Bedding for the messy boys

[Jackie_Cochran]

Where I live it gets very humid. That may have helped keep down the dust with the peat moss.

Otherwise I’d probably have gotten out my garden sprinkler can and sprinkled the top of the bed. So long not too much liquid is put on the bed the dust sort of forms a crust.

The other “bad” things about peat moss of bedding are that it is also super good at absorbing the oils in the horse’s coat, there fore it is harder to get a shine on the horse, and the owner has to be vigilant to clean the horse’s hooves out a few times a day so the moisture in the horse’s hooves does not get all drawn out. I’d also let the outside watering spot overflow some so that the horse gets to stand in some mud periodically.

[demidq]

I would add that peat moss is not a very environmentally friendly bedding option, peat bogs are a pretty sensitive eco-system that does not regenerate after being mined for the peat moss.
Also do not bed a grey horse on peat unless you want them always to look like a paint!

[Leather]

I looked into the environmental impact of peat since I use it for gardening and have also used it for bedding.

My take (and certainly others will have differing thoughts) on it is that the Canadian peat industry is trying to avoid the mistakes that occurred in Europe and the US regarding harvesting peat and peat can be an environmentally/ecologically responsible product.

https://theecologist.org/2013/jan/25/truth-about-peat-moss

I used peat for a horse on stall rest and utilized a “deep litter” method in combination with shavings. It worked very well in that manner and wasn’t dusty since it sort of knitted together as a layer. I tried it again in a more traditional stall bedding manner and it would get kicked around and dusty.

[demidq]

This got me thinking- I use coir (coconut fibre ) in my garden instead of peat- it wets more easily and doesn’t create a water resistant crust. It isn’t nearly as dusty either. It is a bit harder to find (I order it from my Home Hardware) but works out to about the same price. I get compressed blocks about 12"x4" which expand to fill a wheelbarrow FULL when water is added.
Has anyone thought of using this for bedding?