Horse consistently lays in urine, help!

[Lunabear1988]

My horse is the Ultimate pig pen type. He’s ALWAYS chosen to lay in his urine and manure. This summer it’s been extra frustrating. It seems like I’m never getting a break. And the fact that it’s urine / manure makes it really hard to get off versus some mud. It takes forever to groom him for a ride or lately I just focus on where the saddle goes because I got so exhausted lol.

It’s really hot here so I’m thinking he’s doing it because it feels cool or it’s a soft place to lay. He lives outside. He’s turned out in a large dry paddock with some geldings during the day and in a 31 ft run with a shed at night. In the shelter it is quite hard ground.

His run is cleaned twice a day so it’s not like he’s living in filth. He’s always seem to choose to lay in his urine… No matter what barn.

I’m thinking of adding something to just the shelter part to either give him something more porous to pee in or ideally lay in it and still pee outside elsewhere. Might be moot.

So my question is what material would be best? I was thinking maybe squeegee or just extra fill dirt? I could do sawdust but I don’t think it’s ideal and is more costly.

Photo is on one side… Trust me when I say the other side was equally disgusting and this is what I find everyday. I don’t bathe him super often but I do rinse them off and scrub him and each day it’s like a new creation of stains. Lol

[candyappy]

@Lunabear1988

In the shelter it is quite hard ground.

Is it not bedded with shavings? If not I would bed it deeply but he may find it cooler laying outside if your temps are like ours.

I think dirt would just pack down? A deep layer of sand would stay soft but of course people freak out over sand and horses.

[BrownDerby]

Sometimes they lay in urine to warm up. Other times to cool down.

[Lunabear1988]

No none of the outdoor runs are bedded. I could add it but they use those runs for private turnout for other horses in stalls, so I feel like we would go through it quickly if that make sense? Since they’re picked at least two to three times a day. I think the idea is it is supposed to be a sandy / dirt soft base in there but his is quite packed down. So he lays outside in his pee spot.

He’s the only horse on the whole property that has this issue to this extent lol

[Lunabear1988]

Yeah he does it in the winter too. Although he’s blanketed at least some of the time so that helps it.

I have a new flysheet coming but with the heat it’s tough to use one for cosmetics!

[candyappy]

@Lunabear1988

but his is quite packed down. So he lays outside in his pee spot.

He’s the only horse on the whole property that has this issue to this extent lol

I don’t blame him? Who wants to lay on hard ground! I bed my run deeply but my guys are out 24/7 and don’t lay in there now unless it is raining. They have plenty of thick grassy areas they choose. It is nice when they are clean.

[Lunabear1988]

I mean the rest of the run isn’t as hard but it’s not grass soft. I prefer he lay in one of the other spots but nope lol! But yes I’m thinking he’s craving something very soft and cushy. Or maybe not until continue doing what he’s going to do!

So yes my whole point of the thread is to figure out what material to put down to entice him if I can. I’ll do sawdust if nothing else works but I’d rather try something a little “durable”

[sascha]

Try a pile of sand somewhere that he isn’t already in the habit of peeing in.

In terms of getting the grossness off each day, for goodness sake, use a hose or a bucket and sponge. When it’s hot, it’s totally ok to cool them off before and after work. As long as it’s not freezing cold, spot wash that zone on the daily.

[Lunabear1988]

It’ll be interesting to see if he lays in the cushy spot or pees in that AND lays in it .

Yes I rinse him off near daily but I don’t bath with shampoo daily because I don’t think it’s great for the skin/hair. I haven’t tried doing it before hand (except with some waterless shampoo) But I suppose with this heat he will be dry in a lickety split second anyways.

[ThreeWishes]

I own a grey horse who is basically almost white now and flea bitten. I gave up brushing him on most days. Especially when it’s hot (I’m in Florida so it’s always hot) and before rides he gets hosed off head to toe. No brushing no currying. I scrape and saddle before rides. I think he appreciates it really. For the run in I’d do a big pile of sand or shavings. I buy my shavings in bulk. Could never afford by the bag. I pay $200 for a huge dump truck load that lasts forever. I built a 3 sided “bin” and I tarp it off.

