Is there a standard material for horse stall bedding?

[jmc]

Wood shavings maybe.

Do you sift the poop out with a "Durafork"?

I've seen those recommended as a means of extending bedding life........

 

[MissCluck]

I use the kiln-dried pine shavings and have also used straw.

When cleaning the shavings you pick manure out with the fork and then get the wet spot as well. Daily is best and if the horse is in you pick manure out several times a day.

The British way of cleaning shavings, which I use, is to toss the shavings at the wall. The manure will separate from the shavings and fall to the bottom of the little "hill" that you created when you tossed the bedding. After tossing the entire stall...rake.

For straw you use a straw fork and can pick up the entire manure "plop" at once, tip into your barrow or manure skip and drop the manure in, whilst keeping any straw on the fork.

If you get wood shavings from a mill be careful not to use any with walnut or any nut wood. This can cause a toxic reaction in horses.

 

[joedie]

I use wood shavings as I find it the easiest to keep clean. I hate to clean straw, heavy, difficult work. Pellets are easy but expensive.

 

[lockedhearts]

I use Pine Shavings. You can also get sawdust from a mill, in Fl we got cypress or pine. Sawdust is not as fluffy but is easier to clean and absorbs better. Cleaning daily will be cheaper in the long run as it will keep the shavings fresher. You can use Hydrated Lime or Stall Dri on the wet spots, or get a bag of the pelleted bedding for the wet spots.
If you have rubber mats it is way easier to keep a stall clean and fresh.

 

[jmc]

TX to you all!

I am actually thinking of using it to work the litter in my 100 sq. st. duck pen. Duck poop can be pretty big at times. Just wanna make sure it doesn't fall through the tines...................

 

[ma2babygurl13]

we actually ended up using pine pellets (for wood stoves) now they make ones for horse stalls... we just spread it out, and when it gets wet it breaks down into sawdust (kinda) and very easy to scoop out, and maintain, just add a new bag every few days.... much easier and less dusty than shavings, and MUCH easier than straw!

 

[Guinea Goonie]

FInd yourself a saw mill and go there with a BIG trailer and get as much saw waste (saw dust) in as you can.

It is pretty darn cheap and is the BEST stuff to work with.

 

[michickenwrangler]

My horse is on pasture board but when I used to do dressage shows with my old horse, I would take planer shavings from my husband's workshop. She has COPD/heaves and it would create FAR les dust than conventional shavings or sawdust.

In the UK they use peat but I'm not sure how practical that would be here in the US since the only peat bogs we have are a few in ME, MN and MI. Can you imagine the great compost though!