So which is the best bedding for horses? The bedding you choose will be determined in the main by the availability and price in your area. These top 10 bedding ideas will cover the most widely used bedding and hopefully help you decide which is the best for your horse.
Your horse may be an angel in the stable, clean and tidy and easy to muck out. But which bedding is best if your horse is very wet or messy? Mucking out is time consuming and expensive for those owners whose horses insist upon trampling around the box all night. These top 10 bedding ideas will give you ideas as to the best bedding for your horse.
This article will look into the main horse bedding options, bedding types and their pro’s and con’s so that you can decide which bedding will be the best for your horse.
Straw
Straw bedding is historically by far the most popular bedding. Straw bedding for horses is inexpensive and provides a lovely comfortable bed for your horse. There is nothing better than a lovely deep straw bed, banked against the walls, but is it right for your horse?
Here are the pro’s and con’s of straw:
Pros
- Inexpensive
- Readily available
- Easy and quick to muck out with a clean horse
- Provides a warm bed
Cons
- Some horses like to eat straw so it’s more difficult to control their weight
- Can be dusty if not stored correctly
- Is not very absorbent
- Difficult and time consuming to muck out if your horse is messy (box walks etc.)
- Can provide a habitat for mites
- Large storage area required
If your horse is particularly messy or wet, then you may find that straw is not the best option. This is the reason that Fatty has been moved off straw; she eats it, is very wet, very messy, and whilst straw is cheap, when one has to replace the whole bed each day it becomes a time consuming and expensive option!
Straw Pellets
In an effort to reduce costs and effort I have tried straw pellets. They’re exactly as they sound, straw chopped and formed into pellets. This bedding comes bagged in 15kg/20kg depending upon the brand and has the pro’s and con’s as listed below:
Pros
- Light and easy to store
- Reasonably inexpensive
- Becoming more popular and widely available
- Easier to muck out with a messy horse than traditional straw
- Breaks down easily on the muck heap
Cons
- Can prove quite tasty to some horses
- Absorbent to a point, but not best for very wet horses
- Large number of bags to start bed off with
Wetting the straw pellets to make then less attractive for horses to eat is an option, but this then reduces the remaining absorbancy. Some are impregnated with scent to help reduce the likelihood of being found tasty, but this then increases the price.
They are however easier to muck out than traditional straw, especially if you own a messy horse. The bags are also easier to store and need less space.
Sun-e-bed are a leading manufacturer and I successfully bedded my gelding on this product last winter and would recommend.
Shavings
There are many different varieties of wood shavings. Most have had the dust extracted and therefore are pleasant for your horse and will be less likely to aggravate any breathing issues your horse may have. Some come with a pleasant added scent such as lavender to calm your horse.
Pros
- Readily available
- Suits a range of budgets
- Easy to store
- Absorbent
- Quick to muck out – droppings removed daily with wet being removed each week
- Reduced size of muck heap
Cons
- The quality of the shavings is important if you are looking for absorbancy
- If your local allotments take your muck heap they may not wish to have shavings
- Shavings stick to everything – be prepared to spent time removing these from a fleece rug!
- Can be quite expensive in comparison to straw and straw pellets
Sawdust
Sawdust bedding is sometimes used as a horse bedding for stables. The flakes are much smaller than shavings and can be more absorbent. However, like all bedding types there are pros and cons.
Pros
- Cheap and possibly free from local sawmills
- Small muck heap in comparison to straw
- Quick to muck out
Cons
- Not good for horses with breathing concerns or coughs
- Not widely available
- Quality can vary
This is an option and used quite successfully by many people. The small particles however can aggravate some health concerns and should be avoided if your horse is sensitive to dust.
Wood Pellets
Wood pellets are becoming popular as horse bedding and are, as the name suggests, pellets of processed wood. Often a by-product of other manufacturing processes and therefore environmentally friendly and sustainable. This dust free bedding has the following attributes:
Pros
- Easy to buy and store
- Normally dust extracted
- Unpalatable to horses, so they won’t eat half of the bed
- Absorbent; swell when in contact with moisture
- Reduced muck heap
Cons
- Best for horses that don’t box walk as wood pellets work best when allowed to work in the same way as shavings with the base undisturbed
- Becoming more expensive as pellets are also used for biomass boilers
Wood pellets are a good choice for wet horses and are often used in combination with straw to provide a warm and comfortable bed that is still absorbent. Therefore providing the best of both worlds.
