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Our horses spend most of their lives in an artificial environment, and tradition along with myth dictates how we manage their lives. We often create the horse's environment from a human point of view without giving much thought to what our horses really need. The amount of effort, (i.e., work) on our part usually dictates the bedding material we use. Who wants to clean a stall? Most horsemen use either shavings or straw. Other products ranging from shredded newspaper to rice hulls also have a following, but many prefer the ease of storage that shavings and straw provide. Three to four bales of straw or 4-7 bags of shavings are needed to bed the average stall (12x12).
Straw comes baled in various sizes & weight and is convenient to store, but it does take up a little more room than shavings. Potential disadvantages of straw include cleanliness and the possible ingestion of the bedding. Some horses will eat the straw at first, but this will usually stop after a short period of time. Also, some bales may contain fungi or dust that may irritate the respiratory tract of horses. It's important to inspect your straw before purchasing to insure a quality product. Shavings are easily obtained in most parts of the country and are sold at feed stores and horseshows in bags. Horses do not eat shavings in most cases, and shavings (not sawdust!) may be good for horses with respiratory problems. One disadvantage of shavings is that they are porous and can stay very wet. If a stall is not cleaned well, there will be severe ammonia odors. Additionally, shavings are not as warm as straw bedding as straw traps air within the bedding and keeps the horse warmer. It is very important to note that if at anytime your horse develops lameness after a recent change in shavings that you remove the bedding as the shavings may contain Black Walnut (read the article Black Walnut) shavings. So what bedding should you use? Think about it. If you're at the big show and you want your horse to perform at his best, you must give him the opportunity to rest and a good bed to sleep in. What do I like? I like to put down a few inches of shavings followed by a top dressing of good straw. Talk about a place to sleep, my horses love it! Other factors like stall size and surrounding interaction also affect your horse's rest. Today, stalls are often boarded all the way up on the sides, and horses get little interaction with the horses beside them. Years ago when horses were kept in tie stalls, the incidence of cribbing was much lower than noted today. Why? Horses in tie stalls had interaction with a horse on each side. Interestingly, the smaller the box stall, the greater the chance of your horse developing an abnormal habit, e.g., cribbing. Also, when you place a horse in a small stall, they will not lie down. This is most likely because the horse is afraid of becoming cast against the wall. I see a number of stalls smaller than 12x12 feet, and this is just too small. I like stalls that are 14x14 feet or bigger, and a back door for direct paddock access is a plus. If you cannot put your horse in a larger stall, then I have a solution. Bank the sides of the (banking means to build up the sides of the stall so that the bedding slopes from the side of the wall towards the center) stall with shavings and bed the center with straw. This will cause the horse to roll back towards the center of the stall if they lie down and roll decreasing the likelihood of getting cast against a wall. Many of us have never given any thought as to how a good sleep affects our horse's potential. Give your horse the best opportunity for rest, and he will give you the performance of a life- time.
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