis issues on it....after a month of on again, off again laminitis issues, I got him off it, and he is now on baled shavings with *touch wood* no issues (thankfully he is one of the neatest horses I've ever seen, so he doesn't go through more than 1/2 a bale a day for the most part in a 10x12 stall with about 4-6 inches of bedding as well...though it fluffs around more than the pellets do




).

DO NOT buy wood burning pellets....they contain hardwoods and some can be very harmful to horses (I know you said pine in the subject, but that is for anyone else reading).

~kathryn


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## wingnut (Dec 28, 2011)

I had tried the ABM pellets before and I think I didn't use them right, so I just put down a new batch today and will be trying to follow the directions better this time. One problem that I know I have that I really can't get around is that our "stalls" are actually run-in sheds that have been divided (and one shed has had dutch doors added). There is no *one* horse that is using a stall. So there's never just one wet spot. Although it does seem that each stall does have an area used more than another in that same stall. Anyway, trying the ABM again and am hoping for the best.


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## Riverdance (Dec 28, 2011)

I am a paper bedding fan too, but so far, I have not found it in Florida. In MN, I had so much trouble in a closed barn with ammonia odor and dust, so much dust. Stripped all my stalls and started to use paper bedding. No smell, NO DUST and the stalls were so easy to clean.

only thing, at the World Show last year, I found out my horses were eating the bedding.


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## Leeana (Dec 29, 2011)

We used bag shavings or saw dust from a mill, but have to drive all the way to Amish country which is just short of two hours to get a load, we can get a truckload for $6 but gas in our truck comes out to around $40, so not sure if its really that much cheaper then using and buying bagged shavings.

Right now in the barn I have the TSC "fine" shavings...mostly because the local mill that I buy shavings at was closed over the holiday and I needed to strip stalls badly over the holiday weekend while I had time. I hate hate HATE the TSC shavings, impossible to pick, even what they call "fine" shavings, more like shards.

The shavings I get at my mill are $5/bag and are very nice, easy to sift and pick, I cannot remember what they are called but they are the least dusty shavings i've ever used and don't stick to the horses, the flakes are about the size of an end of a pen and are treated with for bacteria (which I honestly don't know if it makes a difference in all actuality, but its nice to think so). I rarely really strip stalls. after about a week or so I just take out the really wet/dirty area's and put in a new bag. Once you get it built up good enough, its easy. I do stalls 1x-2x a day. Normally AM and PM, OR one or the other depending on my work schedule.

Also I put a bag of lime from TSC, which is about $2 for a bag in the bottom of each stall every once in a while. Very cheap to do this and it helps with the smell, esp those mares that do nothing but urinate ALL day long. Mares are the worst to stall. I have one mare that you just cannot keep her stall clean or dry, I could put down a bag of shavings or straw every day and by the following morning it would be wet.


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## wildoak (Dec 29, 2011)

I've been using the wood pellets for years now - again, everybody has their own system lol. I have mats in the stalls so I don't use a lot of bedding for the minis. I start with a couple of bags per stall, then generally add a bag a week depending on the horse and how much stall time they have. But I put about a quarter of a bag of shavings on top of the pellets. It softens it for the horses until the pellets break down and makes it less like little ball bearings to walk on (can tell you from experience they get slippery!. We had a dust problem before the mats were down but only now if I have a horse who really walks the stall & churns it up. Odor is nil, that's the best part of pellets to me...they clump like kitty litter, easy to pick out and contains odor. My stalls get cleaned daily.



> I hate hate HATE the TSC shavings, impossible to pick, even what they call "fine" shavings, more like shards.


 Absolutely! Had to buy some this week as my feed store was out, terrible!I've tried the paper shavings and LOVE the zero dust and the economy of them. They were harder to pick out though, and I'm _still_ finding them in corners of the barn from the wind blowing them all over lol.

Jan


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## MindyLee (Dec 29, 2011)

Leeana said:


> Right now in the barn I have the TSC "fine" shavings...mostly because the local mill that I buy shavings at was closed over the holiday and I needed to strip stalls badly over the holiday weekend while I had time. I hate hate HATE the TSC shavings, impossible to pick, even what they call "fine" shavings, more like shards.
> 
> mare that you just cannot keep her stall clean or dry, I could put down a bag of shavings or straw every day and by the following morning it would be wet.



Did you get the white bag or yellow bag at TSC? I only ask cause they both say fine on them. I notice that since TSC started carrying the yellow bags, the folks around here advoid the white bags and only buy them if the yellows are out of stock. They seem to like the yellow ones better and say the are way finner flaked.


