Brilliant Bedding Saving Tip

[cazrider]

I read this in Essex Rider, and have tried it since Sunday. It is fantastic.:) I have gone down from a two barrow muck out to a one barrow. It works best if your horse wees in the same place every night like Sennie.

What is this fantastic tip you may ask?

The answer, believe it or not, is newspaper. I just wish I'd thought of it years ago. What they suggested in Essex Rider, and so what I've been doing, is putting a thickish layer where he wees, and covering it with shavings as normal. What happens is he wees as normal, but instead of it spreading and being absorbed by the shavings, it goes straight through the shavings and is absorbed by the newspaper. So in the morning the top is dry. This makes a much nicer place for him to lie, which is a useful side benefit. Because the pee doesn't spread so far, it uses far less shavings.

We have a lot of newspaper anyway, but if I do run out, the recycling day on my road is Tuesday morning, so I may well be seen at the paper bins with a black bag.

It does work particularly well for Sennie, a very wet horse who always pees in the same place, so if anyone has a horse like that, I'd definitely, definitely recommend it.

[alanalovesfinn]

good idea! i use sawdust under the shavings but i might give this a go :)

[artemis]

I will give this a try too. I have two with cushings & they pee for England:D.
I have heard that cat litter works well too, but have never tried it.

[Kay2]

What a good idea....we have rubber mats with sawdust on top but I hate not giving them a nice bed on top and since we are on an economy drive this winter they only get a scattering of sawdust.

I will definitely try this cause I hate my wee guy lying in pee.

Thank you! :D (dashes off to dig out the old newspapers - wait til OH is looking for them to light the fire......oooppps!) :p

[wonkeywoody]

Doesnt the paper 'stick' to the floor? Or do you put down loads of sheets so the wee doesnt go right thro the paper?

[gunner5125]

do you mean shredded newspaper or sheets of?

[Kay2]

No idea if you meant shredded or sheets of newspaper :confused: but I have now mucked out and have put down a full newspaper, not just sheets, in all his pee spots! Will see how it works tonight......:D

[cazrider]

I mean newspaper, not shredded, sheets of it. I use probably two newspapers in a muck out, about 6 or 7 sheets deep. I also have mats, and it doesn't stick to it at all. In fact it's really easy to move and dig out. He defintely soaks it and it doesn't stick.

Like you Kay2, I hate it when he ends up in effect lying in wee. This really does help.

[kturner]

I have deep litter on rubber mats, but full bed, I pick droppings off daily and leave wet for weekends or 2 or 3 weeks, but it is always dry on top. (Wood chips, very absorbant).

The other three owners use only a few handfulls of bedding and I always feel sorry for them sleeping in wee everynight. But my way is expensive, so.....

I am going to take all wet out tomorrow and take up two newspapers and put less on top and see what happens. At the moment it is a foot deep, but I can pile some on the sides and put 6 " on top, would that be enough to keep him dry? Usually it is one to one 1/2 foot thick.

[Doeylicious]

I may be incorrect on this, but I am sure it is not recommended to put untreated newspapers in any animals bed, as the inks are harmful to them...this is certainly the case for hamsters, guinea pigs, rabbits etc etc. The shredded paper you buy in bags has been washed and treated to make it safe.

If your horse is prone to the odd munch on his or her bedding I would be very reluctant to use this.

[igloo]

I may be incorrect on this, but I am sure it is not recommended to put untreated newspapers in any animals bed, as the inks are harmful to them...this is certainly the case for hamsters, guinea pigs, rabbits etc etc. The shredded paper you buy in bags has been washed and treated to make it safe.

If your horse is prone to the odd munch on his or her bedding I would be very reluctant to use this.


Oh dear, all my hamsters/guine pigs and various other rodents were bedded on newspaper :D

[Soot]

I may be incorrect on this, but I am sure it is not recommended to put untreated newspapers in any animals bed, as the inks are harmful to them...this is certainly the case for hamsters, guinea pigs, rabbits etc etc. The shredded paper you buy in bags has been washed and treated to make it safe.

If your horse is prone to the odd munch on his or her bedding I would be very reluctant to use this.

These days, all ink used in UK newspapers is eprfectly safe for animals (& to wrap fish & chips) .... This has been double checked many times by various rodent lvoers around the country!!

