Shavings/bedding

[maplegum]

I'm looking into buying shavings for Bailey's little stable/shelter. He currently sleeps on blankets (crazy, I know

: ).

The problem is that it's winter here and I can't keep the blankets dry! He loves to sunggle down into his blankets at night, but they are not practicle through winter.

I had tried shavings before but it's just so messy, but I'm thinking that I'll have to go back to that option.

Do the horses actually sleep on the shavings or are they purely there to 'toilet' on? Bailey's stable is only small, so I don't want him to be laying on his mess.

Also, what do you do with the old shavings? Can they be burnt or is there another option? I can only burn off during the cooler months as we have fire restrictions at other times.

How often do the shavings need to be changed? I have rubber stable matting in his stable now.

Thanks

 

[River1018]

Oh definately ours sleep on the shavings.

We clean stalls in the morning and at night and we clean all of the shavings out completely maybe every 2 days. Depends really. But everyone is different.

We have always just put the shavings and manure and the whole shabang in the manure spreader and spread it.

 

[Leeana]

Shavings last me allot longer then 2 days lol.

I use pine shavings and i have concrete floors under the shavings so a bag of shavings will last each of my stalls (which are 9ft'9ft) about 10 days. I pick them out every night, take out the poo and bring all the shavings into the middle and scatter them out agian. Makes them last much longer.

I also use sawdust (not really dust, but smaller shavings almost) from time to time when i can get it. Its much easier to sift through at night and costs allot less.

The shavings are deffently there for the horses comfort as well to keep the stall tidy and add that wonderful pine smell to my barn.

I think if you have dirt under the shavings, they last long but if you have matts/concrete under the shavings then you are going to go through them faster bc the urine has nothing to sink into (which can be a good or bad thing, depends on how you look at it). I'd rather have dirt floors, but i still would like to have a couple concrete floors bc then the dirt doesnt get mixed in the shavings which is good on pre-show nights.

So i change my shavings completely about every 10 days, sometimes i get lazy though and just put another bag of shavings ontop the old shavings. The more shavings you put in the stall the longer they last i have found.

I'm a stall fanatic

:

 

[love_casper]

yes they sleep on shavings: :bgrin

:

or if they're weird like Charm, they'll actually sleep ON the actual bag!

anyhoo, i clean three times a day. i get one bag of shavings/week/horse. so in the mini barn we get four bags of shavings per week. just got a delivery today

so i put new shavings in each stall once a week.

and around here, we just toss them in the dumpsters and they get picked up with the weekly trash pickup.

but since i have a lot of horses wtih a lot of poop, i tend to order another pickup each week to take care of it all.

but with just your one guy, one bag of shavings should do, cleaning 2-3 times a day, and throw it out with the grabage.

:

 

[wildoak]

Love that picture LOL, shavings would sure last longer that way!!

I use a pelleted bedding instead of shavings, much easier to pick through and less waste than shavings. The pellets break down to sawdust as they draw moisture, I start with about 3 bags per stall (over mats) and add about a bag a week ordinarily, more lately since we've had nothing but rain and horses inside all day and night.

Jan

 

[mydaddysjag]

Everyone I know that uses the pelleted bedding says they will never go back to saw dust/shavings. They say they last much, much longer, have less dust, and are easier to store. The people I know who use them pick the poop and wet spots out daily, and then completely strip the stall and re bed like every 2 weeks. They throughly sift the bedding and "re fluff" it in between though

 

[minihorse101]

yes they sleep on shavings: :bgrin

:

or if they're weird like Charm, they'll actually sleep ON the actual bag!

anyhoo, i clean three times a day. i get one bag of shavings/week/horse. so in the mini barn we get four bags of shavings per week. just got a delivery today

so i put new shavings in each stall once a week.

and around here, we just toss them in the dumpsters and they get picked up with the weekly trash pickup.

but since i have a lot of horses wtih a lot of poop, i tend to order another pickup each week to take care of it all.

but with just your one guy, one bag of shavings should do, cleaning 2-3 times a day, and throw it out with the grabage.

:

so....do your horses just stay in the stables 24/7??? mine go out thru the day onto low-grass paddocks, but they get sunshine, rain, wind etc.....

 

[tifflunn]

We go through a bag of shavings 1 bale per horse every 5-10 days depending on turnout time and which horse makes what mess- One horse pees up a storm and we go through a bale for her every 5 days- where my gelding and donkey are very neat and tidy and 1/2 bale every 7 days. It also helps if they wouldn't cross there legs so much and hold it until the come in to do there business :bgrin Some are on mats some are on dirt floor. Yep they sleep on it my yearling colt and my donkey thinks it is christmas on new shavings day and spend a lot of time kicking it around and rolling in the new stuff :bgrin :bgrin

 

[Jill]

I use sawdust and have ever since I've had minis (since 1999). I really like it and find it easier to clean, however, I don't stall really unless it's the night before a show. The stalls are open like run in sheds. We buy it by the pickup load and it's $20/load. It's also easier to dispose of vs. shavings. Our neighbor wants it and the poop. We're lucky!

But, if I had only one or two (or three...) minis, I would use the pelleted bedding, too (ie Woody Pet). We used that back when Khaki was recovering from colic surgery and the vet was scared she'd eat the bedding. That stuff seems expensive at first, but it's awesome! It lasts SO much longer than shavings or sawdust and makes stall clean up a breeze. As they pee on the pellets, they break into sawdust. You remove the poo and wet parts each day. It lasts a very long time.

 

[lilfoot]

Another pellet fan here!

:

Will not go back to shavings ever....too much waste & not as absorbent.

The fluffed up pellets seem so much softer & cozy too.

Hate straw

: totally. Just use at foaling time.

 

[Cathy_H]

We have mats in some of our stalls. We keep bedding in one end. We pick out the wet spots as needed & add new bedding as needed............ Some of our horses potty in one spot in the stall so it easy to see where to keep some for sleeping on & scooping out the soiled. Some others spread it out everywhere so it takes longer to pick out.

 

[whitney]

I use a combination of woody pet and shavings. I have dirt floors. I put down a bag of woody pet and spread that around and then 1 bag of shavings on top. If I keep them picked out twice a day it will last me a month. The woody pet does a better job of absorbing the urine which keeps the shavings cleaner and in the winter time the shavings are bulkier which I think is more comfortable for the horses. The shavings also keep the dust down in the summer time.