[Lunabear1988]

I wasn’t sure if him off beforehand would cause the hair to rub and irritate him during a ride? I thought he would probably dry pretty quickly anyways with these temps!

Unfortunately I’m board and the bulk shavings at the barn are for the stalled horses only. So I would be buying bags which would suck. Sand might work though.

[ThreeWishes]

I’ve been hosing him off pre-ride for years ! Just did it this morning before my jump lesson. Never had an issue. And in all honesty, if you think about it… Getting all that dirt and grime and let’s face it pee and poop because he is a walking pig pen. It’s probably way better than trying to spread it around with a brush or a curry comb!

[sascha]

@Lunabear1988

It’ll be interesting to see if he lays in the cushy spot or pees in that AND lays in it .

Yes I rinse him off near daily but I don’t bath with shampoo daily because I don’t think it’s great for the skin/hair. I haven’t tried doing it before hand (except with some waterless shampoo) But I suppose with this heat he will be dry in a lickety split second anyways.

Fingers x’d he doesn’t but he is a horse so …

A mild shampoo is way better for the skin and hair than constant urine. I also wouldn’t worry about him drying. They don’t have to be dry to be ridden. Just scrape off the areas where tack goes so he doesn’t completely soak your saddle and you’ll be fine.

[ThreeWishes]

Most of the time water just suffices… If he is particularly disgusting usually it’s urine that might be more stubborn. I’ll just squirt a few shots of cowboy magic scratch it with my fingernails and hose it right off.

[Lunabear1988]

I’m really hoping I can convince him to lay in a better spot to at least cut down on some of the disgustingness. This summer has been the worst… In the past I might have at least a few days in between of some cleanness but not this year. It’s everyday.

At least I know he’s laying down. When his back was hurting here’s the cleanest he had ever been because I don’t think he was laying down as much… There were a few months that he spotless and I knew something was off

[IPEsq]

In Colorado, shavings outside would blow away much faster than being picked out. Ideally, the run would have better drainage and then pea gravel on top. I think because the ground is so hard, people just periodically add pea gravel or some road base type stuff and re-grade, but it doesn’t solve the pee spot issue.

At least your horse pees outside! One of mine doesn’t. He can’t handle the splashing on our hard ground. If I can’t be at the barn all day, I just have him brought in at lunch so he’s not literally holding it all day long. In his case, when new sand or pea gravel is added to his paddock, that becomes the rolling area. He can’t possibly pee there because it would ruin the rolling. (Now he does lay in pee in the stall overnight some but at least there are shavings inside).

So perhaps you not only need to do more maintenance to control the pee spot area but give him another place enticing to sleep in. And I guess hope the stall horses who borrow the pen don’t pee there too. You will have to keep adding material periodically, but try with more sand/gravel and not shavings.

[Lunabear1988]

I agree about the shavings. Although the way his shed is positioned it would just depend on the day of whether it gets blown out. But yes I’ve never boarded anywhere that added shavings to shed here in CO.

There is one lady that had added some squeegee to her run and seem to be really happy about it. The runs were professionally regraded last year so it’s much drier. In fact I went out to give him a bath and put a fly sheet on him for a massage the next day. His pee spot outside was pretty dry… But I did notice that he also peed in his shed which was not soaking up at all.
So I wonder if he’s doing that and then laying down and soaking it all up with his body. Lol

I agree that that gravel or sand seems like it would be the better solution where he is.

[Lunabear1988]

I owned three gray horses growing up and while they had their fair share of stains, nothing takes a cake to him with grossness. He truly has it down to an art!

[IPEsq]

Oh I guess I was assuming he was laying down in the dirt, not on mats in the shed. Kind of unusual he pees there too! But that might be the problem

[Lunabear1988]

There is no mats, just dirt/sand that’s packed down. I’m not exactly sure where he’s laying but I’m assuming he’s doing it quickly after peeing. It’s been so hot that everything is pretty dry so that’s my best guess!