[montys helper]

i shread my own newspaper for my horses bed. i will try puttin sheets of it down first but he wees so much i dont think it will help much

[montys helper]

These days, all ink used in UK newspapers is eprfectly safe for animals (& to wrap fish & chips) .... This has been double checked many times by various rodent lvoers around the country!!

lol i remember when my chips were wrapped in old news papers

[Doeylicious]

Ah ok, just going by what my guinea pig care books said!

[Kay2]

When I went to do feeds this morning I did a quick check of Dylan's bed.....aka the guinea pig.....lol...sorry couldn't resist!

Anyhoo....he has discovered the papers overnight which obviously was very exciting since some of them are standing to attention in triangular little peaks....silly boy...HOWEVER.....although a couple of the papers look thoroughly saturated it appears (at quick glance!) that the sawdust just has poo mixed through it and not wet!

Will need to do a thorough check later after he goes out but normally he has a good wet patch about 2ft wide by 3-4ft long....will let ya know.....

[Doeylicious]

Hehe can just imagine him making little newspaper art :D leave him some scissors and maybe he could make paper horses, like paper dolls!

[keds mum]

Sounds a good idea, but how do you dispose of it?

[LisaLovesHorses]

That was exactly my question! Newspaper is banned from being put in our muck heap as the YO uses it on their land...

[carn77]

Well this evening i've place 2 newspapers down on the pee spots to see if this works...i have a deep bedding but if it safes the shavings sticking to the floor will be very happy lol lol...so sad i'm actually looking forward to mucking out 2mrw to see if its worked :D

[Madaz_Maddy]

Finding this an intresting post, please keep putting ** experiences on!!!!

I'd like to know how to get rid of it aswell, dont really want a bag of smelly paper lying around!!

Also does it work with magasines aswell????

[Fabio's Filly!]

Not sure if this is a daft question or not....but will ask it anyway!

Does this work with straw as well as shavings? Everyone who's posted seems to use shavings but i bed with straw. May try it anyway!

[Disty]

Hi
Has anyone tried it? Is it of benefit?
Thanks,

[chunkycob lover]

That's such a good idea. As a result of the current shavings shortage in our area, our yard manager has now decided that we are to use myscanthus (elephant grass) for bedding. I was using nedz bedz prior to this however seem that this is no longer allowed. I have a horse who loves to wee for England and goes through bedding like no ones buisness. I will definately see if this will be objected and will give it a go as this will help me to save some limited money !!:)

[sianandtonto]

just want to say thank you for this tip ive recentley gone to shavings due to my horses breathing problems, and newspaper underneath them workd brilliantly :D thanks again

[Kay2]

Hehe can just imagine him making little newspaper art :D leave him some scissors and maybe he could make paper horses, like paper dolls!

So funny...:D:D
Anything to keep his little brain occupied!! Will run your suggestion past the guinea pig...aka the artist that is dinky Dylie. lol.


An update on Dylan's stable.....

I now take out half a barrow a day instead of a full barrow of sawdust

Newspaper does not stick to floor

Previously by morning slightly "damp coloured" bedding would have been scuffed forward to the front of the stable....now the sawdust pushed to the front is the colour it is in the bag!

With a good 2 inch layer of sawdust on the newspaper and just a scattering of a few cm on the rest of the mats Dylan is no longer lying in pee and the bedding on top of the paper is mainly very, very dry....no more pee pee necked munchkin by morning!

To muck out Im picking out the poo's and then sweeping any dry bedding off the paper and lifting the paper and any wet sawdust out

Newspapers are going in our muck heap with rest of bedding and I don't see how that will be any different for the farmer than if I was using shredded paper bedding or cardboard....should compost fairly quickly IMO

And you will be glad to know that he has lost the novelty of the buried paper and has returned to attacking his bordom breaker likit (which now makes it a lot easier to muck out....all those little peaks of paper....bit of nightmare!)

[burness_21]

Not sure if this is a daft question or not....but will ask it anyway!

Does this work with straw as well as shavings? Everyone who's posted seems to use shavings but i bed with straw. May try it anyway!

i was just wondering this to. i told my yard owner this and they just lauhed but i want to be sure of this working on straw first as i will look like a real idiot otherwise as everyone at the yard was taking the micky

[burness_21]

has anybody tried this with straw

[Henderz]

We have cobble stones in out yard... but I don't think it would work! Would it not be cheaper to switch to shredded paper completely?

