pellet bedding

[Ambitious_Kate]

[QUOTE=Zu Zu;7333625]
[I]

• Admitting it took me awhile to develop my system but I do love the pellet bedding and often top with a bag of shavings :cool: ...[/I][I] economical easier & faster stall cleaning … and less wasted bedding added to the manure pile :yes:[/I][/QUOTE]

Boy you said it just right zu zu - that’s just about the description for the pellet thang…

[Appsolute]

Thanks for all of the tips here!

I recently switched over to pelleted bedding because my mare has been a PIG in her stall lately (she has an attached 36 x 50 run - use that mare!!) and shavings were costing me an arm and a leg.

I decided pellets would be more economical - but I was running into issues people here have described - WAY too dusty, and breaking down to fine fine bits.

Sounds like I need to use MORE water. I had been getting them “half” wet - still some solid pellets, but mostly fluffed.

I think I need to add more water until fully fluffed (adding 10 gallons to a stall feels weird!).

[S1969]

[QUOTE=Appsolute;7335112]
Thanks for all of the tips here!

I recently switched over to pelleted bedding because my mare has been a PIG in her stall lately (she has an attached 36 x 50 run - use that mare!!) and shavings were costing me an arm and a leg.

I decided pellets would be more economical - but I was running into issues people here have described - WAY too dusty, and breaking down to fine fine bits.

Sounds like I need to use MORE water. I had been getting them “half” wet - still some solid pellets, but mostly fluffed.

I think I need to add more water until fully fluffed (adding 10 gallons to a stall feels weird!).[/QUOTE]

I would add more water, but remember that you can always add more…but not the other way around. I remember reading that “fluffed” up pellets should feel damp to the touch, but not wet enough to “soak” your pants if you kneel in it.

I also find that depending on the season, I may have to add water daily to the pellets - e.g. in summer, even if I fully wet the pellets the first time, they can still dry out to the point of being flyaway and dusty. Nothing wrong with spraying them with a hose when you fill water buckets.

[Plainandtall]

I have finally discovered SpacyTracy’s method and like it best- I have tried spreading the pellets and spraying the stall… and dumping them in a pile and pouring water on them and stirring with a fork… dumping them in a muck bucket and pouring water in and then a minute later- pouring the excess water out…

but my new favorite wetting method is to slit open the top of the bag and pour the water (the horse’s water bucket I was about the dump anyway) into the bag. The clear plastic parts let me see how high the water goes- and I can sort of tip the bag side to side to get all pellets exposed to moisture. Then I let it sit a while and the bag will get very tight as they expand- then slash the side of the bag and rake- what pellet shapes remain will break down quickly.

[Showbizz]

I see the need to wet them if you have mats.

That said, I’ve used them for at least 10 years on dirt floors. I don’t wet them; the urine and feet break them down plenty quickly enough. I’ve never had problems sifting either - perhaps we use different forks. I like a plain plastic fork.