cheaper bedding, does anyone do this?

[gunner5125]

shavings are really expensive & my horse eats straw. my work has masses of waste paper each week which is binned & i was thinking of shredding it all & mixing it in with the shavings to bulk up my shavings bed. does anyone else do this & is it worth it?

[shandy84]

he might get ink print on him

[gunner5125]

suppose that might not be good for her skin? is this likely to cause a problem does anyone know. she's black so i'm not bothered about it showing up.

[shandy84]

oops sorry her :o

[andreaB]

i have used shredded paper for banks & shavings for the base , paper is a bit of a pain for mucking out for the main bed

[MissMare]

I use it and its fine. It isn't as absorbent as shavings but it's free so who cares. I make sure no staples are in there, and she has rubber matting down with good drainage. Anything to save a bit of money and the enviroment has to be good :)

[ashlingm]

do what i did and get rubber matting, then you only need shavings for banks (in a proper stable the wee goes under the mat and drains away)

but you could also use the paper on top of the rubber matting in the places she wees so it will soak it up..

[~*sugarlump*~]

i've heard of it being done, it might be one of those ones you need to burn to get rid of

[conkers]

I used to use shredded paper when Connie was younger. Saved a fortune and it gave a good bed. Only downside was it isn't the easiest bed to muck out. I used to deep litter and just do it at the weekends.

[emmathechief]

I use paper shreading in the winter -it's brill! My mare is really messy so I put paper as a base and straw on top, just pick out the poops then every 2nd or 3rd day I remove the soggy paper and replace with new. Works really well for us and as it's free, I'm not complaining!!

[SpringySpring]

Is it not dangerous if the horse eats the paper? Surely the ink cannot be good for them? :confused: I'm probably wrong - usually am:rolleyes:

[Miriam]

How do you dispose of the paper bedding?

[Big Ears]

paper is used a lot as bedding, even at vets. but you need to be sure you remove all the staples. it is absorbent of wee - we used to use it in our stables - but it is quite heavy to lift and unless you have a proper shredder that does it in long strips rather than an office shredder, it blows everywhere and can be quite messy.

you also need a very large amount of paper to do stables, it is more than you think and getting enough can be a problem - we had an arrangement with a local shop and they gave us heaps of newspapers.

we eventually changed to rubber mats as it was easier to look after, less waste and after the initial investment cheap to run - but you need drainage.

[emmathechief]

Luckily my girl doesn't eat bedding! I don't think the ink would cause a problem but the actual paper would. If they eat a lot of bedding then paper might not be a good idea. It would probably go like pulp in their stomach and cause colic.
Worth bearing in mind if your horsey eats their bed.

[Portia]

Cant use it at my yard, muck is rotted then spread on the fields and farmer objected to paper in the heap, didn't say why? Might be an idea to check with your YO ...