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## JMS Miniatures (Dec 29, 2011)

Thanks everyone for your responses. Looks like paper shavings and the pellets are everyones favorites. I have no clue where to get paper shaving so may go with the pellets. There is a company like 20 min from me called Guardian and they have both pellets and your regular shavings. With them it says use 5 or 6 bags for a 12X12 stall and you only need to add 1 or 2 bags a week and they say you don't have to strip the stall. But with them they recommend using 1 or 1.5 gallons of water for each bag and that just seems an awfully lot to me. I've seen the pellets at TSC called Equine Fresh and a 40 lb bag isn't cheap and they say 9 bags for a 10X12 stall add 1 or 2 bags a week and they just say mist the pellets and strip every month, ahh no.

I used the shavings at TSC and was not happy with them. I believe the white bag is the flakes and the yellow is the fine. I used the fine.

Thanks!


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## anoki (Dec 29, 2011)

I don't tend to agree with them on how much to put in...but it depends on how you bed. When I started with pellets, I put in about 10 40 lb bags in a 10x12 stall (with a 16.1 hh horse). I put in close to a bag a DAY!

I don't 'strip' the stall at all, but I do flip the entire stall every day and take out a very overloaded wheelbarrow (or more) out of the stall every day....yes....he is that much of a pig.





~kathryn


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## susanne (Dec 29, 2011)

If you have hard or hard-packed floors in your stalls, put down a small amount of pellets and spritz, then once those have broken down, add the rest of your pellets -- voila -- no walking on marbles. I have one horse who would argue with you about the hard pellets being uncomfortable -- he loves to roll on them!

I DO use wood stove pellets, but only those labeled 100% pine or fir with no additives. Here in the NW, land of the Douglas Fir, this is the norm -- you'd have a hard time finding hardwood pellets, but even so I won't buy from anyone who doesn't guarantee the content.

I'm checking into paper pellets...we have a company that's a bit of a drive for us but close to my sister's house, so we just need to combine trips.


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## JMS Miniatures (Dec 29, 2011)

I found a company that has the paper shavings close to me so we'll experiment next year. Their shavings look pretty nice too.


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## Roxane Martin (Dec 29, 2011)

I also use the pine pelleted bedding, but in conjunction with shavings. I use mainly in a run-in stall, 10 x 14 foot. I put a bag of the pellets in, and do not wet. I then top with a bag of shavings to fluff around. I really only initially put the bedding in the back half of the stall--they will spread around. I pick out the manure daily but don't mess with the pee. I have found that the pellets absorb the pee really well and cuts down on the odor as compared to shavings alone. However, note that when stripping the stall that the wet bedding will be HEAVY, much more so than shavings alone. I strip the stall about every 2 weeks. I like having the shavings on top for cushion.


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## mmmorgans (Dec 29, 2011)

Is there somewhere in Canada to buy the paper shavings? I have never seen it!!!! I don't really like the regular shavings - and they are expensive. Straw has been hard to find this year. I like straw for foaling - but it is very labour intensive!!!!


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## Katiean (Dec 29, 2011)

I do not have to bed my horses because I just moved them to a full care stable. However, I have guinea pigs. I used to use shavings and boy at the end of the week they could get smelly. They also would kick the shavings all over the rooms they were in. I switched to pellets and there is a lot less smell. No mess all over the room and This is gross, but, in the summer they would get maggots in the wet spots in 3 days. Not with the pellets. As they expand they are too heavy to allow bugs to grow. We clean the cages once a week now unless there are babies. Then we clean 2x's a week and we have no bugs, smell or mess. I think it would be the same for the horses.


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## albahurst (Dec 29, 2011)

JMS Miniatures said:


> Thanks everyone for your responses. Looks like paper shavings and the pellets are everyones favorites. I have no clue where to get paper shaving so may go with the pellets. There is a company like 20 min from me called Guardian and they have both pellets and your regular shavings. With them it says use 5 or 6 bags for a 12X12 stall and you only need to add 1 or 2 bags a week and they say you don't have to strip the stall. But with them they recommend using 1 or 1.5 gallons of water for each bag and that just seems an awfully lot to me. I've seen the pellets at TSC called Equine Fresh and a 40 lb bag isn't cheap and they say 9 bags for a 10X12 stall add 1 or 2 bags a week and they just say mist the pellets and strip every month, ahh no.
> 
> I used the shavings at TSC and was not happy with them. I believe the white bag is the flakes and the yellow is the fine. I used the fine.
> 
> Thanks!


I love the paper so much, I became a distributor. If you PM me, I can give you the contact for the midwest manager and he will be able to advise you where to get them.


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## Bonny (Dec 29, 2011)

I only used 2 40 lb bags in my 12x15 stall to start,with a big mare in it . I used the equine fresh pine pellets from TS. I picked everyday, and shoveled out the wet. Weekly I add 1/2-3/4ths a bag of pellets. I dont bed deep here in the summer at all, and our winters are mild.

