Bedding
3 products
Bedding for the stable: shavings and alternatives for a clean, low-dust stable environment.
Which bedding is the right one for my horse?
Straw is the classic choice: it insulates well and horses like to lie on it, but it needs a lot of storage space and produces large amounts of muck. Compressed bedding such as straw pellets or chopped straw is very absorbent and saves space.
Flax straw binds moisture well and contains bitter substances that discourage eating. Shavings absorb a lot of moisture but break down slowly and should not be eaten, because they carry a risk of colic.
Which bedding is suitable for horses with a cough or allergies?
For horses with sensitive airways, low-dust bedding types such as flax straw or dust-extracted pellets are suitable. In addition, during the production of pellets, most germs are killed by the heat.
Dusty straw, on the other hand, puts a strain on the airways. Ammonia from urine also irritates the lungs: in one study, the ammonia load on shavings was significantly higher than on straw. If there are respiratory problems you should discuss how your horse is kept with your vet.
Can straw used as bedding also be feed?
Yes, many horses like to eat straw and it can account for up to 30–40% of the forage ration. For good doers it can therefore make sense to feed straw deliberately and use an alternative such as shavings or flax straw as bedding.
It is important that your horse is slowly accustomed to straw as feed in order to prevent impaction colic. Compressed bedding, on the other hand, should not be eaten.
How often does the stable need to be mucked out?
Regular mucking out is important with every type of bedding, because damp, soiled bedding promotes diseases such as thrush. With pellets and chopped straw, droppings can be picked out conveniently and quickly.
Ammonia can be measured with test strips, and 10 ppm is regarded as the limit. Note for heavy bedding sacks: Ahrens Reitsport does not ship orders over 15 kg, but they can be collected from the pick-up station at our shop in Tangstedt.
By Julia Lühr, Ahrens Reitsport · Updated