Rubber mats
Rubber mats are becoming increasingly popular as they claim to reduce the need for bedding; either totally, or partially. They come in various thicknesses and sizes with non-slip features that can be fitted in most stables.
Pros
- Reduces the amount of bedding required thereby saving over the long term
- Makes the ground less cold, especially concrete floors
- Easy to jet wash clean
Cons
- Some mats are very heavy and can take two people to move
- Urine can seep between the joins and cause the stable to smell
- Removing the mats to wash the floor can take longer than having no mats at all
- Not aesthetically pleasing, with no deep straw or shavings bed
Many people rave over rubber matting and how it has transformed their lives. From personal experience I have found that heavy thick mats actually reduce stable hygiene and any time savings made during the week are lost at the weekend when the mats have to be removed so that the floor can be hosed. Therefore, I’d caution to check your drainage before installing.
There are now companies offering rubber flooring which is sealed so that urine cannot penetrate underneath. This might work very well, but is expensive to install in the first instance.
Cardboard/Paper
Shredded cardboard and paper has become available in the last few years as firms diversify and try to find a resale option for their waste products. The pro’s and con’s are below:
Pros
- Good for the environment
- Depending upon the type can be very absorbent
- Can be used for deep litter
Cons
- Need to check that it is dust extracted to suitable levels
- Can be difficult to source
- If deep littering the removal at the end of the season can be hard work
What is deep litter? Deep littering in winter is often undertaken to save time. This is where the manure is removed at least once per day and another topping of bedding is applied. This should leave a thick, warm, and dry bed for your horse. The wet is left in. At the end of winter the whole lot is removed and disposed of.
Wood fibre
Pros
If you like the idea of wood, but haven’t found shavings or pellets work well for your horse, try using wood fibre. Easibed is one of the leading suppliers and is my bedding of choice for my very wet and very messy mare. Plus it smells beautiful!
- Good availability
- Inexpensive once initial bed is down
- Pleasant smell
- Reduces muck heap size
- Wet only needs to be removed once per week
- The base holds the wet whilst the top remains dry
Cons
- Can be expensive to put first bed down, especially in a large stable
- If your horse is a ‘churner’ then it won’t works as well as it should
Although if your horse is the type that churns his bedding it won’t show all of the benefits it would with a clean and tidy horse, I still found that it worked the best of the beddings that I have tried.
Miscanthus
This is elephant grass that has the following properties:
Pros
- Sustainable
- Becoming more available
- Reputedly warm and comfortable and to be used like traditional shavings
- Supposed to be good for very wet horses
Cons
- More expensive than other beddings
This relatively new product has been receiving good reviews from those with very wet horses. Although the initial outlay could be rather high, if it works for wet horses then it will save money in the long run. Definitely one to try.
Hemp
Auboise is probably the best known of the hemp bedding manufacturers. It is well thought of as being the best bedding for wet horse.
Bedding tips for wet, messy horses
Regardless of the bedding that you choose, don’t scrimp. Make the bed following the manufacturers directions, even if the first bed can seem an expensive option. Trying to save a few pennies at that point will cost you more in the long run as the product won’t work to its full potential.
You may have to try several brands to find what works best for your horse, but Auboise (other hemp beddings available) and the wood fibre bedding Easibed (again, others available) have proven to regularly be top of the tables for the question of ‘best bedding for wet mare.’
Conclusion
With so many different brands promising to be the best bedding for your horse, especially wet and dirty horses, it’s quite a challenge to decide what to use. If your horse is clean in the stable you will probably find that straw is the best choice owing to it being inexpensive and freely available. Indeed, many livery yards offer straw as part of the livery fees. If however your horse is one that cannot keep a bed clean for more than 5 minutes, trying wood fibre or hemp might be the best decision you’ve ever made.