I add the pellets mist with a hose and rake to spread. I wont leave them unmisted, they feel like walking on marble..I dont want to slip




I also found even though they are misted , they dry fast, I only mist enough to make them break apart...

My mare wets and poos in one place so makes clean up easier...

I love the smell of the pellets.


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## Barnmother (Dec 29, 2011)

I have used shavings, good quality ones (not TSC) they work ok for me, but they are dusty and they are hard to sift out good ones, hence more to the manure pile and longer to decompose. When I ran a large (60 stall) boarding stable we took out three 5 x 8 dump trailers or waste a day.

Then we were told that all waste was going to have to be hauled off the property and using shavings and doing that was going to be cost prohibitive. We switched to pellets, I am pretty sure it was the ABM brand.

They worked great but caused the stalls to appear darker. Yes we did wet them lightly to start them breaking up when we first added them in. The stall cleaner loved them, I loved them. They were easier to store, easier to clean and 1/3 the amount of waste to remove from the barn. The majority of the boarders hated them. They said they weren't deep enough, they always looked dirty. (Mind you horses that live outside don't get fluffy shavings or their stalls cleaned.) We had mats in stalls or had wood floors. The horses didn't appear uncomfortable. They were certainly dusty! I never noticed an odor problem.

Moved to Montana and pelleted bedding was hard to find. I was concerned about using it with miniatures because I was told they would eat anything not nailed down so I returned to shavings. They are dusty, and again the manure pile started to grow and we had to haul it off each spring.

I have now found a source for paper bedding, it is the same price as bagged shavings ($5.49 bag) and I love them, they absorb well. I am curious to see how they do in the manure pile. It appears they are recycled phone books, white and yellow pages.

I actually work at a lumber mill and can now get free bulk shavings but I think I will stick with the paper at this point. My husbands only complaint is that his boots seem to track the paper shavings into the house worse than any other product we have ever used.


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## Nathan Luszcz (Dec 30, 2011)

Softwood stove pellets?! Wow... you must go through five times as much as we do in a year, if you burn them.... plus all that creasote. Doesn't sound very economical to me! or safe...


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## wildoak (Dec 30, 2011)

> I've seen the pellets at TSC called Equine Fresh and a 40 lb bag isn't cheap and they say 9 bags for a 10X12 stall add 1 or 2 bags a week and they just say mist the pellets and strip every month, ahh no.


I might use that much in a full sized horse's stall, but for the minis I initially bed the stall wtih 2 bags, then add a bag a week. I do have mats which helps tremendously, and I use a little shavings over top. Most of the mini stalls here are 12 x 7, foaling stalls 12 x 14 (they start with 3 bags). I very rarely strip stalls anymore, just pick out religiously and freshen as needed.

FYI, the paper shavings I've tried had a website... papershavings.com, on the bag.

Jan


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## chandab (Dec 30, 2011)

susanne said:


> I DO use wood stove pellets, but only those labeled 100% pine or fir with no additives. Here in the NW, land of the Douglas Fir, this is the norm --


I use the wood stove pellets too, the brand I get is just pine pellets, nothing added, and they are the same price or cheaper than the pelleted bedding. [Plus available locally, the bedding pellets are available about 150 miles from me.]


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## Nathan Luszcz (Dec 30, 2011)

"I've seen the pellets at TSC called Equine Fresh and a 40 lb bag isn't cheap and they say 9 bags for a 10X12 stall add 1 or 2 bags a week and they just say mist the pellets and strip every month, ahh no."

That's what I did, and it worked VERY well. Ended up being VERY cheap! And nice fresh bedding every month was quite nice too.



Seriously, 10 (7 initial, 1 per week) bags per month, how do you beat that?!


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## Make A Wish Miniatures (Dec 31, 2011)

I use the paper shavings and love them,no dust and they fluff up really nice . This is the first year I will be using them for foals. I buy them from my Vet.


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## Tab (Jan 1, 2012)

I love it, other than the expense factor. I use it when transporting minis in our van, as bedding under straw/hay for a broodmare stall. I do not soak it first, it lasts quite awhile if they break it down by trampling it. Breaks down to a great consistency. They try to eat it at first but it tastes quite gross to them. I haven't had any who eat it after the first taste.


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## mydaddysjag (Jan 2, 2012)

I have 8x12 stalls that have stall mats. In each stall, I use 3 bags of equine fresh from tractor supply. I pay $6.49 a bag for the pellets. I have not stripped my stalls since october, and honestly, add 1, maybe 2 bags a month, per stall. My trick? I only bed the back half of the stall. By bedding the back half of my stall (a 6x8 area) I have my horses "litter trained" and they also still have room to lay down in their bedding, but at the same time, they have clean rubber mats up front to eat off of. I dont like them pooping where they eat, and this prevents that, as well as saves on bedding costs.

