Looking for an out of the box type of bedding for stalls

[flaxenfilly23]

I’m on a bit of a unique search for a ZERO dust bedding for my stalls. Whatever I use does NOT have to be very absorbent as I am installing Stall Skins with a deep drainage system underneath them. There will also be lime and limestone as a base layer underneath the skins to neutralize any ammonia from the urine that drains down.

Things I am looking for in a bedding are:

• Absolutely no dust. This is by far the most important factor.
• Something that will not harm a horse if they ingest it accidentally while eating dropped grain/hay
• Would love a small particle size to make picking manure easier
• Does not have to be biodegradable (I realize anything biodegradable will eventually break down in the stall and create dust), but nothing that will hurt the environment if it is spread in the pasture with manure.
• Comfortable for the horses to lie down on

The only two things that are really coming to mind are some type of finely shredded rubber or a large grain sand (not in love with this idea due to the increased chance of sand colic).

Does anyone have any other thoughts or ideas?

[GoodTimes]

Have you looked into flax? It’s low dust and I worked in a barn that had it and the heavey horse they had did much better with it then when he was on shavings.

[HereComesZach]

We tested chopped straw here. I didn’t go with it because of the cost, but while we tested it, it was not dusty. That might fit your list of requirements?

[Texarkana]

A vet I knew used paper shavings in his indoor, climate-controlled stalls. It was not dusty. It was very absorbent. I think the biggest problem was the expense: it didn’t last like shavings, sawdust, or straw. You pretty much had to strip the stall every day because they anything that even slightly touched manure or urine was saturated.

I don’t know if this was the exact product, but it looks similar:

http://www.papershavings.com/large_animal_bedding.php

[pluvinel]

I found out about this product made from the fiber left over from sorghum (also known as milo) processing.

The bedding is supposed to be more absorbent than pine shavings. I was looking for horses with respiratory problems,

http://www.deltabiorenewables.com/horse-bedding.html

[pluvinel]

I posted a link that seemed to go “Poof!!!” into the ether, because I embedded a link. Google Delta Renewables + Horse Bedding

http://www.deltabiorenewables.com/horse-bedding.html

[pluvinel]

I posted 2 links that went “Poof!!!” into the dark hole ether, because I embedded links that are not approved by COTH.

Google Delta Bio Renewables (deltabiorenewables dot com) + Horse Bedding

It is made from sorghum.

[StormyDay]

Cleaned Chopped straw is low dust and is soft.
i have seen hemp bedding too and was told it was low dust too.
Anything like sand is going to become dusty. Rubber would be cost prohibitive and also become really dirty over time.One of the best things to do to keep dust down is to strip and replace the bedding regularly so that it doesn’t have time to break down.

[flaxenfilly23]

Thank you guys!

[2DogsFarm]

In China I saw rice hulls used & understand some places in the South here use them too.
Very lightweight & any breeze moved them around, but they sure looked comfy.
You don’t say where you’re located, so I don’t know how available they may be for you.

[clanter]

@2DogsFarm

In China I saw rice hulls used & understand some places in the South here use them too.
Very lightweight & any breeze moved them around, but they sure looked comfy.
You don’t say where you’re located, so I don’t know how available they may be for you.

I was going to mention rice hulls also, here is link for west coast

https://mallardcreekinc.com/preferred-dealers/

here is a thread from 2009 discussing rice hulls

https://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/forum/discussion-forums/around-the-farm/31610-has-anyone-used-rice-hulls-as-bedding-any-comments

[lorilu]

Some people here use peanut hulls, free from the peanut farms. I have seen ground corn cobs used. THere is a company that makes recycled cardboard “shavings” - sold in bales.

[2DogsFarm]

PSA on the corncobs:
I used them & while they are pretty dust-free my TWH developed RAD from using them.
This was a horse who was out 24/7 w/free access to a stall, rarely came into the stall & still developed rales I could hear w/o a stethoscope & a heaveline.
My older TB was unaffected.
Horse needed 3mos of $$$ steroid (Ventipulimn/clenbuterol) to resolve.
Once I stripped the cobs & replaced with shavings all symptoms disappeared.

Googling showed me dairy cattle bedded on the cobs sometimes developed a bacterial infection thought to be caused by mold.

[trubandloki]

The thought of spreading shredded rubber onto the pasture for any amount of time seems like enough of a negative to not go that route.

[flaxenfilly23]

Leaning towards the rice hulls but am having a hard time finding an economical source for them. Looks like $1/pound (50 pounds = 4 cu. ft.) is the going rate around here. I looked into the flax, but didn’t like the fact that it can be slippery. Thank you all for the suggestions so far!

[MyKindaFlower]

Hi OP. If you can purchase a full truckload of HealthiStraw, you may want to look into that. It’s chopped straw but has been washed to remove dust. I had thought of doing that but a truckload would have been about 4 years worth of bedding for me and I just don’t have the storage space for that. The cost was decent if buying directly from the company though.

[crimsonsky]

didn’t read all the comments but there are more and more people in my area using hemp bedding - lasts a long time apparently and is low maintenance/low dust/animal and environmentally friendly. i say all this based off what i’ve read about it - haven’t tried it myself just yet.

[Jarpur]

In regards to the rice hull bedding, I’ve stalled horses temporarily (for showing) in it when that was the bedding provided by the facility. It seemed nice and dry, but needed to be very deeply bedded, IMO.

A close friend tried the corn cob bedding but her horses ate it, so she returned the remaining unused bags. Her experience makes me very hesitant to ever try it.

Another friend tried the recycled paper bedding. All I can say is “What a mess.”

[clanter]

regarding peat moss for bedding read post eight of attached thread

https://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/forum/discussion-forums/around-the-farm/87327-peat-moss-bedding

[Brown_Derby]

We were a test barn for a product like this, made of recycled newspaper. It worked very, very well, and very little was needed. The spent bedding was repurposed under the hotwalkers to keep the dust down. It provided outstanding cushion; a race colt came in with a fractured ankle and he was actually able to move around. He could not do so at the vet school. (The product we used was called “Foal Rest” - I don’t think it is available anymore).

http://www.randranimalbedding.com/