This is an archived Horseadvice.com Discussion. The parent article and menus are available on the navigation menu below:
HorseAdvice.com » Horse Care » Tips and Tricks » 2005 »
  Discussion on Woody Pet bedding tips
Author Message
Member:
Chrism

Posted on Thursday, Oct 20, 2005 - 1:36 pm:

Hi All,

The barn where I now keep my Silke horse uses Woody Pet pellets for bedding (I LOVE this stuff, it is so easy to pick).

Two tips from the barn owner:

1) Lay the sack of Woody Pet flat in the stall. Use a knife to make an "x" on the flat side and peel back the plastic. Water the Woody Pet pellets and let soak in the bag. Then dump and spread a little while later. This is much easer than spreading and then watering - there is a lot less water used and the stall stays neat.

2) After picking the "horse apples," use a snow shovel to scoop up the wet spot.

She has rubber stall mats. The Woody Pet pellets are really easy to use to keep the stalls neat.

Cheers.
Member:
Warwick

Posted on Thursday, Oct 20, 2005 - 2:01 pm:

Hi Christine

I switched from shavings to wood pellet bedding this spring and have absolutely no regrets. It is easy to store, quick to pick and my manure pile is smaller as there is less waste. Plus one of my younger horses (who is allergic to basically everything) had a lot of problems with the dust from traditional shavings but has been problem-free since I made the switch to pellets.

Another bonus for me is the price. My shavings shed isn't high enough to have dumped shavings so I had to get them blown in which is about 40% more expensive than dumped in my neck of the woods. Now I buy a 50-bag pallet of pellets and am saving money. What a novel concept in the horse world!

Thanks for the tip about watering inside the bag. I've been spreading them out and then spraying them down but this sounds far better. Will try tomorrow when I have to add bedding.

Sue
Member:
Dres

Posted on Thursday, Oct 20, 2005 - 4:18 pm:

I have never thought to keep them in the bag, what I do is just dump in a pile.. moisten in that pile.... go to the next stall etc.. then come back and use my boot to kick it around.... One of my mares is terribly messy...I don't moisten her stall at all.. she seems to do fine grinding them down to dust all by herself...

On the first day God created horses, on the second day he painted them with SPOTS..
Member:
Mrose

Posted on Thursday, Oct 20, 2005 - 4:22 pm:

The Woody Pet pellets are hard to find in my area, and are expensive, so I've been using regular stove pellets. They are a lot less expensive and seem to work just as well. I can use them in my run in areas, too, and they don't blow away as much as the shavings. Love the idea about watering in the bag; can't wait to try it.
Member:
Lilly

Posted on Thursday, Oct 20, 2005 - 4:56 pm:

I have never tried wetting the pellets in the bag. I will have to try it and see how it works. As far as scooping up the wet spots, I find it most efficient to pick up the wet spot with a fork, flip it upside down and remove the darkest pellets. It seems to work well for me and I am not wasting material that still has life left in it.
Member:
Janfair

Posted on Thursday, Oct 20, 2005 - 8:36 pm:

Last spring I tried the same product but from a different manufacturer, Equine Pine, and I also loved it except I couldn't control the dust even with our high humidity. It was awfully expensive but sooo easy to clean so I resorted to spraying each of 6 stalls thoroughly every morning with a hose and by evening the dust was awful so I switched back to shavings. Any suggestions on dust control? Maybe the product you're using is better but do you know if it's available in NW Florida?
Member:
Angel77

Posted on Friday, Oct 21, 2005 - 1:10 am:

Dear all,

I use dry stall as the first layer,then wood chips(I get them from a tree trimming service for free-pine,cedar or oak as other types of trees are poisonous) for the second layer, for the third layer 1-3 bags of dust free shavings.

This combination has helped the old mare I care for to heal her hock sores. The tree oil has greatly improved her feet and my jumpers feet.

I love the wood chips they are easy to clean and they are free!!! Just make sure if you find a company who will dump chips for you that the wood chips are pine,cedar or oak. I got it in writing so they know I am serious and they know they would be liable if they brought me anything poisonous. The contract stipulates they are liable up to one million dollars.

Good Mucking!!!