So, for me, per stall, I spend $19.47 for initial bedding, then $12.98 a month after the first month. Over a period of three months, ive spent $45.43 to bed a stall. My horses are all stalled at least 12 hours a day, as we put them in when it gets dark, and they go back out after breakfast.

With shavings, I was using 4 bags per week at $5.29 per bag. Each week thats $21.16, so over a period of three months, I would spend $63.48 on shavings. Plus, using shavings, my barn stunk, my horses would have pee spots on them, the stalls never really looked clean, I spent twice as much time cleaning the stalls, and it was a pita.

Honestly, the amount they say to use on the bag is rediclous. If I were to fully bed an entire 12x12 stall, I wouldnt use more than 6 bags tops.


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## barnbum (Jan 2, 2012)

Maple Hollow Farm said:


> I am one that LOVES using just good ol shavings
> 
> 
> 
> , I like them to be fairly fine but not rediculously as then they can get dusty if too fine. When using the finer shavings I have never had problems with absorbing the wet spots. Since the shavings are finer it is easy enough to pick stalls everyday. The stalls smell great and it is fluffy and soft for my horses, I know that they prefer it over pellets as well by the way they act when bedded. I used the pellets at first and will never go back!


I prefer shavings with straw on top--but there hasn't been good straw for a few years--so I use shavings too. I have never tried pellets.

Shavings aren't all the same though. I was buying some from a Memmonite farmer/dealer and they were great until recently--they had chunks of wood and toothpick kind of pieces. They have finer shavings but they are way too dusty. TSC has two kinds; I tried the flake first--but it wasn't absorbant and they didn't go through the fork easily. So--I tried the fine and WOW! Perfect! They are amazingly absorbant and there's no dust.

I clean stalls every single morning--just leave as many clean shavings as I can. I add more daily. I sprinkle powdered lime on wet spots. No smell. I have dirt stalls, except where mats are for feeding. The stalls are big so I keep the shavings where I know they pee and sleep and I don't put them very deep.


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## JMS Miniatures (Jan 2, 2012)

Thanks guys. I think next year at shows I'm going to test what I like. I just did not like the TSC fine shavings but the Guardian and the S4 shavings look really nice and also S4 has the paper shavings and the Guardian has the pelleted shavings.


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## Jens (May 11, 2012)

We use pine wood pellets from the brand Vermont Wood Pellet. They aren't dusty at all and you don't wet them first. They are very high quality and absorbant! They are $6.00 for a 40 lb bad or you can buy them for $250.00 per pallet and there are 50 bags per pallet. I'm not sure where everyone lives but they sell all around New England. We use 2-3 bags for an empty stall that is about 11'x11'.


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## ~Amanda~ (May 11, 2012)

I'll have to look into paper bedding in my area. I've never heard of it before, but it seems like something to consider!


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## Mini~Madness (May 11, 2012)

I love equine fresh... It has cut my cleaning time in half and the stalls look and smell cleaner than with shavings. Let me just say its an A++++++ product in my book. I'm for anything that makes my life easier and the horses in my life tidier.





(null)


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## brasstackminis (May 11, 2012)

I have used the pelleted pine bedding in piggy stalls...those horses peed soooo much that it was the ONLY thing that would keep the stall dry! I did NOT wet them...the horse did that fine all by herself! I just used the pellets dry...the bits that were not super wet after cleaning ended up being the soft stuff. I also use Dry Stall. It is tiny, drying and a good smelling thing...about the size of scoopable kitty litter. The stalls instantly smell great and it is also very absorbant as well. So when I had my mini boarded at a self care place in a 10x10 stall, I used the pelleted pine bedding in the pee hole and regular shavings on top. When I cleaned the stalls, I uncovered the pee hole, scraped out the yucky pellets (now a blob) and then sprinkled dry stall on the wet ground. Worked great, best of all worlds. Dry Stall is my secret weapon aginst the stinky! Pelleted bedding is absorbant and the regular shavings are easy to get and fluffy. Oh and because the shavings take longer to absorb, the pee would flow through the shavings to the pellets so there was minimal shaving use.


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## Jean A (May 12, 2012)

I appear to be allergic to pine..at least to shavings, sawdust..you name if it has dust to it. We don't seem to have paper pellets locally. This year, I had a hard time finding straw anywhere. I never had this much trouble with straw..then I noticed that many landscaping firms were using more wheat straw than usual..mote than the usual pine straw. Ant the state was using a LOT of straw when planting roadsides. So I asked around..where is the straw?

Lowe's, Home Depot..between $3.50 and $4.50 a bale, and plenty of it. It is a pain, but the kids seem to enjoy it..and it is comfy and sweet when fresh and for the babies. I do fork the older straw that gets shoved to the edges into the wet areas, so it's sort of recycled, and clean stalls either every day or as they are soiled. I do have a bit of spare time..


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