Pro's and Con's of Wood Pelleted Bedding for Mini's

[minimom1]

I am considering using wood pelleted bedding for my little guys, so I am wondering

if you use them if you can tell me the pro's and con's.

Also do you wet them down ? How often do you wet them down ?

 

[lucky lodge]

I am considering using wood pelleted bedding for my little guys, so I am wonderingif you use them if you can tell me the pro's and con's.

Also do you wet them down ? How often do you wet them down ?

sorry cant help you there thay may eat it i use saw dust

 

[fowlersminis]

You might want to do a search on previous threads for this too...I think this has been discussed and you might find some more answers there.

I do use wood pellets and love them. I don't have any foals...all grown adults. So I throw them in there (on stall mats) and do not wet them, although I know a lot of people on the forum do wet them. The urine makes them wet enough, so I don't bother wetting them first. I like using the wood pellets because they're a little cheaper for me, the bags are so much easier and smaller to handle and they last longer in the stall, IMO. My horses have never tried to eat them, and I do feed them pelleted food, so it looks similar. I guess they take one whiff of it and decide for themselves it's not food. FYI, read the directions on the bag for the "proper" way to use the pellets, i.e. you're not supposed to get rid of any bedding until it's totally soaked and can't absorb any more moisture. It's a little different than using sawdust or shavings...if you take out too much too soon you'll just waste your money and you'll go through pellets too quickly.

FYI, I remember on the previous forum discussion that those who have foals say that the babies can and do try to eat them because they're curious and end up getting very sick or dying from it.

Well, that's my two cents for what it's worth...

Hope this helps you!

 

[Julie/Azariah]

I use them for big horses and minis. I don't wet them. They break down quickly enough. I do not use them for foaling. I either use cardboard or straw for that. Sometimes putting pellets underneath as an absorber.

We like them a lot. They last quite long for the biggies if you clean the stalls correctly

 

[Becky]

I'm probably one of the few that doesn't like them that well. I've tried to use them several times in my show barn, but I find that they are way too dusty when dry. If they are allowed to be wet as when mixing the urine spots back in, then I find the ammonia odor is way to strong. However, I do keep a few bags on hand to use in my loafing sheds if it rains in there.

 

[Annabellarose]

I am going to go against the grain on this topic and offer that I HATE them. However, I admit that I have never attempted to wet them down and I think that they would work better that way. When I bought a couple of bags of them at the feed store an employee asked me if I had ever used them before, I told him that I had not and he told me to "put them in a bucket, pour water over them, let them expand, pick them up with your hands, squeeze the excess water out of them, and fling into the stall and let them dry." That sure does sound like a lot of work and a lot of time! Phooey! I am lucky that I live in an area where I have access to "sawdust" (it is heavier and not as dusty as what I think of when I think of sawdust) and the cost of one bag of the cheapest wood pellets on the market is the same as an entire (small) truckload of sawdust that lasts me for two to three weeks (because I am an anal stall cleaner). I also do not like the thought of leaving urine soaked bedding in a stall for weeks on end as that is not good for a horse's air quality. In my opinion, air quality is much more of an issue with a Miniature Horse than with a "big" horse as a Miniature Horse is much closer to the ground and to urine soaked bedding and regular and quality stall cleaning is just that much more important.

 

[gatorbait4sure]

I too use them, on mats, and have for at least 8 years. I don't wet them either, and I foal my mares on peat moss or straw, and give them an already broken down stall after foaling.

I also haul my own pellets to Regionals and Worlds as they have solid floors. And I bed deep there, since they are NOT matted stalls but concrete and blacktop. Occasionally I've had to wet them at Worlds as they became dusty, but only once.

I stir in all the urine daily and although they darken a bit, there is never a smell. Poop comes out daily. Complete stripping happens...MAYBE once every 4 -6 months as I am one of those who likes everything clean and tidy.

I did have a big horse (W/B) who was a PIG in his stall and needed a stripping after about every ten days, but drank two large pails of water three times a day if inside and another two at night. ( this is 8 pails of water!!!) He was a boarder and has moved on to some other poor souls barn!

So far I don't have a dust problem but everyone is out all day and only in at noc. I would think if I had then=m in all day and night they might stir up more dust.

