Horse Bedding

The choice of horse bedding will greatly affect the cost (in time and money) of keeping a horse, and may also affect the health of your horse as well. This article reviews and compares the different types of horse bedding. It considers both practical aspects (e.g. cost and storage requirements), as well as the effect of the choice of bedding on the horse's health.

The most common type of bedding is straw, which until recent times was the only suitable bedding product which was suitable, widely available and affordable. However, a number of other products have been brought onto the market and are being increasingly used instead of straw. These include:

• Wood Products. Wood shavings are now being widely used for horse bedding. Wood pellets are less commonly used, but are growing in popularity. Sawdust is also used, but in a small minority of horse stalls.

• Paper Products. Shredded paper (mainly shredded newspaper) is available in some areas for horse bedding, as well as shredded cardboard.

• Other Plant Products. The use of bedding made out of various plant products and by-products is growing in various areas.

Straw

Straw is the most commonly used type of bedding. It is widely available and relatively inexpensive. It also has strong historical support, since for centuries it was virtually the only suitable option for horse bedding. In recent decades, straw has faced increasing competition from new types of bedding, with many horse and stable owners switching to the alternatives. This is due to a number of factors:

• Reduced availability and Increased price. Historically, straw was a by-product of grain production, with little use other than horse bedding. However, the development of bio-fuels has created an alternative market for straw. In addition, due to rising costs of fertilizer (which is produced from increasingly expensive petroleum), many farmers are choosing to plow the straw back into the soil in order to reduce the amount fertilizer required. At the same time, new varieties of grain have been developed which have a much shorter stalk, greatly reducing the amount of straw produced. All of these factors have reduced straw availability and in many areas increased price.

• Development of alternatives. Many companies have invested in the development and marketing of alternatives to straw, with the result that today's stable owner has the option of various alternatives to straw.

• Increased awareness. For a long time, when people thought of horse bedding, the only possibility they considered was straw. However, horse and stable owners are becoming increasingly aware of alternatives, in some cases due to the publicity by bedding manufacturers and in other cases due to contact with people who have switched to the alternatives.

Straw can be made from the stems of barley, oat, rye,  or wheat crops. Oat straw is about a quarter more absorbent than the other 3 types.

Straw bedding varies considerably in quality. The amount of dust will depend on how it was baled and the conditions under which it was baled. It can also have dangerous (to horses) fungus if it was insufficiently dry before baling, or if it was exposed to moisture/rain/water after baling, or if it is over a year old. Make sure that your source of straw is reputable and examine the straw before buying (if you are not knowledgeable about straw, find someone who is). Even with a reputable dealer, one may get the occasional bad bale (smells moldy or funny, does not separate properly) which should be disposed of rather than used.

Wood Shavings

Wood shavings were initially obtained from sawmills, where they were a cheap by-product of wood being planed to size. In fact, as a by-product which needed to be disposed of, sawmills were often happy to give away the wood shavings for free so that they could save the disposal fees. However, as demand for wood shavings to be used as bedding has increased, many sawmills have responded to this by starting to charge for them. The demand for wood shavings has also resulted in a number of companies producing, marketing and selling wood shavings which are specifically produced for bedding.

Wood shavings are more absorbent than straw, which gives the following advantages.

• More of the urine and ammonia is absorbed, reducing odor and risk of damage to horse lungs.

• Urine is absorbed faster, so it tends to be absorbed locally with shavings whereas with straw it tends to spread out on the floor more before being absorbed.

• Shavings provide a better coating around feces, drying them out quicker and reducing smearing on the horse's fur when it lies down.

• A thin layer of shavings provides better cushioning and a more comfortable surface than a thin layer of straw. However, shavings are no more comfortable than a thick layer of straw.

• The amount which is soiled by urine is less than the amount of straw which is soiled. This reduces the amount of soiled bedding that needs to be removed (potential saving in time and money) as well as the amount that needs to be purchased and stored.

One can use either wood shavings from sawmills or buy them as a commercial product. Although the former tends to be less expensive, the commercial product offers a number of advantages:

• Dust. Shavings from sawmills contain a large amount of sawdust, which can cause discomfort when a horse breaths it in, can reduce the horse's performance (due to clogging of the lungs by the sawdust, along with increased mucus production and possibly reactions) and may over time permanently damage the lungs. The shavings produced specifically as a bedding product have had most of the dust removed prior to packaging.

