Everybody's Bedding Needs Differ
• Horses' Space. Horses confined to a stall will require more bedding in order to absorb urine and moisture than horses with lots of turnout. If your horse uses his stall primarily for feeding and protection from severe weather, he won't need as much bedding.
• Storage. Storage of bedding will be a major consideration for people short on land space, whereas those with storage room and easy access for delivery trucks may be able to buy bedding in bulk.
• Dust. If your horse has heaves or other respiratory issues, or if you have allergies or asthma yourself, you'll want an absorbent bedding with low dust, mold and foreign object count. Also, the greater the bedding's absorbency, the lower the ammonia level will be in your barn, and breathing ammonia can damage lung tissue in you and your horse.
• Managing Waste. If you compost your stall waste, you may prefer bedding that will compost faster and more completely. Our top choices in this category are pelleted wood bedding, alderwood green sawdust and shredded newspaper bedding
If you apply your stall waste straight to your land, the big concern is the amount of carbon. Almost all beddings are carbon, and too much carbon dumped onto pastures will rob soils of nitrogen, turning pasture plants yellow.
If you plan to give away your stall waste, do your homework. In some parts of the country, gardeners and farmers prefer stall waste with straw bedding. Elsewhere, herbicides associated with straw can cause problems, so growers (and commercial composters) may want to steer away from stall waste containing straw bedding.
• Availability. Investigate bedding types and sources available in your area. For example, in a heavily timbered area you may find good sources of alder sawdust or pelleted bedding. Likewise, in another part of the country newspaper bedding might be more readily available. Don't be afraid to shop around and ask questions.
• Horse Health. If you choose a non-traditional product, be sure to check with your vet or other knowledgeable resource because some materials (such as black walnut) are extremely toxic to horses. Chipped landscaping material from tree trimming services is not recommended as horse bedding. Many types of trees are toxic to horses when eaten, especially those used in landscaping (such as black locust, parts of oak trees, horse chestnut, etc.). Also, horses could eat the molding green material in the chips. Your horse may want to eat some beddings, such as straw, and you should evaluate any health risk.
• Cost. Many products may be more expensive pound for pound, but if they are highly absorbent you won't need to use as much. Buying in bulk may save you some money, too.
Bottom line
As you can see, the advantages to making a bedding choice best suited for you and your horses are substantial. Don't just stick with what you've always done or what your neighbor uses. Times have changed and you have many more options readily available. The bedding you choose can offer improved time savings, space savings, cost savings, improved composting and fewer dust or allergy problems.
For what is most readily available on the market today, we recommend wood pelleted bedding. Wood pellets are easiest to store and use, and are low in dust. The fine wood particles and high absorbency rate increase their compost ability. Whether you apply stall waste straight to your pastures or compost it and use it, wood pelleted bedding can make good sense for you.
Finding Suppliers
• Inquire at your feed store for types of pelleted bedding, stall mats, straw bales and other bedding types that they carry, then compare costs. An advantage to bagged beddings is you can easily sample different bedding types.
• Wood-stove pellets may be cheaper than pelleted bedding. They are usually sold at feed stores as well as grocery stores and home improvement centers. You may be able to purchase them at a better price by the pallet. If you are buying wood-stove pellets, be sure they are 100% wood products, with no glue or chemical additives.
• Peat moss should be available at your local garden supply or home improvement center, although it tends to be more available during the spring and summer months.
• Bulk, loose shavings and alder sawdust are available from shavings supply companies. Check in your phone book or locally on the Internet.
• Locating a source of newspaper bedding will require some sleuthing. You can try calling local newspaper publishers or timber or paper companies to inquire with them. If you live near a racetrack, feed companies that supply the horsemen at the track can order it for you.
• Kenaf suppliers are available over the Internet. A Google search for "Kenaf horse bedding" will give you several options.