 

[OhHorsePee]

We use and love them. Sometimes we just have to sprinkle a little water on them as they dry out but well worth that little effort. We save money and it is so much easier to clean stalls.

 

[Julie/Azariah]

I have found there is a HUGE difference in brands....went to a farm supply store and bought what they had and HATED them. We use Guardian or ABM (guardian just a bit less expensive and very comparable) The supplier we use has both types. When I got at the farm supply store, they had a different brand each time, was less expensive, but we used way more of those type and they didn't keep stall smelling fresh.

Just what we have found.

 

[Carolyn R]

I like using them, they are compact to store and break down quicker than shavings when decomposing.

However, I will state that I only use them in a sawdust form.

I don't want any flames, and I don't want anyone saying "Well I have used them forever and have never heard of such an issue" when it comes to mini foals/weanlings they are curious critters and it is not unheard for them to eat/impact and die from the wood pellets, why, simply because they are foals and do silly things, even when they have good quality food, hay and minerals at available at all times. Despite what the bag says, not all animals spit them out, and it does not take much to be detrimental to a foal. When using them as a sawdust, The animals don't seem to bother with them, and some manufacturers state to thoroughly wt them down rather than to "mist" the top layer.

Do I like them, yes, in a sawdust form

Does the later happen, yes, unfortunately (there are other individuals that have had this happen to their young minis, it is not an isolated case)

This is only to give you input on the product, I still use the soft wood pellets, (but only as a sawdust). If you choose to use the product and you see your minis nibbling at it, it may be in your best interest to add water until they fluff into a dust, despite what certain manufacturers claim on the bag.

This is sort of like the cautionary statements on medication, it doesn't mean it will happen, very few may only ever experience these issues, but none the less it is only fair to let you know.

 

[Maple Hollow Farm]

I am not a fan of them and use shavings. I think they are slippery for me to walk on when I am trying to mess with my horses and personally I am not a fan of falling on my tush.

Also my horses love to eat them! It was aggravating as i would put a whole bag in there and in a couple days hardly anything would be left

. I was tired of worrying about them eating them so I just switched back to the regular shavings. They dont eat them and they are still very absorbent, it is just important to get the fine shavings not the large chips. I also like the extra comfort that shavings provide since it is deeper and softer than the pellets. Just my two cents!

 

[Versatility Farm & Training]

I used them and love them! But as someone else has said, there is a big difference between some of the brands. My favorite is Equine Fresh. Their directions is to spread it in the stalls and then spray a msit over them to cause them to expand and be more comfortable to the horse. Sometimes I do it, sometimes I don't. They open up on their own. I pick the manure out, mix the wet spots most of the time. Every now and then I have a horse that just drenches one spot and I'll romove it. It is super absorbant, and low dust. I will never go back to sawdust again. It may seem more expensive at frist, but in the long run it saves you money as it last so much longer, and stripping a stall rarely happens. I have had several clients in my barn switch to pelleted bedding at home because of how much they liked it here. I had to use another brand a few times when the store ran out of Equine Fresh... one I don't remember the name was good, just, the last kind was like Noah's Ark or something like that, it was not as dusty as saw dust, but not nearly as absorbing or long lasting as Equine Fresh.

Some people might tell you the horses eat the bedding and colic etc. This should not happen unless there is another problem with your horse. My horses sometimes get confused as I feed a pelleted feed, and will try the bedding, but usually after a bite, they realise it is not food and drop it. They also might eat it if they are starved, or missing something from their diet. If your horse is eating them for some reason, don't give it the chance to and spray them down before putting the horse in the stall.

When it comes to foaling, I put a thin layer down, spray them, and then cover heavily with straw. Straw is not very absorbent, so it is good to have underneith to soak things up. But being so fine can be dangerous for the foal to inhale and to also get inside the mare, so that is why I stick to the straw on top.

I also should mention that all my stalls have mats, not sure if it would make any difference without or not.

 

[disneyhorse]

I have a horse that pees a lot... so the pelleted shavings are really the most absorbent. I do not wet them before use, so they really expand and soak up the urine.

Because I don't wet them, I do put them under a layer of traditional pine shavings. My horse likes to lay down on fluffy shavings, so that satisfies his need.

I do find them to be a bit dusty though, after time.

Andrea