WTG
Member:
Brandi

Posted on Friday, Oct 21, 2005 - 2:21 am:

Janice, I too tried the pellets (2 different brands) and had a terrible problem with the dust (even during our wet, wet winters. Yes they are fast and easy to pick and yes they are a huge plus for the manure pile, but it just wasn't worth the dust for me. After years of using regular shavings, I have finally found something I really like. STRAW. Some might think I'm crazy, but it really meets my needs. I have one horse on primarily stall-rest (15 months now), and two older horses, one severely arthritic. I use pellets (2 bags) as an under-layer in a clean stall (with mats), and then good, old-fashioned and clean straw on top (1-2 bales depending on the consistency). I pick stalls daily, 2x per day for the stall-bound guy if I can. In a deep bed like this the manure can be hard to find, but usually stays together in one pile and isn't that hard to clean out once you find a technique (I don't waste one clean piece of straw, I've found a way with my regular plastic manure fork). Then I pull the straw aside and find any wet spots, scoop up the wettest pellets and if necessary, add a scoop of new ones (only about every 3 days).

I don't have to strip the stalls of the 2 older horses for weeks, even though they are in 12 hours at night. The stall-bound horse is a mover, so he breaks down the straw over about a couple of weeks, but sometimes I just add more straw over the top.

I LOVE the cushion it provides for my horses, and overall I end up with less material in the manure pile, because my horses went through shavings like crazy, plus I didn't like the lack of cushion or the dust that existed after just a few days. I stripped my shavings-filled stalls at least every two weeks, sometimes more. It was much more expensive for me and my situation. I compost my manure pile, so the straw will take a bit more time to break down, but I can handle that. For what its worth...
Member:
Janfair

Posted on Friday, Oct 21, 2005 - 7:54 am:

Thanks for the suggestions! Many years ago, when I lived in Ohio, I used straw and it made such a clean, cushy bed but I don't think it's even available in FL. Plus storage would be a problem since I barely have room for all the hay I store over the winter. Guess until I find "The Perfect Solution" I'll have to stick with the shavings. I have kept pellets in one end stall because rain water tends to seep under the foundation and the pellets keep the dampness within a few inches of the wall.
Member:
Mrose

Posted on Friday, Oct 21, 2005 - 10:20 am:

When we lived in Truckee,CA I used a layer of shavings with straw on top in the winter. I loved the straw and so did the horses. It's just really hard to find here in UT. At least CLEAN straw is really hard to find. I've even had to use shavings for foaling, which I dislike doing. I just tried to keep them damp so the dust stayed down.
Member:
Warwick

Posted on Friday, Oct 21, 2005 - 11:22 am:

Well, Christine, wetting the pellets in the bag works like a charm! Thanks for the tip - it sure beats spreading and spraying them.

I use a brand called Armstrong that is made locally so I doubt they sell into the US. They are virtually dust-free - so much so that as I mentioned earlier one of my younger horses who is allergic to practically everything does well with them. Several years ago I tried a different brand which I found to be very dusty so gave up and went back to traditional shavings. All depends on the brand I guess and I'm lucky enough to a have good local one up here.
Member:
Qh4me

Posted on Monday, Oct 24, 2005 - 4:38 pm:

I too used the pelleted bedding. Brand name was Magnum. I loved it. But again, I had the same issues with dust, but only in one of the stalls.

After about a week of the initial setup, my mares stall was always dusty. And because she was so clean, i only had to add a bag every 2 weeks. When I talked to the Magnum bedding rep, he asked if she was extremely clean, and I said yes. He said they had complaints from people who's horses are clean and don't walk alot in the stalls.

It seems that the messier the horse, and the more they stall walk, the less dustier the shavings.

I have doors that the top half opens so they can look outside when in the stall, so the barn is very airy, which I believe also had something to do with the dust. It was drying everything out.

I resorted to watering every day , which my mare loved cause it was always cool in the summer, but now that winter is approaching, I have gone back to the shavings.
Member:
Muffi

Posted on Wednesday, Mar 29, 2006 - 5:29 pm:

I know that this is an old post but I want to put in my two cents. I live in WARM DRY Arizona, we don;t use a barn here - most horse owners just keep horses in a covered area with mats for no colic feeding. Where I use shavings is in the Arena area to keep the dust down and give my boys in the back a soft place to sleep. when they get wet or covered in"apples" I scoop it out and put it on the bridle path around the yard. There is plenty of room. It makes for a soft and quiet footfall. I have been doing it for a while. No Compost heap, just a soft quite path around the yard for those Short Quickie Rides. so I like the shavings.
Home Page | Top of Page | Join Us!
Horseadvice.com is a BBB Accredited Business. Click for the BBB Business Review of this Horse Training in Stokesdale NC