
Thank you all!
Incidentally, how do I post a picture with my postings? Meaning, included in the post.
Pellets? What type of pellets? Where do I get them? I'm in Oklahoma and haven't even heard of pellets. Sorry if I'm being stupid!susanne said:I've used, at different times, straw, shavings and pellets -- on top of (also at various times) dirt and rubber mats.
My favorite combination was the pellets directly over dirt. As they break down, what is not removed blends into the top layer of dirt, creating great drainage (I also used the spent pellet shavings in my garden, where it does the same thing).
I found straw to be much more work and harder to keep really clean. Shavings do not soak up the wet as well, especially over mats. Pellets over mats are good, but you do want to wet them first, or else they are like marbles -- very slippery.
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Teri,Gameela said:I have a dirt floor, the stable i work at has 17 stalls, only 5 of them are mats on top of concrete, the rest is dirt.
I *HATE* dirt floors with a passion!My barn isn't too bad, but that's because i bed it heavily with shavings, clean it two times a day and pull out one wheelbarrow load every day from one stall (mainly pee and manure).![]()
If you DON'T bed heavily, and the horses are in them a lot of the time, you'll create a lot of work for yourself. Tons of digging out pee spots, that never did out...and your left with a completely wet floor, that if you have time to air it out, might dry...but for me, I can't do that at work (not enough time), so the majority of the stalls always have large wet areas that spoil the shavings much faster. Mats arent much fun either, but, they do make the initial work load easier.
So, if you use shavings, bed it DEEP!I'm afraid to use woody pet because I don't want my horse to eat it, don't want to try rubber or paper. So, I stick with shavings. sawdust is heavy, gets in your eyes very easily and just seems a lot dustier (go figure..)![]()
I just found someone who used stall skins and so far I'm in love! A stall I used to dig BIG pee spots out of daily I no longer have to do...barely any pee at all....I like it so much, so far, that i'm seriously thinking of buying it to put down on my dirt floor.![]()
BTW, come January, I will be switching out all my bedding and sticking with straw. Straw is definately harder to clean poop out of, I tend to waste a lot more when i use it, but, I only use it for foaling season, cuts down on dust, etc, which is better for a foal IMO.![]()
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