• Non-toxic wood. Some types of wood are poisonous to horses. These include black walnut (can cause acute founder, lameness, colic or breathing difficulties), bitterwood (can cause skin eruptions and inflammation) and yellow popular. Commercial wood shavings are made for safe woods, with white pine being the most common, followed by cedar (some stall owners report that the smell of cedar helps reduce the fly population). If purchasing sawmill shavings, check carefully with the sawmill the types of wood that they use.

• Fungus and Bacteria. Wood products may contain fungus or bacteria that can be harmful to horses. In particular, sawmill shavings which have been left exposed to rain or made from dead wood are more likely to have these. If buying sawmill shavings, make sure that they are freshly produced and have been under shelter.

• Softwood. Commercial wood shavings are produced from softwoods, which are more absorbent than hardwoods and also have less dust.

• Packaging. Commercial products are typically provided in convenient-sized bags and sometimes come with a cover which allows them to be stored outside.

A normal straw fork is not suitable for cleaning out a stall with wood shavings as the tines are too far apart, allow the soiled wood shavings to fall through. If you use a fork as part of mucking out, you will need to obtain one where the tines are close together. Alternatively, one can use a shovel.

Wood Pellets

Wood pellets were initially produced as fuel, for heating. However, it was found that they also make good stall bedding, so the wood fuel pellet technology has been used to produce wood pellets for bedding. In both cases, the pellets are produced by converting wood into shavings and then compacting the shavings into pellets, with lignin (a component of wood) used to bind the pellets together.

Although the technology is the same, there are some differences between wood pellets for fuel and those for bedding. To begin with, almost any wood is suitable for fuel pellets, whereas bedding pellets are made from softwood (typically white pine) as it is more absorbent than hardwood and less dusty. In addition, bedding pellets specifically avoid woods which are toxic to horses (see the earlier discussion on toxic woods).

Wood pellets have much the same advantages as wood shavings (see above discussion on absorbency, ammonia reduction, feces coating, cushioning and reduced soiled bedding), but are approximately twice as absorbent. Consequently, there are substantial savings in terms of the quantity that needs to be purchased, stored and mucked out. However, they are also more expensive (on a pound or kilogram basis).

Providers of bedding pellets typically provide some instructions on how to best use them. Typically, they advise that when the pellets are added to the stall, that they are lightly sprinkled with water, to make them softer and more fluffy, which is more comfortable for the horse to walk on and lay down on.

When mucking out, one can use a special shovel which allows the clean pellets to fall away while retaining feces and soiled pellets that have clumped together.

Straw Pellets

Straw bedding pellets work much the same as wood pellets, but are made of straw instead. It has been reported that straw pellets rot down relatively quickly, reducing the storage space required for soiled bedding.

Other Types of Bedding

Paper (often with newspapers as the main component) are often a relatively inexpensive type of bedding. It can be shredded, chopped or re-pulped into a cotton-like texture. It is dust free and in general horses will not eat it (an advantage over some other types of bedding). Although comfortable to lie on, it compresses flat and consequently provides only limited cushioning for the horse. Some owners complain about the ink from the paper going onto the horses. Shredded cardboard bedding has similar properties to paper, but provides better cushioning and normally does not have an ink issue.

Sand is sometimes used as bedding, but is not particularly satisfactory. It is difficult to keep clean and can lead to sand colic if ingested, a problem which is more likely to occur if the horses eat hay or other food from the stable floor.

Horse bedding types from natural materials include flax, peat, moss, hemp, kenaf.

Choosing Bedding Type - Practical Considerations

Choosing the type of bedding most suitable for you and your horse depends largely on individual circumstances. The practical factors include:

• Availability. Many of the options are available only in certain areas. Consequently, one can exclude any options which are not available in your area and cannot be economically transported to your area. Availability and price can also change over time depending on various factors; a wet summer can reduce the supply and consequently increase the cost of quality straw, a downturn in the construction industry can impact the availability of the raw ingredients for making wood product bedding, changes in agricultural practices can increase or decrease the availability and price of associated bedding products.

• Price. The prices of the various types of bedding vary over time (see above) and depending on where you live, so one needs to check local prices. In general, the more sophisticated a product is and the more processing involved, the more expensive it will be. So wood pellets are more expensive than wood shavings and wood shavings are more expensive than straw. However, when comparing prices, it is advisable to look at not only the price per pound (or per kilogram) but also at usage  rates.

