Not allowed straw and my beds stink - help!!

[nuttymare]

Hi, feel a bit guilty asking for more advice because I never seem to get round to posting much back these days!

Anyway, am hoping you can help!

I'm used to semi deep littering with straw which worked well, but at my new yard we're not allowed to use straw.

For the last month, I've had my mare on Dixons Dustless (short chopped straw) and my gelding on BedDown (shavings & short chop).
Which ever way I've mucked them out, I've always got a really bad ammonia fume problem, especially with my mare who churns her bed up as she walks around.

I'm getting a bit frustated too because my mare's bed never looks nice and doing a nice bed is one of the pleasures of owning a horse!

I try not to be too stingy with fresh bedding but there are limits (especially as the straw was free at previous yard!)


Have any of you found something that worked better ie paper, hemp

I worry that if anything is too absorbant, it will dry out their feet too much!

Have considered rubber matting but think my smelly girl will be just too disgusting!


Thanks muchly

Nic

[Teej]

I agree that there's nothing better than having a nice clean & tidy bed! My two have shavings beds on rubber mats and I muck out all the droppings plus any wee that I find on a daily basis. On a Sunday I pull all the shavings to the sides to get any wee I've missed plus air the mats. I add one bale of shavings a week to the beds. This works very well for me and even though my mare wees for England, I don't have any ammonia smell problems. :)

[bimba]

I used to try and leave Macs bed up to air a couple of days a week as I found it really helped with getting rid of the stale ammonia smell. Also found that pouring a small amount of cold water on the floor on the days I could leave the bed up and giving it a scrub with that and a yard brush helped too. He also smelt less when I had him on Bliss as it really soaks up the wee and contains it in the one place so it's easy to get it all out and leave a nice clean bed. Just out of interest are they on haylage as that makes Macs pee absolutely stink to high heaven!

[BEX101]

if she churns the bed up you need a really deep shavings bed, that way she only churns the top and the wet is deaper down.

[nuttymare]

Thanks for replies!

Bimba, yes they are on haylage! And random bales at the moment - whatever the supplier/farmer can get in! (no hay around here anymore!) At old yard, they were on hay + tiny bit of Horsehage. Wonder if that's why both beds are now so gross!! I know haylage is wetter than hay, that would be just typical. These horses are going to bankrupt me!