Part 1 of our 2 Part Series
What Horse Bedding Is Best?
Horse bedding is an essential part of stable life for a horse.
Just as you like your bed to be warm and comfortable, your horse does too!
For a horse though, ‘comfortable’ means easy on the feet because they usually sleep standing up, and nice to lie down in for that hour or so of deep sleep they need.
It should also be easy to keep clean, dust-free, and not edible.
However, these are just a few of the things you need to consider when determining what horse bedding is best for horses, or for your horse in particular.
What Do You Need To Consider When Choosing Horse Bedding?
When it comes to choosing the best type of bedding for your horse, there are several things to consider that will affect your choice.
Allergies
What Horse Bedding Is Best For Horses and Humans with Allergies?
Some horses have skin or respiratory allergies that rule out certain types of stable bedding. Straw bedding, particularly fine straw, is high on this list because it can be dusty. If allergies are a problem for your horse, the best type of bedding for this is shredded paper. However, it’s not commonly used so is going to be expensive, and possibly hard to find as well.
Dust Considerations For Stable Horse Bedding
Dust can contribute to respiratory problems in horses, and also cover everything in dust! As mentioned above, some types of straw bedding can be very dusty. Sand bedding can also be dusty but does have the advantage of being able to be damped down without causing it to deteriorate.
Stable Bedding For Dealing With Fumes
If you’ve ever been in an enclosed stable with poor ventilation, the smell and fumes of horse pee has probably been quite noticeable! What you are smelling, and inhaling, is ammonia gas! Urine is full of it!
In fact, ammonia is a caustic gas and a considerable health hazard both for humans and horses!
Notably, it is highly irritating for eyes and lungs. If this is a problem in your stable, a bedding material like wood pellets is your best option.
These are proven highly absorbent, and some brands contain zeolite to help neutralise odours and ammonia.
Bacteria Fighting Stable Bedding
Horse stables can be bacteria breeding grounds! However, some types of bedding have natural antimicrobial properties, including peat moss, shredded paper, and straw pellets.
Absorbency of your Horse Bedding
Absorbency goes hand in glove with fumes so selecting bedding with the right absorbency qualities for your horse’s stable conditions is vitally important. Remember too that the more time your horse spends in its stable, the more pee and ammonia it will produce, so the more bedding you need.
Stable bedding materials like wood pellets are more absorbent than others, and can help absorb and neutralise ammonia better than others.
So – if you horse has to spend a lot of time in a closed in stable, wood pellets may be your best choice of stable bedding.
What Bedding Is Best For Horses And Their Comfort?
It goes without saying that your horse must be comfortable in its stable. Choose a bedding material that is comfortable to stand and lie down on. Some horses lie down more than others so if you have one that does like to lie down a lot, sawdust, or wood shavings are a good choice.
Avoid bedding materials with sharp, splintery edges (wood shavings for example may be better than coarse sawdust).
Best Bedding For Maintenance
Horses can be messy creatures in stables! Pulverised manure spread all over the place is not easy to clean out and can lead to a lot of bedding waste. If this sounds like your horse, you’ll definitely want a horse bedding that is easy to spot clean and maintain! Consider pelleted beddings or sand.
Munchability
Some horses, and many ponies, think stable bedding is a type of ‘free choice’ forage and will snack on it if it’s edible. That means straw bedding probably needs to be ticked off your list!
Feed Spillage
If your horse is prone to tipping or spilling feed everywhere and then hoovering it up off the floor, sand is definitely out as a bedding material! Consider using something like wood pellets or sawdust instead. However, putting a rubber mat down under the feed bin as well will probably be your best option.
Cost Considerations And Horse Bedding
Some types of horse stable bedding are more expensive than others. Choose the one that best suits your budget but doesn’t compromise on your horse’s health and wellbeing.
Final Thoughts And What To Consider About The Best Horse Bedding
Selecting the best bedding for your horse involves considerations such as allergies, dust, fumes, bacteria, absorbency, comfort, maintenance, and cost.
Although you may need to experiment with different types of bedding but ultimately it’s a worthwhile exercise if it helps you determine what bedding is best for horses like yours.
You may also like to read Part 2, where we delve into the most common types of horse bedding, and explore their pros and cons.