• Usage Rates. The rate at which bedding is used up depends largely on how well they absorb urine, so highly absorbent products (such as pellets) are used up slower then products which are note very absorbent (such as straw). Lower usage means not only that you save money by purchasing less, but you need less storage for the clean bedding, less storage for the soiled bedding, and will tend to require less time for mucking out (which equals less money in the case that you are paying someone to do the mucking out).

Choosing Bedding Type - Health Considerations

The choice of bedding can affect the health of your horse in a number of ways. We've discussed above that one needs to take extra care when using sawmill by-products for bedding rather than a product specifically produced for horse bedding.

Another very important factor is whether your horse will eat the bedding or not. Almost all types of bedding are either inedible or are difficult to digest, so if your horse eats the bedding it can become ill or have colic (which can be fatal). However, horses vary greatly in terms of whether they eat bedding and in terms of how much bedding they will eat. Consequently, one must consider the individual horse when evaluating this risk. For example, some horses will eat straw but not wood shavings, in which case it would be better to use wood shavings as bedding. However, some horses will eat both types of bedding in substantial quantities, in which case they are better with straw bedding, since straw is more digestible than wood and consequently less likely to cause colic or blockages. There are some products which can be sprayed onto bedding to give it an unpleasant taste and smell to discourage the horse from eating it, but especially greedy horses will eat the bedding anyways, in which case they not only risk colic but also have ingested the chemical spray. Because all these factors depend so much on the individual horse, one needs to watch how the horse behaves in order to determine what are suitable beddings and what are not.

Edible bedding (such as straw) will act as extra food if your horse eats it. If you have an overweight horse, switching from an edible bedding to a type of bedding they won't eat can help reduce their weight. If you have a horse which eats its bedding but is not overweight, when switching from an edible bedding to an inedible bedding you may need to provide extra food to make up the difference.

The nature of your stall will also affect the choice of bedding. If your stall is smelly, you likely have an ammonia problem due to inadequate ventilation. In this case, a highly absorbent bedding will reduce the amount of ammonia, making the stall less smelly and reduce the health risks to your horses. Reducing ammonia and smells will also tend to reduce the fly population. Alternatively, if your stalls are very well ventilated, you probably do not have an ammonia issue and do not necessarily require a high absorbency bedding.

Another very important health consideration is dust. Dusty bedding can reduce the horse's respiratory capacity in the short term (affecting their performance) and long term exposure can cause permanent lung problems. Unprocessed wood shavings direct from the sawmill will usually have an unacceptable amount of dust, some straw is dusty and some is not (depending on how, where and under what conditions it is baled), most commercial products (such as wood pellets) produced specifically for horse bedding are low in dust.

The absorbency of bedding can also affect hoof health. A highly absorbent bedding is more likely to keep urine off the hooves, reducing associated hoof illness. It can also be useful if your fields are wet, as it will dry off the hooves better (constantly wet hooves are more prone to a variety of illnesses). However, if your fields are completely dry or if your horses spend almost off their time in boxes, some owners find that the hooves have inadequate moisture. In this case, one may wish to use a less absorbent bedding or to periodically water the hooves.

New born foals can suffocate or choke on certain types of bedding (e.g. a thick layer of wood shavings). During delivery times, many owners use straw instead.

Individual horses may be allergic or sensitive to certain types of bedding. Consequently, when changing bedding types one should closely observe the horse for some days to check for any problems. In particular, look for breathing problems (heavier or more difficult) or rashes.

Bedding should always be stored in a dry and well ventilated place. Stored bedding which becomes wet or has too much moisture can develop harmful fungus and bacteria, which can make horses ill, cause long term damage or even be fatal. If bedding has become wet, it needs to be used immediately or disposed of. If bedding shows any indications of having gone off (unusual smell, clumping, dusty coating) it should be disposed of.

Equipment

The standard manure fork (with about 5 tines) works well with straw. However, with bedding materials which are based on smaller pieces (e.g. wood shavings or pellets) the distance between the forks is too large, allowing the soiled bedding to fall through.

For wood shavings, a fork where the tines are relatively close together is more suitable, such as in the following photo:

For pellets, due to their small size, a basket arrangement works better than a fork, such as in the following photos: