Why Are Wood Shavings Good For Horses?

Wood shavings absorb moisture and odors from a horse’s waste between stall cleanings. They also increase the horse’s comfort when he is confined to his stall.

What kind of shavings are best for horses?

Wood shavings
Wood shavings are a very popular choice since they are soft, highly absorbent and easy to clean out of the stall. The most popular type of wood used in shavings comes from pine and can vary in size from large, fluffy shavings to smaller, finer size shavings.

What are the advantages of shavings?

Shavings and wood chips have some advantages over straw. They are quite absorbent, readily available, provide a more consistent footing and there is less wastage. They are less susceptible to mould but can be very dusty.

Why do horses need shavings?

For horses that are kept in indoor stalls, shavings provide somewhere soft for the horse to lay down—and shavings absorb urine too. Horses that are stalled may have dirt underneath shavings, or they may have rubber mats laid down as a base. There are several types of shavings available as bedding in a horse stall.

Are shavings good for horses?

Dust extracted shavings are the most popular as they are of a higher quality and have a low dust content. Low quality shavings, often a sawmill by-product, are not suitable for horse bedding as they can be contaminated with sharp splinters and other potentially dangerous waste.

How often should you change your horse’s shavings?

Soiled bedding should be removed from stalls daily and replaced with fresh bedding. Soiled bedding may equal 2 to 3 times the volume of manure, depending on management practices. Each stalled horse may require the removal of 60 to 70 pounds of waste per day.

Are hardwood shavings OK for horses?

Oak shavings rarely cause irritations but is not widely available, as it is only accessible where hardwoods are milled. Black Walnut shavings should not be used for horses because it can be toxic and even brief contact can cause extreme irritation and hair loss for horses. Stay away from these shavings.

What is the best bedding for a horse stable?

Types of horse bedding

• Straw.
• Chopped straw.
• Wood shavings.
• Wood pellets.
• Hemp/flax.
• Rubber matting.
• Paper/cardboard.

Do shavings help keep horses warm?

Personally, I enjoy offering a big pile of dry shavings outside year around (I live in Southern California). During the winter, it provides a layer of insulation from the cold wet ground and a soft place to lay down in summertime when the ground is dry and hard.

What is the best bedding for a messy horse?

Shavings are an absorbency bedding so are the best choice for deep littering systems, for laminitic horses who need a lot of soft support and for horses with respiratory problems as most shavings tend to be dust-free.

Why should you not put a blanket on a wet horse?

Wet blankets will keep in the wetness creating an even colder horse, and potentially create a skin fungus if not allowed to dry out properly. In this case, coolers come in handy. Fleece or wool coolers will wick the moisture away from the horse, keeping it warm while it dries.

Why are horses shaved for winter?

To allow the horse to cool out and dry quickly after work. To prevent skin problems and make grooming easier and more effective. As a training and/or competition strategy. A winter coat tends to make a horse quieter and may decrease the performance of warm-blooded horses.

Should I blanket my horse in the barn?

If you have an adult horse that has a full winter coat, adequate shelter, water, and hay, and is in good health and good body condition, they probably will not need a winter coat. If you choose to blanket your horse, make sure it’s well fitted, appropriately put on, waterproof in the rain, and rated for the weather.

Why is shavings better than straw?

Where straw easily breaks down, shavings take years and is often much more acidic. Removal- If you have a muck heap in a trailer, shavings may be a better option for you. Straw takes up a lot of room in a trailer/pile, and thus requires removal often.

Do horses need to be turned out every day?

Research has shown that horses require at least 8 to 10 hours of turnout per day, on good quality pasture, to achieve the minimum dry matter intake of 1% of their body weight. The recommended dry matter intake for an average horse is 1.25% to 2% of their body weight daily.

Do horses need to graze all day?

Why Should Horses Eat Constantly? Horses should eat constantly because their GI tract is designed to always be digesting small amounts of forage as they graze nearly around the clock. It just makes sense that since that’s the way it works, that’s how we need to feed for them to be most healthy.

When should you not wash a horse?

It is okay to wash a horse with cold water during the summer. However, horses can get sick if washed with cold water during winter. So you should either avoid giving them baths during winter or only use warm water and then dry them off properly afterward.

What kind of wood shavings is safe for horses?

Only soft woods such as spruce, fir and pine are completely safe for the fragile respiratory tract of horses and other animals. In contrast, hard woods, such as oak and walnut, may contain toxins harmful to animals.

What type of wood shavings are safe for horses?

Pine shavings or pine pellets seem to be the best and safest type of bedding to use for your horse.

What wood is safe for horses?

Over the last 30 years of installing wood fencing, oak is our recommended wood of choice, as it is more difficult for horses to chew and will hold up better than most other wood.

What is the cheapest bedding for horses?

Straw is one of the cheapest options available to use as horse bedding, however it does come with some drawbacks: Mould can form if it is harvested or stored improperly. Ingestion can cause impaction problems.