Which Horse Bedding is Best?

Winter is fast approaching and as the weather turns many horses will spend more time indoors. With the change in weather and routine comes the decision on how to best bed down your horse while he is stabled. But with such a wide choice of bedding materials available, it can be difficult to know which option to go for. We take a look at the most popular bedding options for horses...

Straw Bedding

The most traditional of bedding materials, straw is readily available and relatively cheap. For those who like a deep, soft bed, straw is the obvious choice. However, straw can vary greatly in condition with poorer quality bales being high in dust and mould spores that are damaging to the horse's respiratory system. In addition, many horses find straw, particularly oat straw, highly palatable, resulting in them eating their beds. This habit is usually discouraged as it can ultimately lead to digestive issues and is often linked to colic in horses.

To help remedy these issues, there are a number of treated straw products available. As they are processed more rigorously, this type of straw bedding tends to be of a much higher and consistent quality. They are chopped, making the straw pieces smaller so there tends to be less wastage. So while the cost per bale is higher, each bale will typically last longer than a normal bale of straw. These chopped straw beddings are sometimes also mixed with essential oils or herbal products to provide added benefits such as making the products less palatable or the addition of antibacterial properties.

Popular Treated Straw Products:

• Nedz Bed Original is a chopped wheat straw bedding that contains a natural disinfectant to help combat bacteria, fungus and viruses to help maintain a healthier environment for the horse. These additions also give the bedding a bitter taste to discourage the horse from eating their bedding.
• Raviera is a basic chopped straw bedding. A virtually dust-free chopped straw horse bedding made from oil seed rape straw.
• Nedz Bed Pro is also made from oil seed rape straw. It contains a bitter-tasting natural herb that acts as a natural disinfectant and reduces ammonia levels.
• Equinola is another dust-extracted, chopped oil rape seed straw bedding which includes a bitter herbal mix to make it less palatable to horses. It also contains lemon-scented tea tree oil that acts both as a deodoriser and insect repellent.
• Cavianthus is a unique straw bedding made from Miscanthus (Elephant Grass). It is used in the same way as other bedding, but it is more absorbent than any other straw-based products or shavings and it lasts longer, making it very economical.

Hemp Bedding

Another alternative to straw is hemp bedding. Whereas straw uses the whole stalk of the plant, hemp bedding is made from the soft inner core of the hemp plant, a by-product of the production of items such as traditional hemp ropes and textiles which use the tougher outer stem. As well as having low dust levels, hemp bedding has a very high absorbency (up to 400ml per 100g of bedding compared to 250ml with straw which helps reduce ammonia levels in the stable and is of benefit to the respiratory health of the horse, as well as making a more pleasant environment for both horse and carer. The disadvantage to this absorbency, however, as anyone who has mucked out a truly soaked stable can vouch for, is the bedding can become very heavy. At full absorbency, hemp bedding can increase in weight by 400%.

Wood Shavings

Another popular bedding for horses is wood shavings and this option has been popular for many years, particularly for horses who suffer from respiratory disease or that tend to eat straw bedding. Shavings also provide excellent support for the horse's hooves as the shavings can impact inside them and when laid to a sufficient level also provide good cushioning, helping to prevent stable injuries such as capped hocks or elbows. Whilst shavings produced specifically for the equestrian market tend to be of consistently high quality, care should be taken when sourcing shavings as low-quality shavings or sawdust, often a by-product of sawmills are not suitable for horse bedding as they tend to have high dust levels and can be contaminated with sharp wood splinters and other potentially dangerous inclusions.

Popular Wood Shavings Products:

• Bedmax is made specifically for equestrian use from virgin pine wood. These shavings are known for their large flake size, which gram for gram gives a deeper more cushioned bed than typical wood shavings. However, for those who prefer the more traditional, smaller-sized shaving, Bedmax also produces Littlemax, which still uses virgin timber but is cut finer than the original Bedmax for a lightweight and soft look and feel. Both Bedmax and Littlemax shavings are also double-screened for dust, so have one of the lowest dust levels on the horse bedding market.

Shredded Wood Fibre

A variation of wood shavings is wood chip bedding made from shredded wood fibre. This offers many of the same advantages of wood shavings, but due to being a slightly smaller and denser form than shavings, they tend not to cling to manes and tails, saving grooming time and reducing waste. Shredded wood fibre products also tend to be slightly cheaper than premium wood shavings, making them a more economical choice.

Popular Wood Chip Beddings Products:

• Easibed is made from recycled clean white wood, making this bedding a very environmentally friendly choice. It is clean, dust-free and economical to use.
• Bodens Mixed Wood is a great value-for-money choice of bedding. Made from a mixture of hardwood and softwood shavings, it's super-absorbent and provides a warm and comfortable bed for your horse.
• For a compromise between the two bedding types, ComfyBed Plus offers a wood chip/shavings mix giving the lightness of premium wood shavings at a value price due to the inclusion of shredded wood fibre.

Wood Pellets/Pulp

Another alternative horse bedding is wood pellets or pulp. These highly processed wood bedding products are very low in dust and of a consistent quality. The processing can also help to kill moulds, spores and bacteria to make it more hygienic for the horse. They are typically supplied in bags rather than bales and are therefore smaller and lighter so can be easier to handle.

Popular Wood Pellet and Pulp Products:

• Blue Ribbon is a softwood pellet bedding made from natural virgin wood. It is very absorbent and easy to muck out, so less bedding is removed daily, reducing your mucking out time and drastically reducing the muck heap size.
• Megazorb is a wood pulp product, which is very absorbent (about four times as absorbent as wood shavings), so it is excellent at absorbing stable odours and reducing ammonia levels. Typically only half a bag per week is needed to maintain a bed of Megazorb and the fine nature of the product means it breaks down very quickly into compost, resulting in smaller muck heaps.

Whatever horse bedding option you choose, here at Millbry Hill we have a product to suit your needs, with a great selection available online and in-store. From single bales to pallet options for those who prefer to stock up.

For all your stabling needs from wheelbarrows to shavings forks, check out our Are you stable ready? blog