Dirty stable

[nat]

I really need advice! i keep my horse in a shavings bed and it is absolutely stinking. she gets mucked out everyday but each day i end up taking the whole bed out. At the moment i am using 4 balse of shavings a week, and at £6 a bale it is costing way too much. its not my stable so i dont want to go to the expense of putting rubber matting dow. the horse also lies down all the time and rolls a lot so it needs to be quite thick.
someone told me that she was walking around her stable a lot because she was bored but she has two windows where she can see out and has a twisty lick thing hanging up. because it is coming into the winter, the turnout has got really bad so she only gets into the field for an hour a day but she is also ridden nearly every day. does anyone know of anything i can do?

[maverick927]

Ouch, your poor wallet. Your shavings cost per week is more than it is to keep Mavy with everything included.

Is there no where you coulcd get shavings cheaper as that would help the bills. My shavings are only £5 a bale.

I'm sorry but don't have much advice. I deep litter my bed, but I've heard that it is easy to deep litter geldings than mares. You could always try it and see how you go. My bed is really thick and dry, because all the wee is at the bottom. It has never smelt or else I would heard about it from my mum. I only use one bag of shavings a fortnight, and don't dig up my banks. I just take the wet out once a month.

[Gypsypoop]

Maybe you could try using straw instead? Its cheaper and it wouldnt matter as much if you did have to muck out alot! Also, next time you completley muck out, wash the stable floor with disenfectant, if you do this every time you muck out it sholdnt smell as much and also when your'e not using the stable, move the straw into one pile so the stable floor can air.
jess x:D

[makebelieve]

I don't like straw-its so uncomfortable!At my stable, they get a big bulk supply of shavings. I somehow find straw more stinky. Another option? Anything environmentally safe, thats an alternative? If only they sold Carefresh in large bags-ooh that'd be expensive! Its for small rodents though, but it works really well.
http://www.carefresh.ca/home.html

I'm not much help here.

[AJB]

nat seems like your horse is bored bored bored!!!-I would suggst something radical im afraid as if in October you are only on an hour of turnout a day-MOVE...I can accept my horse being in at nights come the light change but I insist that he is able to be out daily whatever the weather and I know he would do loopy if he was inside 23 hours a day-wouldnt you??? sorry to sound harsh but winter aint yet started so having to have him in shouldnt be your only option at the moment-could you not have him out in a electric tape area and feed hay out so he can walk about???

[Equisgurl]

turn out your horse more, clean the stall with safe cleaner life stallfresh and desinfect it. and I do advice getting rubber matting, its so much easier to clean.

[Showjumper03]

Yikes I hate it when Jimmy's stall gets dirty! What I did was put rubber mats in and I turned him out into his Paddock. Try keeping him out a little more. Jimmy's only really in stall at a show, before a show, in wet or wintery weather! Hope It helps!:) jUmPiNg Is ThE bEtTeR wAy Of LiFe

[intouch]

NAt - is this the grey mare? I know you said you had had her checked out, but given her way of going, I still wonder if she could be hurting, specially if she is box walking. A check up would be cheaper than your expenditure on shavings!

[nat17]

I agree with AJB, i thinks its all about your horse being bored through lack of turnout.
Is there any way you can get more turnout or even move like ajb suggested?

[nat]

yup its the grey. shes had her back checked by a few people and one told us to get the vet but they couldnt find anything wrong with her. i got the same done with bella when i couldnt get her to canter. do you what else could be wrong? thanks 4 your help everyone. im trying to get her turned out in the sandschool during the day.

[JustBetMe]

My one mare would stir up all the shavings in her stall every night this spring. Whole stall had to be stripped every day, didn't make the barn owner happy to do all that work.

Our solution was to move her to simply take her out of the stall. She is pasture/paddock board only now. Cheaper for me and she is a much happier horse too.

Hope you get more turnout for her. In the meantime, doesn't hurt to look around at other places to keep her that would allow more turnout.

[Mariss]

I don't have any advice on how to cut down on shavings prices, but I do know how to get rid of some of the stink.

When you much out the stall put some garden lime on the wet spots. Or use the hose and scrub the stall throughly 1-2x a week.


Good Luck