The details in this article are relevant to the year it was published (2011)

By Melanie Huggett

A horse’s stall is his bedroom, a place for rest, relaxation, and recuperation. To aid in a horse’s comfort, bedding is spread over the floor. As the name suggests, bedding provides something soft for the horse to lie down and stand on, protecting the legs and joints. It also absorbs urine or moves it away from the horse to increase hygiene, reduce smell, and reduce chance of slipping on a hard floor.

Though traditionally there have only been two or three types of bedding to choose from, today there are a multitude of choices, with more being invented each day. When deciding on what bedding to use, some considerations are:

• Absorbability
• Ease of storage, handling, and cleaning
• Cost, both initial and through replacement
• Availability
• Sustainability and Ability to Compost

It’s also very important that the bedding not be toxic, overly dusty, or negatively affect on the horse. Following is an overview of many common and newly introduced bedding types available on the market.

Straw

A bedding with a long history, straw is the stalks of cereal grain plants. The two most common types are oat and wheat, though rye and barley straw can also be found. Oat straw is the most palatable and so horses may eat it, which has the potential to cause impaction colic and add additional cost due to having to constantly top up the stall with new bedding. For this reason, wheat straw is usually preferred.

Bedding eases stress on the joints by offering a soft place to stand and lie down, and also improves stall hygiene by absorbing urine.

Straw comes in bales similar to hay, which makes it relatively easy to store and carry. However, it can be difficult to clean and is not as absorbent as other bedding types, which translates to increased cleaning times and more waste.Straw makes a wonderfully soft, deep bed and doesn’t stick to the coat of horses, which is why it is often preferred for foaling stalls. Being made from grain stalks, straw is both a renewable resource and easily compostable.

How straw is harvested can impact its quality. Straw that is broken during harvesting or damp when baled can become dusty and moldy, negatively impacting a horse’s respiratory health. Choose a clean, good quality straw for the best bedding.

Recently, some companies have created new straw-based products to improve upon straw’s good qualities while eliminating its downfalls. One such product is called strawdust, which is wheat straw that has been cut to 5/8 inch to one inch in size. This makes the straw more absorbent and much easier to muck out. Strawdust can be purchased in large wrapped bales or in bulk.

Wood shavings and sawdust are the most common bedding materials in Canada due to their low cost, good absorbability, comfort for the horse, and ease of use.

Another product, called STREUfex, is made from straw that is processed to remove bacteria and dust, and then compressed into pellets. The manufacturer states that STREUfex can absorb four to five times its weight in liquid, reduces waste by 60 to 70 percent, and is dust and odour free. It cannot, however, be used on dirt or clay floors as it will leech the water from the ground and become dusty.

Shavings & Sawdust

Shavings and sawdust are perhaps the most common type of bedding in use in Canada. Shavings are larger and make for fluffier bedding, though are less absorbent than sawdust. Sawdust, however, is dustier due to its fine particles.

Both shavings and sawdust are more absorbent than straw and are also much easier to clean as liquid waste will concentrate in one area that can be easily picked out with a shovel or manure fork. Both also have low palatability so horses are unlikely to eat them. Soiled shavings can be composted, though take longer to break down than straw.

Commonly byproducts of the forestry and sawmill industries, shavings and sawdust have become more scarce and expensive in some areas in recent years due to the closure of mills and reductions in logging.

In areas with active milling and forestry, however, shavings and sawdust can often be bought in bulk for reduced cost, though adequate storage space is required to do so. They must also be covered, preferably with a roof, to avoid getting wet. For those without the storage space, bagged shavings, which can be stacked in a smaller area, are likely a better option than bulk, though bagged is typically more expensive.

Sawdust is more absorbent than shavings but due to its size can be dustier. One benefit of both shavings and sawdust in many areas is that they can be bought in bulk for reduced cost.

Pine, fir, and aspen are good wood choices due to their nice aroma and lack of toxicity. Softwoods are more absorbent than hardwoods.Some types of wood make poor bedding choices. Black walnut shavings, for example, are toxic and cause laminitis. Some horses are allergic to the oil in cedar, and cedar may also stain a light coloured horse’s coat when it is wet. Oak can be too acidic and yellow poplar can cause itching. Also avoid repurposing used shavings; though nurseries and other businesses may offer used shavings for a reduced price, these may be contaminated with toxic materials that can make a horse very sick.

Wood Pellets

Another wood product that has become available is wood pellet bedding. Made from tiny wood pieces that are compressed into pellet size, they are free from the oils, tars, acids, and resins that can cause irritation due to being processed at high heat.

Water must be sprinkled over the pellets when they are first put in the stall to hydrate them. This causes the pellets to fluff up to three times their size. The resulting bedding is more absorbent than shavings or sawdust and also less dusty. A 2001 study found that wood pellet bedding produces significantly less waste than pine shavings. Pellets also compost more quickly than sawdust or shavings.

Due to their compressed state, wood pellets come in small bags that are easily moved and stored in smaller spaces.

Easily found in garden stores, it comes in large plastic bags that are easy to store but can be quite heavy to lift and move. It can also be more difficult to muck than other types of bedding, becoming heavy with urine and manure. Peat moss can become very dusty if allowed to dry, making it a poor choice for horses with heaves or other respiratory issues. It will also stick to a horse’s coat, especially if wet. One downfall of pellets is cost. One 2001 found that pellets are 15 times more expensive on a weight basis, or six times more expensive on a volume basis than bulk shavings. However, many barn owners feel that the efficiency and other benefits of pellets balance the cost difference.

Peat Moss

Spaghnum peat moss is a renewable resource harvested in Canada from living peat bogs. This, along with its ability to make excellent compost, makes it an environmentally friendly choice. Peat moss makes a soft bed, is very absorbent, tastes foul to horses, and needs little topping up.

Compressed wood pellet bedding has increased absorbability, creates less waste, and composts better than sawdust or shavings, but is more expensive and needs to be sprinkled with water initially. Photo: Pam MacKenzie

Paper

Often made from recycled newspapers or cardboard, paper bedding can come shredded or in compressed pellets. It is very absorbent, hypoallergenic, and also mostly dust free, making it a good choice for horses with heaves. Though horses may nibble on it, it is not harmful. Its carbon content also reduces odour.

Paper bedding, whether shredded or in compressed pellets, is highly absorbent, hypoallergenic, and almost dust free. Photo: Mike Haw/Wikimedia Commons

One study found that, compared to straw, shavings, peat moss, and hemp, paper was the most absorbent by a significant margin. However, paper can become quite heavy when wet, making it more difficult to clean. In the case of old newspaper bedding, the ink can also stain the coats of light coloured horses.

Other Options

New bedding options are being invented all the time. Here are a few more to choose from:

Hemp bedding is made from the inner core of the plant’s stem, which is then dried, chopped, and processed. The initial cost can be quite high but hemp’s efficiency can make up for the initial cost in the long-term. Like wood pellets, hemp must be sprinkled with water when first placed in the stall. It has good absorbency, low dust, and is easy to clean and store. While most horses dislike the taste, hemp can lead to colic if ingested.

Kenaf, a plant related to cotton and okra, is made into bedding by drying and processing the inner stalks. It is described as being porous, absorbent, and spongy, resembling popcorn. Like hemp, the cost is initially high but less replacement is needed. One study that compared kenaf bedding to pine shavings, wood pellets, and wheat straw found that kenaf was the easiest to handle, the least dusty, required the least product replacement, and had the lowest ammonia levels. However, despite being a natural plant product, kenaf bedding makes poor compost, creating soils that are high in pH and soluble salt.

Coir is made from coconut hulls. In one study, coir was found to be more absorbent than peat moss, straw, and pine shavings, and also relatively easy to clean. It is dusty, however, and is very difficult to compost, requiring the addition of water, urea, and a fungus to decompose.

Corn Cob bedding is made from the light, inner portion of the cob, which is then compressed into pellets. Once placed in the stall, it will expand into soft bedding with the addition of a small amount of water and as your horse walks over it. It is touted to be absorbent and, according to one manufacturer, will compost more quickly than wood shavings. It is also relatively inexpensive compared to other bedding types. There are various brands of corn cob bedding available, with different qualities; some people have complained that low quality corn cob bedding is dusty and can mould, so choose wisely.

There is no perfect bedding. What works for some may not work for you or your horse. The bedding you choose will depend on your specific needs, preferences, budget, and availability.

More by Melanie Huggett

Main Photo: Straw is the preferred bedding for foals as it makes a very soft, deep bedding that doesn’t stick to the horse.

The details in this article are relevant to the year it was published (2011)