Bedding Blues!

Well, I am sure most of you who own horses know the ups and downs of different beddings. Just when I think its all perfect I find a problem with my new choice!

Carats was bedded on straw all last winter. I experimented with different mixes, trying deep littering with a base of Equibed. Full muck out on just straw etc etc. This summer the stench of straw finally got to me and I decided to try a new bedding.

After lots of research I switched C onto straw pellets. Throughout the end of the summer it worked perfectly. He was in during the day and out at night and I just had to pick up the poo which was always in one lump and dig out the wet patch with a shovel. I was over the moon with the bedding, super fast and clean.

The is one complication that we have in the bedding issue. We have fantastic stables with little courtyards at the back. Whilst this is amazing for the horses, it does mean that there is lots of in and out from each horse. Carats switched to nights in and the rain started as did the issues with the straw pellets. I noticed that he as his feet were getting wet, the pellets (which become almost sand like) stuck to his feet and compacted in his hooves and got stomped and kicked all outside. This in turn became a solid wet sand mush all over his courtyard and was heavy and very difficult to clean up. On top of this he would stomp the stuff all over the yard when he came out, even if I had just picked his feet out. I couldn't have it too deep as more just got kicked out because of the shape of our stables but holes were appearing in his bed in the mornings and the wee had spread in the patches that weren't thick enough which isn't nice for him to stand in or lay in.

So... the search began for another option. I didn't want to lose the pellets as the absorbency is amazing but needed something else to put on the top. I didn't want to revert to straw as its messy, heavy and non absorbent. Shavings weren't ideal as the flakes are tricky to sieve with the straw pellets and get stuck in tails etc, the absorbency is also low. I considered Auboise but it was cost prohibitive as were a few other alike beddings. Finally I found out about flax/ hemp bedding. On a plus side our local Scats store stocked Hippofan Flax, so I could try a few bags without investing in lots of stock. So, it is now laid, fresh and ready for Carats to destroy it! Watch this space for how it goes!