your thoughts on wood pellet bedding?

[faye]

Any thoughts on this please. Thinking about changing over from shavings

[Mildred]

Brilliant and cheaper! Cleaner horses and less waste!

[Ziggy]

How much is it?

[ralph]

brill i find that it gets rid ofall the smell

[mollymalone]

I'm not overkeen on them! I think you love them or hate them!
I visit a yard where all the horses are on this bedding because the yard owner is a distributer for the specific brand.
Personally I wouldn't find them any cheaper than shavings, although each bag is cheaper I would use the same amount in price, if not more, and my ponies are quite clean.
The yard I have seen on it, the horses are generally require a jolly good groom every morning to remove stable stains and the beds seem to take quite a bit of maintenance.

[Mildred]

Per pallet £230 approx from Liverpool wood pellets. 100 10kg bags I use about 2-3 bags a week per horse x

[cre8tivekid]

I have just started using it with one of mine and so far am very impressed, he is not particularly wet but box walks, and he was making a horrible mess with other beddings.

I think because of the small particles he doesn't kick it about as much, plus it is easier to separate out the poo.

There is a place near me that sells a wood pellet 'winter fuel' that is very similar to the bedding but with less VAT This is worth looking into.

[mcnaughty]

Liverpool have the same trick with the VAT - if you buy the fuel there is less tax (exactly the same pellets!!). I love them - clean, cheap, less muck heap and super super fast to do!!

[faye]

Thanks all for your opinions, do you think it would be suitable for my mare who is very wet? Is it cost effective? Cheaper than shavings?

Thanks x

[Deleted]

i had it for my mare who is wet smelly and horrid it lasted 2 days and she had made a complete mess of it. i have to say her shavings last longer.

[faye]

Thank you, she is very smelly also, I don't know how wet she is compared to others - I've never had mares before and I only take out half a barrow full out of my gelding and almost a full barrow full for her.

[sageandonion]

Pros. Quick to muck out, very absorbent, easy to store as small bags. Cons. Very dusty not suitable for horses with breathing problems, will taint a white coat, does get into the coat and will blunt clipper blades quicker. Using say three bags a week versus one bag of shavings, cost about the same.

I use them for one of my ponies, but not for my 'special' one (I know that is mean). I put a scoop full under shavings on his wee patch. I find them brilliant cat litter just put in the tray dry.

[xthunderstarx]

i personaly belive thay are great we use them for all of ours they are not dusty at all!!! they soak up way more than shavings do and are half the price. i had a grey connie and he was verry messy but when he was on the wood pellets he
was sooo clean. i recently sold him to someone who uses straw and he was filthy!!!

[breeze]

i find wood pellets brilliant except for my very wet mares - for those two i use shavings bnut put a sprinkling of dry pellects under the shavings where they wee - soaks up the wet brilliantly so nice clean bed.

[sunnylynn]

Aug 30, 2012 9:56:32 GMT said:

Pros. Quick to muck out, very absorbent, easy to store as small bags. Cons. Very dusty not suitable for horses with breathing problems, will taint a white coat, does get into the coat and will blunt clipper blades quicker. Using say three bags a week versus one bag of shavings, cost about the same.

I use them for one of my ponies, but not for my 'special' one (I know that is mean). I put a scoop full under shavings on his wee patch. I find them brilliant cat litter just put in the tray dry.

I beg to diifer re; not suitable for horses with breathing problems...my old boy hasnt had any probs at all since being on pellets, although I dont know how as I have to admit, they seem dusty (mainly when the weather is dry) but for some reason, he just doesnt cough on them .

I think wood pellets are like marmite, you either love 'em or hate 'em!. I use Thirsty Bed which isnt cheap (£4.99 per bag) but they seem to last longer than Liverpool pellets. I get through 2, sometimes 3 bags per week on my very dirty gelding so they arent cheap BUT the time saved in mucking out is worth it, plus I am saving money as I get them delivered in bulk so saves going to the feed shop once a week to pick up chippings. I can muck out a stable in less than 5 mins on pellets, it doesnt smell too bad either (unlike straw which I hate!)

[sageandonion]

That's brilliant your pony is doing fine on them, but these are dusty when dry and you can't keep them wet all the time or you will have foot problems so, as such, should never be recommended for use for a horse that has breathing problems.

[brindlerainbow]

Well I have never tried them!! I hate myscanthus with a vengeance, not mad keen on straw as there is so much waste and it smells and I have 1 with a dust allergy!! Today I have gone and bought cousin jacks which I have used before with success Its £8 something a bale I have put 1 bale in 1 stable and made a nice cosy bed in the corner as theres only a small yearling in there and i've put 2 bales in the other as a section A and section B will be sharing the stable ( they love each other and are happy to share ). Both beds are nice and deep and it has eucalyptus in it too to stop them eating it but also good for anything with breathing problems . This is easy to muck out and rots down quickly. Just in case anyone fancied an alternative to wood pellets or other bedding

[StephWheway]

I find wood pellets fantastic and far cheaper than any other bedding. We have rubber mats and just use a bag at a time with 1 15kg bag (£2.50) lasting approx a week for each stable. I think if you want a thick filled they are less effective but still so much easier and quicker to muck out than straw or shavings!!!