[mayzie21]

Have been trying this for the last week and has made such a difference! Really cuts down on bedding useage as in soaks it up before it can spread too far. Forgot to take any up one day and am sure i took twice as much bedding out the following morning. Now Dez is not the cleanest of horses and i do use about 1 1/2 to 2 news papers per night as i cover most of the centre of his bed as you never know where he will wee :rolleyes: but with all my friends and family saving me their newspapers i have plenty of supply.

I place mine in a big bin of rubbish with feed sacks shavings bags etc which gets burnt, a few bits escape to the muck heap but not enough to make a difference.

Because my boy's stable is rubber matted i lift all his bedding up into big banks during the day as well, especially if he is in and that saves bedding and also make it easier to skip out in the evening. He always saves up his wee till his bed comes down, even if he is out all day he will save it till he gets back in :rolleyes:

[Julz]

I will give this a try too. I have two with cushings & they pee for England:D.
I have heard that cat litter works well too, but have never tried it.

this bedding is similar to cat litter, cheaper and may well be of use to you, esp as the cost of shavings has risen dramatically! (from £3.50 a bag to £7.25 :eek: )

http://www.hotstovies.com/HorseLitter.htm

[Spoof]

The newspaper is a good idea!

They use the pellets Julz mentioned in the barns here. It takes 3 bags to put a 1" bed on a 10 x 10 matted stall. Mine uses six bags to start. Oh, if you do try it, wet it after you put it in, not before like that picture shows! It turns to sawdust once wet.

They clean once a day here and after the initial six bags they add 2 a week. The three largest warmbloods get 3-4 a week due to wee amounts. :)

So I don't know if that really saves money, they use it because it is easier to spread.

[cazrider]

Well I'm still using it, and it's still working.;) Glad others of you have found it useful. I use rubber mats and shavings. I did try the paper bedding, but actually didn't like it as it is really messy. So I've gone back onto the shavings and old newspaper.

[Madaz_Maddy]

Brilliant tip!! Been using it for a while now and really noticed when I ran out one night and had loads more bedding to throw out!!

Use about 2-3 a day between the 2 of them but its not a problem as all my friends and even my dads work mates are saving their papers for me so theres plenty of supplies!!

[Kay2]

I'm still using it too....has been the best tip ever!

Ran out last week for one day and threw out double the amount of bedding. And its so easy to do. Well worth it.
Many thanks to thread starter :D

[perkypinky]

i also wish to add my thanks to the OP - i have been using the newspaper for a couple of weeks now and my bedding is lasting ages. i only seem to take out pooh and a very small fork of shavings.
Many thanks x

[Go4itKLM]

I use paper with straw and it works fine! Horse is a lot cleaner now! We also get some shredded paper given to us by my dad's work, just all the old memos etc used in the office - after it's been in her stable nothing can be identified so no worries about data protection! I prefer the shredded paper because it's easier to muck out but the horse rummages around through it when she's bored so I'm a bit worried she may be eating it.. :confused:

[FeatheryFeet]

...

[ginger nut]

I am bedding my wettest horses on deep litter straw with a thin later of woodchip beneath to soak the wee.

Will try the newspaper trick too though will be going for the financial times or the independant as i think page 3 models could be a very bad bedtime read for my little youngster LOL!!!!!! :D

[minxymare]

Hi all, just wondered how you are all getting on with the newspaper a couple of weeks down the line, apart from all having very well read horses that is?
Am thinking of giving it a try in my mares straw bed

[Jessey]

What a great idea, when we had puppies we asked at the local news agent and they gave us all of 'yesterdays' papers we had huge bundles of them given to us! My guys live out atm, but i will be remembering this trick for the future!!!

[Kay2]

I've been using the papers since this thread went up. Makes his bed a lot less wet cause it soaks through the bedding to the papers leaving the bedding on top nice and dry. It is definitely saving us money.

And it is also good at de-sensitizing my young boy cause when it is windy some of them lift up and fly round his stable, he is totally unfazed......although I'm sure in 5 years time when he is broken and hacking any newspapers he meets flying about the verges will be of a different "horse killing species" unlike the nice papers in his stable. lol

But it is well worth using them!