[norwalk]

I've used them for nearly three years now and love them!
I have them both with and without rubber matting - I actually find them better with a thicker bed, less waste overall.
Nothing ever looks as cosy as a straw bed with deep bankings, but must admit I was quickly won over!
It is also noticeable that (even in the stables without rubber mats) the cold doesn't strike through as much as even on a decent straw bed because it makes a good dense base.
Ammonia smells are really minimal in comparison, quick to muck out, keeps my white horse cleaner than straw, and my dark bay less dusty than ("dust extracted") shavings ...
They can appear dustier during the summer when the atmosphere is drier, but if in doubt I just do a quick sprinkle with watering can.
I was worried about foot problems when I first went onto them, but (touch wood) dont seem to have had any at all...
As someone else said - theyre like marmite, you either love em or hate em!

[shelliewilson]

I Have just heard of a horse choking because of pellets, if your horse tends to tip feed over or eat hay off the floor be careful with them, they are super absorbent but that's a bad thing if one is swallowed by mistake etc as it swelled up in horses throat and choked it! Please don't attack me as I know it's prob a freak accident but still I would avoid this bedding on that basis alone- shavings and straw don't swell so I would stick to either of them!

[sageandonion]

You are quite right shellie wilson and thank you for bringing it to people's attention.

brindle, what is cousin jacks? never heard of it before.

[Deleted]

I have a really wet mare and use them as a base but I do have rubber matting down first then wood pellets and shavings on top as I still like the soft fluffy bed of shavings. I dont wet my pellets put them down straight and then as I say shavings on top and with the rubber matting it makes a great bed.

[brindlerainbow]

Sagey Cousin Jacks is only available in Devon & Cornwall but probably goes under a different name in other parts of the country. Its chopped dust extracted straw with eucalyptus for those with breathing problems. It smells lovely and is very absorbent and a bale goes a long way

[kayjayem]

I used Liverpool pellets for a while and found them ok with the biggest plus being that they are cheap. However the last load I bought were dreadfull, thick dust in every bag(I know you damp them down to make them expand but these were inferior) . I phoned the company who told me they were the same as I'd always had, which they were obviously not! They had probably delivered the cheap economy ones by mistake but I was not born yesterday and do not complain out of habit(in fact I can't remember when I last did). I have since moved on to Beddown Excel which is more expensive to purchase initially but makes a fabulous, fragrant, dust-free and highly absorbant bed and tbh is probably almost as cost effective but much nicer for horse and me!

[sageandonion]

That Beddown is fabulous kayjem, my vet has it but they have it delivered by massive loads. Too far for me as I just want a pallet.

[qbc]

I have used them for three years. I have thick rubber porous mats and have a 3 - 4" deep bed over half the stable.

Only bedding that copes with the very wet clydie. I skip out daily and with her I take the wet out twice a week and use 3 x 15k bags. Stinky is cleaner and has wet out once a week and is 2 x 15 k bags. They are in 24 x 7 for 3 days and out 10 - 3 for four days in winter.

Not had any problems with white coats getting stained from them, and find they do not get in the coat, but their tails are bagged in winter and manes in plaits which may help. They are also full clipped so no coat to get bedding in.

Saves me a lot of time and about £200 a year on bedding when compared to shavings or megazorb.

YO likes them as they rot down quickly.

I have just got another 1000 k pallet getting ready for this winter.

[jeanslater]

Sept 1, 2012 0:03:18 GMT shelliewilson said:

I Have just heard of a horse choking because of pellets, if your horse tends to tip feed over or eat hay off the floor be careful with them, they are super absorbent but that's a bad thing if one is swallowed by mistake etc as it swelled up in horses throat and choked it! Please don't attack me as I know it's prob a freak accident but still I would avoid this bedding on that basis alone- shavings and straw don't swell so I would stick to either of them!

I was nearly sold on these pellets until you mentioned this, and its a thought isnt it. I googled 'happy jacks' and this seems good but only available down south. Bedding is a nightmare really and getting it right , even harder.

[Mildred]

All my horses are on them and choking must be pretty rare, I've got a greedy youngster he took a mouthful and spat them out in disgust! With a very disgruntled face

[busybusy]

Re breathing issues - I have chronic asthma and have to wear a mask to muck out....until we used wood pellets. Two years on I would not use anything else. Yes, when very dry they do leave some dust, however this is visible, large particles and do not cause me any problems.
In very dry weather we lightly damp the beds down every other day. Ponies going fab and my breathing is great! We have no trouble keeping white socks or grey pony clean either. The also make a fantastic base under either shavings or straw (friends use this method). On top of all that they are more economic in both price and disposal (muck heap grows at half the rate).
They also work well in a trailer or lorry - absorbing all excess moisture and keep smells to a minimum in horse area. Easy to store and handle too!

[welsha]

We used Liverpool Wood Pellets for a couple of years but last year tried Straw Pellets which worked out about £20 a pallet more expensive. Worth it as even more absorbant and beds are more soft and fluffy. with the straw pellets you dont add water and they just fluff up and grow every day!